(First of three parts)

LOS ANGELES, California — “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” “Watchmen.” “The Lovely Bones.” These are among the eagerly anticipated films of 2009.

Whatever happened to Yam Laranas’ “The Echo,” his US remake of his acclaimed Filipino thriller, “Sigaw”? The film had a nice momentum going, with good buzz buildup, and then its release date got stalled. What happened?

Yam explained to us via e-mail: “The movie got great reviews and several major film distributors expressed interest. Sad to say, though, that we’re also affected by the recession in the US that’s hitting Hollywood pretty hard, especially indie movies like ‘The Echo.’ It has become even harder now to raise the funds needed for promotions and advertising...”

We hope “The Echo” gets a 2009 release and that the horror fans’ enthusiasm for Yam’s film with Jesse Bradford, Jamie Bloch, Iza Calzado and Kevin Durand stays solid until opening day — whenever that is.

In the meantime, here’s a random list of some of the much-anticipated movies in this brand new year:

‘Harry Potter’

Fans were miffed when the release date of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was moved from November 2008 to July 17, 2009. This latest installment better be worth the extended wait. Trivia: We can’t wait to watch the great Ralph Fiennes’ nephew, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, in the role of the little Voldemort.

‘Watchmen’

“Watchmen” is another hotly anticipated film. Just based on the buzz on the Internet, this adaptation of Alan Moore and David Gibbons’ comic book will probably do boffo opening day business. Director Zack Snyder worked with screenplay writers David Hayter and Alex Tse (love that name) and a cast that includes Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson.

This is how Warner Bros. Pictures describes this action/sci-fi movie: “A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, the film 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 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?”

‘Transformers’

Will “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” be a monster hit just like the first one? DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures hope so. Michael Bay returns as director with his cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Benjamin Hickey, Ramon Rodriguez, Isabel Lucas and John Turturro.

‘Public Enemies’

“Public Enemies,” about legendary bank robber John Dillinger, may actually turn out to be the movie-going public’s favorite. How can you miss with Michael Mann at the helm, and with thespians like Johnny Depp (as Dillinger), Christian Bale, Billy Crudup (again), Channing Tatum, Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi, Leelee Sobieski and David Wenham?

‘Terminator’

One wouldn’t normally associate Christian Bale with Arnold Schwarzenegger but with the former starring in “Terminator Salvation,” the two actors share a link. Will Christian’s outing as a Terminator in post-apocalyptic 2018 mean another blockbuster franchise for him? It could all depend on his one-name director, McG (“Charlie’s Angels” movies, anyone?).

‘Wild Things’

We’ll finally see “Where the Wild Things Are,” Spike Jonze’s much-delayed adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic book. Fil-Am Maricel Pagulayan, who helped Brandon Routh’s Superman fly, is this adventure tale’s visual effects producer, the same challenge she had in Tom Cruise’s “Valkyrie.”

Also in the most anticipated films list are “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “Angels & Demons,” “Star Trek” and “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.”

‘Lovely Bones’

Fans of Alice Sebold’s acclaimed novel, “The Lovely Bones,” and director Peter Jackson will flock to see the film adaptation which stars Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Saoirse Ronan.

This is Peter’s first movie since “King Kong.” Once more, he collaborated on the screenplay with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

‘Bruno’

For those who can’t wait to see Sacha Baron Cohen again after his splashy roles in “Borat” and “Sweeney Todd,” there’s “Bruno” to look forward to. In disguise as a flamboyant Austrian fashion reporter, Sacha has been turning up — unexpectedly — at Milan ramp shows, wrestling matches, airports (dancing in short shorts!), and even anti-gay marriage rallies.

‘Drag Me to Hell’

“Spider-Man” director Sam Raimi returns to the horror genre with “Drag Me to Hell,” which features Alison Lohman, Justin Long and Fil-Am Reggie Lee. In a recent party, Sam shared the plot details of this supernatural thriller with us. “He’s a gentleman,” Sam said of Reggie, last seen as a guerrilla in “Tropic Thunder.”

‘The Informant’

There is no “Bourne” movie for Matt Damon this year but there’s also a lot of interest in his “The Informant,” director Steven Soderbergh’s take on the book by Kurt Eichenwald. This offbeat comedy, based on a true story, is about a rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland who suddenly turns whistle-blower.

‘Taking Woodstock’

We also couldn’t wait for “Taking Woodstock” by director Ang Lee. With his favorite collaborator James Schamus as his writer, Ang tells a 1969-set true story about a man, Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin), who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the famed happening it was. Based on the book by Elliot Tiber with Tom Monte, this will probably be the definite film about Woodstock.

Also in the cast: Imelda Staunton, Liev Schreiber, Henry Goodman, Jonathan Groff, Emile Hirsch, Eugene Levy, Paul Dano and Dan Fogler.

(To be continued tomorrow)

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com and read his blog, “The Nepales Report,” on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.