As 2004 draws to a close, I thought I’d take a moment to look ahead to 2005 and note my most anticipated films for the year. I actually had a really hard time ranking my top 5 because they were all equally anticipated. But for now, here’s how they shook out:

1. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - Being a Star Wars geek, I had to list this as my most anticipated film for the year. I fully expect the plot to be weak and the acting to be wooden like in the last two prequels, but I can’t help but be drawn in to see the birth of Darth Vader, the death of Mace Windu, and the rise of the Emperor. Special effects and the Dark Side make this a film not to miss in 2005.

2. Batman Begins - Besides being a big Star Wars fan, I’m a huge Batman fan as well. I’ve long been waiting for a relaunch of the Batman franchise and it finally looks like they’re following the Marvel formula and doing it right. I’ve also read the bootleg script that’s online and it looks like a good story. With Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, and Liam Neeson on board, this could be a lot of fun.

3. Fantastic Four - I also happen to be a really big Fantastic Four fan. Old issues of the comic really got me hooked and into comic collecting. Hopefully Tim Story can capture the magic of the comics and put it on screen. While I wasn’t crazy about The Thing makeup, I think Michael Chiklis and the rest of the cast all understand their characters and how they should be portrayed. Maybe this will be a surprise hit like X-Men.

4. King Kong - The only reason this film is ranked 4th is because the full marketing for it hasn’t hit yet. I bet when I see the first trailer for this movie it will shoot to #2 on my anticipation list. With LOTR’s Peter Jackson at the helm, how can this not be one of the most anticipated movies of 2005? With dinosaurs, giant gorillas, and Naomi Watts, you can’t go wrong. But I have to wonder about the inclusion of Jack Black.

5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - Could this be the next Lord of the Rings-type franchise? I hope so. With a huge fan base, great stories, and the Weta effects house supporting this film series, expect there to be a lot of hype surrounding it in 2005.

6. War of the Worlds - Steven Spielberg returns to aliens in this film in 2005. With Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, and Miranda Otto in the cast along with ILM special effects, expect this to be one of the cooler popcorn flicks of the summer of 2005.

7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Like the books, the Harry Potter films have been getting progressively better and darker as they went along. Look for this to be a highlight of 2005 for any Harry Potter fan.

8. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - I haven’t even read the books by Douglas Adams yet, but this film is on my most anticipated list for 2005. Why? Well, a lot of people I trust have read the stories and thoroughly enjoyed them. I trust them, so I’m looking forward to seeing it. (I also trust Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich to make good film choices.) In any case, I plan to read the books before the movie is released.

9. The Legend of Zorro - The Mask of Zorro was one of my favorite films of the 1990’s. It had a great mix of adventure, humor, and romance. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Antonio Banderas also had fantastic on-screen chemistry. I’m hoping a little of that magic can be recaptured in this sequel.

10. Serenity - Being a sci-fi geek, I look forward to any upcoming space adventure. However, Serenity is unique because it comes from the cancelled TV series Firefly. The very fact that it could make the leap from cancelled series to the big screen is enough to get me intrigued. But recently I’ve been watching Firefly on DVD and I have to say that I can’t wait to see what Joss Whedon and his cast does with a bigger budget. Think of it being like the adventures of young Han Solo.

Here are a number of other films I have my eye on in 2005:

Zathura - Director Jon Favreau adapts the classic children’s book from the writer of Jumanji. Look for a lot of great special effects in this one.

Madagascar - DreamWorks offers up this CG feature starring Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, and more. The trailers looked hilarious.

Elektra - As a comic fan, this film is required viewing for me. Can Jennifer Garner pull it off?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Oompa Loompas. Nuff said.

A Sound of Thunder - I’m always in the mood for a dinosaur flick. Will this finally be released?

Sin City - This will be a "must-see" for any comics fan. With a fantastic cast and Robert Rodriguez at the helm, it looks like the recaptured the look and feel of the comic.

Robots - Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, and Robin Williams team for this CG animated adventure. Looks stylish and funny!

Chicken Little - Can Disney recaputure the CG magic of Pixar by themselves? We’ll see.

The Great Raid - This is based on the incredible novel "Ghost Soldiers" and tells the story of the rescue of the survivors of the Bataan Death March in WWII. If you liked Band of Brothers, you’ll like this.

Sky High - A school for training superheroes? I’m there! Fans of The Incredibles may also be interested.

Aeon Flux - More sci-fi for 2005 based on the MTV anime series.

