I, for one, am looking forward to consume a hell of a lot of cinema this year. The Thor and Iron Man sequels should hopefully be fun, as would the 300 prequel and Tom Cruise's Oblivion. But below are 42 of my most anticipated titles.
42 - REC 4
The original [REC] by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza redefined the zombie horror genre with tense, atmospheric, raw found footage thrills. They followed it up with the more action packed [REC 2] which nicely built up a twisted mythology and [REC 3]: Genesisis a quasi-prequel made by Plaza that jumps both forwards and backwards in time, and leads up to Balaguero’s finale [REC 4]. The final fifteen minutes of the first [REC] were by far the most frightening images captured on film, and it remains to be seen if the finale lives up to its expectations.
41 - The Place Beyond the Pines
After taking Cannes by storm in 2010 with the heartbreaking Blue Valentine, director Derek Cianfrance reunites with star Ryan Gosling in a Drive-esque story of a motorbike stuntman who gets embroiled in a crime. The film also stars Hangover’s Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes and Ray Liotta.
40 - Kill Your Darlings
42 - REC 4
The original [REC] by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza redefined the zombie horror genre with tense, atmospheric, raw found footage thrills. They followed it up with the more action packed [REC 2] which nicely built up a twisted mythology and [REC 3]: Genesisis a quasi-prequel made by Plaza that jumps both forwards and backwards in time, and leads up to Balaguero’s finale [REC 4]. The final fifteen minutes of the first [REC] were by far the most frightening images captured on film, and it remains to be seen if the finale lives up to its expectations.
41 - The Place Beyond the Pines
After taking Cannes by storm in 2010 with the heartbreaking Blue Valentine, director Derek Cianfrance reunites with star Ryan Gosling in a Drive-esque story of a motorbike stuntman who gets embroiled in a crime. The film also stars Hangover’s Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes and Ray Liotta.
40 - Kill Your Darlings
Based on a true story, Daniel Radcliffe stars as Allen Ginsberg sucked in a bohemian lifestyle with legendary writer Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. Somewhere in the waves of artistic anarchy, a murder goes wrong.
39 - No
Gael Garcia Bernal stars as an executive who created an ad campaign that dethroned Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1988. No has already earned rave reviews at film fests and is Chile’s entry for the foreign language Oscar.
Director Matteo Garrone makes a return four years after his magnificent crime thriller Gomorrah with a tragicomic story of a fishmonger who slowly descends into madness after participating in the Italian version of Big Brother.
Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling reteam for an ultraviolent and gory Thailand-set crime thriller. The posters have shown Gosling's face at the wrong end of a fist, perfectly encapsulating the plot of a Bangkok cop serving justice to a mafia boss using his hands in a boxing ring.
36 - Lesson of the Evil
Takashi Miike has an unusual record of making films faster than you can blink, and an even more unusual record making every one of them exhilarating and shocking. His latest is a slasher film that revolves around a Japanese school teacher who doles up a sadistic plan to eradicate bullying in the country's schools - by murdering some of the kids' parents.
35 - Twelve Years a Slave
After the superb Hunger and the extraordinary Shame director Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender are back together for a drama, this time joining forces with Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch and Paul Dano. I don't even need to know the plot to be excited about it.
34 - Simon Killer
The guys who made 2011's brilliant Martha Marcy May Marlene are back with another weird story revolving around disturbed youth - a college kid escapes to Paris after his long-term girlfriend leaves him, and he becomes romantically involved with a prostitute. However, things are not as innocuous as they seem on the surface and soon strange, twisted stuff begins to emerge.
Aubrey Plaza blew my mind last year with the smart and hilarious Safety Not Guaranteed. The trailer for The To Do List promises an entertaining comedy, Aubrey assures you that it isn't another lame valentine's day movie with an all star cast - it's in fact a real romantic comedy with blowjobs, rimjobs, cunnilingus and back doors.
32 - Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Everyone's favourite bloke Joseph Gordon Levitt has joined the original cast, and the producers of this movie don't even need to market it to bring in droves of audiences. Hopefully Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez won't give in to studios and turn it into 3D.
31 - The Wolf of Wall Street
The fifth collaboration between Leo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese is set in the grimy world of corporate banking and clandestine stock exchange chicanery. The film is written by Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter and the supporting cast includes Jonah Hill, The Artist star Jean Duajardin and Matthew McConaughey.
