Here’s what has sparked my interest for the new year. Again, I am basing a lot of my picks on the people involved, familiarity, or an interesting plot description. Keep in mind that most these dates are flexible; three of the films on my list last year have been pushed into 2014 for some reason or other. Here they are, in release date order:
1. Labor Day (Jan.13) Director: Jason Reitman [Juno]
Interesting drama about an
escaped convict stays with a single mother.
2. The Lego Movie (Feb.7) Dir:
Phil Lord [Cloudy w/ Chance
of Meatballs]
All the Lego
characters in a funny adventure with Chris Pratt (Parks & Rec)
3. The Monuments Men (Feb.7) Dir:
George Clooney [Ides of March]
Clooney, Matt Damon &
Bill Murray try to save art from Nazi destruction
4. RoboCop (Feb.12) Dir:
Jose Padilha [newcomer]
This reboot with The Killing’s Joel Kinnaman should trump
the 1987 version.
5. 300: Rise of an Empire (Mar.7)
Dir: Noam Murro [newcomer]
Zack Snyder (300) produces a sequel with even more
abs.
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Mar.7)
Dir: Wes Anderson [Rushmore]
A classic Anderson picture
with a huge cast of whimsical characters.
7. Bad Words (Mar.14) Dir:
Jason Bateman [newcomer]
Bateman plays an adult in
a child spelling bee tournament. Could be funny.
8. Veronica Mars (Mar.14) Dir:
Rob Thomas [tv series]
The kickstarter film that
continues the great television series. Everyone’s in.
9. Divergent (Mar.21) Dir:
Neil Burger [Limitless]
This could be the next Hunger Games. We’ll have to wait and
see.
10. Muppets Most Wanted (Mar.21) Dir:
James Bobin [The Muppets]
More Muppet goodness with
the glorious Tina Fey & Ricky Gervais.
11. Noah (Mar.28) Dir:
Darren Aronofsky [Black Swan]
This Biblical story should
be more epic than Evan Almighty.
12. Captain America 2
(Apr.4) Dir: Russo Brothers [tv shows]
The first installment
surprised me, let’s see if they can continue to surprise.
13. The Amazing Spiderman 2 (May.2)
Dir: Marc Webb [Spiderman 1]
I’m worried that there may
be too many bad guys. When will they learn?
14. Neighbors (May.9) Dir:
Nicholas Stoller [Forgetting Sarah
Marshall]
Seth Rogen & Zac Efron
battle each other. Looks juvenile but funny.
15. X-Men: Days of Future Past (May.23)
Dir: Bryan Singer
An interesting concept of
mixing the original X-Men with the prequel.
16. Edge of Tomorrow (Jun.6) Dir:
Doug Liman [Bourne Identity]
Groundhog Day story of Tom Cruise, as a soldier, reliving the same battle.
17. Jersey Boys (Jun.20) Dir:
Clint Eastwood [Million Dollar Baby]
It’s weird that Dirty
Harry is directing this Four Season musical, but whatever.
18. Guardians of the Galaxy (Aug.1)
Dir: James Gunn [newcomer]
It’s another Marvel movie.
What could possibly by go wrong?
19. Expendables 3 (Aug.15) Dir:
Patrick Hughes [newcomer]
The first one was okay; I
liked the second one, will this be great?
20. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
(Aug.22) Dir: Robert Rodriguez
The first one was visually
amazing, let’s see if they can capture that again.
21. This is Where I Leave You (Sep.12)
Dir: Shawn Levy [Date
Night]
Tina Fey and Jason Bateman
are siblings who fight. Could be funny.
22. The Equalizer (Sep.26) Dir:
Antoine Fuqua [Training Day]
It’s Denzel Washington
kicking ass with his Training Day
director. Sure.
23. Gone Girl (Oct.3) Dir:
David Fincher [The Social Network]
A bestselling thriller
with Ben Affleck & NPH, directed by Fincher? I’m in.
24. Interstellar (Nov.7) Dir:
Christopher Nolan [Inception]
Something about space. I’ll
watch anything Nolan does. I’m in.
25. Dumb and Dumber To (Nov.14) Dir:
Farrelly Brothers
Lots of time has passed
but who knows, this could be funny.
26. Mockingjay, Part I (Nov.21) Dir:
Francis Lawrence [Catching Fire]
Danny Strong (The Butler) is writing this Hunger Games sequel. Awesome.
27. Horrible Bosses 2 (Nov.26) Dir:
Sean Anders [That’s My Boy]
I’m just hoping that this
does not follow the Hangover II
formula of recycling.
28. Exodus (Dec.12) Dir:
Ridley Scott [Gladiator]
Christian Bale is Moses.
Can Ridley Scott top The Ten Commandments?
29.
The Hobbit 3 (Dec.17) Dir: Peter Jackson [LOTR]
Looking forward to the
thrilling conclusion of this story. Loved the second one.
30. Into the Woods (Dec.25) Dir:
Rob Marshall [Chicago]
A fun fractured fairy tale
musical with Meryl Streep. Good holiday fun.
COMING SOON: The Secret Life of Walter
Mitty; Best of 2013
