Genre Films for the Summer 2010 Season: April

Yesterday, I listed the genre films that were in theaters as of March 2010. Now I’m moving into the future! Here are the genre films coming out next month.

clash-of-the-titans-posterClash of the Titans

“Release the Kraken!” I just love that line … and in this remake of the 1981 film starring Harry Hamlin, Liam Neeson gets to say it. I just love Liam. He was great as the brooding lead in Darkman and is no stranger to genre film. His credits include Excalibur, Krull (one of my faves), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, The Haunting, Batman Begins, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the forthcoming After.Life and he’s got more on the way, including the sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia.

This time, the lead of Perseus is played by Sam Worthington, who was also the lead in the film I saw last week, Avatar. His other genre credits include Rogue and Terminator Salvation. He’s also attached to the currently in development horror film, Dracula Year Zero.

Ralph Fiennes plays opposite to Neeson’s Zeus as the God of the Underworld, Hades. You might remember him as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films. His other genre credits include Strange Days and The Avengers.

Personally, I can’t wait to see this!

afterlifeAfter.Life

Did Anna die in the car accident? Or is she becoming the victim of a deranged funeral director?

If I remember correctly, this understated dramatic horror will have a limited release. But the description I found on IMBD makes it sound like something worth looking out for.

Liam Neeson (see his genre credits above) plays Eliot Deacon, the local funeral director who claims he has the ability to communicate with the dead. He tries to convince Anna Taylor, played by Christina Ricci, that she is dead and in transition to the after life.

Ricci has quite a few genre credits on her resume. Her genre debut was portraying Tuesday in The Addams Family and its sequel. But she has gone on to do other genre fair, such as Casper, Small Soldiers, Sleepy Hollow (opposite Johnny Depp), The Gathering and Cursed.

Another recognizable genre face is Justin Long, probably best known for his commercial work portraying the Mac, but who also has a decent genre resume including Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers I & II, Terra, Drag Me to Hell and Planet 51.

kick-assKick-Ass

This movie posits the question, what if you had super heroes who didn’t have super powers. Well … at least in a way it asks that question. Comic book fan and unnoticed high school student Dave Lizewski one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so. This is his story.

The role of Dave Lizewski a.k.a. Kick-Ass is played by Aaron Johnson, whose genre credits include The Thief Lord and The Magic Door … he’s young (20), so give him time. Also in the film are Christopher Mintz-Plasse (How To Train Your Dragon) as Chris D’Amico a.k.a. Red Mist, Lyndsy Fonseca (Hot Tub Time Machine) and Mark Strong (Sunshine, Stardust, Babylon A.D.).

The film is being heavily marketed and the premise sounds fun. This could be a guilty pleasure.

nightmareA Nightmare on Elm Street

In this re-make of the classic horror film, Jackie Earle Haley takes over the role immortalized by Robert Englund … Freddy Krueger.

Haley is bringing buzz to the remake, at least according to IMDB. His previous genre credits include Damnation Alley, Dollman, Nemesis, Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence, and most recently playing Walter Kovacs/Rorschach in Watchmen. He also has some genre TV under his belt, too, including stints on “Planet of the Apes” and “The Love Boat.”

Also in the film are Katie Cassidy (The Lost, Black Christmas, “Supernatural”), Kyle Gallner (The Haunting in Connecticut, “Smallville”), Rooney Mara (Urban Legends: Bloody Mary), Thomas Dekker (Star Trek: Generations, “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show,” “Heroes,” and John Connor in “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”), Kellan Lutz (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and Clancy Brown (The Bride, Highlander, “Earth 2,” Starship Troopers, “Lost” and so much more).

Share your travels!

About the author

As The Genre Traveler, Carma Spence loves to view the world through Genre-Coloured glasses. In other words, she sees the world through a lens of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, where trash cans can be Daleks in disguise and neighborhood forests can harbor faeries and sprites. Magic realism is real! Or at least you can choose to see the world that way to add to the fun and awe of life.

1 comment on “Genre Films for the Summer 2010 Season: April”

  1. clash of the titans

    The solid but unspectacular start gave it only a share of second place in the daily box-office rankings. DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” registered more than $5 million on Thursday to top the daily box-office pecking order and push the Paramount-distributed animated film’s cumulative gross to $63 million through its first seven days.

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