Ten films to bet on in 2009

The cinema gods are vengeful gods, for 2008 was the year we were blessed with The Dark Knight and punished with Mamma Mia!. What does 2009 have in store? Read on for my picks...

Watchmen (6 March, 2009?)
Potentially The Dark Knight of 2009, the film adaptation of Watchmen is currently the subject of a bitter legal battle that may see its release postponed into 2010. I haven't read Watchmen yet, but it's considered to be the most critically-acclaimed graphic novel ever (it even made Time's 100 best novels of all-time). The amazing trailers show that the film appears to do it justice.

This Side of the Truth (20 March, 2009)
Ricky Gervais' feature film directorial debut is a high-concept comedy set in a world where lying was never invented. Gervais has assembled an impressive cast, including Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Christopher Guest, Patrick Stewart and cameos from Gervais regulars Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington.

Star Trek (8 May, 2009)
Star Trek! What a geeky recommendation, I hear you cry. Fair point, too. But before you start hurling insults my way, like, er, Trekkie, let me tell you that this instalment is helmed by none other than J.J. Abrams, the genius who gave us TV's Lost and Alias, as well as the enjoyable Mission: Impossible III. Abrams is a master of high-quality popcorn entertainment and if anyone could get me into a cinema to watch a bunch of fellows with pointy ears and bowl haircuts, it's him.

Angels and Demons (15 May, 2009)
The critics predictably bashed it, but I actually loved Ron Howard's adaptation of The Da Vinci Code. Angels and Demons, though, is the superior book. It loses the huge amounts of exposition that were necessary in The Da Vinci Code and opts for a simpler race-against-time plot that sees Robert Langdon (played again by Tom Hanks) trying to stop a plot to destroy Vatican City on the eve of the papal election. Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer and Stellan Skarsgård co-star.

Terminator Salvation (22 May, 2009)
Never thought I'd see a McG film on my most-anticipated list (he's to blame for those God-awful Charlie's Angels flicks), but here we are. Christian Bale is onboard to once again resurrect a dormant franchise and the trailers are looking rather spiffy. Don't expect it to reach the heights of Terminator 2, but with a script by reboot masters Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight) and Paul Haggis (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace), it doesn't look like the write-off it could have been.

Up (29 May, 2009)
WALL•E set a phenomenally high bar for Pixar, but they're notorious for topping themselves. A 3D re-release of Toy Story is also set for later in the year.

Public Enemies (1 July, 2009)
Johnny Depp and Christian Bale team up with Michael Mann (the director who gave us Heat and Collateral) for this crime drama set during the Great Depression. Two actors at the height of their careers and one of the best crime directors around – what's not to like?

Inglourious Basterds (21 August, 2009)
Love him or hate him, Quentin Tarantino is one of the most influential filmmakers around. He's back after the commercial stumble that was his Robert Rodriguez collaboration, Grindhouse, with this clumsily-spelled wartime epic. Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger and Mike Myers head up a huge cast list.

Sherlock Holmes (20 November, 2009)
The more serious of two Holmes films currently in production, Guy Ritchie's take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective sees Robert Downey Jr. as the title character and Jude Law as Watson. Scenes for the film were being shot at London's St Paul's Cathedral when I visited there in October. (For those curious, the second Holmes pic is a comedy starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell...)

Avatar (18 December, 2009)
James Cameron returns to the director's chair for the first time since blockbuster mush-fest Titanic. Sci-fi pic Avatar uses groundbreaking 3D technology that's predicted to finally put 3D cinema on the map.

Runners-up
Coraline (6 February, 2009): surreal stop-motion adaptation from the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, starring Dakota Fanning, Ian McShane and Teri Hatcher.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (1 May, 2009): spin-off exploring Wolverine's formative years; can the X-Men franchise bounce back after the lacklustre Last Stand?
Brüno (15 May, 2009): Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat follow-up will also likely offend and entertain in equal measure.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (26 June, 2008): more big, dumb action with extra-special effects from Michael Bay.
Green Zone (TBC): Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass reteam for this film about the American reconstruction project in Iraq.

Anyway, those are my bets for 2009. If any of them turn out to be rubbish, I apologise. If all of them turn out to be rubbish, blame the cinema gods.