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!

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.

2013's Most Anticipated Roundup 2!

The ball represents my work life

I've been away from the internets too long - but I'm back and I've still been watching movies, so here's a staggering amount of mini-reviews (who doesn't love mini?!) to catch everyone up to speed:

Sound of My Voice

Sound of My Voice (R) - Runtime: 85 minutes
Starring: Brit Marling, Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius
Director: Zal Batmanglij
Writer: Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling

This movie was kind of a surprise. I had wanted to at least check it out when I saw the trailer - I do like movies that offer up mysterious, cult-like figures and it just looked really interesting. And despite it's low-budget aesthetic and somewhat slow-pace, I nonetheless really dug this movie. In fact, the movie kind of sets up a sequel of which the writer/director Zal Batmanglij has talked about doing - which would be fantastic.

The movie follows a couple, Peter and Lorna who want to investigate what they think is a cult. They want to document what they think is going to eventually turn into a Heaven's Gate fiasco with all the member's either being killed or committing suicide. Behind all these shenanigans? It's a frail, beautiful woman named Maggie who claims to be from the future. She doesn't know how or why she's back in our present day, but she plans on teaching people about really living, instead of the bullshit lives us commonfolk live nowadays.

Peter is inexplicably drawn to Maggie and falls under her spell. At first he wants to expose Maggie as a fraud, but can't help fall under her spell. It's not exactly sexual, either. The movie doesn't try to persuade you that he's in love, but he most definitely wants Maggie to like him.Meanwhile, Lorna gets more and more concerned that the cult is taking over their lives, especially when one of the other members takes her out in the wilderness to shoot a gun.

The film does move at a slow pace, but I never really felt bored - things don't escalate quickly - it's a gradual climb to the climax when everything comes to a head. I won't spoil the ending, save that it's really good and will leave you wondering whether you believe Maggie is for real or not. It actually makes you want to go back and watch with a closer eye to see if things seem legit - Maggie's story, her constant need to be fed organic stuff (she's allergic to most food from our time), etc.

The performances are great - Brit Marling has been popping up in some movies that I've seen recently or have heard about and I'm quickly falling for her, too. You completely buy into her role as the reluctant leader of this cult. And Christopher Denham and Nicole Vicius are wonderful too - especially Denham who has some brilliant moments with Marling.

The film is a great study on how we let people into our lives and sometimes the closest people to us may never really know your true feelings or past. Peter seems to have a lot of demons from his past, but he's never once told Lorna anything but he opens up instead to Maggie. The film also does a great job of never letting the tension go - there's moments when you don't know if someone is going to live or die and it's quite scary.

I highly recommend this movie - it's worth checking out if you don't mind a slower pace. The movie is less than an hour and a half long, so it's over with quickly. But that doesn't diminish the impact I had after seeing the ending. I wanted more. Hopefully that will happen!

Rating: Rent It!