2011 was a pretty good year for movies. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, Drive, X-Men: First Class, The Tree of Life, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Attack the Block are just a few films that received critical acclaim from a lot of critics and fans.
Now, if we look at the movies coming out in 2012, it is safe to say that it will be a BIG year. Below, I've listed my top 15 most anticipated films of this year, featuring mostly the ones we write about here on the site (comic book, fantasy, science fiction and some action films). Let's get started!
15. MEN IN BLACK 3
- Let me start by saying that I really didn't like that first trailer. At all. It looked like a TV film, and not a $200 million blockbuster. But still, I'm very much looking forward to it, because I liked the first movie, and even though the second one was meh,
Men in Black III has a lot of potential. Barry Sonnenfeld is returning as a director with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprising their roles as Agent J and Agent K. The rest of the cast is also good, including Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve and Bill Hader. Film is set for
May 25th release.
14. G.I. JOE : RETALIATION
- Once again, I didn't like the trailer for this film. It left me thinking if they actually decided to go in different direction like they said, and at least somehow forget about the Stephen Sommers' awful film from 2009 called
The Rise of Cobra. Just writing about that movie makes me feel sick. But, since I learned a long time ago that we shouldn't judge films based on their trailers, I'm still interested in
Retaliation, and I want to see what can director Jon Chu do with a big budget action film like this one. Film opens on
June 29th.
13. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER
- I haven't read read the novel, and I don't know anything about this film. We haven't seen any footage yet either. Why am I looking forward to it? It's simple: the concept of the story. From what I could read on Wiki, it's basically Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, killing vampires. If anything, it should be fun. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (
Wanted,
Night Watch), films has a pretty good cast too, which includes Benjamin Walker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie and Alan Tudyk.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter will be released on
June 22nd.
12. DREDD
- It started good, they finished shooting, and then problems began. Creative differences in post-production between director Pete Travis (
Vantage Point) and producers seem to really big as apparently Travis was replaced with writer and producer Alex Garland for the editing process. Couple of days later, it was confirmed that Travis is still involved with the project. Now, I was looking forward to this film way before shooting started, and I still am. I just hope they will finish everything on time, so we can finally get a good Judge Dredd adaptation. Starring Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby, film is set to hit theatres on
September 21st.
11. TOTAL RECALL
- Based on the short 1966 novel
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick, this science fiction film directed by Len Wiseman is rather being looked at as a full remake of the 1990 film with Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to producers and director, it's not. Sure, there will be some similar elements of course, but I have no problem with another
Total Recall adaptation, as long as it's a good movie. Starring Colin Farrell, Bryan Cranston, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, Jessica Biel, John Cho and Ethan Hawke, film is set to hit theatres on
August 3rd.
10. THE BOURNE LEGACY
- People really like the Bourne trilogy with Matt Damon. I'm one of them. Those films were smart, action-packed, well acted and now, we have a fourth film coming out next summer called
The Bourne Legacy starring Jeremy Renner instead of Damon. Reason why I'm looking forward to this one is because it's not a remake, it's not a reboot, but rather a continuation of the popular franchise, and even though Bourne (Damon) won't be in it, since his story was wrapped up perfectly, I think we can expect a lot from
Legacy. Tony Gilroy, who wrote
The Bourne Identity,
The Bourne Supremacy and
The Bourne Ultimatum, is now directing the fourth film. He also wrote the screenplay. Along Renner, rest of the cast includes Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz, Albert Finney, Scott Glenn and Oscar Isaac. Film is currently set for
August 3rd release.
9. SKYFALL
- You either love Daniel Craig's portrayal of Bond, or you hate it. I think that his version of Bond is absolutely badass and much more fun to watch than previous interpretations. Not many people had high hopes for
Casino Royal, but look at it now... Probably one of the best Bond films out there. Sure,
Quantum of Solace was not as great, but with director Sam Mendes (
American Beauty,
Road to Perdition) at the helm of the new chapter titled
Skyfall, and with the amazing cast that includes Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench, Bérénice Marlohe and Ben Whishaw, I think we are in for something great.
Skyfall opens on
October 26th.
8. LOOPER
- Still haven't heard about this one? Well, no worries, because you will very soon. Rian Johnson, the director of
Brick and
The Brothers Bloom is making his third feature film called
Looper, a dark science fiction thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt and Paul Dano. I'm very excited to see this film, not just becase of the cast and director, but the interesting plot. This is how Johnson described the film in one interview:
"Looper is a time travel movie, set in a near future where time travel doesn't exist but will be invented in a few decades. It's pretty dark in tone, much different from Bloom, and involves a group of killers (called Loopers) who work for a crime syndicate in the future. Their bosses send their targets hogtied and blindfolded back in time to the Loopers, and their job is to simply shoot them in the head and dispose of the body. So the target vanishes from the future and the Loopers dispose of a corpse that doesn't technically exist, a very clean system." Looper is set for
September 28th release.
7. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
- This is a no-brainer, really. Peter Jackson is directing a prequel to his very popular trilogy
The Lord of the Rings, with the first part titled
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. As a fan of the LOTR trilogy, this is nothing but great news. We all saw the first teaser trailer, and I got chills just by watching that. While I would love to see what would Guillermo del Toro do with these films, especially with his unique vision, I'm also happy to see that Jackson decided to return. Film is set to hit theatres on
December 14th.
6. GRAVITY
- Another film we don't know much about, but we will soon. I'm very excited to see
Gravity because Alfonso Cuarón is finally making a new film, and it will have only two characters in it. This is Cuarón's first film since
Children of Men which was released in 2006. That brilliant film is probably in my top 20 of all time. Now, he is directing
Gravity, another science fiction movie starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. In a recent interview, Clooney said:
"It’s a two-hander with only two actors in the whole film. It is a very odd film, really. Two people in space. No monsters. It’s more like [2001: A Space Odyssey] than an action film." Sounds really interesting and I hope it turns out great.
Gravity hits theatres on
November 21st.
5. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
- The final chapter of Christopher Nolan's great Batman trilogy. It's over. Done. Finished. Not only did Nolan and the crew changed the superhero genre, but they raised the bar with both
Batman Begins and
The Dark Knight. While I prefer
Begins over
TDK for many reasons, I am eagerly anticipating
The Dark Knight Rises and I really can't wait to see the whole thing, especially Tom Hardy as Bane. While it's kind of sad to see the end of another Batman era, I'm glad that I've been able to watch every one of these films on the big screen. Starring Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Morgan Freeman,
The Dark Knight Rises is set for
July 20th release.
4. MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS
- It all started in 2008 with the great
Iron Man. And I still can't believe we are getting
The Avengers. We will finally see Thor, Captain America, Hulk and others fighting side by side (and against themselves, of course) on the big screen. Follwing this year's
Thor and
Captain America: The First Avenger, which were both commercial and critical success, Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures are moving forward in full speed with their big plans for future adaptations. Talented Joss Whedon is directing this adaptation, and he also worked on the script.
The Avengers is set to hit theatres on
May 4th.
3. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
- Remember when the first Spider-Man came out in 2002? When everyone was so excited about the film? Well, I feel that way again for this adaptation. Marc Webb, best known for directing the great comedy drama film
(500) Days of Summer, decided to step in and direct this a little bit different take on the popular character. This time, we will see how Peter Parker goes through life after the loss of his parents, as well as uncovering the secret that will shape his destiny as Spider-Man. Andrew Garfield is playing the main character, and I just can't wait to see him in this role.
The Amazing Spider-Man is set for
July 3rd release.
2. PROMETHEUS
- Director Ridley Scott returns to science fiction with this (sort of) prequel to his first
Alien film. What else is there to say? Not much, really. The two previous major science fiction films Scott directed were of course
Alien and
Blade Runner, and both of these movies helped define the genre. So, it's not surprising that almost everyone is looking forward to
Prometheus, including myself, so for that, it's my second most anticipiated film of 2012. Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron and Idris Elba,
Prometheus is set to hit theatres on
June 8th.
1. JOHN CARTER
- And now, my #1 most anticipated film of 2012. Yep, it's
John Carter, directed by Andrew Stanton. Surprised? If you follow me on Twitter, then no. But, let me explain this one. Stanton, who is best known for directing Academy Award-winning films
Finding Nemo and
WALL•E, is helming this long awaited adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic science fiction novel
A Princess of Mars, which inspired a lot of big films like
Star Wars and
Avatar. Yes, read that again if you think that this is a
Avatar rip-off. Because it's not. Even James Cameron once said in an interview that he looked at the adventures of
John Carter of Mars while he was writing his film. There is so much more to the story of
John Carter, that many people might be pleasantly surprised. As huge fan of the novel and the whole BARSOOM series, I just can't wait to see this film. Plus, this is Andrew Stanton's live-action debut, and for the first time ever, we will finally see the characters from the novel on the big screen.
John Carter is set for
March 9th release.
Honorable mentions:
The Raven,
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,
Dark Shadows,
World War Z.
There you go... So, what are your most anticipated films of 2012 (sci-fi, comic book and fantasy)?