I've done Past with the post-mortem of my anticipation list, I've had Present with this year's top ten titles, so here's Yet-To-Come with a peak across the next
twelve months. I'm pretty sure I'm not overlooking something
really obvious this time, although there are a few I might have had on here (like Max Landis' Frankenstein) if
I was more certain if they're coming in 2014 or 15. (Hell, I've already started work on 2015's
list as a result.) Once again, it was a tough choice, so sorry The Monuments Men, The LEGO Movie and The Woman in Black: Angel of Death.
The Desolation of Smaug ended on one hell of a cliffhanger, and this has a lot to live up to. This film will be covering the destruction of Laketown and the Battle of the Five Armies, so there's likely to be more than plenty of action in there. What's more, all the major elements have been set up, with the extra additions Peter Jackson has shown and introduced all the parties heading for the final confrontation at the ruins of Dale. Let's hope that the finale is what brings everything together, ties off this new trilogy well. Especially given that, once it's out on DVD, you could spend almost a full 24 hours doing a full extended edition Tolkein marathon!
9) The Dreamlands (Crowdfunding begins March 1st)
Now I'm not sure when exactly this will be done, but it's definitely something to watch throughout the year. The Dream Cycle refers to a bunch of stories by HP Lovecraft, going a more fantasy direction rather than the cosmic horror of the Cthulhu Mythos. Bringing such a thing to the screen would be no small feat, so it's natural that a big crowdfunding campaign will be necessary. Thankfully, this is being planned by filmmakers who get how to do Lovecraft well, given their previous work was an excellent take on The Colour Out of Space...
It will be interesting if they can go for a double of difficult to bring to the screen Lovecraft tales done well, so when the crowdfunding campaign begins on March the 1st, expect me tweeting like mad about it and pledging. Even it it doesn't get released in 2014, it's one I'm looking forward to see develop and funded. Let's hope it doesn't pull a Silent Night of the Living Dead...
8) Big Game (TBC)
A new title from Jalmari Helander, the director of the excellent Finnish festive fantasy frightflick Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Air Force One has been shot down the
mountains of Finland, but the President (Samuel L. Jackson!) has survived. If he's going to stay alive though, he needs
the help from a young Finn hunter (Omni Tommila, who was the kid in Rare
Exports). Little is known about the
actual threat in the movie, but it's got a lot of talent behind it (including
Ray Stevenson, Ted Levine and Jim Broadbent), so it looks like it's in safe
hands. Besides, now we can have an
action movie to prove something everyone should know; do not fuck with
Finland. Seriously, it will not end
well; ever heard of Simo Häyhä?
7) Muppets Most Wanted (Due March 21st)
It's more Muppets, of course it's on here. This one has the return of director James
Bobin from last film, and the plot looks to be a spiritual successor/tribute to
The Great Muppet Caper. There's a neat
hook for a story that offers a lot of comedy possibilities, and the cast list
includes a lot of the sort of cameos one would want from a Muppet film. (Tom
Hiddleston, Christoph Waltz, Tina Fey and Danny Trejo in one movie? Yes please!)
Even the fact that Ricky Gervais is in this isn't deterring me; that's
saying something.
6) Guardians of the Galaxy (Due August 1st)
Still scratching your head about what was with that bit in the middle of Thor: The Dark World's credits? Well this film has at least some of the answers. This is probably Marvel's biggest gamble yet, taking us away from Midguard or the established Nine Realms, and into the depths of space. It has an utterly fearless director at the helm, James Gunn, a Troma veteran who's previously handled Slither and Super. This could be the one to make or break the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the plot here is suggested to involve a lot of set-up for the big bad Thanos (you know, that guy in the middle of The Avengers' credits). Let's hope it can all get bought together. I also love a meme this has created; DC and Warner Brothers are all "we can't do a Wonder Woman solo movie yet, she's too complicated a character". Marvel go "Here's a jet-pack wearing, talking raccoon with a machine gun, who's best friend is a tree. In SSSSPPPPAAAAAAACCCCCEEEEE!!!!!!!".
5) Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Due April 4th)
More Marvel with Cap's new movie, and here's
where the real strength of Marvel's world-building comes into play, as this is a completely different genre to The First Avenger. Going from WWII melodrama, to a modern spy-thriller, the scale of things looks suitable, and it's
great to see some familiar faces back (Black Widow, Nick Fury...), along with new characters,
like Anthony Mackie as The Falcon.
Also, how cool is it to see Robert Redford in a superhero movie? But the big point will be the titular Winter
Soldier himself, who in the trailer looks very close to his comic
counterpart. Comic fans all know who he
is, but I'm more than willing to bet once it's revealed, it will blow the more
casual audience's minds. Unless the next trailer flat out states it, please
don't spoil his identity to non-comic fan friends (and non-comic readers, don't Google it!).
4) How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Due June 13th)
The first film was a favourite of mine, and not just for the fact I love dragons. It really worked for a strong character
driven story, for taking more than a few risks than these films usually do
(especially one part of the ending) and for being incredible to watch in 3D
because of all the flying scenes.
They've taken their time with this follow-up, and given that trailer, I
reckon it will pay off. That being said,
I'm still just happy for more dragons!
(When will that Temeraire series get made?) Which reminds me, I've got to watch more of Dragon Riders of Berk series...
3) The Raid 2: Berendal (TBC)
Aww yeah, one of the best action movies of 2012 getting a
bigger and follow-up, I'm in! Little is
confirmed about the plot, but it is set to start its story about an hour after the events of
the first, and cover a period of four years.
I've actually already seen a piece of this movie; Gareth Evans bought a rough
cut of one scene to Frightfest after the screening of V/H/S/2 (his segment got
a full ovation). If the rest of the action
scenes are anything like what I saw there... BY THE SIX EYES OF CTHULHU, THIS WILL BE AMAZEBALLS!
2) The BoxTrolls (Due September 26th)
Laika Entertainment are rapidly becoming a favourite of
mine, between the excellent Neil Gaiman adaptation Coraline and the new
Hallow'een standard of mine Paranorman.
Their next film is set to follow in their footsteps well, with a neat
plot, endearing character design, and exceptional voice cast (Simon Pegg, Nick
Frost, Ben Kingsley, Toni Collete, Richard Ayoade). The main weapon that's already snared me
though is charm. As you can see in that
first trailer, they have empathised the handmade effort and love that's gone
into this production, something far more films should do. Also, take a look at
this other trailer and notice the charming and progressive little
message they've worked in there.
Nice touch guys!
And the number One movie I'm counting down the days to see
next year is.... GODZILLA! (Due May 16th)
I have been a lifelong kaiju nut, so getting the chance to see the King
of the Monsters done properly in the cinema is something I've been waiting ages
to see (plus Pacific Rim has really wet my appetite for it). Well the creators of this one,
including Monsters director Gareth Edwards, have made a good start of not
turning to the previous Hollywood attempt at Godzilla for inspiration. (For the record GINO [Godzilla In Name Only] wasn't that bad,
especially with the awesomeness of Jean Reno, but it definitely wasn't
Godzilla.) This Godzilla seems to be the
proper one, and he's bringing a multi-million dollar budget and a
fantastic cast (Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron
Taylor-Johnson) along for the city-stomping ride. The actual details are still very much
under wraps (there are hints there will be other monsters, but there's nothing of that in the trailer), so let's leave the last words to the big G himself...
I'm sure the finished film will look just like this.
Well, here's to a great 2014, not just in films, but in all things, and I guess
the last thing for me to say is Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year. Take us out Doctor!
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