1) The Dark Knight Rises (July 20) - All I can say, is whether it is 'The Dark Knight' level of greatness, or 'Batman Begins', or even worse than the two, I'll still have an IMAX ticket to see it.
2) Nero Fiddled - Woody Allen's latest film. For the most part, ever since 2005's 'Match Point', Allen has been on an uphill slope of greatness ('Scoop' wasn't great, but it got better and better from there), and 'Midnight in Paris' is in my top 10 of this year. In the tradition of stellar casts, 'Nero' features performances for Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni ('Life is Beautiful'), Greta Gerwig, and even a small appearance from Allen himself, all in four vignettes set in Rome.
3) Seven Psychopaths - Martin McDonagh. The next film from the playwright behind one of 'In Bruges'. It stars Colin Farrell (like 'In Bruges') and involves dog kidnapping schemes and gangsters. Nice. All I could ask for. The cast also includes Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell (who both performed in his stage play 'A Behanding in Spoken', which I wished I could have seen), Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, and Tom Waits.
4) Prometheus (June 8) - Ridley Scott going back to the 'Alien' franchise. Sweet. Cast which includes Michael Fassbender (getting more and more acknowledged as each minute passes), Charlize Theron (always fantastic), Guy Pearce (hoping he has more screen time, since the guy has been in the background over the past few years, with performances in 'The King's Speech' and 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark') and Noomi Rapace (From the original Swedish 'Millennium Trilogy').
5) Gravity (November 21) - Alfonso Cauron's latest since 'Children of Men' (2006). Cauron has always pushed boundaries in terms of filmmaking, and I'm sure communities everywhere will buzz of its greatness once it has been released. Like most of Cauron's films, they run on simple premises but contain larger thoughts. This one concerns a mother trying to fix the Hubble telescope so that she can return to Earth and reunite with her daughter. With a small cast of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, Cauron will be pulling no stops in terms of technology and it's guaranteed to be a groundbreaking work.
6) Django Unchained (December 25) - Oh Tarantino. Young and old, is there anyone who can't conveniently pull up some kind of schema for this man's films. Always unique, even when he conveniently cuts and pastes styles from other films, the man knows his dialogue, enough so to make a scene interesting and tense, even if it is just folks sipping coffee and talking. This one sounds even more deliberately self indulgent, with a plot involving a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) who teams up with a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to kill Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio, against type), an evil plantation owner, and save his wife (Kerry Washington). Samuel L. Jackson (SLJ, as I like to call him), Kurt Russell, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, RZA, and Sacha Baron Cohen are among the cast. Sounds like it's gonna be a ultra violent romp along the lines of 'Inglourious Basterd' (apparently spelled correctly, as Tarantino has made), and I'm certainly along for the ride.
7) Dark Shadows (May 11) and Frankenweenie (October 5) - I cheated by picking 2 here. Make all the cracks you want on director Tim Burton, but he's still one of my favorite directors. Burton has a style, one that nobody else matches, and he has mastered it in terms of visual art. No, I'm not the biggest fan of some of the films he has made over more recent years ('Planet of the Apes' (2001) and 'Alice in Wonderland' (2010, People like this one, but I found the plot far to predictable), but I can't argue that the art of every one of his films (excluding 'Apes') is fascinating beyond explanation. The man knows how to direct. 'Shadows' is based on a cult TV gothic soap opera about supernatural things and a mansion, etc. I haven't watched the series, so I'm looking forward to seeing it in fresh eyes, since I don't really have time to watch it (It lasted quite a while). Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter obviously have large roles, but others join them, including Eva Green (the bond girl from 'Casino Royale'), Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Grace Moretz (becoming one of the most sought after "Young" actors, and the replacement for all of Dakota Fanning's former praise, well, except for Elle Fanning), and Jackie Earle Haley (a talented man, in both 'Little Children' and 'Watchmen'). 'Frankenweenie' turns Burton's 1984 live action short film into a claymation feature. I saw the original when I purchased The Nightmare Before Christmas a long while back. It's an imperfect short, as it is mostly the story of 'Frankenstein' but without all the murder and junk. John August pens this one (as he often does collaborations on all of Burton's scripts), and Winona Ryder voices one of the characters, marking a 21 year gap between the two's collaboration on 'Edward Scissorhands'.
