Curses!

I think I've unleashed some bad mojo. Just a few weeks ago, I had the unfortunate choice of changing one of my most anticipated movies. For the second time. The original movie on my Most Anticipated list was Jupiter Ascending in the no. 6 spot. That movie promptly got banished to the wasteland of February 2015 for what seems like no good reason, but mainly because the studio has no faith whatsoever in the movie's financial prospects. I replaced Jupiter Ascending with Kingsman: The Secret Service. And that promptly got banished to February 2015 as well, pretty much for the same reasons as Jupiter Ascending. So my third movie, Hot Tube Time Machine 2, I thought there was no way they would change the release date. NOPE. February 2015. AGAIN. I think the fact that it was going against another R-rated comedy during Christmas was made them change the date (Seth Rogen and James Franco team up for The Interview - it's number 46 on my list!).

SO after all that drama, I've waited and decided that I couldn't do any better that the big release coming out this weekend. Barring some misfortune, like the film being completely deleted/destroyed by some idiot worker, Nightcrawler is my FINAL replacement movie.

6. Nightcrawler (R)
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Renee Russo, Bill Paxton
Director: David Gilroy
Writer: David Gilroy
While probably not deserving of the 6 most anticipated movie of 2014, I have no choice. Nevertheless, this still looks like a creepy and thrilling movie. And from all the raves it's been getting at the festivals this year, I've no doubt this is going to be a good film. From every teaser and trailer I've seen, it looks like Gyllenhaal might have an Oscar nomination in his future. He just looks decidedly creepy and malevolent in this movie. It looks like a lot of fun (thrills) but also seems like it has something to say about mass media and our culture of consumption. I'm definitely seeing it opening weekend. And if it sucks? Well, I got at least three movies to look forward to in February!

2014 Most Anticipated Addendum

Just when I thought it was safe for the rest of the year, some dumb studio goes and pushes back a movie into next year! This time it was Kingsman: The Secret Service. In fact, that movie was a replacement for Jupiter Ascending, another movie that's getting dumped in the beginning of the year because the studio has no clue as to how to market it. So on to another option and this is definitely coming out this year. Thank god.

6. Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Starring: Craig Robinson, Adam Scott, Rob Corddry
Director: Steve Pink
Writer: Josh Heald
Release Date: December 25
What's there to say? Did you like the first one? Well then this one should be awesome as well. This looks like more insanity from the same guys who did the first one. Just swap out John Cusack for Adam Scott and add Gillian Jacobs, Thomas Lennon and Jason Jones to the mix and this should be a fun and very R-rated Christmas movie that maybe you'll have to sneak out to after hanging out with the fam all day. Between this and The Interview, Unbroken and holdovers like The Hobbit and Exodus: Gods and Kings, this Christmas could be pretty fun for moviegoers.

2014 Most Anticipated: Corrections

I've been meaning to get to this, but three of my most anticipated movies have been shockingly (and some not so much) pushed back to 2015. It's pretty standard that this happens to a least 2 or 3 movies every year - although 2 of the movies this year have interesting and sad dilemmas that forced the push back. Nevertheless, I found 3 just as interesting (if not more!) movies to fill their spots!

49. Jane Got a Gun  Kill The Messenger
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Sheen
Director: Michael Cuesta
Writer: Peter Landesman
Release Date: October 10
Natalie Portman's Jane Got a Gun has had some difficulties - casting has been a crazy affair (3 cast changes for the lead role!) and the original director just didn't show up on the first day. This apparently didn't affect the production as Portman and her production team scrambled to find a replacement. But then the studio decided to move the release date to next year. All this drama for a small western film! Kill the Messenger seemed like an appropriate fill-in for this particular movie. It's based on a true story about the investigation of journalist Gary Webb who uncovered connection between the CIA and drug traffickers. It sparked a media frenzy in 2004 and led to his resignation, and ultimately, his suicide. There's an enormous amount of talent behind the film and it looks like this should be an interesting story. I'm getting a Confessions of a Dangerous Mind-vibe from the story (a fantastic movie, directed by George Clooney no less!) and a thriller-like sense of production. With Jeremy Renner attached as the lead and a great supporting cast (Oliver Platt, Michael Sheen, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ray Liotta, Mary Elizabeth Winstead) this could be an early Oscar contender. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up like Argo from two years ago - a critical and commercial success. Count me in!

