Most Anticipated 2014: The Judge

37. The Judge (R) - Runtime: 141 minutes
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga
Director: David Dobkin
Writers: Nick Schenk, Bill Dubuque
Long before RDJ was charming his way into geeks' hearts, he was more known for his dramatic roles. His most iconic role was Chaplin for which he earned his first Oscar nomination. Robert Duvall has known nothing but drama throughout his career and they're both at their A-game here in this compelling drama about fathers and sons. While The Judge won't win any awards this year, this is still a solid adult-oriented (aka Rated R) drama that are few and far between each year.

You'd be surprised at a lot of the similarities between RDJ's Tony Stark (Iron Man) and his character Hank Palmer in The Judge. Both are narcissistic assholes, both are wealthy, self-made men and they have daddy issues. The latter is probably more important in this movie. Obviously. So it's not that much of a stretch for RDJ to play this role, but he does it so flawlessly. As for Robert Duvall, his character is a stubborn, old-timey somewhat of a jerk of a father and is played brilliantly. And after losing his wife, he gets accused of killing a man he put away thirty years ago.

As the movie progresses and you learn more about the history behind the Palmer's and their overbearing father, it becomes clear that the movie has its strengths and weaknesses. Mostly the family drama and the amazing chemistry between Duvall and Downey are the most engaging and thoroughly enjoyable parts to this movie. Watching them duel - as father and son - is simply fun to watch. There's a lot of heartache and anger in these performances and it's as gut wrenching to watch as it probably was for these two men to perform.

However, the main thrust of the plot - the crime and subsequent trial - all fall a little flat. Billy Bob Thornton comes in on his high horse and demands justice but he's clearly an asshole even though he would be the protagonist in any other courtroom drama. And the actual trial gets a little muddy and convoluted for its own good - the "reveals" of what really happened are not all that exciting. You kind of wish that Judge Palmer would just confess and get back to shouting at his son some more.

But aside from the courtroom, there's a lot to love in this film. The supporting cast is great - Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jeremy Strong and Dax Shepard all have a chance to shine. The film may be a bit too long (it's almost two and a half hours!) and at times it feels a little slow, but the performances and the characters outweigh the negatives. At first, when I was leaving the theater, I felt like a lot of this hit home for me - going back from the big city to a small, rural town. Having confrontations with your father and facing your ex-girlfriend. But I realized most of that doesn't really hit that close to home (maybe a little bit of going back to a small town) and I credit the movie for making me feel that way - there's a lot of emotion throughout the film and it must have sunk into my thoughts. It's a very moving film and certainly worth seeing for the performances alone.

RATING: I JUDGE THEE WORTHY OF A MATINEE

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!

A Challenger Approaches

A war is being waged at the box office. Ceremonial shots have been fired, but the battle won't start until 2016. I'm talking about DC vs. Marvel. There's two kinds of people in this world: Pepsi vs. Coke, toilet paper up vs. down, cats vs. dogs. People who hate Nickelback vs No one. Personally? I'm more of a Marvel guy, but that's simply because they come out with better (and way more) movies than DC. I am not a comic book guy, but I have read extensively about the comic book backgrounds for most of Marvel and DC. I just think Marvel has a more interesting line up of characters.

That's not to say DC can't best Marvel at the box office or critically (Nolan's Batman trilogy is the pinnacle of thoughtful superhero movies). Clearly Batman trumps almost every other superhero. And there's Superman, whom I'm not particularly fond of, but he probably has the second biggest following behind Batman. And, ironically, DC has way better TV properties than Marvel - Arrow and Smallville have been rousing successes and Gotham and The Flash are earning deserved praise already.

So it's interesting to hear with today's news about DC's once-secret movie lineup is now all laid out to bare for anyone with an internet connection. DC is not just planning one movie per year, but two. They're going full blitz against Marvel:

• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
• Suicide Squad (2016)
• Wonder Woman (2017)
• Justice League, Part One (2017)
• The Flash (2018)
• Aquaman (2018)
• Shazam (2019)
• Justice League, Part Two (2019)
• Cyborg (2020)
• Green Lantern (2020)

As a comic book/superhero movie fan, this is win-win. DC has got to bring their A-game. Not only has Marvel turned their C- and D-list cast of characters into box office champs, they've earned praise from critics and movie-goers. So DC can't afford to have more than one misstep in this lineup - past success breeds much bigger success and well-loved movies earn the devotion of fans that will turn out in droves to see a movie about a talking tree and racoon in space.

