Most Anticipated Addendum: Jack Ryan

Sadly (although how much sadly is up for debate) Jack Ryan, a runner-up on my most anticipated, got bumped to the dumping grounds of January along with a fairly vague subtitle. This does not bode well for Chris Pine's future to become all things to all people. So make way for a much better, totally awesome movie that I'm sure is going to win over my heart and many Oscar voters: David O. Russell's American Hustle.

60. American Hustle (R)
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams
Director: David O. Russell
Writers: Eric Singer, David O. Russell
Release Date: December 25

Not to be confused with Katt Williams' magnum opus, Russell's take on the American Dream seems to be shining with Oscar gold even before the film began to shoot. I will go along with the masses on this one. It has almost all the actors that I really have enjoyed these past couple of years, especially Lawrence, who must be using PEDs at this point in her career. But also David O. Russell is on fire - I really liked The Fighter and I loved - loved - Silver Linings Playbook. The film is based on a true story which is always a plus in my book. It has all the right ingredients to be a contender in February. All that aside, the trailer has me sold - the film looks serious but light-hearted enough to keep things fun. This should be a great alternative to all the holiday releases this year.

Most Anticipated Addendum: Don Jon

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but it seems that Sin City, number 27 on my list, has been pushed back to next year. Luckily, there's one movie that caught my attention, especially after all the buzz it received at the SXSW film festival.

2013's Most Anticipated Addendum

It looks like that 2 of my movies this year have already taken a nosedive into next year. Warner Brothers just announced last week that 300: Rise of an Empire is getting pushed back to March. That's probably smart because it's original time slot in August seemed like it would go up against some stiff action competition. And with practically no one returning from the original and it being a prequel, it's probably not going to make a huge impact at the box office. And then I found out that the Mad Max sequel has been scheduled for some time in 2014. This movie already had a shaky date in 2013, so it's no surprise that it's been pushed back. I really didn't have a hard time finding 2 movies that I think will be really, really awesome! It's funny because they're probably the most opposite you could get with the movies they're replacing.

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: Finale

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

We've finally arrived at the top five movies. I'm so very stoked for these movies, it's hard to explain how I feel. There's just so much potential for these films and they all have incredible talent both in front of and behind the camera. 3 of the 5 movies on this page are original scripts. Not based on a book or anything else - these are strictly Hollywood blockbusters in the making. It's pretty awesome that when a lot of sequels and reboots keep getting the green light and grab all the attention, there's still a hefty amount of awesome original stuff coming out. With that in mind let's start off the top 5 with one of the hardest working and most creative man working in Hollywood: Guillermo del Toro.

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: The Real Deal

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

The top ten has arrived a little late - but no worries, there's still plenty of time to figure out if I'm a giant d-bag for my selection! If there is going to be only 10 movies that I would pay full price on - this would be the list. I have really high expectations for all of these movies and if they come even close to fulfilling the hype they've landed on this blog, then I consider it a win!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: Reboot!

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

We're getting down to the wire and I'm getting more and more excited as I write about these movies. I think there's a lot of potential for an amazing summer blockbuster season and these next five movies mostly fit that bill. It even seems like the studios want to extend that summer lovin' all the way through Thanksgiving because there's a summer superhero flick destined to show up during the least sexiest holiday of the year. I don't want to jinx anything, but 2013 is turning out to be a lot better than I expected.

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: Extra Point

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

Time to get back to the countdown after an unplanned hiatus. I feel like an idiot this week because I completely forgot about one of the biggest comedies coming out next year - Anchorman: The Legend Continues! Instead of leaving that movie out or kicking out a really awesome movie I want to see - I've simply added it as number 17A. I would have loved to put it much higher, but there's a great pairing with another comedy that works out really well and frankly, there's a lot of really kick-ass movies I want to see next year that I couldn't possibly bump down, even if it was for Ron Burgandy. So after feeling awful for being sick and busy at work the past few days, on top of feeling really really stupid, here's the next five (six, really!) movies!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: The Old is New Again

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

I will readily admit I'm part of the teeming masses that loves sequels. 16 of my 25ish are either sequels or part of a franchise. It's no different than any other year. And 2013 has some great sequels coming out - I don't know if they're going to blow anybody away with mind-numbingly awesomeness, but I did like the originals, so why not have more of the same? There's a certain level of comfort with these movies - you're familiar with the characters so it's not too hard to jump right into the action and/or drama. And who knows? Sometimes sequels can outshine the original (The Dark Knight, anyone? I'm ashamed Bill & Ted didn't make that list). Let the TOP 25 commence!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: Remix!

