10 movies I need to see before the world ends
I was actually wondering about how to name this post, then I stumbled upon this book while gift-shopping a few days ago. Seeing how 2012 is supposedly our last year, the following list suddenly becomes dramatically more important. Currently there are 46 movies on my IMDb Watchlist that will (probably) be released in 2012. But as I wanted this top ten to be published weeks ago and even now am only barely able to squeeze compiling the list into my timetable, I’ll stop blabbering now…
My top ten most anticipated movies of 2012
10. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December 14th)
I must admit I’m more looking forward to this for technical reasons. While I’m still rather skeptical about anything other than 24p, Jackson’s words on the matter certainly are very intriguing. As for the actual contents of the movie(s) - I have not read the books nor did I watch a trailer/teaser, so I know very little about the story. I’m excited to go back to Middle Earth but for some reason remain somewhat indifferent towards the whole project. The upside might be that Jackson once again might blow my mind just like he did with the first LotR film, which was my first (serious) contact with Tolkien’s wonderful works and led to me reading all three books within less than two days. Good times!
09. Man on a Ledge (January 27th)
This was one of the very last trailers I actually watched last year. Of course I had to stop halfway through as once again they wanted to tell the whole story already, but what I’ve seen definitely got my attention. Very tense, a bit mysterious, and a promising cast. I never liked Worthington’s movies too much so far, but it never was his fault and this one might finally be the turning point. The setting reminded me of Phone Booth to some extent, which is also a plus.
08. Total Recall (October 12th)
This one could be so damn good. Sadly, I’m not expecting it to be any longer, after having seen In Time yesterday I’m afraid it will be just as mediocre and pointless. The original Total Recall starring the Governator isn’t even that good of a movie to begin with, but boy does that story have potential. Wiseman said his version would stay more in line with Dick’s original short story rather than being an adaption of the 1990 movie. Sadly, he’s responsible for Live Free or Die Hard - a screenplay written by Mark Bomback, who’s also writing this remake. I’m still very excited about their take on the material, and despite Farell recently disappointing in London Boulevard and Horrible Bosses his name still drags me to a movie. Not as much as Walther White does, though, who’s also featured in a leading role… I hope I won’t need crystal meth to enjoy the movie.
07. The Avengers (May the 4th!)
I don’t have much to say here. I wish Whedon all the best taming that beast of a movie but I honestly doubt he will manage to make it work. Nevertheless do I very much want to see how it turns out.
06. Django Unchained (December 25th)
I’ve said it before: I genuinely believe that Inglourious Basterds was superior to Pulp Fiction and I’m hoping that Tarantino continues to surpass himself. The cast alone is reason enough to watch this.
05. Cloud Atlas (October, hopefully)
New Wachowski project → instant enthusiasm. This one seems pretty obscure (remember?) but interesting nonetheless. My feelings towards Tykwer’s movies are mixed but the Wachowski siblings still have a very good track record - for me personally. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the project is its structure:
“Cloud Atlas” is difficult to quickly summarize, as it is made up of six nested stories that take place in divergent locales and time periods and are written to emulate a variety of popular and literary styles. […] The structure of the book is strange, too, and could be mapped out like so: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Russ Fischer in Cloud Atlas, the Ambitious Wachowski/Tykwer Collaboration
04. Looper (September 28th)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing a young version of Bruce Willis? I’m in! And as if those two, some kind of time traveling in the plot, and Emily Blunt wouldn’t be convincing enough already, director Rian Johnson has previously presented the world with the gift that was “Fly”, the best episode of Breaking Bad yet and therefore one of the best episodes ever airing on television.
03. The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3rd)
I’m still sad that after a very enjoyable first movie the Raimi trilogy went downhill so quickly. Garfield’s performance was pretty much the best part of The Social Network, and ever since Nolan knocked my socks off with The Dark Knight I’m a sucker for the whole “more serious and modern take on $superhero” thing. I can’t wait to see how Marc Webb approached this project, as it’s very different from his previous masterpiece (500) Days of Summer.
02. Skyfall (November 9th)
I really didn’t like the previous Bond all that much. As I described back in 2008, I could imagine Quantum of Solace getting better when its successor puts it into a greater perspective, but luckily that’s not the only reason I’m more than psyched for Bond 23. I loved everything Sam Mendes has done so far, and having both Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem star alongside Daniel Craig sounded almost too good to be true back when it was just rumors.
01. The Dark Knight Rises (July 20th)
It is killing me not to watch any trailers, and it’s actually not that easy not to be spoilered (I’m looking at you, effing spoiler-morons at reddit) while still using the internet. One thing I allowed myself to pre-consume was this call for action from Hans Zimmer. I got goose bumps just from hearing the chant and nothing more (it has vanished from the site now due to the trailer having been released). Over the years I’ve become more and more cautious about getting my hopes up too high but I’ve enjoyed the Inception hype and was not let down. I’ve been 110% hyped for The Dark Knight Rises ever since it was announced and I’m sure: Nolan will deliver.