Glen Bucher’s 2005 Most-Anticipated Films Every so often I get asked the question, "What movies are you looking forward to?" I honestly can answer, "All of them." The main reason I am so vague is that I usually have no idea what is being released and when. I prefer not to know anything about the movies I am about to watch to review, so it takes a fair amount of hype or great word of mouth to get my notice. What follows are my top 10 anticipated movies of 2005, with an honorable mention:

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - Star Wars started my love for movies. It was the first film that I saw more than once in the theater and is the movie I have watched more than any other. I watched it over 30 times in the theater and then at least 30 more when it first came on cable. I would not be sitting at my computer making this list if it were not for George Lucas. It does not matter that Episodes I and II were not nearly as good as Episodes IV and V - this is the final film in a film series that I have been enamored with for most of my life and nothing will keep me away from the theater opening day. Lucas had a chance to make the Star Wars series into one large saga about the rise, fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. While I think I and II have not done much to develop that greater arc, I have great hope for Episode III, and the special effects will be great no matter what.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - A few weeks before the movie release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I took a trip and decided to read the book on the plane flight so I could contrast the movie and the source material. At my destination, I called my wife and asked her if I should buy the other books in the series so I could read them or tough it out and wait until I got home. I was a fan. So far the movies have done a great job of capturing the magic of the books, and I look forward, with some apprehension, to how they will film an 800 page book in under six hours. Add to that, the fact that J.K. Rowling is releasing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on July 16th giving Potter fans a dim hope that the current cast can complete the seven book series before they are old enough to play Dumbledore.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis’ classic tale of children and their adventures in a land through a wardrobe. The BBC did a production of this book in 1988 that was limited by budget constraints. With Disney behind this version, that is not a problem this time. The film is using the same effects group as the Lord of the Rings movies and is being directed by Shrek and Shrek 2 director Andrew Adamson. Disney is taking the time and putting the effort into this film in hopes of launching an epic series like the Lord of the Rings, and it looks like they are succeeding.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - For me, Willy Wonka is Gene Wilder, and the first film will always be a treasured part of my youth. However, when you put Tim Burton and Johnny Depp together, magic seems to happen. Burton is using a script that is closer to the book, so it will be a much darker movie. I am 33 years older than I was when the first movie was released and I like Pulp Fiction, so darker will be good for me. I am just worried that it will be too grim for the current generation of children, but that will not stop me from enjoying it.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - This movie has been "in development" for over 20 years. At one point Ivan Reitman had either Dan Aykroyd or Bill Murray set to play Ford Prefect, but they teamed up to do Ghostbusters instead. Up to the time of his death in 2001, Douglas Adams was in California shopping this script. To the great relief of his fans, it will soon be released. Adams’ view of his work was that each version (radio, tv, book, and movie) should be somewhat different, so there is new material in this movie that has not appeared in any of the other Hitchhiker works. Some of the casting choices have people screaming, but I am willing to wait until the movie is in front of me to make a decision on that.

Untitled Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman Project - This movie does not have a name and there has been no plot revealed about it. I still want to see it. Kaufman and Jonze teamed up to make Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, and Kaufman wrote the screenplay for my favorite movie of this year - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. So far I have not been disappointed by either of them, so they can say the movie is about the life of a sea slug and I will still want to see it.

War of the Worlds - Tom Cruise postponed the production of Mission: Impossible III (read incredibly large paycheck 3) in order to work with Steven Spielberg on this remake of H.G. Wells’ classic earth invasion movie. ILM is lined up to do the special effects. With Tim Robbins along for the ride, this should be a great summer movie.

Jarhead - Director Sam Mendes has been tasked to tell the movie version of the bestselling book about the invasion of Kuwait in Desert Storm. The book is a gritty front-line view of the war and, if done well, could be an excellent war movie. Helping it to be told is a top notch cast that includes Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, Sam Rockwell, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

The Producers - Mel Brooks’ 1968 film is one of my favorite comedies, and I have always been mad at myself for not going to New York to see Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick perform it live on stage. Next year I will get that chance. Add to the cast Will Ferrell and possibly Uma Thurman, with Tony award winning stage actor Gary Beach reprising his stage role, and this should be a good movie based on a play based on a movie about a play.

King Kong - The original 1933 King Kong defined the monster movie for years to come. The 1976 version was a passable remake, but just didn’t have the same sense of wonder as the first. After his spectacular handling of Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson is a great choice to direct this version. His passion for source material and the effects team he has lined up should put the giant ape back on the map in a large way next year.

Honorable mention:

Paris, je t’aime - This will probably be an art house success that might have some crossover to a mainstream audience. Twenty directors have been selected to each shoot a five minute segment about Paris and love. A back story will link all of the segments after they are filmed. The Coen brothers have done a segment with Steve Buscemi. Jean-Luc Godard is doing a segment. And the segment done by Tom Tykwer starring Natalie Portman has screened in Germany already, and people are saying that it is one of the most beautiful things they have seen. While not for everyone, this movie will be an indie highlight of next year.