16. Only Lovers Left Alive (TBA)
Directed By: Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, John Hurt
One-Sentence Reason: Though Michael Fassbender was replaced by the Loki, Tilda Swinton as a vampire cannot be ignored.
17. Twelve Years a Slave (TBA)
Directed By: Steve McQueen
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender,
Brad Pitt, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, Quvenzhane Wallis
Brad Pitt, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, Quvenzhane Wallis
One-Sentence Reason: McQueen and Fassbender join forces again,
this time with a period setting and a massive cast.
18. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (10/4)
this time with a period setting and a massive cast.
Directed By: Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, etc.
One-Sentence Reason: That still is from the first Sin City, let's all admire its terrible noir beauty.
19. Labor Day (TBA)
Directed By: Jason Reitman
Starring: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Tobey Maguire, James Van Der Beek
One-Sentence Reason: I trust Reitman to deliver a tonally unique comedy.
20. Side Effects (2/8)
Directed By: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum, Jude Law
One-Sentence Reason: The thriller is supposed to be Soderbergh's last theatrical film.
Let's hope that's not true.
21. Man of Steel (6/14)
Let's hope that's not true.
Directed By: Zack Snyder
Starring: Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Amy Adams, Diane Lane
One-Sentence Reason: Well, with Snyder at the helm it's at least bound to be a visual stunner, right?
22. The Wolf of Wall Street (TBA)
22. The Wolf of Wall Street (TBA)
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey
One-Sentence Reason: Scorsese and DiCaprio make a run for another set of Oscar noms.
23. Kick-Ass 2 (6/28)
Directed By: Jeff Wadlow
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Jon Leguizamo
One-Sentence Reason: If only to see how they'll deal with a now even more precocious Chloe Moretz.
24. Snowpiercer (TBA)
Directed By: Joon Ho-Bong
Starring: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Alison Pill
One-Sentence Reason: The emerging concept art is promising, as is the mix of people involved.
25. Anchorman: The Legend Continues (12/20)
Directed By: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Kristen Wiig, Christina Applegate
One-Sentence Reason: I love lamp.
26. I'm So Excited (TBA)
Directed By: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Paz Vega, Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas
One-Sentence Reason: The teaser trailer suggests the colorful, comedic, campy Almodovar of old.
27. Now You See Me (6/7)
Directed By: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine
One-Sentence Reason: Magician Robin Hood bank robbers and why is Jesse Eisenberg's hair so shaggy?
28. Before Midnight (TBA)
Directed By: Richard Linklater
Starring: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
One-Sentence Reason: The closing of a trilogy, the end of a long conversation.
29. Pacific Rim (7/13)
Directed By: Guillermo Del Toro
Starring: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman
One-Sentence Reason: A big, heaping lump of scrap metal that could be a new Avatar or the next Battleship.
30. The Grandmaster
Directed By: Wong Kar Wai
Starring: Tony Leung, Ziyi Zhang
One-Sentence Reason: Because we've waited long enough already,
anything will be better than My Blueberry Nights.
31. Spring Breakers (3/5)
anything will be better than My Blueberry Nights.
Directed By: Harmony Korine
Starring: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens
One-Sentence Reason: Because if Korine is on the scene, it should be a disturbing kind of trash.
32. Elysium (8/13)
Directed By: Neill Blomkamp
Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster
One-Sentence Reason: What happens when District 9 director Blomkamp actually has a budget?
34. The World's End (10/13)
Directed By: Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
One-Sentence Reason: The three aforementioned guys, together again.
35. Mood Indigo (TBA)
Directed By: Michel Gondry
Starring: Audrey Tautou
One-Sentence Reason: Delightfully quirky Gondry makes a romance
with the woman who played the delightfully quirky Amelie.
with the woman who played the delightfully quirky Amelie.
Honorable Mentions/Givens: Iron Man 3, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine
Agree. Agree. And then comes Kick-Ass and I'm like..nope, not for me. I like comic book movies but something about a child being a killer and it being funny..nope. Can't like it.
ReplyDeleteThat's a common complaint and a fair one, though I honestly found the entire first movie to be a weirdly cathartic, visceral experience. It's that twist towards the very dark comedy element, for me, that makes the concept work. Every comic book reading kid has had these vigilante justice fantasies, I think, and while the kids may be rendered 'killers' what's uncomfortable about watching it happen is partially the revealing of the truth behind the fantasy: the real life version of the 'superhero' ideal is just a nutcase in a mask on a street, so the whole thing becomes a bloody, brutal, ethically questionable affair that undermines the judicial process and would be the terrain of psychopathic adrenaline junkies. 'Super' does the same thing, but the kids in 'Kick-Ass' really sold it.
DeleteAre you looking forward to "A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charlie Swan III?" I love CQ and Roman's work with Wes Anderson, so it's one of my most anticipated this year.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about that one, for some reason. Yeah, I'll definitely be seeing it!
DeletePS- Hey, Dee Dee.
In high school, I used to fantasize about moving to a new city and establishing myself with the nickname "Dee Dee" (this being when I used to wear a leather Ramones jacket every day of the year).
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