Guillermo del Toro presents Mama (Today, 1/18)
I love supernatural horror. I can't get enough of being scared by cheesy, vengeful Asian ghosts. That aside, I also adore Guillermo del Toro and I trust his judgement when it comes to movies he writes, directs, and/or and produces. Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauna) and the Orphanage (El Orfanato) are two of my favorite examples of how he has a keen eye for blending horror, fantasy, and reality in ways that aren't over-the-top or trite. He has a knack for picking directors as well. In Mama, directed by Andrés Muschietti, two little girls are found in the woods (in the trailer, all covered in mud and looking generally pretty gross) and taken back to civilization. However, something, the eponymous Mama I presume, follows them there and then things happen probably (I don't want to guess at the plot, in all honesty). I doubt it'll be filled with cheap scare tactics and I really wish I had someone who loved horror as much as I do to go see it with.
Warm Bodies (2/1)
I guess I like the general premise around it - boy zombie meets girl human, falls in love, and it somehow - defying physiology and the paradigms of life and undeath - makes him more human or something. It looks like it might be a fun zombie flick but I'm not expecting anything amazing, really. I can see how the premise could fall flat, so I'll definitely wait for reviews before deciding whether or not I'll see it in theaters. I love all things zombies so I'm usually not too judgemental when it comes to the shambling corpses - I'll at least see it when it comes to DVD.
Oz: the Great and Powerful (3/8)
I don't know how I feel about this one. Aside from knowing James Franco, Mila Kunis, and Zach Braff are in the cast I honestly can't say I've bothered to look at any other details. I'm a die-hard Wizard of Oz fan - I grew up watching the 1939 classic and one of my favorite books and musicals is Wicked, which tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West. The trailer looks as though the visuals, if nothing else, will be stunning, so if the occasion arises to see it I probably will.
Jurassic Park 3D (4/5)
One word: Diiihnasaawrs!
Iron Man 3 (5/3)
Word on the street is that this Iron Man film will be noticeably darker than the previous two. The trailer is pretty intense and I guess it got some 15 year old girls on tumblr really upset. Being an avid Marvel fan, of course I would love to see this in theaters if at all possible, but I'm wary of how "gritty" the film may be willing to go. If it moves Movie-verse Iron Man's story arc along then that's fine; if it just gets dark for the sake of being dark then I'll probably be extremely disappointed. I don't think Pepper is going to die (you see a massive explosion in the trailer at one point by Stark's enemy, the Mandarin.) and in fact we may be treated to her eventual comic superhero persona, Rescue. I'd love to see more character development involving Pepper Potts; she's one of the rare Marvel characters who has a strong presence even without superpowers (and she's a woman! *gasp!*) and I don't think enough people realize how much crap she has to put up with, how much adversity she has to stand up to, and how much ass she can kick.
Star Trek Into Darkness (5/17)
Somehow J.J. Abrams restrained himself enough to tone down the lens flare, if the trailer is any indication. Other than that the trailer doesn't really give me much in terms of plot - something bad is happening, and it's happening on a super massive scale, and Benedict Cumberbatch stands around behind a glass wall looking silently evil. I can't wait.
Much Ado About Nothing (6/7)
What do you get when Joss Whedon invites some of his pals and colleagues over to his house? You get a contemporary comedy based on the Shakespearean classic of the same name. Those of you who know me know that Whedon's involvement alone is reason enough to go see the film - but the cast is just brilliant. Whedon alums Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof (who worked together in Angel: the series as Fred Burkle and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce who were also love interests) star alongside Nathan Fillion and Sean Maher (both worked in Firefly), Fran Kanz (who was in Dollhouse), and newcomer Jillian Morgese who I guess was uncredited in the Avengers. It's definitely a labor of love and I imagine it was a joy to make - and aren't those the best films to see? Unfortunately, Much Ado About Nothing will have a limited release, but I will seriously road trip if I have to in order to see this film.
Monsters University (6/21)
Prequel to one of my most favorite Pixar movies, Monsters, Inc., we find out how Mike and Sully met in college. Pretty basic premise, but one that could be a good template for a great story. My only misgiving is that I would have liked to see a story in Post-Fear Monstropolis, but I'd see the film anyway...as long as it wasn't another Cars film.
Pacific Rim (7/12)
At first I thought this was going to be a Voltron reboot...but then I realized it wasn't and I still didn't care because I love mecha fighting giant monsters. It looks like classic Kaiju dressed up with fancy visuals - and I am 100% okay with that.
The World's End (10/25)
Edgar Wright fans rejoice! The long awaited final film of the Cornetto Trilogy (the other two being Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) is finally here. By which I mean it'll be here in October. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost return to relive a pub-crawl to end all pub-crawls. Stuff happens, the world is at stake, and ice cream treats are eaten. Guaranteed to have some great moments, I can't wait for some new quotes to throw around. Also, if you don't understand my love for Wright, Pegg, and Frost, do yourself a favor and watch the series Spaced right now.
