The answer is no, I haven't given up on my Multiverse Map project. It's actually finished for the most part. Truth was I was tired of fighting Photobucket with my crap internet connection.
Today though I'm going to tangent. We're halfway through March of 2014 and I realized I haven't really worked out a top ten most anticipated film list like I normally do. Maybe it's a little late to do one, but I've seen only three movies this year thusfar (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Robocop, and Pompeii) and I can say for certain that none of them would have cracked the list if I had thought of it last year.
So why not? Better late than never.
Now I don't really pay full attention to the indie circuit. I heed notice if something pops up that turns heads, but other than that I turn to mainstream blockbusters for my "Can't WAIT!" quota. Why? Gods and Monsters, ladies and gentlemen. And I assure you, you'll find plenty on my list.
Now there are a few that I'll most likely see that didn't make the cut. I've been a die-hard Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan since I was a little kid, and it breaks my heart to not give the new movie a nod. Truth is I don't really have much faith in it. I mean, they handed it to Johnathan Liebsman, the director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Battle: Los Angeles, and Wrath of the Titans. Honestly, how much faith would
you have? I can say the same for Transformers. I might have been excited for Transformers: Age of Extinction if Michael Bay hadn't returned, but alas he broke his promise of being done with the series and his ass is back in the saddle. While Marvel films are mostly dominating this year (beating their three a year record with a massive output of five films this year), I didn't fit Big Hero 6 on the list because I honestly am not familiar with the material and there really hasn't been any news to anticipate the production. That is other than Walt Disney's animation studio's recent smash success with Frozen of course (but remember, they also followed up the Lion King with Pocahontas, so anything goes). I'll also most likely watch Paranormal Activity 5 (6?), because I like the camera tricks and the crowds for these movies are wild. I was very close to including the Hobbit: There and Back Again since I had a positive reaction to An Unexpected Journey, but Desolation of Smaug was such a chore that it got kicked off the list. My fanhood of both the Muppets and Arnold Schwarzenegger ensures I'll see both Muppets Most Wanted and Sabotage, but neither really look like must sees.
Also don't expect the new Hunger Games movie on my list. Everyone who knows me already knows why. You couldn't pay me enough to sit through that drivel.
Let's get started, shall we?
10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes I was very close to dropping this off the list entirely, which would have been sad given that I've loved the Planet of the Apes series since I was a boy and I thought Rise of the Planet of the Apes was pretty solid. Unfortunately I have very little faith in new director Matt Reeves, who was responsible for the dreadful Cloverfield and the moronic Let Me In.
Where I do have faith in this film is the story, which I'm hoping former director Rupert Wyatt set up one strong enough that not even a hack like Reeves could screw up. The trailer certainly has its virtues, even if it does promise Reeve's obnoxious over-directing that was so present in his previous work. Right now I'm emotionally invested in Caesar's story and am I am hoping it just plays out competently.
9. Divergent Lionsgate is starting to become a pain in my ass. Currently they own the rights to two of the crappiest franchises to hit the mainstream in the last decade: Twilight and the Hunger Games. Their catering to the swooning teenage girl crowd certainly is paying off for them, but their films are of such poor quality that even imitators like the Mortal Instruments: City of Bones can be said to be superior simply because it's at least laughably bad. When Divergent was announced as their next attempt at a huge tween franchise, I groaned. Not
another one.
But last year I took the time to actually read the book (which I tried and failed to do with the Hunger Games before it), and while I wasn't
impressed I will say I enjoyed it. It's a much smarter story than Twilight and the Hunger Games, and the commentary on mankind's relationship with war and racism is pretty fascinating. There were issues, as the required (I suppose) romance was forced and interfering, and for the most part the characters weren't memorable.
The film itself looks promisingly faithful to the novel, with a pretty decent cast (Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Ray Stevenson, Maggie Q). The director is ho-hum, as we're forced to make due with Neil Burger, who directed the thoroughly uninteresting Bradley Cooper vehicle Limitless. It
might be a decent time at the movies this year. Though you probably shouldn't expect sequels Insurgent and Allegiant on any anticipation list in the next few years. Those novels didn't really impress me at all.
8. Interstellar This is probably the one entry on this list I am most blindly including. I literally know next to nothing about the movie and I didn't even watch the trailer until I put this list together. However I do greatly enjoy the work of Christopher Nolan, who has gripped me with works such as Memento and Inception, as well as turned superhero fans like me on the edge of their seats with Batman Begins and the Dark Knight.