30 - Asghar Farhadi's Next
Having made masterpiece after masterpiece for nearly a decade now including the Oscar winning A Seperation, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi for the first time ventures out of his home for a Paris-set drama. The film was originally supposed to star Marion Cotillard but now has Berenice Bejo (the girl from The Artist) in the lead role. Plot details remain scarce at this point, the only thing revealed is that it is an 'emotional socio thriller' and co stars Une Prophet actor Tahar Rahim.
29 - Before Midnight
The story of Jesse and Celene continues 18 years after Before Sunrise and 9 years after the previous movie Before Sunset - Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy all return for what may be the big finale set in Greece.
The story of Jesse and Celene continues 18 years after Before Sunrise and 9 years after the previous movie Before Sunset - Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy all return for what may be the big finale set in Greece.
28 - Mood Indigo
Michel Gondry made a superb return to form last year with The We and the I, and his latest is a trippy, whacky love story that involves the inventor of a cocktail-mixing piano falling in love with a girl who has a water lily growing in her chest. Starring Audrey Taotou and The Intouchables actor Omar Sy.
Michel Gondry made a superb return to form last year with The We and the I, and his latest is a trippy, whacky love story that involves the inventor of a cocktail-mixing piano falling in love with a girl who has a water lily growing in her chest. Starring Audrey Taotou and The Intouchables actor Omar Sy.
27 - Breathe In
Director Drake Doremus stormed into the scene with the heartbreaking Like Crazy, the man is back with another doomed love story - a foreign exchange student (Felicity Jones) arrives in a New York town and alters the lives of her hosts' family forever by falling in love with the man of the house.
Director Drake Doremus stormed into the scene with the heartbreaking Like Crazy, the man is back with another doomed love story - a foreign exchange student (Felicity Jones) arrives in a New York town and alters the lives of her hosts' family forever by falling in love with the man of the house.
26 - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The first movie failed failed to live up to its humongous expectations, largely thanks to the disappointing 48 FPS and an overlong runtime, (not that it dented its box office - it has made a billion dollars already). Hopefully Peter Jackson would offer something new and exciting in part two, in which we'll finally set our eyes on Smaug the dragon voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch.
The first movie failed failed to live up to its humongous expectations, largely thanks to the disappointing 48 FPS and an overlong runtime, (not that it dented its box office - it has made a billion dollars already). Hopefully Peter Jackson would offer something new and exciting in part two, in which we'll finally set our eyes on Smaug the dragon voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch.
25 - A Hijacking (Danish)
Hailed in its reviews as a stunning thriller, this Norwegian/Danish docu-drama follows the real life hijacking of a Norway freight boat by Somalian pirates and the backstage military planning to negotiate with the pirates to free them.
Hailed in its reviews as a stunning thriller, this Norwegian/Danish docu-drama follows the real life hijacking of a Norway freight boat by Somalian pirates and the backstage military planning to negotiate with the pirates to free them.
24 - Captain Phillips
The other Somalian pirates thriller is a Hollywood production directed by Paul Greengrass starring Tom Hanks as the captain who was held hostage. Going by Greengrass' track record of the Bourne movies and United 93, it is safe to expect a watertight action thriller with a large helping of shaky cam.
23 - To The Wonder, or One of the Goddamn Terrence Malick Films
For a guy who is known for making a movie every fifteen years, Terrence Malick is unusually busy right now with as many as five films up his sleeve. The only one that has surfaced is the trailer of To The Wonder, which stars Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams, and features plenty of his trademark dreamy nature shots. The only thing known about the plot is that a man on the verge of a divorce falls for a friend from his childhood in his hometown.
For a guy who is known for making a movie every fifteen years, Terrence Malick is unusually busy right now with as many as five films up his sleeve. The only one that has surfaced is the trailer of To The Wonder, which stars Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams, and features plenty of his trademark dreamy nature shots. The only thing known about the plot is that a man on the verge of a divorce falls for a friend from his childhood in his hometown.
22 - Don John's Addiction
In this comedy Joseph Gordon Levitt makes his directorial debut and stars as a modern day porn addicted Don Juan who receives a reality check and attempts to be less of an asshole to women. Also starring Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore.
In this comedy Joseph Gordon Levitt makes his directorial debut and stars as a modern day porn addicted Don Juan who receives a reality check and attempts to be less of an asshole to women. Also starring Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore.
