Last week was a year-end review of movies from 2011. I figured the best way to follow that up was with a look at the coming year. I’m allowing myself fifteen instead of the usual ten on a list like this, because I don’t know how to narrow the list more than that. I’ve been staring at it forever now, and I can’t whittle it down any more than this.
Top 15 Most Anticipated Movies
- Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Releases: June 22
Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Dominic Cooper
- I haven’t read the book on which this is based, but I’m definitely looking forward to the movie. I’ll probably watch first, read second. If you do it the other way around, you usually wind up disappointed.
- Amazing Spider-Man
Releases: July 3
Directed by: Marc Webb
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone
- The most recent attempt at making a Spider-Man franchise didn’t go over so well with fan boys, and by the last installment, it wasn’t going over with much of anyone else. I can’t understand why you would make Spider-Man dance! I feel like this one, because of that failure, will get the treatment it deserves.
- Marvel's: The Avengers
Releases: May 4
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: EVERYONE
- I don’t really know that I need to type anything for this one. If you’ve read any of the posts from this blog, you know how big I am on casting. All of the choices for casting in the Marvel films have been excellent, and now we’ll just be seeing them all together. Add to that fact that Joss Whedon is writing and directing…well…enough said.
- Cabin in the Woods
Releases: April 13
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Starring: Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Chris Hemsworth
- This list is in alphabetical order; so, it’s funny that two Whedon films appear back to back. He’s a writer on this one was well. The previews make it look like your run-of-the-mill slasher flick at first, but I’m pretty sure with Whedon helming it, there is more to the story as the trailer suggest as it goes along.
- Chronicle
Releases: February 3
Directed by: Josh Trank
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Alex Russell
- Three high school kids are given powers from some source they find in a cave. It sounds kind of dull, but the trailers make it look good. It wouldn’t be the first time a crappy movie looks good in the trailers but sucks in actuality. I’m really interested to see how this one plays out.
- Dark Knight Rises
Releases: June 20
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Josepth Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman
- I’m not sure that I need to say anything here either. The first two films in Nolan’s Batman trilogy were spectacular, and I think everyone is counting on the final film to be excellent as well. I can’t see him letting us down now.
- Divide
Releases: January 13
Directed by: Xavier Gens
Starring: Lauren German, Jennifer Blanc, Michael Biehn
- This one goes back to my infatuation with post-apocalyptic films. This one really deals with the survival aspect for which I’m always looking. Nuclear blast survivors are trapped in the basement of their apartment building to try and survive amongst one another. People get crazy really quickly in that type of scenario.
- Grey
Releases: January 27
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo
- People keep commenting about the wolves in this movie. They think it’s going to be hokey. What would you expect to have to put up with if you’re plane crashed in the frozen wilderness? It would definitely be a boring movie if we were just going to watch the survivors freeze to death. I’m really excited to see how this is.
- Hunger Games
Releases: March 23
Directed by: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
- I don’t know a lot about the book series on which this was based, but it reminds me a lot of Battle Royale. I only made it twenty pages or so into the book, because I couldn’t concentrate on the story due to the overly difficult Japanese names I kept trying to unsuccessfully pronounce. I did watch the movie, though. I think this is really kind of an Americanized version of that.
- Intruders
Releases: February 3
Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Starring: Clive Owen
- This film has already been released in the
- MIB III
Releases: May 25
Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin
- I know I’m going to get flack from some people about this one, but I don’t care. I like every movie I’ve ever seen with which Will Smith was ever associated. Yes, even Wild, Wild West. So, I’m interested to see how this one comes together. Also, I think Brolin as a young Tommy Lee Jones is brilliant. He looks like it could really be a young Jones.
- Red Dawn
Releases: November 2
Directed by: Dan Bradley
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas, Josh Hutcherson
- I’d like to stress again that this isn’t a list of movies I expect are going to be awesome, just ones I hope will be good. I’m anticipating the possibility of good movies. I wanted to mention that again before this and the next film on the list. I love the concept of the original film; the story is good. The original fell flat in a couple of places that I’m hoping the remake will succeed.