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

This part of the list is full of comebacks, remakes and going back to your roots. Hollywood does have an unhealthy obsession with remaking movies, but if they're done right, who cares? For every Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), there's Let Me In. For every Total Recall (2012), there's War of the Worlds (2005). So they're hit and miss - but as long the cast and crew are solid and there's good intentions for the remake - I'm all for it and will always be on board to check them out. There's actually a really great four-part web series by Kirby Ferguson, who goes in depth into our creative culture and how unoriginal it really is (in both good and bad ways!). I highly recommend watching if you have about 10-15 minutes to spare (for each part). Now onto the list!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: An Odd Assortment

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

This part of the list is a hodgepodge of weird and unique movies. I'm really stoked (pun intended! You'll see once you read number 33) about all of these movies - they offer up some very unique tales. What's great about this list is that a lot of these movies are spread out throughout the year. There's five separate months represented in this section of the list and that's a great thing. Hollywood is slowly coming around to the idea of having some blockbuster movies during the springtime. And rightfully so - sometimes the summer can get too crowded and I think number 35 is a great example of trying to sell a summer blockbuster during March.

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: This is not the end

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

The more I write about next year, the more I'm getting excited about how it's shaping up. After a letdown in the comedy department this year, there's a lot of comedies coming out next year. And the summer is shaping up to have a bevy of (somewhat) original movies, including a lot of great action/sci-fi flicks and comedies. It's going to be another exciting year and this part of the list contains a lot of movies that have the potential to be really funny and really good.

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: It Continues

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

 

After a dearth of comedies this year (I can count on my one hand the number of good comedy films that came out this year), it's refreshing to see a lot more for 2013. This part of the list has not one, not two but three comedies! Most of them could've landed much higher on the list, but I'm a little weary of all three of them for various reason which I'll get into. The other two movies are kick starting the science fiction genre that fills up 1/5 of the movies on my list. Yes, science fiction rocks and it's going to be kicking ass and taking names next year.

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2013: Better than Cotton Candy

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

 

Pretty much sums up my feelings.

Welcome back to the annual installment of my Most Anticipated list! This is where I psyche myself up and disproportionately hype up movies to beyond expectations! 2013, on paper, looks to be a solid year - there's a lot to love on this list and I'll take great care to make sure that only the best movies make the cut. This first part of the list is pretty rare - I have five movies that all have trailers attached to them already! Yeah - that's pretty dope and it saves me a lot of time writing plot synopsis. I am excited to get started.......so let's start the countdown....now!

Most Anticipated: The Runner-Up Part II

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

The last installment before we get started with the real list (starting next Monday!) is an odd assortment of movies. There's a crime movie, a couple spy thrillers, a coming of age comedy and a magician-themed comedy. It's truly a bizarre list to conclude my runners-up. But what I found out when writing down my list of movies for next year - it's an eclectic mix of comedies, dramas and action. Last year was dominated by superhero movies and science fiction (and sequels!), while 2013 isn't dominated by one genre and less than half my movies are sequels/remakes! I'm excited to see where the year takes us because I know for sure there's going to be some big surprises that even I cannot predict with this list.

Lets Get It Started: The Runners-Up part 1

List: 50-46 | 45-41 | 40-36 | 35-31 | 30-26 | 25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1 | Runners-Up: 10-6 | 5-1 |

2012 was a phenomenal year in movies. I don't think we're ever going to see a summer quite as explosive as this one. Not only did The Avengers live up to the hype surrounding it, it blew box office expectations away. Couple that with Christopher Nolan's end to his Batman trilogy and it truly was a unique summer. But add in a prequel to the Aliens franchise, a surprisingly popular male stripper drama and a successful reboot of a very young Spider-Man franchise - the summer was even more special. And that's not including the spring which saw The Hunger Games and 21 Jump Street surprise everyone with how awesome they were. I've been trying to compile a list of the ten best movies from this year and I'm having a hard time because I have about 15 already!

I highly doubt 2013 is going to be as big of a year as it was for the box office this year. But nevertheless, next year is going to have some amazing movies - I have no doubt about that. While there won't be any sure-fire $400 million dollar hits, next year brings a great mix of eagerly awaited follow-ups and original movie ideas. With that in mind - here's part one of my runner-ups list. These movies didn't quite make the cut, but are worth keeping an eye out for because they do have some potential.