Meanwhile, Marvel is rolling. Despite not owning the movie rights to their biggest franchies (Spider-Man and X-Men), they've done quite well. With Guardians of the Galaxy they've proved that if they make a quality movie, it will be successful despite not having a big name star, director or characters. The first big battle is a ways off: Batman & Superman Vs Captain America and Iron Man. Marvel just announced the inclusion of Robert Downey, Jr. in the next Captain America. And you couldn't get a better matchup, because not only do both movies feature the heavy hitters of their roster, both main characters are going after each other and these movies will be springboards into a much bigger and involved story that covers multiple movies.

On one hand you have Captain America 3 starting the Civil War storyline, which pits Steve Rogers against Tony Stark in a battle for civil liberties as it pertains to superheros. On the other hand, it's Superman's government sell-out vs Batman's grizzled distaste for said government and corruption. It's quite interesting that there are so many similarities between these two plots. Batman Vs Superman was coming out the same weekend as Captain America and I think that would have been fantastic. It would have been epic and so meta. But instead, DC wimped out and decided to move their BIG TIME SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE FRANCHISE MAKER to March.

I mean, March is great, and there's evidence that people will go see a big-time movie (Hunger Games, Alice in Wonderland), but c'mon - these movies are made for summer. But before the announcement of RDJ in Captain 3, it was easily going to get dwarfed at the box office by BvS regardless of when it comes out. But now, I'm not so sure. I think the way Marvel has created a loyal fanbase and their marketing team has been nothing but perfect lately and if they sell Captain 3 the right way (as the start of something HUGE and as big of a deal as Batman battling Superman), there is a chance Marvel comes out on top for the year.

As for the next 6 or so years? Marvel's lineup is somewhat of a mystery:

• The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
• Ant-Man (2015)
• Captain America 3 (2016)
• Doctor Strange (2016)
• Possible Thor 3? (2017)
• Guardians of The Galaxy 2 (2017)
• Untitled Marvel Film (2017)
• Possible Avengers 3? (2018)
• Untitled Marvel Film (2018)
• Untitled Marvel Film (2018)
• Untitled Marvel Film (2019)

There's lots of untitleds up there. I think it's interesting that Marvel has kept most of the next 6 years a mystery versus DC's openly honest press release. Marvel certainly know what's going on and ultra-producer and master planner Kevin Feige has said they have things planned out until 2021 - which would include four phases of their Cinematic Universe (Age of Ultron will conclude phase 2). I don't know which approach is better - it's fun to speculate what Marvel will be offering up in later years, but it's nice to know what direction DC is taking by seeing all their movies lined up like that.

And this is the new trend in Hollywood. Sony has plans for their own universe with the Spider-Man franchise with the Sinister Six movie, a female driven Spider-Man movie and Spider-Man 3. Fox is looking to continue their success with X-Men by doing X-Men Apocalypse and another Wolverine movie. Don't be surprised if the Fantastic Four reboot shares the same universe along with the announced Deadpool movie. And then you have Star Wars doing the same thing with another trilogy and spinoff movies in between each trilogy movie. We won't be too far away from Pixar or Disney animated films sharing the same universe or Nicholas Sparks' adaptations becoming franchised. Nothing is too crazy and this idea of expanded content may not be a new idea, but it's certainly becoming a profitable enterprise.

And I could not be more excited!

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.

Most Anticipated 2014: Review Roundup

18. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (R) - Runtime: 102 minutes
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Writer: Frank Miller

Too little, too late. What a disappointment this movie was. The original Sin City was pretty good (at least from what I remember) and I was hoping that the sequel would be just as gritty and dark and a bit too crazy just like the first one. Instead the movie doesn't have a compelling story to tell among the three different vignettes. The characters themselves are flat and don't have any depth beyond taking revenge and being evil. JGL's character is the most likeable and you root for his character, but he's a very small part of the movie where his story could have been way way more because of the potential there. Plus the acting was all wooden and the film noir-narrative just comes off as desperately trying too hard unlike the first movie when it felt a little more fresh. This was one of the worst movies I've seen all year.
RATING: THREE HAIL MARYS WILL DO FOR WATCHING THIS MOVIE

58. The Maze Runner (PG-13) - Runtime: 113 minutes
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario
Director: Wes Ball
Writers: Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, T.S. Nowlin

