My Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies for the Remainder of 2012

For the past few days my blog has consisted of a preview for the biggest movies coming out for the remainder of 2012. As a little bonus, here are my Top 10 most anticipated movies for the remainder of the year. For the record, this will not include any re-releases like Finding Nemo or Monster's Inc because that would just be cheating. So here we go.

10. The Impossible

The only film on this list which will start as a limited release. The recent trailer for this film was really nice, and there are some really beautiful shots throughout it. It probably will be rather hard to watch because of the event it's based around, but it looks like it's shaping up to be a nice heartwarming tale of a family's survival in a tragic event. Also, I'm a huge fan of both Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor.

9. The Silver Linings Playbook

This looks like it's going to be a nice little comedy, with a great cast including Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro (who gets many of the best lines in the trailer).

8. Taken 2

 

No matter how you look at it, the first Taken is just one of those movies where you ignore the rather simple plot. It was just a kick-ass movie,and it looks like the sequel will be just as awesome. I've been hearing rumors that the sequel will not really be focusing on Neeson and more on Grace, but if they do give enough for Neeson to do, then we'll be all fine.

7. Django Unchained

 

Quentin Tarantino behind the camera, and a top of the line cast including Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson? Sign me up.

6. Dredd

 

This movie looks sick. I never saw the original with Sylvester Stallone but so far it looks like this will be far better. It also seems like the filmmakers were smart in using slow-motion here, not the way guys like Zack Synder do it all the time.

5. Looper

 

The trailers for this film are really impressive and you can't go wrong with a cast that includes Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt, can you? Like with Dredd, it's also getting rave reviews by critics.

4. Wreck-It-Ralph

This blog may be all about movies, but I've always been a big gamer as well. So a film like this with cameos from many gaming icons is right up my alley.

3. Argo

For the record, this seems much different from Affleck's last two directorial efforts, but it's nice to see Affleck doing something new outside of dark and gritty dramas. Really, the only problem Affleck faces is that unless you don't know anything about the event this film is based off of, then you know how it's going to end. But even still, this is looking to be a really entertaining film, and has a great cast.

2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

 

Why wouldn't this be on anyone's list for not only the most anticipated movies for the end of the year, but for this in general? A prequel to one of the greatest trilogies in the history of film, helmed by the same man who brought us that trilogy? Yes, I do believe that once Peter Jackson was confirmed as director for this film, we all got very excited. He knows this universe, and can certainly do it justice. But why is this only number two, you ask? Well, there's one movie I'm looking forward to more than this.

1. Skyfall

 

It's James Bond, and after a admittedly rather disappointing follow-up to Casino Royale in 'Quantum of Solace', this looks to get the franchise back on the right track. Sam Mendes is an interesting choice for director, and it's looking like Javier Bardem's going to be a great villain for Bond to face. Pair that with one of the best Bonds ever in Daniel Craig and you got yourselves a winner here. Both trailers for this film excite me every time I see them.

So that's my Top 10 most anticipated films of the year. How about you?

2012 End of Year Preview: Part 1 (September)

We've had quite a year so far when it comes to movies. We've had three exceptional superhero flicks, some very funny comedies, and the birth of the next big book-adapted franchise after Harry Potter. But 2012 is not over yet and now Oscar season will begin, where the films that weren't big enough for the summer come out. However, it's these films that will the top dogs competing for Oscar nominations come February 2013, including the latest pics from directors like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg. Of course, there are still some movies that will no doubt please mass audiences, from the latest James Bond flick to the prequel to Lord of the Rings. Now it's time to take a look at some of these upcoming flicks, month by month.

SEPTEMBER



*If for some reason you're a fan of the Resident Evil film franchise, then you're probably waiting for the next entry in the series, Resident Evil: Retribution on the 14^th. Now the reason I say 'if' is because, to be fair, while the Resident Evil franchise has performed pretty decent at the box office, it has received the typical reaction from both critics and audiences that most video-game based movies get. How will this new one fare with a returning cast of characters from all throughout the previous films?