21 - Sightseers
Director Ben Wheatley grabbed us all by the balls with the awesome Kill List in 2011, and thanks to that movie he not only built a tremendous cult following but also scored a $150 million super secret sci fi epic called Freak Shift. Out of nowhere he also pulled out Sightseers, a black comedy thriller that had critics at film festivals frothing at their mouths.
Director Ben Wheatley grabbed us all by the balls with the awesome Kill List in 2011, and thanks to that movie he not only built a tremendous cult following but also scored a $150 million super secret sci fi epic called Freak Shift. Out of nowhere he also pulled out Sightseers, a black comedy thriller that had critics at film festivals frothing at their mouths.
20 - The East
Director Zal Batmanglij lived up to his cool surname with the excellent indie thriller Sound of my voice last year. His writer and star Brit Marling is back in his new movie about a private detective infiltrating a mysterious cult attacking major corporations. Quite like in Sound of my voice, the hero finds his loyalty tested thanks to the cult's charismatic leader. The film also stars Ellen Page.
Director Zal Batmanglij lived up to his cool surname with the excellent indie thriller Sound of my voice last year. His writer and star Brit Marling is back in his new movie about a private detective infiltrating a mysterious cult attacking major corporations. Quite like in Sound of my voice, the hero finds his loyalty tested thanks to the cult's charismatic leader. The film also stars Ellen Page.
19 - The Grandmasters
Presumably named after its own director Wong Kar-Wai, The Grandmasters is an ultra-ambitious super duper slick action movie about IP Man, the guy who trained Bruce Lee. If the star cast of Tony Leung and Ziyi Zhang doesn’t impress you, then this trailer certainly will. It remains to be seen how well Kar-Wai handles action, since his forte is very strong character based dramas.
18 - The Nymphomaniac
The master of apocalyptic themes and horrorous sex scenes Lars Von Trier is back, this time with Shia LeBeouf in the lead role. The only plot point known at this point is that LeBeouf had to actually have sex on set for the movie.
The master of apocalyptic themes and horrorous sex scenes Lars Von Trier is back, this time with Shia LeBeouf in the lead role. The only plot point known at this point is that LeBeouf had to actually have sex on set for the movie.
17 - Warm Bodies
Director Jonathan Levy made me cry like a little baby in 2011 with the cancer comedy 50-50, his latest is a Zom-Com, a comedy in which a zombie falls in love with a human. Starring The Beast from X Men First Class and Teresa Palmer.
16 - Her
Spize Jonze's latest is a weird science fiction parable of how technology isolates and connects us all, in a story of a man (Joaquin Pheonix) who develops a romantic relationship with his computer's operating system. The film is Jonze's first movie since Where the wild things are and co stars Rooney Mara, Samantha Morton, Olivia Wilde, and Amy Adams.
Director Jonathan Levy made me cry like a little baby in 2011 with the cancer comedy 50-50, his latest is a Zom-Com, a comedy in which a zombie falls in love with a human. Starring The Beast from X Men First Class and Teresa Palmer.
16 - Her
Spize Jonze's latest is a weird science fiction parable of how technology isolates and connects us all, in a story of a man (Joaquin Pheonix) who develops a romantic relationship with his computer's operating system. The film is Jonze's first movie since Where the wild things are and co stars Rooney Mara, Samantha Morton, Olivia Wilde, and Amy Adams.
15 - Welcome to the Punch
Welcome to the punch is a thriller about an Icelandic crime lord who arrives in the US after a botched heist, only to team up with a London detective who had been chasing him to uncover a large conspiracy. The film stars the James McAvoy and Mark Strong – Eran Creevy’s script was part of the famous Brit List.
Welcome to the punch is a thriller about an Icelandic crime lord who arrives in the US after a botched heist, only to team up with a London detective who had been chasing him to uncover a large conspiracy. The film stars the James McAvoy and Mark Strong – Eran Creevy’s script was part of the famous Brit List.
14 - Room 237
Tailor-made for film critics and ravenous film buffs, Room 237 is an intriguing experimental documentary that dissects and explores the dozens of theories and the hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining. The film is directed by Rodney Ascher and has received insane buzz around the festival circuits with some reviews claiming it to be a fanatical, wonderfully freaky and at times hilarious analysis.
Tailor-made for film critics and ravenous film buffs, Room 237 is an intriguing experimental documentary that dissects and explores the dozens of theories and the hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining. The film is directed by Rodney Ascher and has received insane buzz around the festival circuits with some reviews claiming it to be a fanatical, wonderfully freaky and at times hilarious analysis.
