SO our ongoing look at upcoming movies is taking a wee break, but… it was actually spurred by an announcement by DC of new information concerning their upcoming movie releases. Then today comes news of a schedule shift by Marvel where they are revising some of their release dates, so I thought maybe we’d just go ahead and give ya the updates on all of those really quickly, so here goes:

From DC (or technically from Warner Brothers, since they are DC’s parent company and are handling the movies with DC’s characters) comes word that Green Lantern which is being directed by Martin Campbell (no word yet on who will play the title character) will be released December 17th, 2010, and Jonah Hex starring Josh Brolin as Hex along with John Malkovich will be hitting theaters August 6th, 2010. No definitive word yet on any possible Superman or Batman follow-ups, though of course the rumors are flying. The only thing we do know along those lines is that Christopher Nolan’s next film, entitled Inception, is due out July 16th 2010, so if he is directing the Dark Knight follow-up it’ll be some time after that, likely in 2012.

From Marvel: Today comes word that they’ve set the release date for Spider-Man 4 for May 6, 2011. Also they’ve moved the release dates for the Thor, Captain America, and Avengers movies, spreading them out a bit more into 2012, thus allowing not only a bit more production time, but also allowing them to better integrate the storylines so that they can all be seen as culminating in a true Avengers epic. No change has been made to the release date for Iron Man 2, though it is being reported today that Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johannson have both signed for the sequel, with Johannson playing the Black Widow and Rourke and unnamed Russian villain. Still no word on a follow-up to Edward Norton’s turn as The Hulk, though again, rumors abound.

Of course, this leaves out quite a few non-superhero based comic book movies, but we’ll hit those in another post. So, just running them down now, the slate looks something like this:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May 1, 2009
Iron Man 2 - May 7, 2010
Jonah Hex - August 6th, 2010
Green Lantern - December 17th, 2010
Spider-Man 2 - May 6, 2011
Thor - June 17 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger - July 22, 2011
The Avengers - May 4, 2012

Have we missed any?

Well, ok, the truth is, we’re not watching them yet, but we are keeping an eye out for news on them and anticipating them as the year moves on. And with yesterday’s announcements of release dates for DC’s Green Lantern and Jonah Hex movies (12/17/10 and 8/6/10 respectively) and the news today that Marvel has signed Samuel L Jackson to play Nick Fury in an unprecedented NINE picture deal, (Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, an apparently previously unannounced S.H.I.E.L.D. movie plus whatever sequels there might be) the schedule becomes both clearer and murkier. So I thought maybe it was time to sit down with the calendar and see just exactly what it is we’re looking at…

(Of course, any of these dates and details are subject to change, especially as we look farther into the distance, but as of today they are good.)

March, of course, kicks off with a bang with Watchmen on 3/6. Then, the week after, on 3/13, Disney releases Race to Witch Mountain. I’ve gotta admit I don’t remember that much about the original, but Dwayne Johnson has turned into a very I’m willing to give this one a chance. One other March movie that I’m not personally planning to take a chance on is the remake of Last House on the Left which also releases 3/13. The 1972 Wes Craven original was a truly disturbing movie and yet very much a product of its time. This remake seems also perhaps a product of its time if you count it along with all the other torture porn movies that have come out lately, yet it also seems a cheap cash-in on a somewhat legendary title. The moose says “pass”. Finally in March, the end of the month (3/27) brings us Monsters vs Aliens in IMAX, 3-D, Supersensurround, Smell-O-Vision, and every other technology they can possibly work in. Honestly, if it weren’t for all the technology they’re cramming into the release it looks like it’s be a fairly generic movie. Still, I’m sure it’ll have its fans…

April… well, April is an odd month, with not much in the way of potential blockbusters, but a number of at least intriguing-sounding titles most of which appear to be getting limited releases (in other words, rotsa ruck actually seeing them in the theaters, though I’ve gotta admit we’ve been getting ruckier lately here in Nashville, so we’ll see…) First up, on the 3rd is one we told ya about a couple of weeks ago, Alien Trespass. This one just looks like some good old-fashioned spoofy fun. Releasing the same week, again in limited venues is The Escapist. Starring Brian Cox and Joseph Fiennes, this British import looks to be quite a thrilling actioner. According to IMDB, “Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict twelve years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined he make peace with her before it’s too late. He develops an ingenious escape plan, and recruits a dysfunctional band of escapists - misfits with a mutual dislike for one other but united by their desire to escape their hell hole of an existence. Much of the action takes place within the tunnels, sewers and underground rivers of subterranean London.” Let’s take a look, shall we?

Also on the action front, April brings us the return of Vin Diesel to the Fast and Furious franchise. Hey, if you’re a fan, you know what you’re in for. If not, well, like me, you can always take the pass… The same also goes for Hannah Montana The Movie… you’re either a fan or the parent of a fan (dunno if the papoose is gonna insist on seeing this one or not) or you really don’t give a care. Either way, it opens 4/10. Finally, on the seriously WTF front, April 24 brings us Mutant Chronicles. This one has apparently been bouncing around the internets for awhile now, but somehow yer loyal moose has missed it. Anyway, it’s finally getting at least (again) a limited theatrical release. With a cast that includes Thomas Jane, Ron Perleman, and John Malkovich, and a fairly intriguing trailer, this one looks like it could at worst be a fairly decent way to pass a bucket of popcorn. Here’s that “fairly intriguing trailer”:

Hmmm… this is turning out a bit longer than I’d expected, so maybe we should stop there for a moment and pick up with May in part 2…