The Films of Tomorrow. Today!

Blockbuster.co.uk's Marshall Julius presents a star-studded preview of the biggest movies heading our way in 2008.

I hope you had a very lazy and satisfying Christmas, that you got all the gifts you were hoping for plus a few you didn't expect, ate more turkey than you'd ever believed possible and, if you're reading this in January, that you partied like it was 2099. Now, as the dust finally settles on the seasonal celebrations and life returns to relative normal, it's time to shift our focus from presents, puddings and peace on earth and get back to what's really important. By which I mean films. Specifically, thirty major releases coming your way in 2008 that you might like to start getting excited about.

To cases then. January heats up with sci fi nerdfest Alien Vs Predator: Requiem, an Earthbound sequel that couldn't possibly be as bad as the last one. The Coen Brothers are in top form with electrifying crime thriller No Country For Old Men, with Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson. Then there's director Tim Burton's grandly stylised adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's macabre musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

February sees Blockbuster.co.uk blogger Jon Voight back on the big screen in ingenious, all-star adventure National Treasure: Book of Secrets, with Nic Cage, Helen Mirren, Ed Harris and Harvey Keitel. Also worth a mention is Italian Stallion Sylvester Stallone, now 60, back with a fourth Rambo bloodfest, slaying the Burmese military like there's no tomorrow. "When you're pushed," slurs the Vietnam vet, "killing's as easy as breathing."

There are a trio of promising fantasy flicks heading our way in March, kicking off with prehistoric action adventure 10,000 BC, quite literally a mammoth tale from Godzilla director Roland Emmerich. Elsewhere, Freddie Highmore frolics with the faeries in family fantasy The Spiderwick Chronicles, with David Strathairn, Mary-Louise Parker and the gravelly voice of Nick Nolte. Then there's Horton Hears a Who, a CG animation of the Dr Seuss tale with the velvet tones of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell.

Based on Mark Miller's explosive graphic novels and directed by Night Watch creator Timur Bekmambetov, April actioner Wanted sees James McAvoy transformed into a lethal assassin, with Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and Terrence Stamp along for the ride. Though a release date has yet to be set for sports comedy Semi-Pro, fingers crossed it'll come sooner rather than later as Will Ferrell's in the lead and based on his recent form I'd say there's every chance it'll be good and funny.

May's going to be a big month, with Jon Favreau's Iron Man heading the charge. Taking the lead as the man in the suit, Robert Downey Jr stars with Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and, as hard-boiled comic book hero Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson. Slick, smart and exciting, Iron Man is shaping up to be the second biggest superhero blockbuster of 2008. Fans of cult Sixties anime Speed racer are in for the live action time of their lives as Into the Wild star Emile Hirsch tears up the tarmac with Lost's Matthew Fox in hot pursuit. It's a visual spectacular from Matrix directors Andy and Larry Wachowski. Last but not least in May we have a fourth Indy flick to look forward to, Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull, with Steven Spielberg at the helm and Harrison Ford, now 64, in the spotlight with co-stars Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Raiders of the Lost Ark's Karen Allen and, to keep the kids from zoning out, Transformers geek Shia LaBoeuf.

June sees Transporter director Louis Leterrier's vision of Marvel's jolly green giant, The Incredible Hulk, rather less cerebral than the Ang Lee version, we're promised, with Edward Norton as the Jekyll and Hyde hero and Tim Roth as the baddy. Also coming in June, fantasy epic The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian should please smaller viewers, while ladies of a certain age are likely to go gaga for Sex and the City: The Movie, though there's no firm release date for that one yet.

By July the summer silly season will be fully in swing, with a couple of computer 'toons aimed squarely at the family market: Pixar and Disney's sci fi adventure Wall-E, the tale of a robot told with almost no dialogue, and action comedy Kung Fu Panda, with the voice talents of Jack Black, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu and Angelina Jolie. Back in the live actionverse, Hancock stars Will Smith as a burned out superhero whose affair with a married woman, played by Charlize Theron, leads to nothing but trouble. Hoping to earn some of those Chicago and Hairspray bucks, the latest stage hit undergoing the big screen treatment is Mamma Mia!, a romantic comedy musical with Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Julie Walters, set to Seventies Abba hits.

Most exciting of all though is the number one superhero movie of the year, The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's long-awaited follow up to Batman Begins with regulars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman joined by Heath Ledger as The Joker, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent and, replacing Mrs Cruise as galpal Rachel, the much more talented Maggie Gyllenhaal.

August is going to be a lot of fun as well, with Brendan Fraser and Jet Li co-starring in fantasy threequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway fooling around in spy caper Get Smart, a glossy feature adaptation of the sparkling Sixties sitcom. Best of all in August though is Guillermo Del Toro's passion project, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the film he chose to direct over Halo, I Am Legend and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This time around, Hellboy battles an army of mythological creatures bent on conquering the world, a simple, solid premise for a dark fantasy actioner.

As quiet as September promises to be, with the summer over and Christmas still distant, I can't help looking forward to Paul W.S. Anderson's Death Race, a remake of Paul Bartel's 1975 exploitation classic Death Race 2000, with Jason Statham taking the wheel as a convict forced to run people over for points. Later in October, there's irreverent CG 'toon Igor, the story of a hunchback who dreams of becoming a mad scientist, voiced by John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Eddie Izzard and John Cleese. And from Spike Jonze, the director of Being John Malkovich, comes a beautiful live action adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.

The final three films on my list you're not going to want to miss. Shooting right now for an early November release, the still to be named Bond 22 sees Daniel Craig returning as 007 with Monster's Ball director Marc Foster behind the camera. Then there's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the penultimate chapter of the speccy wizard's adventures, directed by Order of the Phoenix's David Yates. Finally, though we're going to have to wait till Boxing Day 2008 to see it, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek is going to be worth every moment of longing felt by Trekkies around the world. A prequel with a new cast playing youthful versions of all our favourite Classic Trek heroes, Abrams' prequel focuses on how they originally hooked up and stars Chris Pine as Kirk, Heroes' Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Bones, Harold and Kumar's John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Also starring Eric Bana as a villainous Romulan, Winona Ryder as Spock's mum, and the legendary Leonard Nimoy as the elder, original Spock, Star Trek ends 2008's run of blockbusters with an intergalactic bang.

I can't wait to see them all, and then again on DVD. Christmas may be over, and the New Year a hazy memory, but clearly the fun's only just beginning. Break out the popcorn, then, and bring on 2008.

By Marshall Julius, Blockbuster.co.uk

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