13 - This is the End
The nature of the plot and the tone of the film is simply this: Seth Rogen and his gang star as Seth Rogen and his gang in this apocalyptic comedy where the motherfucking world ends. Either the film could be the most hilarious thing ever put on screen or an indulgent mess of self flattery, co starring James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson as themselves.
The nature of the plot and the tone of the film is simply this: Seth Rogen and his gang star as Seth Rogen and his gang in this apocalyptic comedy where the motherfucking world ends. Either the film could be the most hilarious thing ever put on screen or an indulgent mess of self flattery, co starring James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson as themselves.
12 - Man of Steel
It took a Chris Nolan and three of his Batman films to breathe life into the decaying superhero genre and resurrect the Superman franchise. Director Zach Snyder and Nolan team up for the suitably dark and melancholy Man of Steel that may finally make us forget Bryan Singer's horrible 2006 movie with Kevin Spacey.
It took a Chris Nolan and three of his Batman films to breathe life into the decaying superhero genre and resurrect the Superman franchise. Director Zach Snyder and Nolan team up for the suitably dark and melancholy Man of Steel that may finally make us forget Bryan Singer's horrible 2006 movie with Kevin Spacey.
11 - Star Trek Into Darkness
Benedict Cumberbatch as a villain in JJ Abram's Star Trek sequel? Sold. MOAAAR LENS FLARES!!!!
Benedict Cumberbatch as a villain in JJ Abram's Star Trek sequel? Sold. MOAAAR LENS FLARES!!!!
10 - Pacific Rim
Giant Fucking Robots. Fighting Giant Fucking Monsters. Rocket Punch. From director Guillermo Del Toro. That is all.
Giant Fucking Robots. Fighting Giant Fucking Monsters. Rocket Punch. From director Guillermo Del Toro. That is all.
9 - Prisoners
Hugh Jackman stars as a small-town carpenter who takes law into his own hands after his young daughter and her best friend are kidnapped and the police fail to find them. The plot isn't the big selling point as much as the fact that it is directed by Dennis Villeneuve who made the masterpiece Incendies in 2010.
Hugh Jackman stars as a small-town carpenter who takes law into his own hands after his young daughter and her best friend are kidnapped and the police fail to find them. The plot isn't the big selling point as much as the fact that it is directed by Dennis Villeneuve who made the masterpiece Incendies in 2010.
8 - Rush
Directed by Ron Howard, Rush chronicles the bitter rivalry between glamorous Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 70's, leading up to the famous 1976 Japanese Grand Prix that decided the championship. The film stars Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, and is written by Peter Morgan who was responsible for the screenplays of Skyfall, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Last King of Scotland and The Queen.
Directed by Ron Howard, Rush chronicles the bitter rivalry between glamorous Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 70's, leading up to the famous 1976 Japanese Grand Prix that decided the championship. The film stars Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, and is written by Peter Morgan who was responsible for the screenplays of Skyfall, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Last King of Scotland and The Queen.
7 - The World's End
Edgar Wright's big finale to his 'Blood and ice cream trilogy' reunites Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and the pack of Paddy Cosdine, Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan. The apocalyptic comedy may or may not be better than Seth Rogen's This is the End but it sure as hell bring Wright back in the spotlight after the failure of Scott Pligrim.
Edgar Wright's big finale to his 'Blood and ice cream trilogy' reunites Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and the pack of Paddy Cosdine, Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan. The apocalyptic comedy may or may not be better than Seth Rogen's This is the End but it sure as hell bring Wright back in the spotlight after the failure of Scott Pligrim.
6 - Upstream Color
Shane Carruth's follow up to his indecipherable cult favourite Primer is an even more bizarre science fiction story of a man and a woman who fall in love but become entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. If that doesn't make much sense, have fun dissecting the gorgeous trailer.
Shane Carruth's follow up to his indecipherable cult favourite Primer is an even more bizarre science fiction story of a man and a woman who fall in love but become entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. If that doesn't make much sense, have fun dissecting the gorgeous trailer.
5 - TPB-AFK
Four years in the making, TPB-AFK is a documentary about The Pirate Bay and its founders - chronicling the birth of the website in 2003 all the way through to 2013 covering the numerous court cases. Director Simon Klose received financial support from various anonymous groups on the internet and major broadcasters including the BBC, a remarkable feat for a film that will be released online for free.
