Not that anyone needs reminding, but on March 23rd The Hunger Games is going to come out in
theaters nation-wide. And so, the 2012 movie season will officially kick off
(I’m not counting these past two months because is anyone really going to
remember any of those movies?) with arguably the most highly anticipated
blockbuster since The Dark Knight. If there was any movie year that seemed
destined for greatness, it is this one: has the human race done anything to
deserve the privilege of being able to see The
Hunger Games, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit all in the same year? But
while we’re eagerly awaiting that quadruple-fecta of glory, it’s easy to forget
that there are plenty of other movies worth looking forward to. Here are a few
upcoming films that have a lot of potential and will hopefully not get swept
under the radar due to the impending torrent of blockbuster extravaganzas:
Prometheus
Release date: June 8
Plot: A team of scientists
in the distant future go searching for the origins of mankind but instead find
themselves fighting for humanity’s survival – or something like that, it’s all
pretty murky at this point.
Why it’s worth your attention:
I know this isn’t exactly under-the-radar, but with all the superhero movies
and book adaptations getting shitloads of hype, it’s easy to leave out
potential blockbusters that don’t already have a built-in fan base (at least
ostensibly). Not only does it boast a talented cast, including the original
girl with the dragon tattoo Noomi Rapace and the white-hot Michael
Fassbender, but the enigmatic marketing campaign, highlighted by this deliciously creepy
trailer, suggests that Prometheus
could be this year’s Inception, never
a bad thing. Plus, what’s not to love about seeing Guy Pearce play
a ruthless, smarmy CEO?
Rock of Ages
Release date: June 15
Plot: Two young people fall
in love in the midst of the 1980s rock-metal scene.
Why it’s worth your attention:
Based on the now-running Broadway play of the same name, Rock of Ages looks to be the most fascinating movie of the summer.
To call its cast eclectic would be a severe understatement: in addition to Tom
Cruise filling in the buzzy role of Stacee Jaxx, it features Alec Baldwin, Paul
Giamatti, Bryan Cranston, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand and Catherine
Zeta-Jones, among others. Plus, bound-to-be-cheesy renditions of ‘80s rock
music! The main question is whether it will be gaudy-fun or just plain gaudy,
but either way, it should be an interesting movie. Personally, I’m just glad to
see Cruise in a movie that doesn’t involve guns or swords (and no, his cameo in
Tropic Thunder does not count).
Seeking a Friend for the End
of the World
Release date: June 22
Plot: A man, accompanied by
his neighbor, seeks to reunite with his high school sweetheart before the world
ends.
Why it’s worth your attention:
The cast is simply stunning – Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melanie Lynskey,
Connie Britton, Patton Oswalt and, best of all, Gillian Jacobs (yay, Britta!)
will all be popping up at some point or another. I’m always a sucker for bittersweet
comedies, and I’m excited to see how director Lorene Scafaria handles the
inevitable tonal shifts. Lastly, the trailer
promises to give us a glimpse of people reacting to news of an imminent
apocalypse in hilariously realistic and understated ways.
Argo
Release date: September 14
Plot: During the 1979
Iranian hostage crisis, the CIA concocts an elaborate scheme to rescue six
American embassy workers using the guise of a fake Hollywood movie.
Why it’s worth your attention:
Since Gone Baby Gone in 2007, Ben
Affleck has gone from contemptible tabloid fixation to completely respectable
director, a feat that is nothing short of remarkable. His follow-up to The Town, an expertly made thriller that
deserved a helluva lot more from the Oscars than a single nomination for Jeremy
Renner, represents two firsts for Affleck: his first attempt to dramatize a
true-life story and his first attempt to leave his hometown of Boston. The cast
is comprised of a number of lesser-known yet undeniably talented character
actors, such as Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Kyle Chandler, not
to mention Affleck himself in the lead role.
Killing Them Softly
Release date: September 21
Plot: A professional
enforcer in New Orleans investigates a heist that occurred during a
mob-protected poker game.
Why it’s worth your attention:
This
picture. Enough said.
Looper
Release date: September 28
Plot: An assassin working
for a future crime organization that uses time travel to kill its targets
realizes that he has to kill his future self.
Why it’s worth your attention:
It’s always nice to see movies that put fresh twists on familiar genres, and
Rian Johnson’s latest sounds like it could be 2012’s version of Moon or Source Code: a smart sci-fi thriller that delights in fucking with
your mind. Also, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays the main character, is just
awesome.
