So far, the lineup of movies set for release in 2008 looks very promising. Thanks to the success of franchises like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, there are quite a few fantasy/childrens books getting film adaptations. The only hope now is that they don't disappoint fans and critics the way Eragon did last year. Of course new comic book adaptations are on their way as well, some more promising than others:

"The Spiderwick Chronicles" comes early in the year and features the busy young actor Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as both of the lead characters; Jared and Simon Grace, who are twins. Also featured are the voice talents of Nick Nolte (if you haven't seen him in Peacefull Warrior, you are wrong) as Mulgrath, the villain, and Martin Short as the trickster Thimbletack. The Spiderwick Chronicles were 5 books, each one about 100 small pages long including illustrations. You can read the whole series in a day and the fun simple adventure should translate easily to film without losing much content.

"Inkheart", a novel by author Cornelia Funke, will be realeased in spring. This is the first book in one of my favorite new series. It will feature Brendan Fraser (ehh...) as Mo, aka. Silvertongue, whose voice has the power to bring that which he reads to life. This "gift" turns out to be more of a curse when he reads the villainous Capricorn, portrayed by Andy Serkis (Gollum from LOTR), into our world. The catch is that for something to come out of the stories, something, or someone has to go in. The book has been translated into many languages from the original German text. The preview has made me much more excited about the film as Andy Serkis looks highly entertaining in his role.

"Prince Caspian", the second film in the Narnia series will debut in May. Director Andrew Adamson looks to take what worked in the first film and build on it. They skipped a book in order to film Caspian while the child actors, who were quite good, from the first movie were young enough. Those who were left wanting more action from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe should check this one out. The trailer focuses heavily on the battles and action, a sharp contrast from the more dreamy and wonder filled first film. Liam Neeson is back as the voice of Aslan, he was great the first time.

"Iron Man" I am not too sure about. The cast seems great, and the trailer looks polished. However Marvel's movies are a little too hit snd miss, with the majority, for me anyway, being misses. The Spiderman and X-men films were good, but for each of these there has been a Hulk, Daredevil, Elektra, Fantastic Four and Punisher, all ultimately fell short to deliver. Could they have been any more predictable with the Black Sabbath in the trailer? Give me a break.

"WALL-E" I am the first to admit that I dont know much about this one. What I do know speaks volumes though. 1, it's PIXAR. 2 it's written and directed by Andrew Stanton, whose other credits include Monster's Inc., Finding Nemo, Toy Story and A Bug's Life. The teaser is online, but doesn't reveal much, but I can safely expect good stuff from a company that hasn't dissapointed yet.

"The Dark Knight" the first Batman film to not feature the characters name in the title is looking amazing so far. Chris Nolan did wonders with the first film and brings back most of the cast from the first movie, with the exeption of Katie Holmes, who is replaced with, in my opinion, the much more talented Maggie Gyllenhaal. The real buzz on this film is the casting of Heath Ledger as the iconic Joker. I admit I nearly gave up on the film as soon as I heard this. So far it looks like I was wrong. The trailer, which was released with the film "I Am Legend", is now online and showcases the performance of Ledger. It looks like he took the part very seriously.

Ones to possibly avoid:

"The Incredible Hulk" Take one bad movie, replace all actors with inferior ones, make sequel...brilliant.

"The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" Young actor Alex Atel was great in 2004s "Millions"...watch that.

"Speed Racer" Looks less like an autorace and more like a train wreck.

"In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" based on a video game, cast includes Matthew Lillard. Yikes.

So, I am on a real boring assignment right now and the only thing I have is a government restricted computer. So all there is to do is mess around on MS Paint. So I whipped up this screen for a game I have been thinking about since hearing of the Lego Star Wars franchise. What can I say, my love of Smash Bros has no end. Let me know what you think. And yes, I know I left out some major players, but you have to have some secrets to unlock, right? Just keep in mind that I didn't have any good software to use. Full size of pic is on my myspace.