daniel cohen is stoked for 2013…
While there’s still an Oscar telecast waiting for us, the films of 2012 will soon lose their relevance. It’s almost time to turn the page on Argo and Ted, and look ahead to the awesomeness of 2013. And even though 2012 will be a difficult year to top, there’s more than enough potential greatness to be excited about. I’m here to break it all down with my 10 most anticipated movies of 2013! I must warn you now though, with the exception of two of these films, this list consists of nothing but superheroes and sci-fi shenanigans. Hey…that’s just the way it went down.
10. The Place Beyond the Pines
Release Date: March 29th:
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Rose Byrne, Ray Liotta
Director: Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine)
This will be the only ‘small scale’ film you’ll see on the list. The trailer has started to make the rounds, and there’s just something about it that screams ‘greatness.’ But as we learned with Prometheus, a well-cut trailer doesn’t always mean good things. It feels like a very emotionally driven and intense crime piece, with a great cast that includes: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Rose Byrne, and talented newcomer Dane Dehaan (Chronicle). There’s a couple red flags (Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta), but I’m looking forward to this one. I just wished the title was better…long titles stink.
9. Oblivion
Release Date: April 12th
Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Zoe Bell, Melissa Leo
Director: Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy)
It’s a post apocalyptic sci-fi actioner starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman…I’m in.
8. Iron Man 3
Release Date: May 3rd
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, Guy Pearce
Director: Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)
While I enjoy elements to both previous Iron Man movies, for me, they are incomplete films. The original has nothing to offer except Robert Downey Jr. and a horrible third act, and the sequel is just a big dumb cartoon. But when I look at the trailer for Iron Man 3, the pieces seem like they are finally coming together. Downey is back of course, and even though I thoroughly enjoyed Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash in Iron Man 2, Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin looks like the villain I’ve been waiting for with this series. I also think the change in director was desperately needed. Jon Favreau was exposed as an overrated director with Cowboys & Aliens, and Shane Black will provide a much needed change of pace. I have no doubt this will be far and away the best of the series.
7. The Great Gatsby
Release Date: May 10th
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke
Director: Baz Luhrman (Moulin Rouge, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet)
I’m either going to love this film, or hate it beyond belief. There will be no middle ground. The Great Gatsby is my favorite book ever written, so I’m obviously going in here a little sensitive. The casting is pretty damn good all around. Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby is dream casting. And while I’m not a huge Tobey MaGuire fan, his meager demeanor sort of works for Nick Carraway. Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher…solid casting all around. My biggest fear though is with the director, Baz Luhrmann. To say I’m not a Baz Luhrmann fan would be an understatement. I have to admit, when I read Luhrmann was directing, I completely wrote this film off. The fact that this is being billed as a ‘3D movie,’ says to me you are completely missing the point of The Great Gatsby. Why the hell does The Great Gatsby have to be in 3D!?! But I have to admit…that trailer was pretty awesome. I’m going in cautiously optimistic, emphasis on the word ‘cautiously.’
6. Elysium
Release Date: August 9th
Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Diego Luna
Director: Neill Blomkamp (District 9)
In 2009, director Neill Blomkamp wowed us all with District 9. He’s back, and doing more sci-fi with Elysium, another one of these ‘Earth has been destroyed’ type deals. Except this is about the wealthy class living in an space station above earth, while everyone else has to tough it out on the barren land once known as Earth. Add in to the mix Matt Damon, and Jodie Foster as a villain, and you have a potential gold mine.
5. Thor: The Dark World
Release Date: November 8th
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Chris Eccleston
Director: Alan Taylor (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men)
I have to admit, no Kenneth Branagh sours me a little bit on the Thunder God’s sequel, as he was the biggest reason why Thor was so great. Nevertheless, you got to be excited. From everything you read, and even from the title itself, this promises to be more about the realms, as opposed to just Asgard and Earth. Chris Hemsworth is a star, and I hope Jaimie Alexander plays a bigger role as Sif. Thor is my favorite of the Marvel/Avengers tie-in movies, so I’m pretty pumped, but also a little nervous without the guidance of Branagh.
4. Kick-Ass 2
Release Date: June 28th
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Donald Faison, John Leguizamo
Director: Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down)
Oh, hell yeah! I LOVED the first Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass managed to pull off the rare feat of multiple genres. This thing was a comedy, superhero movie, high school angst film, but it all worked seamlessly. And while it sucks Matthew Vaughn isn’t returning to direct, they pretty much got everyone back, including the addition of Jim Carrey as a character called Colonel Stars and Stripes. Are you kidding me? That sounds amazing. I can’t wait to see a trailer for this.
3. The Wolverine
Release Date: July 26th
Starring: Hugh Jackman
Director: James Mangold (Walk the Line)
We haven’t seen a trailer. We’ve barely seen production stills. But after seeing that first poster, I get a great feeling about this movie. We all know X-Men Origins: Wolverine was underwhelming, but a big reason why that movie shit the bed was because of the 900 characters that were crammed in. If you go look at the cast list for this movie, the only recognizable name you’ll find is Hugh Jackman…that’s it. I think that’s an incredible sign. It finally means we are going to get a 100% all out character focus on Wolverine. Jackman clearly has a reverence for the character, and he’ll want to go all out and make up for the last one. I love that it takes place after X-Men: The Last Stand, and the samurai plotline can only mean good things. Let’s also not forget that this script attracted Darren Aronofsky, and even though he dropped out, that still says something. I have high, high hopes for this one.
2. Star Trek into Darkness
Release Date: May 17th
Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana
Director: JJ Abrams (Super 8)
The 2009 film was the best movie that came out that year. I’ve been waiting for this sequel forever. I don’t care who the villain is – it is who it is. The prologue in front of The Hobbit kicked ass. Beam me, up.
1. Man of Steel
Release Date: June 14th
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Coster, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Michael Shannon, Russel Crowe
Director: Zach Snyder (300)
I could sit here all day and talk about how insane the cast is, how great the trailers look, or how we haven’t seen a Superman movie in 7 years, but let’s cut the crap…the reason this movie has to be the #1 most anticipated film of 2013 by law is because it was conceived by Christopher Nolan. Is he directing it…no. Is he writing the script…no. But the story credit is reason enough. Let’s also not forget the man who is writing the script, David Goyer…Batman Begins anyone? I also trust Zack Snyder in the directing chair. Yeah, Sucker Punch is what it is, but I am in the minority of people who loved Watchmen. The fact of the matter is, Superman is my second favorite superhero, and 2006’s Superman Returns ripped my heart out, and then took a big dump on it. Brandon Routh tried to hard to be Christopher Reeve, and Bryan Singer tried to hard to emulate Richard Donner. I will always love the 1978 Superman movie. I will always love the John Williams score. But people…it’s time to move on. Superman needs a fresh take, and it looks like that’s exactly what we’re going to get.
The Worst Movie of 2013 will be….
Paranormal Activity 5 (October 25th):
Well…I picked the fourth film as my worst movie of 2012, and with this film being pumped out in less than a year, why should I believe they are going to improve? If you go to the IMDB page, there isn’t even a writer listed yet. That’s probably because it doesn’t take much to type out,
INT. Random House – Night
Some dude walks around the house to get a cup of water. A spoon moves. This happens again in eight more scenes.
The End.
These producers will just keep making the same crap, and because these films only cost $9 bucks to budget, they’ll keep coming and coming and coming…sigh.
WELL DONE, SIR