The Gangster Squad
Release date: October 12
Plot: The police fight crime
and corruption in 1940s and ‘50s Los Angeles.
Why it’s worth your attention:
The cast – including Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Giovanni
Ribisi, Josh Brolin and Anthony Mackie – is one of the most star-studded and
promising of the year. As an unashamed fan of 2009’s Zombieland, I’m excited to see how director Ruben Fleischer makes
the transition from comedy to drama. And I can’t resist any movie that involves
attractive people toting guns and wearing trench coats and fedoras.
Les Miserables
Release date: December 7
Plot: It’s an adaptation of
the successful musical Les Mis,
following the search of a paroled prisoner for redemption in 19th
century France.
Why it’s worth your attention:
It’s Tom Hooper’s first movie since he won the Oscar for The King’s Speech last year. Also, the cast (Hugh Jackman, Russell
Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter) is bursting at the seams with
prestige and thankfully doesn’t include Taylor Swift.
This Is 40
Release date: December 21
Plot: A spin-off of Knocked Up featuring Pete and Debbie,
the characters played respectively by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann
Why it’s worth your attention:
In the past decade, Judd Apatow has produced more movies than most people make
in their lifetime, but in my opinion, none of them have come close to the films
that he has directed himself. So I’m looking forward to the sublime mixture of
humor and heart, the surprisingly insightful dialogue and the infectious
chemistry between actors that I’ve come to expect from Apatow’s films – a
delightful concoction that no one has quite managed to replicate.
Zero Dark Thirty
Release date: December 21
Plot: The Navy Seal Team 6
tracks down Osama bin Laden.
Why it’s worth your attention:
With 2009’s The Hurt Locker, Kathryn
Bigelow not only made history by becoming the first-ever Oscar-winning female
director, but she also gave us a top-notch Iraq War thriller that deserved
every single accolade bestowed upon it. Her follow-up reteams
her with Hurt Locker screenwriter
Mark Boal and promises more unbearable suspense, gritty action sequences and
terrific acting, courtesy of a cast that includes Chris Pratt, Jessica
Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Kyle Chandler, Mark Strong and Michael from Lost (aka Harold Perrineau).
Django Unchained
Release date: December 28
Plot: A former slave seeks
to help his wife escape from a ruthless plantation owner.
Why it’s worth your attention:
Forget The Great Gatsby, I’m
positively psyched to see Leonardo DiCaprio in his first-ever villainous role.
Here, I’m hoping to get a glimpse of what we would have gotten if DiCaprio had
wound up with the part of Hans Landa in Inglorious
Basterds instead of Christoph Waltz, and if he doesn’t get an Oscar nomination
for this, I don’t know what else he’ll have to do. Quentin Tarantino is always
at least interesting, and the screenplay landed on the 2010 Black List, but
honestly, I’m mostly just looking forward to some fantastically over-the-top
scenery-chewing by DiCaprio.
Seven Psychopaths
Release date: TBD
Plot: When a screenwriter
and his friend kidnap the dog of a violent gangster, anarchy ensues.
Why it’s worth your attention:
The last time Martin McDonagh and Colin Farrell worked together, for 2008’s In Bruges, the former got a
well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and the latter
turned in his best performance ever. My fingers are crossed that lightning
strikes twice for the two and we get more of the pitch-black, delightfully
un-PC comedy as well as the unexpected poignancy that made In Bruges such a treat.
Also in the mix: Sundance
favorites The Surrogate, Smashed and Beasts of the Southern Wild; John Hillcoat’s Prohibition drama, Wettest County; Terrence Malick’s
untitled romance with Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams; Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity; Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln; Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master; Walter Salles’s
long-gestating adaptation of On the Road,
which now has its first
official trailer but still no release date; Joe Wright’s apparently
experimental adaptation of Anna Karenina;
the Waskicoskis’s ambitious and potentially catastrophic attempt to film the
un-filmable with Cloud Atlas; David
O’Russell’s The Silver Linings Playbook;
and tons of others I’m forgetting.
Those are just a few of the numerous movies that we have to look
forward to this year. Of course, the film world being as unpredictable as it
is, some of these movies will probably end up being utter trash and we will
inevitably be blown away by something no one saw coming, but if you’re like me
and have been practically living on your excitement for The Dark Knight Rises, it’s always nice to know what’s out there and
hope against hope that everything turns out to be just as amazing as you’d
dreamed it would.
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