2012 is shaping up to be an incredible year for film. There are a ton of great movies coming out in the next twelve months that you should all be excited about. There's going to be great action, thrilling horror, fun comedies, and beautiful love stories in theaters later this year. Here, I give a rundown of some of the highlights on the release calendar, what’s coming and why you should be excited. In no particular order…
The Dark Knight Rises: The final film in the Christopher Nolan-directed and Christian Bale-starring Batman films. The first two films have been a fantastic marriage of style and action. They capture the look and feel of the character from the comic books extremely well, and they’ve become one of the biggest cinema phenomena of the early 2000’s. In this final chapter, we see the climactic end of Batman. I know I’m not the only one who’s excited by the conclusion of this trilogy. I’ve shared the trailer and a poster already on the blog, so check them out.
Prometheus: Ridley Scott comes back to one of his greatest accomplishments, the horror/suspense film that terrifies as effectively today as it did in 1979: Alien. What started as a prequel to the original film became a separate story set in the same universe but removed from Ripley and Xenomorphs. Making this film has reenergized Scott and allowed him to stretch his creative muscles in a familiar setting. The trailer is eerie and atmospheric and hints of great action. We’ll all be at the edge of our seats watching this one.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Peter Jackson is coming back to J. R. R. Tolkien, this time adapting the tale of Bilbo Baggins. It’s another fantasy tale from the Lord of the Rings world, and we all know the amazing things Jackson did the first time around with the LoTR trilogy. Here’s hoping that another trip through the Shire will be as joyous and amazing as our last.
Brave: Pixar’s new film is set in Olde Scotland and mixes in healthy doses of mythology and magic in a tale of a young princess who accidentally unleashes an ancient evil. It’s a Pixar film. Those guys know what they’re doing (I’ll turn a blind eye to the whole Cars franchise) so you know it’s going to be sweet, funny, and generally a good time for all. Every Pixar film is an event to look forward to.
The Amazing Spiderman: A reboot of the Tobey McGuire franchise that started in 2002 and wrapped up in 2007. This one brings in a younger cast, I assume to appeal more to the ‘tweener’ crowd, and shows us his origin story over again. I’m not sure we need another Spidey origin story, but comic books do this sort of thing all the time. I’m curious to see what is so different from the previous three films aside from a younger cast. I’ll be in the theater opening weekend with everyone else, but I’m not sure what we’re going to find. At least we get to see The Lizard this time around.
Skyfall: Daniel Craig’s third outing as British super-spy James Bond. Casino Royale was a great debut from Craig, but problems behind the scenes have plagued the rest of his tenure as Bond. Quantum of Solace was crippled by the writer’s strike of 2007-2008, which forced the production to shoot without a finished script. Financial woes of MGM delayed the start of filming this one by a few years. Finally though, we will see Craig in a new Bond film with all the luxuries afforded to a big-budget production. I consider this a more suitable follow-up to Casino Royale.
The Avengers: Marvel Studios has been building up for this one for the better part of a decade. Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America have had at least one film dedicated to them, and underlying each of them was the potential group film that unites them against a common enemy. They are also using The Avengers as a launching pad for even more comic book heroes such as Hulk and Hawkeye. It’s going to be big and bold and the culmination of a decade-long masterplan. Let’s see if the buildup was worth it.
Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino filming an original script about white plantation owners in the Deep South and their efforts to put down a slave uprising? Sign me up. Tarantino’s last film, Inglourious Basterds, was a great WWII film that took great liberties to tell an alternate, yet very cool, history of the war. With Django, he has assembled another killer cast to tell a killer story.
Lincoln: Steven Spielberg has wanted to film a Lincoln biopic for a long time. He finally gets his chance with none other than Oscar-winner Daniel Day Lewis in the title role. The story focuses on Lincoln’s leadership during the Civil War, which you know was ripe for drama. Spielberg gets to take his amazing eye for shooting action and war scenes to a conflict that hasn’t been the subject for a big-budget film in a long while.
The Hunger Games: So, I’ll admit that I’m not very familiar with this book series. But, judging from the huge piles of books stacked in Barnes & Noble, I gather that it’s pretty popular. The plot synopsis makes it sound like a mash-up of The Running Man and Death Race. I’m not sure how valid that is, but I’m intrigued. Even though the novels are classified as young adult literature and I’m told are quick, fun reads, I’m probably not going to read them before the first film hits theaters. I’m neck deep in George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series and won’t be finished with those massive tomes of awesome for some time.
Total Recall: A remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s awesome action flick, this time starring the significantly less bulky Collin Farrell. While the Governator’s movie took the action to Mars where he has to save the day, the remake plays up the unknown identity aspect of the story. Farrell plays a factory worker who isn’t sure if he’s a spy or for whom he is working. It’s the kind of remake I can get behind, one that doesn’t just copy the original but plays out the themes at the heart of the original by telling a slightly different story.
The Bourne Legacy: The first Jason Bourne without Matt Damon. Jeremy Renner takes over the role of the amnesiac superspy. I’m actually not sure if they are doing a James Bond thing and just bringing in a different person for the lead role or if they are focusing on a new character from Bourne’s failed spy training program. Also new this time around is director Tony Gilroy who steps in for the departed Paul Greengrass. It may seem dire for the star and director to be replaced four films into an established franchise, but Gilroy has had a writers credit on all three previous Bourne films. He knows the franchise and the people involved. Hopefully his vision for the future of the franchise involves less shaky-cam.
There are a ton of other films coming out in 2012 besides these I’ve selected for mention here. Among them:
World War Z
Battleship
The Expendables 2
Wrath of the Titans
Men in Black 3
G. I. Joe: Retaliation
John Carter
Snow White and the Huntsman
Madagascar 3
Ice Age 4
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
The Woman in Black
Premium Rush
The Raven
The Three Stooges
Dark Shadows
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Plus, you never know what hidden gems might be out there that we know nothing about yet. Exciting times lie ahead!
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