12. Fast and Furious 7  Inherent Vice
Starring: Joaquin Phoeniz, Reese Witherspoon, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson
Release Date: December 12
Due to the tragic circumstances with Paul Walker's death, it became very clear that production would have to be halted for the crew and creative team to figure out the best way to move forward without Walker. Thus the delay until 2015 - it's unfortunate, but ultimately I trust the studio to make a tasteful and elegant way for Walker to bow out of the franchise without disrespecting his legacy or his character. It's with that somber note that I move on to replacing this movie with a very different movie. If Fast and Furious 7 is all about fast cars and crazy ass stunts, Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon novel is more like a VW van rolling through the countryside on its way to Burning Man. The first ever Pynchon novel to be adapted into film - Inherent Vice is very much a pulp novel and plays out like a film noire. Joaquin Phoenix plays the lead, "Doc" Sportello, a detective who finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy involving the cops. It's an interesting take for Anderson - who's mainly known for his intentionally vague narrative dramas focused on characters rather than story. But I really dig PTA - even with his last film, The Master, it managed to make me think about the film long after I had watched it. So he seems like a perfect fit to unravel a Pynchon novel - they seem like kindred spirits, just in different mediums. And Joaquin Phoenix has done a wonderful job after the debacle of his "retirement" - he's doing some of his best work right now and I think this movie is going to be another Oscar contender! If it hits all the right notes, this might be one of my favorite movies this year.

6. Jupiter Ascending  Kingsman: The Secret Service
Starring: Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, Mark Strong
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writers: Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
Release Date: October 24
With the flabber-gasting news of Jupiter Ascending being pushed back to next year just a couple of months before its release (it was supposed to come out this summer), I felt so disappointed. I think the Wachowskis made one of their best films with Cloud Atlas. It's just so sad that the studio seems to have zero faith in this sci-fi epic. I'll be for sure watching this day one when it comes out, regardless of reviews. But that means I needed to replace this movie - and I think Kingsman fills that role quite well. Matthew Vaughn has had an incredible career so far - all of his directorial efforts have been, in my opinion, great movies (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, Stardust, Layer Cake) and he's once again teaming up with Matt Millar (the genius comic book writer behind Kick-Ass and Wanted) to provide another delectably absurd action/fantasy film. This time he's got Colin First kicking ass and saving the day against the evil intentions of Samuel L. Jackson. It'll be nice to see Jackson in villain mode again - he's been playing Nick Fury for too long it seems! Plus I like the idea of a young punk learning to be a badass through rigorous training. It just seems like a fun action movie - I'm hoping for the best here!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Risk it for the Biscuit

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

We've made it to the mountaintop, folks. Despite the extended breaks in between, I made it! It's been fun to speculate (as always) about what's going to be awesome next year. I said at the beginning that 2014 is a filler year - and while I'm still way, way more excited for 2015, next year should be filled with some really fun movies and way more original titles. As I'm writing this, I've already had a victim of push back - Fast and Furious 7 has been officially moved to an already-crowded 2015. So stay tuned on a replacement, as soon as I can figure that out!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Sequelitis

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

Well, we've reached the Top 10. Most of these movies are sequels. While I do enjoy original stories, there's nothing quite like seeing a movie transcend it's original and become something great. Star Wars did it. The Terminator did it. Bill and Ted most definitely did it. So despite everyone's whining about sequels, these are the moments when a movie can become a cultural phenomenon (The Dark Knight) or at the very least, a good franchise. I expect nothing but awesome sauce for these next 10 movies. It won't be surprising if they fail to meet my expectations, but there's always a chance we'll get to see something special!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Kickstarting!

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

They gave it 6 stars!

 I'm not going to bore you with my mother's garden stories, let's get to the list!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Geekdom!

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

"I wanna dip my balls in it!" "Louie! Louie! Louie!"

2 sequels and 3 original science fiction movies. It's no surprise that about a third of my top 25 is science fiction. I grew up with it, I get excited about that stuff. It's been a wonderful 5 years to be a science fiction geek. In fact, it's been an awesome time to be a geek or a nerd - they've been ruling the internet and pop culture now for what seems like a really long time. Growing up in the 90s, it was definitely not cool to like Star Trek or read Robert Heinlein novels or enjoy MTV's The State. Now you're considered out of the loop if you don't watch Game of Thrones or enjoy comic books or their film adaptations. It's been pretty fun, that's why I'm enjoying my time here at the top. Because I know at some point science fiction, fantasy and other "Geek culture" might become not cool again. And then I'll be forced to discuss my love for Battlestar Galactica on a fansite message board. Sigh.

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Nostalgia

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

We've entered the Top 25 - these are by far the films I will more than likely plunk down some of my mostly hard-earned dollars to see right away. These next few movies are an eclectic mix of reboots, sequels and totally original films. And in part, this list sums up how 2014 is going to shake out - there's a lot of risky movies and reboots being planned alongside a healthy amount of sequels and guaranteed blockbusters. Nestled in between is all that original stuff that people tend to forget about when they complain every year about the lack of originality in Hollywood. Most of the oldies I see at work are the one who complain the most, but I always find it refreshing when I see a sweet old lady come up to the register and plunk down five or so movies with a big smile on her face because she's excited to check out Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters or Cloud Atlas. I'm gonna miss those old ladies. (I just realized while re-reading this last sentence that it may come across as either A) I will murder those old ladies possibly in their sleep or B) they will be dying soon because they are old. I can neither confirm nor deny these possibilities).

