CINEMA in 2007 can certainly be heralded as the year of the trilogy.
Toby Maguire was back web-spinning in Spider-Man 3; the third instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise blew audiences out of the water; there was zombie fun in Resident Evil: Extinction; and Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker were up to old tricks in the culture-bending Rush Hour 3.

And if it wasn't a trilogy being finalised, it was a series continuing; with the almost annual ritual of another Harry Potter encounter, and a bald Bruce Willis reprising his role as the gun-toting John McClane in Die Hard 4.0.

Thrown in alongside a broad mix of original independent gems and big-budget jaw-droppers (Transformers for one) the sheer volume of movies brought in a record number of cinema viewers.

But while 2007 may have been full of film of varying quality, throughout the year audiences have been having their appetites whetted for things to come in 2008 like never before, through teaser trailers, suggestive posters and online forum banter for projects a year or more away.
Here are a few films to look out for this coming year...

This summer Christian Bale will again be teaming up with director Christopher Nolan to bring another chapter of the re-vamped Batman franchise to our screens in Dark Knight.
Heath Ledger's turn as the infamous Joker is already generating excitement and promises to be a far more savage nemesis than Jack Nicholson's original movie incarnation.

Comic book characters continue to dominate the year with Marvel's mechanical fighter Iron Man scheduled for a Spring release.
Robert Downey Jr brings bags of charm and wit to arms dealer Tony Stark who crafts a mechanical suit to fight crime after a life changing experience.

Directed by Jon Favreau - the man behind Zathura and Elf - it looks set to be one of the favourites amongst the other comic inspired flicks including a re-imagining of The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton taking the role of the green giant, and Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro returning with part two of the Hellboy series.

It isn't just graphic novels who are getting the big screen treatment, with plenty of TV show adaptations in the pipeline.
A new, as yet untitled X-Files movie is planned for an August release, and the popular children's cartoon Speed Racer is getting the live-action treatment by the Matrix's Wachowski brothers.

But the film getting all 18-50 year old women excited is Sex And The City: The Movie.
Written, produced and directed by Michael Patrick King, details are still being held close to the chest.
But it has been confirmed that the whole gang of openly promiscuous middle-aged man-eaters Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte will be back with a vengeance.

At the other end of the spectrum, chic is swapped for geek with the latest Star Trek film.
Helmed by Lost creator JJ Abrams, the film boldly looks at the early years of the smooth talking Captain Kirk and his crew (including a turn by Simon Pegg as the lovable engineer Scottie) and could prove to be a revitalising kick to the franchise.

Amidst the many quality indie and blockbuster movies scheduled for a 2008 release, the big film that generations of fans are looking forward to is seeing the famous hat and the whip return in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Slated for a May 22 release, early promo pics look promising as Harrison Ford returns with his son in tow played by latest Spielberg favourite Shia LaBeouf.

Featuring a cast including Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone, Cate Blanchett and Karen Allen reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood; inside whispers suggest a good old fashioned adventure flick that dribbles with nostalgia.

With all these and many more set for this New Year including another Harry Potter, Narnia's next chapter Prince Caspian, a possible fourth Jurrasic Park, and Johnny Depp singing his heart out in Sweeney Todd, be sure to keep checking the Pioneer to separate the cinematic gold from the celluloid garbage.