CEBU, Philippines - 20th Century Fox turns 2010 into an unstoppable moviegoing experience with its a-team of larger than life squeakquel, muscular pixies, electrifying sagas, extraordinary voyage and mind-boggling relationship poppers.
January 8 fills the theaters with munks and munks of music and groove as Alvin, Theodore and Simon heat it up with rival singing group Chippettes in “Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel” where Philippines’ very own Charice Pempengco makes a notable appearance.
End January sees the unbeatable Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a hockey player turned pixie in “Tooth Fairy” opposite Ashley Judd with screen legends Julie Andrews and Billy Crystal. The movie gives wings to tough minor-league hockey player (Johnson) nicknamed the Tooth Fairy and is sent to fairyland to serve as a real tooth fairy when he shattered the hopes and dreams of a young fan.
The grand movie odyssey continues when mythology’s gods and goddesses descend in “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief” to cast the most magical and most powerful adventure on earth. Directed by Chris Columbus who helmed the original Harry Potter films, “Percy Jackson” is adapted from the book by Rick Riordan where a young boy discovers that he is a descendant of a Greek god. Upon discovery of his true identity, he then sets out on a dangerous adventure to settle an ongoing battle between the gods. Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Sean Beans, Rosario Dawson and Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson star in the movie.
Reality-check comes in the most comical musings of a teenage kid in the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” – winner of the 2009 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for Best Book Series that won over the “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” series. In the movie adaptation, first year high school student Greg Heffley reveals the hazards and fun of growing up through his unique drawings and writings in his diary.
The adventure overload continues in “Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader” where Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their cousin Eustace Scrubb, are swallowed into a painting and sent off on a fantastic Narnian ship that’s headed for the edges of the world.
Adapted from the long-running comic strip, “Marmaduke” stars Owen Wilson as the voice of the Great Dane Marmaduke. The movie follows a family named the Winslows who move from Kansas to Orange County with their slobbery pooch Marmaduke who creates chaos wherever he goes.
“Ramona and Beezus” stars Disney’s “Witches of Waverly Place” Selena Gomez based on the “Ramona” children’s classic series of novels written by Beverly Cleary. It tells of the stories of Ramona (Gomez) and her adventures with Beezus, Ramona’s exasperating little sister.
Geared to set the latter part of 2010 to a higher tempo are full-blast action, thriller and comedy films from box-office filmmakers and actors starting with “Date Night” starring Steve Carrell, Mark Whalberg, Tina Fey and James Franco. Carrell and Fey play the Fosters couple who often go out on their usual date nights away from the maddening responsibilities of work and parenting. But one date night proves to be the most unusually exciting they will never forget.
A-list filmmaker Oliver Stone puts back Michael Douglas in one of his signature role as Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street 2” with Susan Sarandon, Shia LaBeouf and Javier Bardem. The sequel to the 80’s wall crasher on stocks and money grits more drama and thrill as Gekko gets out from prison after a long hiatus and reemerges into a much harsher financial world than the one he left.
The much-anticipated big screen action-adventure of the “A-Team” follows the exciting and daring exploits of Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson) and his colorful team of special forces soldiers. Smith, along with Templeton “Face” Peck (Bradley Cooper), B.A. Baracas (UFC light heavyweight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) and H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock (Sharlto Copley) were set up for a crime they did not commit. Going rouge, they utilize their unique talents – and eccentricities – to try and clear their names and find the true culprit.
Denzel Washington trails the clicks and turns in “Unstoppable” where he plays an engineer whose train is loaded with toxic chemicals. Washington with his conductor (Chris Pine) band together to stop the train from crashing in a nearby city and find themselves in a race against time.
Hard-hitting action finds its core in “Predators” where a group of humans is abducted and tossed into the wild jungles of the Predator’s home planet to be hunted for sport.
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz rev up the action-comedy genre in “Knight and Day” which is centered on a fugitive couple (Cruise and Diaz) race across the globe for survival. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, their survival ultimately hinge on the battle of truth vs. trust.