It's fun to watch movies, of course. But increasingly I take just as much pleasure from anticipating movies.

I can spend weeks eagerly rolling the various elements around in my head - the subject matter, the source material, the names involved - envisioning what the actual experience will be like.

The downside, of course, is that more often than not the finished film never matches the excellence I imagined.

No matter. The whole process is part of the pleasure in being a movie fan.

The following films have just one thing in common: They make my pulse race. They sound like fun (fun being anything from pure escapism to deep philosophical inquiry).

I'll apologize in advance for not including on this list obvious audience pleasers like "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1," "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," "Paranormal Activity 2," "Red," "Megamind," "Tron: Legacy" and, of course, "Little Fockers." Some of them might be really good. It's just that at this point I can take 'em or leave 'em.

The following, on the other hand, are the movies I'm really looking forward to. (Opening dates are subject to change.)

"The Town"

Ben Affleck's directing debut with "Gone Baby Gone" was solid enough to get my juices flowing for his sophomore effort, also set in his hometown of Boston.

Affleck plays a member of a bank-robbing gang who takes a romantic interest in a bank teller (Rebecca Hall) who was their victim and may be able to finger the hoodlums to a nosy fed ("Mad Men's" Jon Hamm).

The cast reportedly is full of real-life Boston ex-cons. Also look for "The Hurt Locker's" Jeremy Renner.

Mostly, though, I'm interested in seeing if Affleck can deliver a crime drama with subtext.

Opens Sept. 17.

"Let Me In"

Pooh-poohing American remakes of great foreign films is practically obligatory (I've already got the heebie-jeebies about the U.S. remake of the "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo").

Yet I'm cautiously buzzed about seeing how the Swedish vampire film "Let the Right One In" makes the transformation to high-altitude New Mexico in winter (a nice alternative to snowbound Scandinavia). The plot: A withdrawn, antisocial middle-school boy befriends the new kid next door - a girl who comes out only at night.

The Swedish original was so good that almost nobody believes this one could match it. Yet the casting is just about impeccable. As the boy we have Kodi Smit-McPhee, so terrific as Viggo Mortensen's son in the end-of-the-world downer "The Road." Our little vampiress is Chloe Grace Moretz, the potty-mouthed, pint-sized vigilante from "Kick-Ass."

Bonus points: the great Richard Jenkins ("The Visitor," "Eat Pray Love") as the girl's "father."

Directed by "Cloverfield's" Matt Reeves.

Opens Oct. 1.

"Buried"

It's not so much high concept as subterranean concept: A civilian truck driver in Iraq (Ryan Reynolds) is captured by insurgents and finds himself buried alive.

Rodrigo Cortes' film is set entirely in a wooden box as the panicked captive uses his cell phone to effect a rescue before the air runs out.

It may sound too claustrophobic and limited to be particularly enjoyable, yet audiences at Sundance last January went ape for this intense little thriller.

Goes into wide release Oct. 8.

"Hereafter"

"Mystic River." "Million Dollar Baby." "Flags of Our Fathers." "Letters From Iwo Jima." "Changeling." "Gran Torino." "Invictus."

Over the last decade Clint Eastwood has had a record of artistic and commercial hits unmatched by any other director. So you've got to get pumped about this one.

He explores tragedy and mortality in three entwined plots: A San Francisco psychic (Matt Damon) finds that his ability to talk to the dead is ruining all his relationships. A French TV newswoman (Cecile de France) is changed after she almost dies in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. English siblings (newcomers Frankie and George McLaren) see their world shaken by the 2005 London subway bombings.

The original screenplay is by Peter Morgan, who earned his stripes with "The Queen" and "Frost/Nixon."

What's not to like?

Opens Oct. 22.

"Burlesque"

I can't tell if this one is going to be "Chicago" or "Coyote Ugly"/ "Showgirls."

Nevertheless, the concept for this musical got my attention: Cher plays the proprietor of an L.A. club specializing in the "new burlesque." She's the tough mother hen to a flock of young women performers whose lives collide with varying degrees of untidiness.

The supporting cast has possibilities - Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci, Eric Dane, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher and pop superstar Christina Aguilera in her big-screen acting debut.

The wild card here is director Steven Antin, a former actor with little track record behind the camera. Still, the voyeur in me wants to see this one.

Opens Nov. 24.

"The Tempest"

Visionary director Julie Taymor (Broadway's "The Lion King," the Frida Kahlo biopic "Frida" and the Beatles fantasia "Across the Universe") gives us Shakespeare's great magical romance with a few new twists.

For example, the wizard Prospero is now a woman (Helen Mirren). And there aren't any slouches among the rest of the cast: Alfred Molina, Chris Cooper, David Strathairn, Russell Brand, Djimon Hounsou, Alan Cumming.

And, of course, there's Taymor's astounding visual imagination, which should make this "Tempest" as easy on the eye as on the ear.

Limited release Dec. 10.

"How Do You Know"

James L. Brooks can be great ("Terms of Endearment,"

"Broadcast News," "As Good as It Gets") or gosh-awful ("Spanglish").

I'm betting we'll see the former when this romantic comedy opens for the Christmas crunch.

The premise: A guy and a girl meet for a blind date on the worst day of each their lives.

Paul Rudd is a businessman about to be indicted for his creative finances; Reese Witherspoon is a professional athlete just cut by her softball team.

Jack Nicholson plays his father; Owen Wilson is her fiance.

Opens Dec. 17.

"True Grit"

Based on the same book that gave John Wayne his only Oscar-winning role, this Western stars Jeff Bridges (himself a recent Academy Award winner for "Crazy Heart") as crusty one-eyed lawman Rooster Cogburn. He's hired by a 14-year-old girl (Hailee Steinfeld ) to track down the drifter/murderer who killed her father and stole his money .

Normally I'd approach this project with caution ... except that it has been written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Meaning: It will undoubtedly have very little in common with the original 1969 film.

Another reason for hope: Matt Damon as a Texas Ranger, who tags along on the journey (a role originally played - and not well - by singer Glen Campbell).

Opens Dec. 25.

"Blue Valentine"

Its credentials may be low-budget indie, but its scope is hugely ambitious.

Derek Cianfrance's film, a buzzer at Sundance, follows the ups and downs of a love affair over six years.

Our couple are independent icons Ryan Gosling ("Lars and the Real Girl," "Half Nelson") and Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain," "Wendy and Lucy").

I'm hoping for something with the emotional clout of Richard Linklater's one-two whammy, "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset."

Opens Dec. 31.