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Reboot!

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

I didn't mean to leave everyone hanging last week. I didn't die! In fact, I'm busy building IKEA shelves to fit all my movies and I was way too excited for that task than the more important task of bestowing upon the world my vision for 2014. Don't fret, I'm back and I will make sure your world is collectively rocked. Now let's get it on!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Delayed

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

Sometimes writing these lists, you end up picking some duds. But the worst is when I pick a movie and it doesn't even come out that year. There's been a few in 2013 that got pushed back to 2014 and a couple of them are in this next section. Most of the time it has to do with post-production problems. Other times it's simply that the studio does not have any faith in the project. I always can find a filler if that happens this year (hell, I even forgot until the last minute that the Veronica Mars movie was coming out next year!). As much as I love doing these lists, I relish the moments when I find myself in the theater watching something that I haven't previewed or heard little about and it just blows me away. Good times, those are.

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Frustration

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

 

Pretty much how I feel about making decisions on this list.

This year, I've noticed, has been one of the more tougher ones to figure out the movies in the bottom half of the top 50. Mainly because a lot of the movies this time around don't have trailers or much information about them. I'm just blindly going along with my knowledge of who's involved in the film more that anything else. I'm pretty cool like that. It's especially tougher when you're talking about comedies because so much of those films rely on tone and visual gags that it's hard to determine what I'm going to like unless I see a trailer. So I'll just take the praise right now that I picked a few comedy gems for next year and I also selected some comedy duds, but they were low on my list, so no biggie. Either way it's a win-win situation for me!

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Small is the New Big

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

Artist rendering of The Lone Ranger's budget.

I think sometimes I overlook the smaller movies that come out during the year. Sure, nothing gets me more excited than a sweet-looking sci-fi epic that's bound to have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. But I also really, really love those smaller, more independent-minded films. Most of these next films have very little in common with the summer blockbuster, but they may just end up being some of my favorite movies of the year. There's always a few of these movies that creep up out of nowhere to find a spot on my top 10 (Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of those movies from last year and it didn't even make my list!). So I may not rank these movies very high on my list, but they could just end up besting that movie with the superhero in it.

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2014: Filler?

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

My official motto

Let's just cut right to the chase: We're all just waiting for 2015 to drop. 2014 is officially a filler year. Not that there won't be some great, if not spectacular, movies coming out next year. It's just that 2015 is poised to be one of those rare years where the stars align and the Geek Gods rain franchise/sequel mana down from heaven in the form of a Batman/Superman crossover movie, a new Star Wars movie, an Avengers movie and a new Jurassic Park movie. This is on top of the conclusion to the Hunger Games movies, another entry in the Mission: Impossible and Bond series and the Mad Max and Terminator franchises get some sort of reboot. Seriously, I could write a bevy of blog posts on 2015 right now.

But next year is 2014 (this seems like a painfully obvious statement but I need constant reinforcement in my life). I'm excited about next year, just not pee-your-pants kind of excited. Yes, I pee my pants with excitement sometimes. BECAUSE PEEING YOUR PANTS IS THE COOLEST; and if it's the coolest, you can call me Miles Davis.

Just to break things down a bit - there are about 20 sequels, reboots and franchise movies on this list. Maybe a little bit more or less, depending on what you consider a reboot or remake (take for example, last year's Great Gatsby. Technically it's a new movie, but The Great Gatsby has been made before - I did count it as a remake on my list FYI). That's actually a bit down from last year when half my list was part of a remake or franchise. So hooray for originality this year! Now onto the list!

2014's Most Anticipated: The Runners-Up

Yep, I'm feeling bullish.

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

It's that time of year again! Time for me to naively over-indulge my expectations for next year's movies. Some will no doubt not live up to the hype that I spread about on this blog. Hell, some will come out of nowhere and wrap me up in warm fuzzies (I'm looking at you, About Time!). Most will, however, be just okay. Which is the worst. But the best part of doing this is just like watching the trailers before the movie - it's the idea of what can be. I'm a dreamer folks, I love to dream and unlike my private dream journal, I'm deciding to share my most intimate thoughts. Hey, I'm a Millennial, so I might as well air out all of my emotions onto the internet.

But before we get to the top 50 (yes 50 is a lot, but I love movies. I probably watch at least 100 every year. So 50 isn't really that big of a number to me), I do have some Runners-Up, listed in alphabetical order that piqued my interest but just don't really have me all that excited. So let's bring the noise!