This movie...has something to do with space travel. It has Matthew McConaughey fresh off his Oscar win. That's about all I know. I'd like to go into it somewhat clueless as to what it will be about, because I did that with Inception and enjoyed it greatly. I'm hoping for yet another sweeping opera of a movie from Nolan, and while his work isn't perfect (note the Prestige, which I admired its audacity more than the film itself) it should be interesting to watch nonetheless.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Studios is setting the world on fire with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or "those Avengers movies" to the un-nerdy), but they raised a lot of eyebrows when they announced Guardians of the Galaxy as the fourth film in "Phase 2." Long rumored products based upon Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and even an Incredible Hulk sequel were put on the backburner for a band of interstellar misfits not very many mainstreamers had heard of.
Of course it did start that wonderful online meme:
DC: "The world isn't ready for a Wonder Woman movie."
Marvel: "Here's a raccoon with a machine gun!"
Of course since then it's been revealed that the intended villain for Avengers 2 is Ultron and not Thanos as the Avengers post-credit tease promise. Guardians is an opportunity to keep Thanos in consciousness despite not using him right away as an Avengers opponent.
That said, I couldn't work up much enthusiasm for the project. Phase 2 has been uneven. Iron Man 3 was smart and unexpected but never really rose to the heights of the best superhero sequels on the market (or even the original Iron Man, for that matter). Thor: The Dark World was a lot of fun, but played itself a bit too safe instead of taking it to the next level. Agents of SHIELD has been reasonably diverting Tuesday night fare, but has been getting its ass kicked in quality by DC's current superhero series Arrow (not to mention the show is bleeding viewers, so it desperately needs to win some back). Overall I think the primary problem with Phase 2 has been a tonal inconsistency from what is promised versus what is given. Iron Man 3 was a slide of hand, attempting to surprise the viewer in what it had the balls to do compared to what it advertised itself as doing. Thor: The Dark World advertised itself as a dark and gritty middle chapter to Thor's saga, but reverted to light and quirky fantasy in the final product. Frankly at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a two hour stand-up act.
Then the trailer came out...and it was awesome. Unlike Iron Man and Thor here's no mistaking the tone of this movie, which is distinct James Gunn. Gunn's film Slither was one of my favorite films of 2005, and the comedy spoof Super was a lot of fun. If the final film is nothing like the trailer this time, then Phase 2 is a legitimate mess. But based on what we have seen, count me in on this one.
6. The Expendables 3 The original Expendables topped my list of most anticipated films of 2010, and while it didn't quite live up to my expectations for it I still deemed it a fun action ride. I had lower expectations for the more packed Expendables 2 in 2012 and it blew them out of the water. Now the Expendables are more overloaded than ever and I couldn't be happier.
I have very little hopes for this movie other than it be a whole lot of fun, and having grown up on 80s action movies I have little doubt it will. Will it be stupid? Yes, but it'll be my kind of stupid. If there's any team-up as epic as Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Statham, Li, and Lundgren, I'll be there. Add in new blood such as Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes, and Kelsey Grammer and I don't see any reason why I
wouldn't watch it.
5. Rec 4: Apocalypse This is undoubtedly the lowest budget movie on this list, as well as the only foreign film. Honestly following foreign franchises is a frustrating venture as they won't be released Stateside long after release date. It takes a special franchise for me to follow it that closely.
Rec is one of those franchises. I loved the first, thought the second was an intense thrill ride, and thought the third was wild fun. Now we have the fourth and intended final installment of the franchise, which returns to the story of ill-fated reported Angela Vidal and the demonic force that resides inside her as she finally makes her way out of the house she was trapped in and out into the world, where she threatens all of humanity. I'm disappointed this wonderful series is drawing to a close, but I'm happy they've chosen to end it instead of needlessly prolonging it ala Saw or Paranormal Activity. I look forward to the endgame Jaume Baleguero has in store for us and am hoping it's a doozy.
My one regret is chances are I won't be able to view the film until next year, as Sony most likely won't release a US DVD until the following October like they did with the second and third. The wait is going to be torture, but worth it I hope.
4. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marc Webb's reboot of the series in 2012 was divisive, as most fans felt it a needless retread of a story that had already been told. I was not one of those people. I thought it told the story differently enough to stand on its own two legs without using the Raimi series as a crutch. It was a wonderfully executed film, well acted and beautifully directed.
