20 Most Anticipated Films of 2008

If you’re a fan of movies or just need an excuse to consume dumpster-sized buckets of popcorn, there’s good news - 2008 looks to be an absolutely ace year for film! There’s so many reasons to visit the cineplex in the coming year, it may be a good time to invest in Milk Duds and stop worrying about how the writer’s strike is affecting your favorite TV shows. It was tough choosing and there’s almost certainly some great motion pictures flying under the radar, but here are the Top 20 films that Hypeful is most anticipating in 2008 (along with info, trailers, and -of course- accompanying songs that fit each flick’s theme/plot).

TITLE:
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
RELEASE DATE:
July 11, 2008
PLOT:
Hellboy and his team battle the mythical world who’ve started a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth.
MP3:
Silversun Pickups - “Booksmart Devil”
TRAILER:

TITLE:
Spring Breakdown
RELEASE DATE:
March 14, 2008
PLOT:
Three thirtysomething friends (Parker Posey, Amy Poehler & Rachel Dratch) decide to break the monotony of their uninspired lives by vacationing on an island that’s a popular spring break getaway for college co-eds.
MP3:
Plain White T’s - “Parker Posey”

TITLE:
Baby Mama
RELEASE DATE:
April 18, 2008
PLOT:
A successful, single businesswoman (Tina Fey) who dreams of having a baby discovers she is infertile and hires a working class woman (Amy Poehler) to be her unlikely surrogate
MP3:
Cass McCombs - “Pregnant Pause”

TITLE:
Australia
RELEASE DATE:
September 5, 2008
PLOT:
Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) inherits a sprawling ranch and reluctantly pacts with a stock-man (Hugh Jackman) in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces firsthand.

TITLE:
The Incredible Hulk
RELEASE DATE:
June 13, 2008
PLOT:
Whilst on the run from military which seeks his capture, Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is coming closer to a cure for his unique condition of turning into a giant green monster under emotional stress. . However, all may be lost when a new creature emerges - The Abomination (Tim Roth).
MP3:
Kane Brothers - “Gamma Rays”

TITLE:
Step Brothers
RELEASE DATE:
July 25, 2008
PLOT:
Two spoiled guys (Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly) become competitive stepbrothers after their single parents get hitched.
MP3:
Death Cab For Cutie - “Brothers On A Hotel Bed”

TITLE:
The Argentine / Guerrilla
RELEASE DATE:
Sometime in 2008…
PLOT:
Director Steven Soderbergh is releasing two films about revolutionary/political figure Che Guevara.
MP3:
Elliott Smith - “Revolution”

TITLE:
Pineapple Express
RELEASE DATE:
August 8, 2008
PLOT:
A stoner (Seth Rogen) and his dealer (James Franco) are forced to go on the run from the police after the pothead witnesses a cop commit a murder.
MP3:
Ben Harper - “Burn One Down” (Live @ The Montreal Jazz Festival)
TRAILER:

TITLE:
Trick ‘r Treat
RELEASE DATE:
Sometime in 2008…
PLOT:
The film follows four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin who might have just met the one special guy for her; a group of teenagers pulling a malicious prank; and a woman who loathes Halloween who is forced to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband.
MP3:
Alkaline Trio - “Halloween”
TRAILER:

TITLE:
Star Trek (XI)
RELEASE DATE:
December 25, 2008
PLOT:
Director J.J. Abrams helps reboot the franchise by chronicling the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.
MP3:
Bob Schneider - “Captain Kirk”

TITLE:
Iron Man
RELEASE DATE:
May 2, 2008
PLOT:
Weapons designer Tony Stark develops a flying suit with advanced weapon capabilities to battle crime.
MP3:
The Bad Plus - “Iron Man”
TRAILER:

TITLE:
Burn After Reading
RELEASE DATE:
Sometime in 2008…
PLOT:
The Coen Brothers direct a film about an unscrupulous gym employee (Brad Pitt) who attempt to sell a disk containing the memoirs of a CIA agent (John Malkovich).
MP3:
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - “C.I.A.”

TITLE:
Cloverfield
RELEASE DATE:
January 18, 2008
PLOT:
A monster attack in New York City is told from the point of view of a small group of young people.
MP3:
Ryan Adams - “I See Monsters”
TRAILER:

TITLE:
Be Kind Rewind
RELEASE DATE:
February 22, 2008
PLOT:
A man (Jack Black) whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend’s (Mos Def) video store. In order to satisfy the store’s most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films, which include Back to the Future, The Lion King, and Robocop.
TRAILER:

TITLE:
Synecdoche, New York
RELEASE DATE:
March 21, 2008
PLOT:
Charlie Kaufman makes his directorial debut about a theater director (Philip Seymour Hoffman) struggles with his life as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
MP3:
Modern Skirts - “New York Song”

TITLE:
Where the Wild Things Are
RELEASE DATE:
October 3, 2008
PLOT:
Spike Jonze directs a Dave Eggers adapted screenplay of the classic children’s story about Max, a mischievous little boy who creates his own world inhabited by wild creatures who crown Max as their ruler.
MP3:
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - “Wild World”

TITLE:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
RELEASE DATE:
November 26, 2008
PLOT:
David Fincher directs F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story about a 50-year-old man (Brad Pitt) who begins aging backwards. causing complications when he falls in love with a 30 year old woman (Cate Blanchett).
MP3:
The White Stripes - “The Hardest Button To Button”

TITLE:
Wall-E
RELEASE DATE:
June 27, 2008
PLOT:
Pixar’s latest film is about the last robot on earth who spends 700 years cleaning up a trash-covered Earth and discovering his ultimate destiny.
MP3:
Daft Punk - “Robot Rock” (Live @ Coachella)
TRAILER:

TITLE:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
RELEASE DATE:
May 22, 2008
PLOT:
Set in 1957 (nineteen years since the events of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), Indiana Jones races around the globe against agents of the Soviet Union for a mysterious crystal skull.
MP3:
Crystal Skulls - “No Room For Change”

TITLE:
The Dark Knight
RELEASE DATE:
July 18, 2008
PLOT:
Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham’s new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker’s crimes grow more and more deadly.
MP3:
Page France - “The Joker’s Joke”
TRAILER:
- New Trailer - Step Brothers
- New Cloverfield Trailer Hits the Web
- Ex-Smashing Pumpkins Bassist’s “Comeback” Trailer
my god man! quite the post you have created here. and extra kudos for the songs with each!
My girlfriend and I were watching Batman Begins for the upteenth time two nights ago and we were wondering if they were making a sequel! You made our night!
Great idea for a list! And I’m actually excited for some movies for the first time in a while! Thank you!
I don´t agree with this list!!
Where is X FILES 2!!!
One of the best movies 2008!
[...] trailer for Step Brothers (one of Hypeful’s most anticipated films of 2008) has just been released. Although some naysayers are growing weary of Will Ferrell doing sports [...]
What about Twilight?