Most Anticipated Of 2013

These are some of my most anticipated movies for the coming year. I am placing them in order of release date, except for the movie I am anticipating the most, at least right now.

“Oblivion” April 19th

Tom Cruise, Sci-Fi, Joseph Kosinski, the director of “Tron Legacy”, and an original story. Not a sequel, reboot or re imagining. Since this is a rarity in Hollywood these days, how could you not want to see this? “Tron Legacy” got a very mixed reaction, some loved it, some hated it, some were indifferent. Count me as one of those who loved it.  I really liked the visual style of the movie, and I feel like Kosinski will deliver a solid sci fi movie with Cruise on board. Both of Cruise's sci fi outings, "Minority Report" and "War Of The Worlds", were great movies, so it seems he has an eye for good sci fi.

“Iron Man 3” May 3rd

Director Jon Favreau is out, director Shane Black is in for the third installment of the Iron Man series. Expect a darker, grittier edge this time around. The trailers give a sense of real danger, as if everything in Tony Stark's world is about to come crashing down around him. After the enormous success of “The Avengers”, Marvel studios knows they have to up their game with the moves that will lead to the next Avengers movie. I am expecting all of Marvel's upcoming movies to up the stakes, but this one needs to set the bar for the other movies that follow.

“Star Trek:Into Darkness” May 17th

JJ Abrams and the crew of the Enterprise are back from the 2009 reboot for a new, and from the looks of it, darker adventure. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the mysterious villain, on a quest for some kind of revenge. Ok, so Nero from the first movie was after revenge as well, but as long as there is no time travel involved, i'm ok with the whole revenge angle again. The  trailers look great, so I am expecting another great outing from JJ & Co. I am hoping that this one has a different feel from the last one, Star Trek has always been about different tones....dark, lighthearted, comical, emotional, and I hope that we see a different tone this time, and so far it seems there will be.

“Fast And Furious Six” May 24th

This series is a rarity...one that has gotten BETTER with each new installment. I did not see the second movie, “2 Fast 2 Furious”, and i'm sure i'll get around to it, but as far as i'm concerned, the only ones that really count are the one's with Vin Diesel's Dominic Torreto in them. So that would be the first, fourth, and fifth movies. Like I said, each movie has been better than the last. Fast Five being probably the best one so far. The presence of Dwayne Johnson really gave the movie a great presence, and seeing him back for the sixth movie is very exciting. This new movie looks to be even crazier with the car action than the last one, These movies are adrenaline fueled, balls to the wall action, and nobody does it better.

“Man Of Steel” June 14th

Superman has had one heck of a bumpy ride. Some good movies, some so so, and one god awful abomination (“Superman IV:The Quest For Peace” for those fortunate enough not to have seen it). Although the last movie, Bryan Singer's “Superman Returns” did decent box office (approx $200 mil domestic) it wasn't the return to glory Warner Brothers was hoping for. So they went and hired the stylized director Zack Snyder (“Watchmen”, “300”) to give the son of Jor El a much needed restart. A new cast, including English actor Henry Cavill, who plays Superman/Clark Kent, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Russell Crowe as Jor El, Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White, and Michael Shannon as General Zod. Batman master Christopher Nolan as Producer, and hopefully mentor to Snyder. All those add up to a lot of promise.The trailers are very cool, and it looks like Superman may finally return to his former glory.

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“Despicable Me 2” July 3rd

“Despicable Me” really took me by surprise when it was released in 2010, an it was one of my favorite movies of the year. Of course, those little yellow minions stole the show, but the entire movie was great. Great characters, great voice acting, and a sweet, emotional heart among the laughs and silliness. It was nice to see Dreamworks getting away from “Shrek” and making something different and very entertaining. I hope they don't go too over the top with the sequel, strike the same balance that the first movie had, and you got a winner on your hands. They don't need to top the first movie, just equal its humor and sweetness.

My most anticipated movie of 2013 is....

“Pacific Rim” July 12th

Director Guillermo DelToro, monsters, giant robots fighting the monsters. That's a formula for a great movie. DelToro directed “Mimic”, “Blade 2” (the best of that series) and both “Hellboy” movies, 4 movies I really enjoyed. I have yet to see another highly praised film of his, “Pan's Labyrinth”, but I have heard nothing but good things about it. The trailer for “Pacific Rim” looks awesome, and it's refreshing to see a big summer blockbuster that is an original idea, not a sequel, or reboot. I guess you could say this is a decent year for those kind of movies, with “Oblivion” being the other one. I just hope that audiences embrace these movies. “Pacific Rim” has all the elements of a big summer movie, and a great director at the helm, Unlike the “Transformers” movies, which while entertaining, were devoid of any kind of substance,  DelToro should bring some.

Check the trailer out....

Along with the movies I just talked about, some others I will be seeing are: “Kick Ass 2” June 28th, “The Wolverine” July 26th, “Riddick 3” Sept 6th, “Thor:The Dark World” Nov 8th, “Ender's Game” Nov 1st, “Catching Fire” (the second “Hunger Games” movie) Nov 22nd, “Anchorman The Legend Continues” Dec 20th, “The Hobbit:The Desolation Of Smaug” Dec 13th. I am sure there are more that will come along, or have just slipped my mind. But so far, there's a lot I am looking forward to at the movies this year.