- Total Recall
Releases: August 3
Directed by: Len Wiseman
Starring: Colin Farrell, Bokeem Woodbine, Bryan Cranston
- The Schwanegger original was based off the same Phillip K. Dick story they’ll be using for this remake. I’m not a fan of Farrell; honestly, I don’t like him much at all. I’m still willing to give it a chance. This is one of those movies that had potential and wasn’t awful, but it could’ve been much, much better.
- Woman in Black
Releases: February 3
Directed by: James Watkins
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe
- I’m excited to see a grown up Radcliffe in a roll other than Harry Potter. I’m afraid that he’s going to get stuck in the same pitfall in which we find people that play Superman – there’s a whole
- World War Z
Releases: December 13
Directed by: Marc Forster
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, David Morse
- Here’s another one that is based off a book I really want to read but haven’t gotten around to, yet. I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy this one soon and go ahead and read it before the movie. I’m playing what is usually a losing hand by doing that, but I’m OK with this one for some reason. I think Pitt could do some really interesting things with the film. He is the one that purchased the rights to make the movie from the book if I’m not mistaken.
Movies That Peaked My Interest
These films have had very little publicity or information released about them at this point, but with just a title or short synopsis, they’ve grabbed my attention, OR they look like they might be worth a watch but don’t make the cut for my most anticipated. I’ll tell you which it is, and we’ll see what happens.
- Dorothy of Oz
Releases: August 3
Directed by: Will Finn, Dan St. Pierre
Starring: Lea Michele, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Dancy
Directed by: Will Finn, Dan St. Pierre
Starring: Lea Michele, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Dancy
· I haven’t ever read Baum’s original stories, but I know that they are somewhat darker than the film adaptation starring Judy Garland. From what I’ve read and heard, they have a feel that is more similar to the sequel: Return to Oz. This is going to be CGI, but the voice talents attached to the film are pretty impressive. Names like Dan Aykroyd, Patrick Stewart, Kelsey Grammar, Martin Short, and Oliver Platt are all providing their voices. This is a family film, so, I won’t be holding out for the darker tone, but it still interests me. This is actually the story of Dorothy’s return to Oz to help her friends there. Another thing that intrigues me are the directors attached to the project. The two in charge here were also part of The Lion King, Beauty & the Beast, Pocahontas and other great Disney titles from my youth.
- Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Releases: April 20
Directed by: Lorene Scafaria
Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley
· This one only grabs part of my attention. Carell plays a man whose wife leaves him during the last days of our planet’s existence. It’s a different idea for an end of the world story when he goes off to find his high school sweetheart, looking for someone special with whom to spend the last days. I’m probably just going to be disappointed, but I do often like Carell’s work.
- Ted
Releases: July 13
Directed by: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane
· MacFarlane’s name was what initially caught my attention. Apparently, this is about a guy whose teddy bear comes to life as the result of a childhood wish. I don’t care what it’s about, honestly. It’ll probably be funny. Also, Giovanni Ribisi is on the cast list as well. He’s one of my favorite, underrated, lesser known actors.
Releases: September 28
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt
· As far as plot goes, think something along the lines of Time Cop. Now, take Van Damme out of the movie, make it better, with a bigger budget and scramble it up with Minority Report. Hopefully, that’s something similar to what we’ll get out of this one. Apparently, it’s the future, and we have acquired the ability to time travel. The mob has found a way to use this for assassinations, and the government is using it to kill some of the worst villains in history…or something like that. Remember, info on these titles is somewhat limited and conflicting to some extent.
- Premium Rush
Releases: August 24
Directed by: David Koepp
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon
· Koepp has written the story and/or screenplay to some awesome movies. He’s been involved with Jurassic Park
Releases: April 27
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt
· Stoller and Segel have collaborated in the past, most recently on The Muppets and most successfully (in my opinion) on Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I’m a big fan of Segel’s work, particularly How I Met Your Mother and I Love You, Man. I’m really hoping for another homerun here like that. It’s a long shot, and this may be just another romantic comedy, but with these two on board, I kind of doubt it.
