When a cab driver (Johnson) picks up an unusual fare — a brother and sister duo with paranormal powers, who are being pursued by a nefarious organization — he teams up with a discredited astrophysicist (Gugino) to protect the kids and, ultimately, the rest of humankind.

Original Witch Mountain stars Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann are on board for Disney’s redo of enduring and still-kinda-scary 1975 family movie, but how far will Disney in their attempt to preserve the story’s integrity? Rather far, it seems, if the footage we saw at Comic-Con is any indication. Director Andy Fickman is looking to make his first break from his more-cushy films (She’s the Man, The Game Plan) by picking up the mythology 30 years after the first film was set. Will it be PG or PG-13, people are asking, but when you have AnnaSophia Robb aboard, co-star of the “Hard PG” Bridge to Terabithia, I think Fickman and Disney are up to something special here.

Rated PG for sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements.

Director: Andy Fickman
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release Date: 13 March 2009 (USA)
Genre: Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

“Watchmen” is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity… but who is watching the Watchmen?”

With this movie and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, comic-book superheroes will continue to dominate the box office in 2009, a year after the genre truly broke as a bankable entity. And in Watchmen’s case, never has a storyline been so intricate, with arcs that span from the Cuban Missle Crisis to the Reagan Era, and out to Mars and back again. Is it fit for mass consumption? Surely, especially now that audiences are connecting with anti-heroes (or, in this case, ex-superheroes), and let’s not forget how in the 1980s are, too. Already people are talking about director Zack Snyder’s page-to-screen take on the graphic novel by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore (the latter of whom is not on board with the project, thank you very much) — has he copied the look of it too much? Not enough? Or are you, like thousands of other people, reading the book for the first time?

Rated R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language.

Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: 6 March 2009 (Indonesia)
Genre: Action | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Haunted by strange dreams and recurring ghostly visions, Casey Beldon (Yustman) turns to a spiritual advisor (Oldman) for help. Together, they learn that Casey had a twin brother who never made it to term, and that her intended sibling is tied to a curse that requires Casey’s death in order to manifest itself in our world.

After you watch The Unborn’s trailer, perhaps you can ask yourself the following question: Is David Goyer a better screenwriter (The Dark Knight, Dark City) than director (The Invisible, Blade: Trinity)? I don’t mean any aggressive disrespect, but I fail to see one shred of ingenuity in this preview, though I say the sight of a possessed Idris Elba makes him a good pick for a potential Nick Fury, should that role, uh, come to term. All that said, I must remember there’s a generation or two behind me that’s probably never seen The Exorcist, so here’s hoping Goyer pushes beyond the usual genre devices and helps Cloverfield’s Odette Yustman get her Linda Blair on. The power of Goyer compels me!

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images, thematic material and language including some sexual references.

Director: David S. Goyer
Release Date: 9 January 2009 (USA)
Stars: Odette Yustman, Gary Oldman, Cam Gigandet, Meagan Good, Carla Gugino
Studio: Rogue Pictures