Young Adult movie adaptations are all the rage now and most of them are pretty terrible. Luckily, The Maze Runner is compelling (and good) enough for a movie. The Lord of the Flies aspect of boys trying to run a civilization while simultaneously being prisoners is rich enough. The premise is pretty absurd and by the end of the movie, you'll have more questions than answers, but it was exciting and the characters were fairly well-written enough that you'll enjoy the movie. Much like the main character who doesn't know what the hell is going on, the audience is along for the ride without any idea where it's headed. Which works for this movie. And it doesn't waste any time as things move quickly from one action scene to the next. It was good enough for me to go out and get the first two books to read! Consider that a success!
RATING: A LABYRINTHINE GOOD TIME

48. The Equalizer (R) - Runtime: 132 minutes
Starring: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Writer: Richard Wenk

Who knew this 80s television show remake would make for a compelling, very violent and visceral movie? Denzel is a badass and he shows it here as an ex-CIA agent who kills off part of the Russian mob operating in America. The movie starts off slow. And I mean slow - but it works in this movie - you get to know Denzel's character and who he is and what drives him. And then when the fury gets unleashed, it's a little shocking. There's a lot of crests and falls in the movie and it all leads up to a Home Alone-esque (no joke here!) takedown of hired goons at the Home Depot. This movie was awesome - it's gritty and violent and disturbing. My only quibble is that there are no female characters to speak of in the movie. Sure, there's the heart of gold hooker Denzel is saving, but she's barely in it and Melissa Leo plays a former associate of Denzel's, but she has limited screen time. It's pretty sad. But aside from that, this movie just works. It's really Denzel that elevates the material above just a revenge flick.
RATING: AN EQUALLY BADASS AND SOMBER TIME AT THE THEATER

44. This is Where I Leave You (R) - Runtime: 103 minutes
Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda
Director: Shawn Levy
Writer: Jonathan Tropper

I will freely admit I am a sucker for ensemble family dramedies. The Family Stone, Dan in Real Life, The Way, Way Back - I just really enjoy seeing family dynamics in certain settings. In this case, the Altmans patriarch passes away and his final wish is for everyone to sit shiva for one whole week. Of course this family is as dysfunctional as any other movie family and so lots of drama and lots of comedy ensue. And boy is there a lot of drama - every single character has a lot of baggage that they bring to the table and Jason Batman is in the center of it all. His life is a wreck and this week at home will change his life for the better and maybe for the worst as well. All the performances are great, including Adam Driver as the baby boy of the family who plays a womanizing, going-nowhere twenty-something. There's a lot of sweet and bittersweet moments and some that hit a little too close to home for me. But it's all endearing and funny and I loved every minute of it.
RATING: THIS IS WHERE I SAY GO SEE IT

28. Gone Girl (R) - Runtime: 149 minutes
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike
Director: David Fincher
Writer: Gillian Flynn

I have no clue why David Fincher's newest movie wasn't higher on my list. He hasn't directed a bad movie at all (and yes, I'm including Alien 3 in that discussion) and as far as mystery/thrillers, he's probably the best bet you can get (Zodiac still sends chills down my spine. Every. Damn. Time.). Partnering up with Ben Affleck, another favorite of mine should have landed this movie in the top 10. But I think I just didn't put two and two together. This movie is simply stunning. From the direction and cinematography, to the haunting and beautiful soundtrack to the performances (especially Ms. Pike) - it all seems so effortless. Yes, I read the book before watching the movie, but Fincher really knows how to turn something so beloved into something that seems so original on the screen. No doubt the book is better, but the movie is so good that it stands on its own ground. And the last half an hour is captivating and probably one of the most visceral and thoroughly engrossing endings I've seen all year. This is as close you can get to near-perfect for a movie. I loved it and loved it more the second time I saw it.
RATING: GO ON GIRL AND SEE THIS MOVIE!

Most Anticipated 2014: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

25. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PG-13) - Runtime: 101 minutes
Starring: Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Will Arnett
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Writers: Josh Applebaum, Andre Nemec, Evan Daugherty

Let's just get this out of the way: I'm a huge, huge Ninja Turtles fan. Much like most people my age, I grew up with the cartoon every Saturday morning. And like most people my age, I have very strong opinions about pop culture from my childhood. We're reaching almost catastrophic levels of nostalgia for the 90s and it's not surprising that the Ninja Turtles have gotten the "reboot." Although I use that term loosely. Because what most people my age have to know is that the Ninja Turtles never really went away. They just evolved with each new generation - apparently the new cartoon that started last year is totally great and the series from the 2000s was pretty good too. So this movie is mainly for a newer generation of Turtles fans. Sure, there's plenty of fan service to us oldies, but mainly this movie is for the kids.

