The year of 2011 is almost over, and it's been quite a year in the movie industry (primarily in the CBM world). We've had the latest Transformers, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Harry Potter and Fast & Furious installments become massive successes at the box office, while films such as Green Lantern, Cowboys & Aliens and Conan The Barbarian not do so well with either critics or audiences. With the promise of an even bigger year for 2012 (hopefully the world won't end a year from now), I decided to compile a list of ten films that I'm most looking forward to seeing next year. Most of them will obviously be CBMs, but I decided to include a couple of non-CBMs that I've been anticipating for some time. Also, feel free to include your own list of anticipated films for next year in the comments below.
10. Snow White & The Huntsman
June 1st
This was a film that I was never too sure about until I saw the trailer. Kristen Stewart's a pretty bad choice for Snow White to say the least, but otherwise the cast is pretty good (especially looking forward to Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron in this movie). I also wasn't big on the whole dark/gritty feel they were going for at first, but then the trailer won me over. Theron seems to be the perfect choice for the Queen, and the overall tone actually seems to work with the way the story's told. Plus, we have the God of Thunder wielding an ax - that alone should be awesome.
9. The Bourne Legacy
August 3rd
I'm as disappointed as anyone who wanted Matt Damon to play Jason Bourne another time, but otherwise I'm loving what we've heard about the next film so far. Jeremy Renner, while overused in films these days, is a great actor, and I can't wait to see him step in Damon's big shoes. Should be awesome seeing him face off against former
Hulk Edward Norton as well. And as a fan of the
Bourne trilogy, let's hope that this spinoff of sorts delivers.
8. John Carter
March 9th
This is a film I've been keeping my eye on for a couple years or so now, despite the fact that all I knew was that it was going to be directed by
WALL-E helmer Andrew Stanton. I was impressed by the first trailer, and the recently released theatrical trailer/promo art pretty much proved to me that this could be a great addition to an already promising year in film, as well as perhaps another hit film for Disney. And for those who say that this is a rip off of
Avatar and/or
Prince Of Persia...let's just say that John Carter's existed loooong before either of those franchises.
7. Lincoln
Late November/December
Probably the most non-CBM related film on the list, I know. But being a history buff, a Spielberg fan and wanting to see a proper film for the 16th President of the US, I can't ignore this one. Daniel Day-Lewis, based on the image above, is more than likely to nail the role, and I'm loving the rest of the cast too (especially Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jared Harris). With Spielberg's other war-related film,
War Horse looking very promising, we could see an official return to form for the legendary director (who's been hit-and-miss with his movies for the past few years), and if we can get a
War Horse-like tone with
Lincoln...wow.
6. Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance
February 17th
As a hater of the original film, even I'm surprised to put this anywhere on my list of anticipated films. But it seems like Sony is serious about making a decent
Ghost Rider flick now. The trailer really shocked me with how awesome it looked, it looks freaking nuts. Good choice in bringing in Neverdine/Taylor to do this film, as well as
Thor's Idris Elba. Only thing bothering me still is Nic Cage returning; he isn't THAT bad of an actor, but he isn't Johnny Blaze. Period. Otherwise, I think we can expect a crazy awesome
Ghost Rider flick next February, even if it doesn't offer as much in substance as it does in action.
5. G.I. Joe: Retaliation
June 29th
Another followup to an underwhelming first installment, even I wasn't that impressed by the first film. The action was top-notch, but the acting wasn't and I easily forgot that the movie had an actual script. But with the addition of characters such as Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Joe Colton (Bruce Willis), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Firefly (Ray Stevenson), and the possibility of being closer to a GI Joe film than the first one, I think this will be at least better than
Rise Of Cobra. As long as the director who brought you
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never doesn't screw it up...
4. Prometheus
June 8th
This is a flick that's hard not to be excited about. With Ridley Scott back in the game, practically being an
Alien prequel and a splendid cast, I have high hopes for this one. Hopefully that recently leaked teaser trailer will be officially released very soon.
3. The Amazing Spider-Man
July 3rd
I've had mixed feelings about this film from the beginning. As a huge fan of the Raimi trilogy, I didn't want to see a
Spider-Man reboot so soon (unless it would be in the MCU), and the choice of director Marc Webb (who's only done music videos and
(500) Days Of Summer) didn't impress me either (And don't get me started on the whole gritty reboot thing). But it was the cast that more or less won me over, especially Andrew Garfield as Spidey. He was excellent in
Social Network and
Dr. Parnassus, and he definitely has the chops for the Web-Slinger. I'm not big on the whole going-back-to-the-origins part, but otherwise I'm feeling excited about this one. Could be a surprise for all I know. And just seeing Lizard in live action at long last...man, this should be good.
2. The Dark Knight Rises
July 20th
Another film I've been anticipating for years.
The Dark Knight is seriously an amazing film (haters gonna hate!), and seeing the Batman/Bruce Wayne story being wrapped up is something we've all been anticipating. Say what you will about Bane's mask/size and Catwoman's suit, but it's hard to deny Nolan's talent at telling a good story. I don't think he would've made this film if it wasn't going to be as brilliant as the other installments. Bring on the prologue and new trailer in a couple weeks.
1. The Avengers
May 4th
Bet you didn't see that coming. ;) I was actually having a hard time choosing between this and
TDKR for the top spot (since I think they'll both be amazing in their own ways), but I couldn't refuse a movie like
The Avengers. The idea of seeing previously established superheroes in the same film alone would make me put this in my top 5, but what we've seen so far has just been mindblowing. The trailer was really something else, and the character posters were pretty cool too (especially Cap, Hawkeye, Thor and Loki). I think Marvel Studios has a real winner with this flick, and I can't wait to see what they'll do after that movie.
As stated before, feel free to share your own list in the comments below.