Four years in the making, TPB-AFK is a documentary about The Pirate Bay and its founders - chronicling the birth of the website in 2003 all the way through to 2013 covering the numerous court cases. Director Simon Klose received financial support from various anonymous groups on the internet and major broadcasters including the BBC, a remarkable feat for a film that will be released online for free.
4 - Stoker
With a resume that reads The Vengeance Trilogy, Thirst and I'm a Cyborg but that's ok, Korean maestro Park Chan wook makes his English language debut with Stoker - a strange tale of a man (Matthew Goode) who after his brother’s death moves in to stay with his niece (Mia Wasikowska) and her mentally unstable mother (Nicole Kidman). The trailer does a good job of setting up the suspense without giving too much away.
With a resume that reads The Vengeance Trilogy, Thirst and I'm a Cyborg but that's ok, Korean maestro Park Chan wook makes his English language debut with Stoker - a strange tale of a man (Matthew Goode) who after his brother’s death moves in to stay with his niece (Mia Wasikowska) and her mentally unstable mother (Nicole Kidman). The trailer does a good job of setting up the suspense without giving too much away.
3 - Gravity
Alfonso Cuarón’s long gestating science fiction movie stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as two astronauts stranded in space. Gravity is supposedly an ultra-ambitious mostly-silent film and is being made with some allegedly revolutionary technology that is more immersive than anything we’ve seen before. As per Guillermo del Toro, “they are absolutely pushing a new boundary in filmmaking, completely mind-blowing”. Perhaps like in Cuarón’s Children of Men this film will be a bunch of shots digitally stitched together to look like one continuous take. The plot itself is very intriguing – two people floating in space after their shuttle is destroyed, leaving them tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness with a slackening supply of oxygen.
Alfonso Cuarón’s long gestating science fiction movie stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as two astronauts stranded in space. Gravity is supposedly an ultra-ambitious mostly-silent film and is being made with some allegedly revolutionary technology that is more immersive than anything we’ve seen before. As per Guillermo del Toro, “they are absolutely pushing a new boundary in filmmaking, completely mind-blowing”. Perhaps like in Cuarón’s Children of Men this film will be a bunch of shots digitally stitched together to look like one continuous take. The plot itself is very intriguing – two people floating in space after their shuttle is destroyed, leaving them tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness with a slackening supply of oxygen.
2 - Elysium
It's been three years since Neil Blomkamp exploded in our faces with the stunning District 9. His latest is an even more visionary and ambitious futuristic science fiction action thriller starring Matt Damon as an ex-con who rises up against a villainous corporate empire to save mankind. If that gun and mech assisted hand in the above pic is anything to go by, we're in for some heavy duty entertainment.
It's been three years since Neil Blomkamp exploded in our faces with the stunning District 9. His latest is an even more visionary and ambitious futuristic science fiction action thriller starring Matt Damon as an ex-con who rises up against a villainous corporate empire to save mankind. If that gun and mech assisted hand in the above pic is anything to go by, we're in for some heavy duty entertainment.
1 - Snow Piercer
After having made precisely three incredible films Memories of Murder, The Host, Mother back home, South Korean director Bong Joon Ho takes on a big budget science fiction actioner by collaborating with fellow countryman Park Chan Wook. Snow Piercer is based on a popular French graphic novel and is set in a future where an experiment to stop global warming has gone awry and the only human survivors on the planet are the ones on a train that cuts through the snow engulfed Earth. The film stars Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris and South Korea's Song Kang-ho.
After having made precisely three incredible films Memories of Murder, The Host, Mother back home, South Korean director Bong Joon Ho takes on a big budget science fiction actioner by collaborating with fellow countryman Park Chan Wook. Snow Piercer is based on a popular French graphic novel and is set in a future where an experiment to stop global warming has gone awry and the only human survivors on the planet are the ones on a train that cuts through the snow engulfed Earth. The film stars Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris and South Korea's Song Kang-ho.
Honorable Mentions: Danny Boyle's Trance, Side Effects (Supposedly Steven Soderbergh's last film), Kick Ass 2 starring Jim Carrey, The Great Gatsby with Leo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, Ridley Scott's The Counselor.
Guilty Pleasures: GI Joe 2, The Tomb (starring Schwarzenegger and Stallone), Passion (de Palma's Lesbian drama with Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams),
No comments:
Post a Comment