And for the most part, this kids movie is fun and frenetic like a Ninja Turtles movie should be, albeit with several flaws. It gets the Michael Bay treatment - big, loud set pieces and explosions with lots of lens flare; good god there's a lot of lens flare! - but it's far better than anything Michael Bay has directed with the Transformers sequels. The movie is an origin story and it starts out painfully slow - there's a voice over and animation sequence telling us how the turtles came to be who they are - but really, this could have been shown or told throughout the whole film. Instead we're treated to this awful narration and the turtles don't even show up until about 20 minutes into the movie. If there's one huge complaint it's that this movie didn't spend nearly enough time showcasing and indulging us with enough turtles!

The movie's big focus is April O'Neal - the intrepid and ambitious reporter who's looking to get that big break. And while it's nice that the movie wanted to focus on April, it would have been a lot better had the movie just focused on the turtle characters and had them coming together as a team. April has her cameraman sidekick - played by Will Arnett - to chum around with but their relationship is really not worthy of screen time. He has a creepy crush on her because he looks so old next to her and really he doesn't have much to do in the movie except provide transportation. But I digress - for what little we do get from seeing the turtles, it's pretty fantastic. There's the usual hijinks and immature ninja-wielding fun that they indulge in and it's great.

I thought William Fichtner was going to be great playing the villain - but his character is so dull and boring in this movie about Ninja Turtles that it's hard to muster any sort of emotion. And Shredder was a complete badass but has absolutely no depth - he's just an evil samurai dude in a metal suit. It's unfortunate that the movie is this shallow, but I guess I shouldn't have expected too much. This movie should have cut the beginning 20 minutes and spent a good 30 minutes developing the characters more. More of Leo and Raphael fighting and Donatello being a nerdy brainiac. More Michelangelo being silly. More Shredder background.

This could have been a better movie. With that being said, it's still better than I expected. I really thought I would hate, hate this movie from what I saw in the tonally-dark trailers. But it's light hearted and it really is more like an extended episode of the show. It's just too bad they couldn't find a better focus for the movie besides April and her sidekick.

Rating: Radically mediocre!

Most Anticipated 2014: Guardians of the Galaxy

5. Guardians of the Galaxy (PG-13) - Runtime: 121 minutes
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, David Bautista, Lee Pace
Director: James Gunn
Writers: Nicole Perlman, James Gunn

Wow. Just wow. Totally blew up my expectations. I think as time went by this year, Guardians became increasingly more exciting to me, especially after a couple of somewhat disappointing movies in my top 5 (Noah, X-Men). And after all the amazing reviews and good word-of-mouth, Guardians is most definitely the movie to see this summer. It took us 3 months to get to an event-level movie, but no doubt Guardians lives up to and exceeds all the hype. James Gunn and Nicole Perlman have crafted a fun, weird and funny sci-fi action flick. Plus all the Guardians are written so well (yes even Groot, who can only say the phrase "I Am Groot!") and they have a nice progression and arc during the movie.

Peter Quill (the about-to-be-a-household-name Chris Pratt), a lone bounty hunter/scavenger who got abducted by aliens when he was a boy, finds an orb of significant value and power, although he doesn't know it at the time - he's just looking to unload it for money. Along the way back to cashing the orb in, Gamora (sci-fi vet Zoe Saldana) is sent to get the orb from him by the villain Ronan and also Rocket (the racoon) and his partner Groot (the tree) find Quill to be a good bounty, so they decide to try and capture him. Well, they all cause a ruckus and are soon sent to space prison where they meet the fifth member, Drax, a maniacal warrior with revenge on his mind (Ronan killed his family). They band together and finally figure out they need to stop Ronan. Hijinks ensue.

The movie starts off great - we see Peter as a boy getting abducted right after seeing his mom pass away from what I'm guessing is cancer. She made him a cassette mixtape with some awesome tunes and cut to the present day where we see Quill dancing around some ancient ruins to Redbone's Come and Get Your Love and it is perfect. Plus it sets the tone for the rest of the movie - you know you're in for a fun time and Quill is not your typical type of hero. Although he's selfish and a ladies' man, deep down he's still wounded from his mother dying and getting abducted. Gamora is the "daughter" of the Thanos - the intimidating villain behind the evil Ronan - but really he killed her family and took her in and trained her to be the galaxy's deadliest assassin. Needless to say, she has daddy issues. Drax is out for revenge like I said earlier and Groot has his moments as the sidekick to Rocket - who is the heart and soul of this movie. Voiced by Bradley Cooper, who's nearly unrecognizable, deserves many kudos for really getting into character.  He is a genetically-modified Racoon who's been tortured and experimented on too many times and he sees life as nothing but unfair and awful. And he steals every scene he's in.

