Sunday, January 8, 2012

The Bearded Bullet's Most Anticipated Films of 2012 (and Ones You Should Pay Attention To)

Sup Internet?  Alas a new year is upon us.  It feels like yesterday that I was writing my thoughts on the upcoming films of 2011.  I haven't quite yet seen all of the films from this year that I want to, so my best-of lists will come at a later time.  With 2012 already here I thought it prudent to begin looking toward the potential awesomeness that this year's films could bring.  I'll give a rough list of what I'm looking forward to, followed up with my five most anticipated and why I'm excited for them.

Haywire - 20 Jan
Redtails - 20 Jan
Safe House - 20 Feb
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - 17 Feb
Act of Valor - 24 Feb
The Lorax - 2 March
John Carter - 9 March
The Hunger Games - 23 March
The Raid - 23 March
Wrath of the Titans - 30 March
Cabin in the Woods - 13 April
Rock of Ages - 1 June
Snow White and the Huntsmen - 1 June
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - 22 June
Brave - 22 June
GI Joe: Retaliation - 29 June
Magic Mike - 29 June
The Amazing Spider-Man - 3 July
The Bourne Legacy - 3 Aug
Total Recall - 3 Aug
Expendables 2 - 17 Aug
The Wettest County - 31 Aug
Gangster Squad - 9 Oct
Gravity - 21 Nov
World War Z - 21 Dec

5. Django Unchained (Christmas Day).  I'm a fan of Tarantino.  I love all of his films, including those he wrote/acted in but didn't direct.  Django Unchained, described as a "Southern," not a Western, boasts an insane cast, including: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christoph Waltz, Kurt Russell, Jamie Foxx, and Don Johnson.  Foxx plays a runaway slave fighting to get his wife back.  Its rare that Leo plays the villain role so I'm definitely excited.

4. Skyfall ( 9 Nov)  Casino Royale is my favorite James Bond film and one of my all-time favorite films.  After the disappointment that was Quantum of Solace (hurt badly by the writers strike of 2008) I was very much looking forward to the next film in the franchise.  Financial problems at MGM prevented production from beginning for years and now its finally shooting as we speak.  Sam Mendez is behind the lens with a stellar cast including: Craig and Judi Dench (reprising their roles) with the talented Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem beefing up the talent quotient.  Very few details have been revealed, but at the very least we know that something from M's past has come back to threaten MI6 and Bond is sent to stop the threat, testing his loyalty to her.  Mendez is a fantastic director and his assembled cast is quite stellar.

3. The Avengers (4 May)  This is the ultimate fan-boy dream; seeing Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow teaming up to take on Loki, who is hell-bent on enslaving the human population.  The journey to this film has been long and arduous.  Never before has anything of this scope been attempted in cinema; five lead-in films established these characters and built them into one connected Marvel world.  Countless theories have been thrown out regarding who the rest of the villains are and the story as a whole.  Director Joss Whedon (who else could work with this excellent ensemble cast...well, besides JJ Abrams) is more than capable behind the camera, and from what we've seen so far in the trailer(s) and spy footage, The Avengers looks to be a bombastic action film that unites our favorite heroes into one kick-ass team.

2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (14 Dec) - The Lord of the Rings trilogy dominated box offices and the world in general in the first half of the previous decade.  Again, after years of development hell (with MGM once again behind the majority of filming issues), and Guillermo del Toro leaving the project, Peter Jackson is finally delivering the first part of a duo of films based upon The Hobbit.  The first trailer that was released gave me goosebumps; its odd to feel nostalgic about something that isn't yet a decade old but I still felt all of those types of emotions bubbling up.  It looks as though Jackson has re-captured the look and feel of Middle Earth and will hopefully deliver two fantastic lead-ins to his previous trilogy.

1. The Dark Knight Rises (20 July) - Do I really need to go into detail about this one?  The Dark Knight is my second all-time favorite film and to me, is a real masterpiece of cinema.  TDKR has been under scrutiny for years now; more spy photos and videos came out of its production than I've ever seen.  And we still don't know all that much.  Tom Hardy's Bane looks imposing and ominous (even if you can't hear everything he's saying) and Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle/Catwoman looks devious and a threat to Bruce's wealth and estate.  The marketing for the film is focusing heavily on Bane and the fact that this is the close of Nolan's trilogy.  All of this leads me to believe that Bane will end either Bruce or Batman to close out the series.  My anticipation is beyond measure; I and two friends drove to Pittsburgh in August to be extras in the Heinz Field scene (a large portion of the first trailer) and I more recently traveled farther than usual to see the TDKR "prologue" in 70mm Imax that was attached to Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.  You can read my thoughts on the prologue here.  I plan on camping out over-night to get the first spot in line.  Crazy?  Maybe.  Awesome?  Most definitely.

Bullet out.

2 comments:

  1. Let's hope the raid comes to a theartet near us!

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  2. I will drive great distances to see that movie!

    ReplyDelete