Thor: the Dark Worlds (11/8)
You guys. I am so excited for this film. And no, not just because I am an unashamed Marvel fangirl. Not because I rather enjoyed the first film (despite protests from a certain friend who will not be named that it is not that good). And not because Tom Hiddleston is omg so hot (although I prefer him without greasy black hair IMO). Well, actually, yeah, it's more like all those reasons rolled up into one with the added bonus of Christopher Eccleston (you probably know him best as the Ninth Doctor from the series Doctor Who) joining the cast to play Malekith the Accursed...who...you know...if the name didn't give it away...is a bad guy. The movie is set to take place after the events of the Avengers, which means we may find out how Asgard is dealing with Loki going insane. Oh yeah, almost forgot, the universe gets plunged into darkness too.
The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug (12/13)
If you haven't read the book I feel bad for you son; I got 99 problems but Erebor ain't one. Actually, that's a lie. There's going to be a lot of problems, and the introduction of Bard the Bowman who I always confuse as being named either Bard the Bardman or Bard Barderston. But no, really. Go read the book and then you'll understand why my review of An Unexpected Journey was so positive.
and finally, rounding off what looks like a promising year of movies:
Anchorman: the Legend Continues (12/20)
Stay classy, Ron Burgundy. You know what I said about looking forward to new quotes to throw around?
...
...
I can't resist. "Oh Baxter, you know I don't speak Spanish!"
Stray Notes:
- Is it just me or is that poster freaking awesome? ^ Yeah, I know...OMG ORANGE AND BLUE IN THE POSTER IT MEANS THE MOVIE IS CRAP AND THEY JUST WANT YOU TO GO SEE IT BY SUBLIMINALLY APPEASING OUR BRAINS WITH COLORS. Well, dammit, it works. I want that hanging on my wall.
- Being an avid Cracked.com junkie, I should probably go see John Dies at the End, which is based on a book of the same name written by editor David Wong. However, I personally don't find Wong that amusing (in fact, I find him downright condescending and flat-out wrong on several issues - he tends to only publish an article when it involves berating people for something). So yeah, I'll probably skip it.
- There's an Evil Dead remake, because apparently someone decided that needed to be done I guess. The original Raimi version is good enough for me, so I'll pass.
- I'm a Baz Luhrmann fan, unashamedly, but I'm not sure where I stand on the Great Gatsby. As of this writing I have no interest in seeing it, but as my mood changes my opinion may change as well.
- You may be wondering why World War Z isn't on the list. After all, the book of the same name is one of my favorite books of all time, and it's about zombies...how bad could it be? Remember when I said I wasn't too judgemental about zombie flicks? Meet the exception. My problem with the adaptation is that it is one in name only. The book is divided so that each individual chapter tells a different story from survivors all around the world, gathered together by one man. The movie looks like standard "focusing on one guy as he runs around trying to survive with his family" stuff. The book was an excellent allegory for modern global politics - the movie looks like Brad Pitt does hero stuff. Perhaps it would have worked better as a mini-series in order to maintain the style and tone of the book. I may be pleasantly surprised when reviews come out for it, but I'm not holding my breath.
- How is Johnny Depp dressed up as a stereotypical non-descript Indian (including speaking in broken English) not considered really, really, racist? That alone is making me utter the dreaded "meh" in terms of the Lone Ranger.
- Ever since X-Men: the Last Stand I haven't been able to watch an X-Men film that follows without disgust. X-Men Origins was pretty rage-inducing (BONE CLAWS? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? The war/time progression sequence was pretty cool though) and First Class looked hokey as all get out. I'm going to pass for now on the Wolverine and just watch X-Men and X2 over and over.
- For a brief moment I read the title for Closed Circuit and confused it as a remake of Short Circuit. It is not.
- Really? An American Oldboy remake? Is nothing sacred? The popular Korean film gets mediocre-d.
Well folks, there you have it. What films are you looking forward to in the upcoming year?
3 comments:
I believe the Depp = Tonto thing is supposed to be considered OK because he apparently has some Indian ancestry.
On the anticipation front, I'm waiting for many of those movies as well. I'm really curious how Iron Man 3 will turn out, and also how Man of Steel will turn out. I figure the Nolanization won't work very well with Superman, but at least it will all be in slow motion thanks to Snyder. Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
According to Wikipedia, there may be a Coen Brothers film coming out sometime this year. Considering filming just started last month, I'm guessing late in the year. They are at the top of my "always anticipating" list.
I love horror films, but unfortunately, I haven't seen a good one in a minute.
God, I forgot The Great Gatsby was a movie from 2013, and I went to see the damn thing in the theater (and enjoyed much of it, upon further review).
Also, The World's End was as good as its poster, if not better. Probably my favorite of 2013 so far, although Frozen may give it a run for its money, and there are still some contenders left for me to see.
Post a Comment