Rocket's humor and disregard for others is what makes this movie tick. Not only is there an awful lot of action, but the jokes and humor are extremely funny and entertaining. From Drax's quirk of not really understanding metaphors ("It's not over my head, because I'm too quick, I would catch it) to Rocket's pranks - the prosthetic leg bit was hilarious. I could go on and on - but I don't want to spoil the fun. The movie has a great climax and I can't wait to see what the Guardians will get up to next!

This was by far my favorite movie this summer and possibly the year so far. It's just fun, sharply written and all the characters are brilliantly portrayed. The action is amazing and it's just a blast. Plus the music in this movie is fantastic - I love the funky, R&B mix that Peter Quill holds dear to his heart! This is a definitive must-see movie!

Rating: A Funky Good Time!

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!

Most Anticipated 2014: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

21. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (PG-13)
Starring: Jason Clarke, Andy Serkis, Kerri Russell, Gary Oldman
Director: Matt Reeves
Writers: Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Runtime: 130 minutes

I was not expecting Rise of the Planet of the Apes to be good, let alone really good. It was a surprisingly fresh take on the series and essentially rebooted the story. Dawn manages to not only progress the story forward in a fun and inventive way, but also becomes a better movie than the first. Aside from the ridiculous sounding title (and shouldn't Dawn come before Rise?), DotPotA is a very somber tale about fathers and sons and survival.

Set 10 years after the events of the first film, Jason Clarke plays Malcolm, one of the leaders of the human colony in San Francisco who's looking to get power from the dam located in Ape City (I don't think that's the official name, but that's what I'm calling it!) - home to Caesar's growing family of apes. Naturally, there's conflict and things escalate to their inevitable climactic end. I found the story entirely engrossing as much as the characters. For a summer action flick, there's a lot of quiet moments and there is quite a lot of subtitles in the film. The apes all use sign language and it's not distracting at all. In fact, the first 15 or 20 minutes showcase the apes hunting a herd of deer in the forest and it's pretty awesome! You get to know the apes before the humans and you start to see parallels between Caesar's family and Malcolm's.

There's so much to love about this movie - from the fantastic CGI (seriously, those apes look magnificent!) to the incredibly outrageous action sequences (APES WITH GUNS ON HORSEBACK!). Plus the cinematography is awesome - there's a lot of amazing one shots where the scene doesn't cut back and forth, but pans around. It's a fine piece of cinematic work. But aside from all the beautiful aesthetics of the movie, there's some great characters. Caesar is the wizened tribal leader and you actually really see his story develop as he tries to handle the human crisis as best he can while maintaining order within his tribe. And Malcolm is just as determined to make sure his colony of humans gets to survive. They share the same goal but circumstances and short-sighted individuals on both sides ruin their plans.

I'm excited to see where this franchise is heading after the ending of the film. This is one of the best films this year - if you at least enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, you'll certainly enjoy its sequel. It manages to raise the stakes while keeping the characters firmly grounded in reality. I thought it was nice to see that there wasn't a black and white, humans bad, apes good position. Instead it manages to make things a lot more grey - there is a villain in the movie, but aside from that one character, everyone seems to act for not only their own interests but those of their fellow species. It's captivating and sometimes a bit insane, but it never becomes dull or boring. A definite must see!

RATING: BANANA REPUBLIC IS JEALOUS THEY DIDN'T GET IN ON PRODUCT PLACEMENT FOR THIS AWESOME MOVIE

2014 So Far in Most Anticipated Part 5

I've concluded that I've watched a lot of movies this year. I've seen 24 out of the 60 movies on my list. Not bad - I've only missed 9 movies that have come out (and frankly a few of them I'm trying to avoid now. What the hell was I thinking with Pompeii?). 2014 has kind of been a bummer - not only for there not being any OUTSTANDING movies, but the summer has been ho-hum as well. Sure, I've had a lot of fun watching most of  these movies, and I think I'll enjoy rewatching some of them, but there hasn't been an "OMG I want to take this movie behind the middle school and get it pregnant" moment I've had this year. There's one movie that comes close - and it wasn't even on my list! (more on that later). But here's the four best Most Anticipated movies I've seen so far this year.

