LOOKING AHEAD \ Films on the horizon

A few notable movies to look out for this year:

“Crazy Heart”: Jeff Bridges is being viewed as an Oscar contender for his turn as an alcoholic country music has-been. (It opened in some cities in December and arrives in others Jan. 22).

“Shutter Island”: In this creepfest from Martin Scorsese, a Boston detective (Leonardo DiCaprio) investigates a crime at an isolated facility for the criminally insane (Feb. 19).

“Alice in Wonderland”: Lewis Carroll’s fantasy has defeated every filmmaker who’s taken it on. Now Tim Burton is planning a sequel of sorts, with teenage Alice going back down the rabbit hole. Can Burton and an all-star, motion-captured cast (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall) succeed where even Walt Disney failed? (March 5).

“Green Zone”: Director Paul Greengrass excels at re-creations of real events (”United 93,” “Bloody Sunday”); he also made the last two Bourne thrillers. It’ll be interesting to see what he does with this story of a rogue Army officer (Matt Damon) on the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East (March 12).

“Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps”: Two decades after his Oscar-grabbing “Wall Street,” Oliver Stone returns to the saga of Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas), the Attila the Hun of investors. It’ll be fun to see what the never- reticent Stone has to say about our recent financial shenanigans (April 23).

“Iron Man 2”: Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as a selfish inventor and millionaire who becomes a superhero in a flying metal suit, with Don Cheadle as his friend Col. Rhodes and villains played by Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell. The first film was terrific; let’s hope they don’t mess up this sequel (May 7).

“Toy Story 3”: Don’t we all have a soft spot for Buzz, Woody and the other residents of the toy chest? Pixar hasn’t messed up yet (June 18).

“Knight & Day”: Fugitive couple Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz race around the globe in this action/comedy from James Mangold. The trailer is intriguing, at least (July 2).

“Salt”: A veteran CIA agent (Angelina Jolie) goes on the run when a defector accuses her of being a double agent. This stuff usually leaves me cold, but I’m intrigued that Phillip Noyce (“Rabbit Proof Fence”) is behind the camera (July 23).

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I”: The final HP book is arriving as two films . It’s the beginning of the end for a great movie series (Nov. 19).

—Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star