*If you're not into Resident Evil or more importantly if you have kids, then they'll probably want to see Pixar's classic 'Finding Nemo', which returns to theaters in 3-D the same weekend. What can be said about this flick that hasn't been said already? It is easily one of the finest animated films ever made with a really touching father-son story and some of the best animation Pixar has ever done. Finding Nemo is the latest film this year to be re-released in 3-D, following in the footsteps of Star Wars Episode I, Beauty and the Beast, and Titanic. It will be the first of two Pixar movies to be re-released this year in 3-D (more on the other one in the December preview).

*That's not the only major re-release this month though. That other classic film is director Steven Spielberg's 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', the first in the Indiana Jones series which will hit IMAX theaters for a special one-week engagement starting on the 7^th. This comes in conjuction with the upcoming Blu-Ray release of the film, and the process to convert the film to the IMAX format was supervised by none other than Spielberg himself.

*The weekend of September 21 is certainly going to be busy, with one of the most crowded group of wide-releases. The first is Dredd 3D, a new adaptation of the comic book series 'Judge Dredd'. It follows in the footsteps of a previous adaptation in 1995 starring Sylvester Stallone. However, this version was both a critical failure and a commerical disappointment. This new version stars Karl Urban (Star Trek) in the lead role of Judge Dredd and so far has received well by critics. At the time this is being written, Dredd holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

*Meanwhile, the next big release of the week is 'House at the End of the Street', a PG-13 rated horror film. Now, usually PG-13 horror films aren't really that good, but this flick might attract some big numbers at the box office as it stars none other than Katniss Everdeen herself, Jennifer Lawrence. But for the record, this was filmed before 'The Hunger Games' so this might just be the studio trying to bank on the success of its female lead.

*Finally, we have the main sports film of the year, Trouble With The Curve, a drama about an aging baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves who is given a last chance to prove his worth the organization. Why is this film worth bringing up? Because the lead is none other than Clint Eastwood, in his first major starring role since 2008's Gran Torino. This movie also has a solid supporting cast including Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, and John Goodman.

*For the September 28^th weekend, Sony Entertainment has two films competing for the number one spot. One is a animated family flick, Hotel Transylvania. The plot follows Dracula, the owner of a monster hotel who tries to defend his daughter from falling in love with a human who stumbles upon the place. The voice cast includes Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, and Selina Gomez. Now, I'm probably sure many of you already wrote this film off because of Sandler, but you might be pleased to know that this isn't from his studio Happy Madison. Instead, it's from the mind of cartoon legend Genndy Tartakovsky, who created cartoon classics such as Samurai Jack and Dexter's Lab.

*If you're looking for a more mature flick that weekend, look for Looper, a sci-fi flick from director Rian Johnson. In the lead role is 'Robin' from The Dark Knight Rises, Joseph Gordon Levitt who also starred in Johnson's previous two flicks, Brick and The Brothers Bloom. He also co-stars with Bruce Willis, who plays an older version of Levitt's character, who is an assassin for a criminal organization in the future who hires people like Levitt to get rid of their enemies by sending them back to Levitt's time. However, Levitt's character is faced with conflict when one of his targets is none other than his future self.

LIMITED RELEASES

Of course, there are also a few 'Oscar potential' flicks that will first hit theaters through limited releases. There's two worth noting for September.

*The first is 'The Master', the latest from director Paul Thomas Anderson. Joaquin Phoenix (in notably his first major acting role since his supposed retirement) plays a drifter who meets the charismatic leader of a new religious based organization in the post WWII era, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Expect this film to be released on the 14^th.



*The other major limited released flick is 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower', based off of the hit book of the same name by Stephen Chbosky, which was published in 1999. The film will be directed by Chbosky himself, and star Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Erza Miller in the lead roles. It hits theaters on the 21^st.

There are a few other releases this month, but these were the main ones I felt were worth talking about. Stay tuned for the next entry in this 4-part look into the rest of the year's films, where we look at the month of October with the sequel to one of Liam Neeson's biggest hits, the next Ben Affleck helmed flick, and the latest entry in a popular horror franchise.