13. Veronica Mars
This is the very definition of a miracle. Veronica Mars was supposed to be buried after season 3. But thanks to the internet and a very loyal fanbase (including myself), a movie was made. And Rob Thomas didn't just make sure he made fans of the show happy, he made sure he made a engrossing, taught thriller about a strong-headed woman who goes back home to help her ex-boyfriend beat the murder rap. Old friends and characters show up while in the background things are getting set up for a very real chance at a sequel. There's great moments of humor and wit and a lot of fan service. But the fan service doesn't distract if you're unfamiliar with Veronica and the city of Neptune, California. It's a tight script and edited so well. Veronica is simply charming thanks to Kristen Bell's impeccable performance and great writing. She's the kind of female lead that most movies should aspire for. I think what I really loved about this movie was the underlying stench of corruption and a community unraveling because of it. Veronica comes back and seems to unveil this mess and I would love to see how she plans on fixing the town. Because that's the direction the movie is headed - I just hope we'll get to see it.
RATING: OUT OF THIS WORLD AMAZING

9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
9 movies in and Marvel has shown no signs of slowing down. They're turning into Pixar - I honestly don't think they've had a bad movie - maybe a couple of "okay" movies - but bad? Nope. And the new Captain America movie might just be as good, if not better than the Avengers. I certainly thought the direction and epicness of this film pushed the story forward in a fresh direction. SHIELD has been disbanded at the end of the movie and who the hell knows where it'll go from there? I think Captain America could have been the most boring character out of all of the Avengers - but the decision to make this more like a conspiracy thriller/action film was smart. Once the movie kicks into high gear after the first 20 or so minutes, it's nothing but non-stop. The movie is sharply written and it's a perfect progression for Steve Roger's character. And the addition of Falcon as Captain's new buddy is solid. Plus the Winter Soldier is a perfect foil for the Captain. And talk about how eerily similar the plot has resonated with the whole NSA scandal is icing on the cake. This was big and fun and probably the best non-summer released summer blockbuster this year.
RATING: CAPTAIN OBVIOUS SAYS THIS WAS GREAT

3. 22 Jump Street
There was a little bit of hesitation on my part that this wouldn't live up to the first one's clever shenanigans. I've been disappointed with comedy sequels before (I'm looking at you, Hangover Part II), but I trusted Phil Lord and Chris Miller to deliver another meta-humor infested sequel. And this one didn't disappoint! There's so much going on in this movie - it's just as funny and painfully aware of itself and Tatum and Hill are the perfect odd couple again. They even spoof themselves during the end credits - who wouldn't pay money to see 29 Jump Street: Sunday School? And don't forget to stay until after the credits too - there's a really funny joke that may not be the best one in the film, but it made me giggle uncontrollably. The movie does start off a little slow - Jenko and Schmidt are two regular detectives who really don't know what they're doing - and the movie doesn't really start to shine until they go undercover in college. And the movie makes it clear that practically no one is falling for their disguises this time. Ice Cube returns and has a very funny, very appropriate freakout at a parent's weekend lunch - it's simply amazing. I hope the filmmaker's call it quits from here - there's just nowhere to go with the jokes. But what an amazing movie to end on - certainly the funniest movie this year!
RATING: SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY

17. Edge of Tomorrow
Who knew that a Tom Cruise sci-fi flick would end up being my favorite movie so far this year? While the marketing for this movie wasn't the best (didn't we just see a sci-fi action flick with Tom Cruise last year?), Edge of Tomorrow was so clever and enjoyable that it's worth repeat viewings. The whole premise of repeating the same day (or, in this case, days) has been done before - but never really like this. It's fun to see Tom Cruise's character go from some schlub PR guy to trained alien butt-kicker. And this is why it's probably better than most of Cruise's action flicks - he's not playing some super-soldier or assassin - he's a coward and a jerk throughout the movie. That's what Cruise is really good at playing and he's great. And the supporting cast is fantastic - Emily Blunt is such a badass - she's not a damsel in distress nor is she in need of some affection. She's a soldier and has some awesome moments in the film. The film is more grounded in character than you would think - it's a pleasure to see Cruise's character grow up and into a decent, self-sacrificing human being in this film. There's a lot of great action and design, but the best moments are when he's reliving the first hours over and over, trying to figure out how to get out of the war. It's fun and just writing about this movie makes me want to see it all over again!
RATING: REPEAT VIEWINGS, PLEASE