As a long time Spider-Man fan I always considered myself lucky that the character has gotten directors who think of him as a character with story potential over spectacle, as opposed to my other favorite hero Batman who was stuck with visual thinkers Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher before being given a character driven series by Christopher Nolan. I'm eager to see where this take on Peter Parker leads and how well Webb can pull it off.
But while I trust Webb, I don't have quite as much faith in Sony, who is running the franchise. They're giving ASM2 Spidey's typical rock star promotional campaign, but it's hard to decipher a plot from it. Instead it's "Hey! Look at all these villains!" The campaign is a flashback to the hard knocks Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 took once it was released over it's overstuffed storyline. While I didn't hate Spider-Man 3, enough people did that this is going to be a turn off. Sony's also using ASM2 as a springboard for a competing Spider-Man Universe against Disney's MCU with two additional sequels already announced and two spin-off films featuring the Sinister Six and Venom. This reeks of Sony trying to turn the Spider-Man franchise into something it's not, and I think it's very ill-advised on their part.
Despite this, I'm optimistic at least. Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks fun and I'll be watching it with an open mind, which is something so many people don't seem to want to do with it.
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier In Phase 1 of MCU I took note of one thing, while my favorite of the six films was Thor I found that the most rewatchable was Captain America: The First Avenger. I must have watched that movie a dozen times before the Avengers came out, and still have it on regular rotation today. As Phase 2 formed, I found that I was very anxiously awaiting the sequel, probably more than any other Phase 2 project.
Of course it helped that the advertising campaign knocked it out of the park. If trailers are anything to go by, this will be the superhero movie to beat this year. And word on the street is Marvel is
really happy with the movie. So happy that they've already signed on Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo on for a third Cap adventure and are trying to intimidate Batman vs. Superman off of a May 6th 2016 release date for it.
Not bad for a superhero film from the directors of You, Me, and Dupree. If it lives up to its reputation Captain America: The Winter Soldier could be the Dark Knight of Marvel films.
2. Godzilla I'm a lifelong Godzilla fan, and lived through the hype of the 1998 film (and subsequent backlash). One would think I've learned my lesson. You'd be wrong. When Legendary announced the project, I was excited. When Gareth Edwards was announced as director, I was intrigued. When footage first hit the internet, I jumped out of my seat.
With the advertisement for this movie in full swing, I'm fairly convinced this could very well be the movie event of the year. And that's not just my fanhood talking. I mean, sure it's nice being in a cult fanbase that has suddenly turned mainstream (I've witnessed it before with JJ Abrams Star Trek), but the advertisements genuinely make the movie look absolutely breathtaking.
Everyone I have shared them with has reacted the same way: "We have GOT to see this movie."
Godzilla is back, boys and girls. And it looks as if he's going to kick some major ass. The looming success of this film might surprise some, but not me. I can smell the epicness a mile away.
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past This film has long been known by myself as my most anticipated of the year, but it has been in danger of slipping in recent month. Advertisement for the film has most definitely not been as strong as it could be, as Fox is still using the teaser from last year to advertise it. I'm tired of that footage, give me something
new.Why does it still hit number one despite the fact that Godzilla, Captain America, and Spider-Man are by all means blowing what we do know about this film out of the water? Mostly because of what it represents. Of all the Marvel franchises that are currently outside of Disney, X-Men has the greatest potential to match the MCU. The mythology is so rich and interesting that an X-Men universe has endless possibilities. And Days of Future Past is set up to be a springboard for that kind of franchise, with a sixth X-Men film already announced as well as endless spin-offs featuring fan favorite Wolverine and offshoot team X-Force (potentially setting up the idea for films based upon X-Factor, Generation X, New Mutants, ect.).
Fox has had clumsy handling of the franchise. Hell, I'd argue that the only truly great film in the franchise has been the underrated original (with First Class coming really close). It was followed by the overlong and underplotted X2, special effects over story X-Men: The Last Stand, the empty action film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the well crafted yet unevenly acted X-Men: First Class, and the quiet drama masquerading as a superhero movie The Wolverine. Days of Future Past has the potential to be just as uneven, but I'm curious at getting my first glimpse of the world this new idea for the X-Men franchise can provide.
And there you have it. Ten films I'll definitely be seeing this year. Some more than others, but I'll try and be optimistic in hopes that
all will be good.