As 2012 comes to a close, it's time to
look ahead to next year's batch of movies. 2012 was easily one of the
best years for movies ever, so it will be interesting to see what's
to come next for 2013. So, here are my Top 10 Most Anticipated films
of 2013.
I'm starting this list off with the
sole animated feature on this list, the latest from Pixar and the
prequel to 2001's 'Monsters' Inc'. Now of course, Pixar hasn't really
been on that good of a run lately after their first non-Toy Story
sequel 'Cars 2' was a critical flop and their most recent film
'Brave' received a similar mixed reception. Who knows? This might end
up the same way too. But, I feel like it could still work. John
Goodman and Billy Crystal are back as Sulley and Mike, and I'm
interested to see how they are going to handle the whole 'college'
situation through the eyes of monsters.
9. THE WORLD'S END
One of two comedies on this list, 'The
World's End' is the third in a trilogy of films from director Edgar
Wright starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost known as 'the Three
Flavours Cornetto Trilogy'. Of course, this is following in the
footsteps of two of the best comedies in recent years, 2004's 'Shaun
of the Dead' and 2007's 'Hot Fuzz'. What made both of those comedies
work so well is that they were more than just comedies. 'Shaun of the
Dead' was also a zombie film and a romance, while 'Hot Fuzz' was also
an action movie. Who wouldn't be looking forward to this trio's
latest film?
8. THE GREAT GATSBY
Now this film was originally supposed
to be released this year (today, in fact, December 25th), but was moved to 2013 because it
conflicted with star Leonardo DiCaprio's other film, 'Django
Unchained'. For me, this new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's
classic novel of the same comes out after I recently read the book at
school and I do remember I did like it. Before any trailers even came
out for this film, I was a little worried when considering director
Baz Luhrmann's other adaptation of a classic story, 'Romeo and
Juliet'. The end result was a modern adaptation of the story that
still retained the original Shakespearean dialogue, basically an
uneven mix. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be the case here and
with a cast that includes DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan,
and Joel Edgerton, I'm certainly sold.
7. ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES
The other comedy on this list is the
long-awaited sequel to 2004's 'Anchorman', one of the funniest
comedies ever made largely due in part to the performances of Will
Ferrell as anchorman Ron Burgundy of Channel 4 News in San Diego
along with the fellow members of the Channel 4 News Team. While there
hasn't been much revealed about the plot yet, this is a comedy that I
will not be missing. 'Great Odin's Raven!'
6. THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
So with one Hobbit film out of the way,
it's time to look ahead to the second, 'The Desolation of Smaug'.
This was originally supposed to be titled 'There and Back Again' when
this was supposed to be the final Hobbit film, but of course this is
now the second and 'There and Back Again' will hit theaters in 2014.
I am a little worried that there might not be enough material that
would warrant a sequel because of how small Tolkien's original novel
was compared to 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. Really though, I am
just hoping that this one fixes the pacing issue from the first one
and that it won't feel like the 'Extended Version' like 'An
Unexpected Journey' felt like.
5. THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE
With Harry Potter and Twilight out of
the way now, 'The Hunger Games' has the 'book series adapted to
movie' market all to itself with the release of 'Catching Fire'. Like
those other franchises, this new film will also see a change in
director from Gary Ross to Francis Lawrence ('I Am Legend'), who will
also be directing the two part adaptation of 'Mockingjay' (therefore
Lawrence becomes the 'David Yates' of the Hunger Games franchise).
I'm just hoping that Lawrence will fix the editing and camerawork
problems from the last movie. But still, with a cast of newcomers
that include Phillip Seymour Hoffman, I can't wait for this new film.
4. MAN OF STEEL
This has been a project that I have
been rather worried about, and not because it's DC's second attempt
at rebooting the Superman franchise following 'Superman Returns' in
2006. For me, it was more because of who is directing it; Zack
Synder. While '300' was a terrific movie and 'Watchmen' was mildly
entertaining, nothing can excuse Synder's 2011 'Sucker Punch', which
was my pick for the worst film of 2011. The only saving grace for me
was that Christopher Nolan was producing it and that Synder wasn't
part of the writing team behind it (that honor belonged to Nolan and
David S. Goyer, a much better choice). But I have to say, the
trailers for this film (and that does include the Comic-Con footage,
which I did manage to find a good version of here on the Internet)
have blown me away. Why? Well, because it doesn't even look like a
Synder movie. It feels more like Nolan's 'Batman' movies. I don't
know if that will necessarily work for the Man of Steel, but it has
certainly doesn't have me worried as much as I was after seeing
Sucker Punch.
3. THOR: THE DARK WORLD
And now we get to the first Marvel
movies that come out in the wake of 'The Avengers'. While it may not
be the first one out of the gate, I am very much looking forward to
'Thor: The Dark World', the sequel to one of my personal favorite
'Pre-Avenger' movies, 2011's 'Thor'. I really loved that movie, not
just because it was the first great movie in a rather weak year for
movies, but because of how director Kenneth Branagh brought a
character like Thor to the big screen with such class so that the end
result would not be too cheesy. Not only that, but lead Chris
Hemsworth proved his star/charm power as Thor. Branagh isn't back for
the sequel, but a director who had previously helmed episodes of
HBO's 'Game of Thrones' is a pretty good trade.
2. IRON MAN 3
But of course, who isn't excited about
Marvel's first 'Post-Avenger' movie, Iron Man 3, especially
considering that the Iron Man movies have pretty much become the key
jewel of Marvel Studios if you think about it. I'm intrigued to see
what new director Shane Black, famous for writing 'Lethal Weapon' and
directing the cult hit 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' (also starring Robert
Downey Jr.), will bring to this new Iron Man film. From what has been
shown so far from the trailers, it looks like Black is taking the
franchise in a new darker direction. Let's just hope he doesn't get
rid of the humor, a key aspect of both Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal
of Stark and the character itself.
So what film am I looking forward to
more than 'Iron Man 3' and 'Thor 2'? That movie, my friends, is...
1. STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
It's all thanks to director J.J.
Abrams' 2009 reboot, which got me hooked on the Star Trek franchise.
What made the 2009 film so great is that it appealed to both
newcomers to the franchise (like I was at the time) and the already
established fans of the franchise. Not only that, but the cast did a
phenomenal job and filled the shoes of legends like William Shatner
and Leonard Nimoy (the latter making a well-handled cameo appearance
in the film). I couldn't be anymore psyched for this new film, once
again helmed by Abrams (who is quickly becoming one of my favorite
directors following 2011's 'Super 8'). The big selling point this
time would have to be Benedict Cumberbatch as the main villain, who
I'm already betting will give Ricardo Montalbรกn's
Khan a run for his money as one of the best villains in franchise
history. Heck, who knows, maybe he actually is playing Khan. I can't
say I totally buy this 'John Harrison' name they recently gave him.
But then again, the movie doesn't come out for five more months so we'll just
have to wait and see.
And those are my ten most anticipated
films of 2013. I know I'm leaving out some other big name films so
what are some of your most anticipated films for the coming year?
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