What will 2011 bring to the box office? Is it too much to hope for some blockbuster flicks that take us by surprise? We shall see. Even though it seems Hollywood is loading up this year?s cannon with some serious sequel ammo, there is still room for potential gems to emerge from seasoned directors and original scripts with the potential to please your palette. Returning to the ring in 2011 are some heavy hitters with new major films to debut. We can expect heavy hits from the likes of Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese and Cameron Crowe to name a few. It looks to be an exciting year, so here are 30 of the most anticipated films on the horizon to keep a watchful eye on.
30.) Hanna (April 8th) – Directed by Joe Wright and starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana. The tale is about a girl (Ronan) who has been raised and trained as an assassin her entire life by her father, an ex CIA agent (Bana). She is separated from him on a mission and forced to survive using these skills. She must blend in and elude the forces dispatched to kill her. The script, penned by David Farr, is fast-paced and promises to deliver a realistic, action- packed adventure.
29.) Immortals (Nov.11th) – Directed by Tarsem Singh and starring Mickey Rourke as the power hungry King Hyperion. The King declares war on humanity and amasses his own army of disfigured, bloodthirsty soldiers to find a weapon that will unleash the Titans and complete this task. Henry Cavill plays Theseus, a peasant chosen by Zeus himself to fight for the people of Hyperion against the king's hordes. Joined by Stephen Dorff and Freida Pinto, the story unfolds as the hero leads his band against the hordes to a hopeful victory or watches his city fall into ruin at the hands of the Gods. Visually, Singh has described the film as "Carvaggio meets Fight Club," an action film with the strokes of a Renaissance painting. Should be interesting.
28.) Paul (March 18th) – Directed by Greg Mottola and starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig and featuring the voice of Seth Rogan. This sci-fi adventure puts us in the company of two geeks on their road trip across America. On their trip, they encounter an escaped alien named 'Paul' who they try and reunite with his lost mothership. Mottola, who directed Superbad and Adventureland, should have no problem bringing smiles to his audience with the likes of Pegg and Frost.
27.) Sherlock Holmes 2 (Dec 16th) – Directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry. Ritchie returns with this sequel starring an edgier Holmes that falls in line with way Doyle originally wrote the character. Joining Downey and Law in this installment is Noomi Rapace from the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Mad Men's Jared Harris as Moriarty. Stephen Fry will appear as Holmes' lazier but wiser older brother. I'm curious to see if this sequel can live up to the first installment in the new vision of the Sherlock Holmes franchise.
26.) Mission Impossible- Ghost Protocol (Dec. 16th) – Directed by Brad Bird and starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Josh Holloway. The 4th installment to the Mission franchise will bring Oscar nominated newcomer Jeremy Renner to the big screen who has been rumored to be the next actor to anchor the series should more installments follow after Ghost Protocol. This feature was filmed on location in Dubai, Moscow, Prague and Vancouver to mention a few and will be the first installment for Bird who wrote and directed The Incredibles and Ratatouille.
25.) Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (May 20th) – Directed by Rob Marshall and starring Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Penelope Cruz and Geoffrey Rush. In this harrowing tale of the sea, Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa attempt to find the legendary fountain of youth only to come up against Blackbeard (McShane) and his daughter (Cruz). It