Although this first month of the New Year continues to ring out with news of awards and nominations for various 2005 movies, I’d like to shine the spotlight on some of the films we can look forward to in 2006. As usual, sequels and remakes will continue to pique our interest, but I'm hopeful that a few new and creative films will be released to intrigue us.   

Among the sequels on the way are Final Destination 3 (February 10), Big Momma’s House 2 (January 27), Basic Instinct 2 (March 31), Mission Impossible III (May 5), X-Men 3 (May 26), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (July 7), Santa Clause 3 (November 3) and Superman Returns (June 30). With Johnny Depp on board for another pirate movie and Hugh Jackman growing those deadly Wolverine claws again, I’m betting on the Pirates of the Caribbean and X-Men sequels to be the most successful in this category. Still, it’s impossible to count out Tom Cruise and his MI franchise or anything with Superman in its title.

Are you surprised that remakes won’t be missing from the screen this year? Didn’t think so, because this type of movie seems to be a Hollywood staple. If it was good once, why not make it twice or even three times? (My answer would go something like this, “Sure, but please make it even better -- like last year’s King Kong and Pride & Prejudice.”) Here are some of the remakes scheduled for 2006: The Pink Panther (February 10), Poseidon (remake of The Poseidon Adventure, May 5), The Shaggy Dog (March 10), Casino Royale (November 17), and All the King's Men (TBA). My biggest concern in this category relates to casting Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther and Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale. I’m not convinced Martin can match Peter Sellers’ hilarious interpretation of the clumsy French detective, and I wanted Pierce Brosnan to be Bond at least one more time.

In the category of movies with new and intriguing ideas, I offer these four 2006 films for consideration: American Dreamz (April 14), The Lady in the Water, (July 7) Apocalypto (TBA), and Take the Lead (April 7). When I saw the trailer for American Dreamz, I couldn’t stop laughing at Dennis Quaid’s take on a President Bush-like character and Willem Dafoe in full Dick Cheney make-up. This movie promises to combine politics and TV’s American Idol mania into one very funny comedy. With The Lady in the Water, I’m expecting another unique cinematic experience under the creative direction of M. Night Shyamalan. And, after his tremendous success with The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson plans to stun us again -- this time with Apocalypto, an action-adventure about the once great Mayan civilization. Last, but definitely not least for me, Take the Lead stars Antonio Banderas (be still my heart) as a former professional dancer volunteering in the New York Public schools.           

The most anticipated film of 2006 fits none of the categories above. The Da Vinci Code -- co-starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou -- isn’t a remake, a prequel, a sequel, or something new. Is there anyone who hasn’t read this bestselling novel yet? Most of the time while I was reading Dan Brown’s thriller, I thought about what a great movie the book would make. This year, on May 19, I’ll finally find out if I was right.

(REMINDER: Release dates are subject to change.) 

Poster for The Da Vinci Code: © Columbia Pictures. All Rights Reserved.