8) Looper (September 28) - Rian Johnson is one of my favorite independent writer/director working today. To be honest, of recent times, with his casts and etc. one would think he would have gotten more recognition with 'The Brothers Bloom' (a fantastic con film in my gracious opinion). 'Looper' is a sci-fi film involving a hit man for the mob who kills people sent to him from the future. He recognizes his next target as himself, hilarity ensues (just kidding about the hilarity). Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars (marks their third collaboration; makes an appearance in Johnson's 'Bloom', his second film, and stars in 'Brick', his first) and Bruce Willis plays his older self. Also Emily Blunt is in it, and she's always great. As an added note, Shane Carruth (the software engineer that refused to dumb down his independent time travel film 'Primer') has something to do with this project, which ensures its going to be fairly accurate, and most likely confusing, in terms of time travel.
9) This is Forty (December 21) - The king of comedy for this generation releases his next film. I speak none other than of Judd Apatow. '40 Year Old Virgin', classic. 'Knocked Up', even better. 'Funny People', misstep, but a valiant one (there's so much personal stuff from Apatow in this that its kind of hard to think its terrible, especially when I actually enjoyed the first half a lot). '40' returns viewers to Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) from 'Knocked Up'. Obviously the cast list besides them is pretty nifty, and I'm hoping that this one returns Apatow to former glory.
10) Moonrise Kingdom (May 16) - Wes Anderson. Like Tarantino, Anderson has a firmly placed style. We all know what to expect on this one, and it's a love it or hate it thing. Family issues, symmetrical and neat cinematography, and plenty of montages to the beat of composer Mark Mothersbaugh (from Devo) and songs by bands like The Kinks. I'm a fan. I couldn't say any of his films were bad, and 'The Darjeeling Limited' and 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (his most recent films) were both quite good. His films are the feel-good type that make you smile when you walk from the theater. I want that.
Honorable Mention:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December 14) - After seeing how director Peter Jackson so fantastically transitioned into this EPIC genre over time from gore films ('Dead Alive' is one of my favorite zombie films, by the way), I'm psyched to see the next installment of the 'LOTR' series get his treatment. Although I am a bit more skeptical now that Guillermo Del Toro is not directing (his creatures and ability to make humor ('The Hobbit' is much more family friendly and fun than 'LOTR') which he used in 'Hellboy' would have been perfect). While 'The Hobbit' is one of my favorite books of all time, somehow I'm afraid it will lose some of the elements of loved about it, such as the fact the Bilbo (the main character), an unexpected hero, gets knocked out and the reader misses the entire battle. Sure, Director Peter Jackson will knock Martin Freeman (Arthur Dent in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and Tim, the original version of Jim on the UK 'The Office') out, but the audience will probably have to sit through the entire battle, which will take away from the poetry of the novel in a way. Not to say I'm not excited. Just nervous. Also, I love the old animated 1977 'The Hobbit' a lot.
- Jeff Bassin
Top 10 Movies I'm Looking Forward to In 2012: Jay
1) Dark Knight Rises
With such a great franchise going why would I not want to see the next installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman (Hopefully I can understand Bane)
2) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Being a fan of Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy, ‘The Hobbit’ Novel, and ‘The Hobbit’ animated movie (“Kabash (Thunder Sound)”), I can’t wait to see the great ensemble cast and story come to fruition.
3) Prometheus
Directed by Ridley Scott this film looks as though it may just be the most epic film of the year (Plus it takes place in space!).
4) The Raven
Murders in the fashion of Edgar Allen Poe, sounds fun (and disturbing). With Director James McTeigue of ‘V For Vendetta’ I know it is going to be a fun visual experience.
5) Hunger Games
While I’m not yet hooked on the heroin like substance that is ‘The Hunger Games’ craze yet, I am still definitely interested in seeing how it turns out and who knows, maybe I’ll give the books a chance.
6) Moonrise Kingdom
I am a big fan of Wes Anderson Films so I cannot wait for another fun, quirky comedy (I guess that makes me part hipster).
7) Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov creator of ‘Wanted’ and the ‘Night Watch’ Films this is sure to be both fun and stylized.
8) This Is 40
A Sequel to ‘Knocked Up’ and it is Written and Directed by Judd Apatow (OK, I’ll forgive you for ‘Funny People’)
9) The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Created by Aardman Animations, creators of ‘Chicken Run’ and ‘Wallace and Gromit’ will be a fun movie with a Claymation look.
10) Frankenweenie
Originally a short by Director Tim Burton, he will now be making it into a feature film and I am excited to see how it comes out (Hopefully not like ‘Alice in Wonderland’).
Honorable Mention:
Brave
I would but myself if I didn’t put it on here so it shall be luck number 11. While the plot doesn’t appeal to me that much, I can get excited for another original Pixar film (and not a sequel).
- Jay Bassin
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