- Rise of the Guardians
Releases: November 21
Directed by: Peter Ramsey, William Joyce
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jude Law, Chris Pine, Islas Fisher, Alec Baldwin
· Here’s another animated release where I’m strongly influenced by the voice talents. Also, this is similar in some ways to a story I’m working on with a friend of mine. The movie is basically about legendary characters with which we are all familiar banding together to stop the Bogeyman. Of course, the story I’m working on is way darker than what you’ll see here I’m sure. I’m still intrigued.
- Safe House
Releases: February 10
Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds
· You can sit there and tell me all day long how Washington Washington Washington
- Taken 2
Releases: October 5
Directed by: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace
· Simple: If you’ve seen the first in this series, you’ll know why I’m excited for this movie. If you haven’t seen it, watch it!
- This is Forty
· As Apatow has gotten older, we’ve seen his movies mature with him. This is the only logical next step. Here we see Pete (Rudd) and Debbie (Mann) – two of the side characters from Knocked Up – a few years after the events of the previous film. Apatow always makes me laugh, and we’re sure to see several of the usual crew in the film.
Finally, these are my guilty pleasures. These are movies that I expect won’t be great films, but I might just enjoy them anyway. I find that a lot of people, most people, come up with reasons they’re not going to like something before they really know anything about it. I’m cool with a mindless movie, as long as it serves its purpose. These probably won’t be theater watches for me; I’ll hold out for DVD.
· American Reunion – It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the original cast of the American Pie series together, and I personally think we’ll see some slightly more mature comedy here. This one is my “comeback” hopeful.
· Expendables 2 – I was very leery of the first in this franchise, but Stallone did exactly what he should have: he made a “super group” action movie. He’s adding some more of Hollywood
· Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
· Project X – A high school teen throws a huge party while his parents are out of town in order to get the attention of the school’s social elite. This sounds pretty generic, but the previews make it look a little different than the typical movie of its kind. This one we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m hoping it turns out to be a cool mindless comedy romp.
· Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D/Halloween 3D – I know a lot of people are tired of seeing the same slasher movies remade and updated over and over again, but that’s one of the staples of the genre. I’m excited to see any of the standards get their 15th sequel. I’m not a big fan of them being in 3D, but I’ll take what I can get.
Biggest WTF Upcoming Releases
This kind of speaks for itself, but just to explain, these are movies I can’t believe or understand why they’re being released.
Before I go into specifics, there are two groups of films I can’t understand:
- All Rereleases in 3D – I get that people want to experience their childhood over again. Personally, I would probably go see Aladdin if they eventually release it in 3D, but Disney is raking in huge money rereleasing all of their biggest films in 3D. These are movies that have paid for themselves ten times over probably. Now, they have a new way to make a few dollars more off an old idea. At least the Disney films are introducing a new generation to a set of great, hand-drawn classics. On the other hand, Titanic in 3D! Come on James! Haven’t you made enough money and earned enough awards off this one already?
- Any Movie that Starts Nick Cage – OK, let’s start with Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Of all the movies in the history of cinema, Ghost Rider is at the top of my “movies that don’t need a sequel list”. It was just so awful. It’s right behind Jonah Hex on the “worst comic movies of recent years” list. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve seen previews for other films he has coming out. I don’t remember any of the titles, but I know they looked…well, just awful. Why is this man still allowed to make movies? See the video below for a good related laugh.
Now, the list…
- Battleship
Releases: May 18
Directed by: Peter Berg
Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson
· Recently, one of Hollywood
- Dark Shadows
Releases: May 11
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green
· Have we not giving Tim Burton enough room in Hollywood to show is love affair with his man crush Johnny Depp and promote his wife’s acting career, a woman whose only other convincing role was a somewhat minor part as a witch in the Harry Potter franchise – and that was only because she so looks the part. Now, we’re allowing him to resurrect a story line from an old TV soap opera (of the same name as the film) to put his usual cast of characters to work again. I’m sure that we can look for Mr. Elfman to score the movie as usual. Why is this man so intent on being so…whatever…
- Dictator
Releases: May 11
Directed by: Larry Charles
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, John C. Reilly
· I’ll be one of the first to admit that Borat was actually pretty funny if you could stomach it. I was dragged to the theater by a friend to see Bruno. It was beyond the line of anything I could stand. Now, we’re letting Cohen make another of his ridiculous shock flicks. This one appears to be a bit more tame than the last two in the previews I’ve seen, but still, are we really doing this again?
