AOL's Top Picks for 2007 - PART ONE
20. 'Transformers'
Release Date: July 4
Why We're Excited: Michael Bay delivers a live-action flick based on an '80s cartoon about robotic aliens kicking each others' asses on Earth. Sounds preposterous, but it's jam-packed with cool effects, action and Bay's signature talent for blowing stuff up. Perhaps there's more to it than meets the eye.
19. 'Blades of Glory'
Release Date: March 30
Why We're Excited: Will Ferrell plus men's professional pairs ice skating equals ... well, we don't know. We're not math whizzes over here. But we DO know that just imagining Ferrell in a man-itard makes us snort our Pepsi (blatant product placement, anyone?).
18. 'Live Free or Die Hard'
Release Date: June 29
Why We're Excited: John McClane (Bruce Willis), the iconic badass who single-handedly took down two terrorist organizations on two separate Christmases, is back to battle something he hates more than Hans Gruber: Internet porn (and by "porn" we mean "terrorism"). Yippee-ki-yay, motherf!&#er!
17. 'Zodiac'
Release Date: March 2
Why We're Excited: After three films in '05, Jake Gyllenhaal made us miss him in '06; this may be his only '07 flick -- for that reason alone, we're stoked. And director David Fincher takes a stab at a serial-killer thriller for the first time since 'Seven.' We expect to be thrilled.
16. 'Beowulf'
Release Date: Nov. 16
Why We're Excited: True, the Old-English poem doesn't seem like blockbuster material. But this ain't your high-school version of 'Beowulf'; it's helmed by Robert Zemeckis, written by comic-book god Neil Gaiman and co-stars Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mom. Now that's epic.
15. 'The Nanny Diaries'
Release Date: April 20
Why We're Excited: Take one hugely popular novel, add in Scarlett Johansson as the nanny with the job from hell, and you've got 2007's guilty-pleasure chick flick: It's 'The Devil Wears Prada' with potty training instead of fashion shows. ('The Devil Wears Pull-Ups'?)
14. 'Be Kind Rewind'
Release Date: TBD
Why We're Excited: It's from Michel Gondry, the man who's taken us on fun-filled head trips with 'Eternal Sunshine' and 'Science of Sleep.' It's geared toward movie lovers (set in a video store). And it stars Jack Black and Mos Def. Need we say more?
13. 'Evan Almighty'
Release Date: June 22
Why We're Excited: Well, drop any other actor in this premise -- a man is tasked by God (Morgan Freeman) to make like Noah and build an ark -- and we'd be skeptical. But given it's Steve Carell, we're keeping the faith this sequel to 'Bruce Almighty' will be hee-larious.
12. 'American Gangster'
Release Date: Nov. 7
Why We're Excited: Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington lock horns as an NYPD detective and a Harlem drug kingpin in this '70s-set drama from Ridley Scott. With Russell as the tough cop and Denzel as the urban baddie, it's like 'L.A. Confidential' meets 'Training Day.' We can't wait for the fireworks.
11. 'Ratatouille'
Release Date: June 29
Why We're Excited: It doesn't take much to get us psyched about a Pixar film. But this one's directed by Brad Bird ('The Incredibles') and has a quirky storyline about a foodie rat, which means Pixar's about to knock our socks off ... again. Genius can be SO predictable.
