Great Expectations

Have you ever been so excited about a movie that you counted the days till the opening? Then you ran out to see it on opening day... only to leave the theater bitterly disappointed? That just happened to a writer friend of mine. I won't say which movie it was, but if you think of one based on the first book in a HUGELY popular young adult series, you'll probably figure it out!

This got me to thinking about my expectations. I try to keep them realistically low, but sometimes, I just can't help getting my hopes up. For example...

QUANTUM OF SOLACE - I expect three things out of a new Bond flick: (1) Lots of action, (2) the suave hunkiness of Daniel Craig, and (3) the always excellent presence of Dame Judi Dench. Despite its confusing title (I still only understand half of it) this movie delivered on all three counts. And as an added bonus, I got to see the trailer for...




THE NEW STAR TREK MOVIE - It's not coming out till May 2009, but this is one movie that I'm very excited about. Featuring a younger cast, this latest offering in the Star Trek franchise goes back to when Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Bones, Scotty and the others first come together. The casting of Zachary Quinto (Heroes) as a young Spock is inspired. I think director J.J. Abrams is going to do a bang up job with this film. Sadly, I wasn't drawn into his latest TV series, Fringe, but I loved both Alias and the final item on my list of gotta-sees...


LOST - Two months from today and the wait is over! Lost is my absolute favorite show on TV. Even when others were complaining about how it had lost its way in season three, I stuck with the castaways, happy to go along for the ride. And what a ride it's been. In season four, we had not only flashbacks, but flashforwards. And the season ended with the most spectacular reveal of all: the island can move. And so it did. But where did it go... or when? You can be sure I'll be glued to the TV on January 21st to find out.

So that's it... my list of things I can't help but get excited over. How about you? What entertainment events are you counting the days till?