- G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Releases: June 29
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Ray Park
· I watched the first Joe movie. I didn’t like it, and the science behind it (is ice really going to sink?) is idiotic. I can’t believe they’re giving someone money to release another one. I’m all up for resurrecting things from the past. I thought the last Transformers movie was awesome, and I’m still holding out for another live action Ninja Turtles movie. I stand firm that they should only do this when they’re sure they won’t ruin my childhood.
- Iron Sky
Releases: April 4
Directed by: Timo Vuorensola
Starring: Julia Dietze, Christopher Kirby, Gotz Otto
· This one would definitely win in the most original plot idea contest. Here’s what IMDB has as a synopsis: The Nazis set up a secret base on the moon in 1945 where they hide out and plan to return to power in 2018. First off, it’s one thing to dream of the possibilities of future technology. It’s a completely different thing for us to go back in time and imagine that the Nazis managed to make it to the moon before the US or Russia
- Paranormal Activity 4
Releases: October 19
Directed by: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Starring: Unannounced
· I’ve enjoyed this series a lot so far. They’re actually some of the few movies to give me the creeps in a long time. The second one was a little over produced, especially after what the filmmaker accomplished on an incredibly low budget with the first one. The third one was interesting going back in time to see the two sisters growing up with the same problems. There is no telling where this one will go since nothing has been announced, yet. I’m hoping maybe it will get cancelled, because I feel like they’re going to run this one into the ground.
- Raven
Releases: March 9
Directed by: James McTeigue
Starring: John Cusack, Alice Eve, Luke Evans
· I like Cusack in certain roles. This doesn’t seem like it’s going to be one of them. This movie seems like something that’s just another murder mystery, but the writers wove just enough Poe lore into it to capture his audience. It’s a stretch of the imagination. I don’t know that it is or isn’t, but I can’t imagine this being based off any sort of real events. This is probably the most tolerable film on this WTF Releases list, but still.
- Resident Evil: Retribution
Releases: September 14
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez
· I can’t begin to describe how big of a RE fan I am. I like the games, a lot. The first movie was good, but as an RE fan, it was also somewhat disappointing. It wasn’t until about a year ago that it became even more disappointing after I read the novelization of the first game (The Umbrella Conspiracy) by S.D. Perry. That would’ve been a great adapted screenplay. The next few films moved us a little closer to the plot of the games, but now the continuity and back story are so far removed, it matters little. My real question for this movie: are we done, yet?
- Safe/Parker
Releases: April 27/October 12
Directed by: Does It Matter?
Starring: Jason Statham
· Statham almost got his own bullet point similar to that of the Nick Cage one above. He’s getting to the point where everything is the same. I enjoyed the Transporter films, but every movie since them has been about the same. Watch Statham shoot a gun! Watch Statham drive a car! Watch Statham shoot a gun while he drives a car! There’s a very interesting article out there on the internet about how he came into the acting business…completely by accident.
- Three Stooges
Releases: April 13
Directed by: Farrelly Brothers
Starring: Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos, Will Sasso
· This is the bottom of the Hollywood barrel. Who in their right mind green lighted this film? This is one of the worst things I’ve seen in previews in a long time. I think I would rather sit though the entire Nick Cage catalog than watch this movie. This is a brand of comedy that was funny in its time, but that time happened long ago. How is this supposed to translate to today’s audience? I doubt that it will. I predict this to be in theaters a few weeks (if that) and then be on DVD shelves very briefly after that short theatrical run. What is wrong with people? Also, why are they making a 21 Jump Street movie?
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