My Most Anticipated Films of 2012
If 2011 was any indication, I am going to watch a lot of movies in 2012. And from the looks of it, this year has a potential to be an absolutely incredible year for cinema. It seems like nearly every one of my favorite directors has a film coming out in the next 12 months plus, like every year, there will be the surprises that come out of nowhere and become your new favorites. It’s always fun to look back a year later and wonder what the hell you were thinking putting “Cowboys & Aliens” and “Sucker Punch” on there? (In my defense I did have “Drive” at #11, before most people had ever heard of it, based on the cast alone, and that didn’t turn out too badly.) For now, each of the following films is an A+ until reality proves otherwise. It’s going to be a good year. Here are the films I’m most looking forward to in 2012.
1. Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project (a.k.a. The Master)
dir: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Boogie Nights)
It’s been a nearly unendurable wait for my favorite filmmaker to produce a follow-up to his 2007 magnum opus “There Will Be Blood” (a.k.a. The Best Film Of The Decade) and the wait is almost over. Set just after WWII the film will reunite PTA once again with Philip Seymour Hoffman as the leader of a Scientology-type religion who takes in a drifter (Joaquin Phoenix) to be his right-hand man. It will also probably be the best movie of the year/decade/ever. Four years down, one to go. (Late 2012)
2. The Dark Knight Rises
dir: Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins)
After blowing minds with “Inception,” Nolan is back for the third and final film in his Bat-trilogy bringing along newcomers Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Marion Cotillard. I left the theatre after “The Dark Knight” saying, “That’s probably the best Batman film I’ll see during my lifetime,” thinking that not even Nolan would be able to top it. But nearly four years and one masterwork later, I’m starting to think he might just be able to pull it off. Watch the trailer. (July 20)
3. Django Unchained
dir: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction)
Tarantino is back with his 5th consecutive revenge film(!), this time bringing retribution to the slavery-era South. Jamie Foxx stars as Django, a freed slave who teams up with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to track down his wife (Kerry Washington) and liberate her from a sadistic plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). They’ll be joined by Kurt Russell, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Sacha Baron Cohen, RZA, Don Johnson, James Remar, cool music, violence and presumably countless references to other films. (Dec 25)
4. Moonrise Kingdom
dir: Wes Anderson (The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore)
Set in the 1960’s, Anderson’s first live action film in nearly five years centers on two pre-teens who fall in love and run away, turning their New England town upside down in the process. Starry cast includes newcomers Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel and Tilda Swinton along with Anderson regulars Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. As much as I’ve been disappointed by his last few features, I’m still holding out hope for this one. (May 25)
5. This Is Forty
dir: Judd Apatow (Funny People, Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin)
Though he’s only directed three features, he’s produced dozens and influenced countless more, making Apatow the king of modern comedy. His last film “Funny People” saw the filmmaker headed into darker, more dramatic territory while his latest is a spinoff of sorts, focusing on Paul Rudd and Lesley Mann’s married couple from “Knocked Up,” presumably dealing with a midlife crisis. They’ll be accompanied by Jason Segel, Chris O’Dowd, Melissa McCarthy, Albert Brooks and Megan Fox and hopefully the perfect mix of comedy/drama. (Dec 21)
6. Gravity
dir: Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá También, Great Expectations)
Ever since Kubrick went into the beyond with “2001: A Space Odyssey,” he influenced a generation of directors do the same. The latest helmer to reach for the stars is Alfonso Cuaron, whose dizzying dystopian “Children of Men” six years ago put him in the upper echelon of filmmakers by fusing smart sci-fi and seamless effects. His latest stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as stranded astronauts attempting to return to Earth and will reportedly be almost entirely CGI, 3D and feature a 20 minute opening shot. From any other filmmaker I’d be terrified, but from Cuaron I’m just excited. (Nov 21)
7. Prometheus
dir: Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator)
My second most anticipated sci-fi film next year is one that would’ve been unthinkable even just a few years ago. Scott - who has not done a science fiction film since “Blade Runner” 30 years ago - returns to the genre he helped shape with “Alien” for this quasi-prequel (which may or may not even involve aliens). Regardless, the film concerns a group of explorers - including Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Idris Elba - who discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth and possibly it’s end. Though the director has had a patchy decade, just try not to be excited when you watch the trailer. (June 8)
8. Frank or Francis
dir: Charlie Kaufman (Synechdoche New York, writer Adaptation, Being John Malkovich)
Kaufman may be one of the most distinctive screenwriters of the past decade but has been very quiet since stepping into the directors chair in 2008. That film may have stretched the limits of how weird it could get from the idiosyncratic scribe but things may be about to get even weirder. Steve Carell, Jack Black and Nicolas Cage star in some configuration as vain filmmaker, failed comedian and frustrated film critic in this musical (yes, you read that right), comedy. Kaufman’s audacious scripts walk a fine line between brilliant and bewildering but I’m hoping this ends up as the former. (Late 2012)
9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
dir: Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Frighteners)
After having a rough go of it with “The Lovely Bones,” Jackson returns to Middle Earth to adapt the J.R.R. Tolkien book that started it all. After the ‘LOTR’ trilogy took in nearly 3 billion dollars at the box office and countless awards, you would think adapting the early adventures of Bilbo Baggins would have been a no brainer but it took quite a bit of wrangling both legal and creative on it’s way to the screen. Expectations are sky high for this film (eyerollingly split into two installments) but honestly I was a lot more excited about it before I watched the trailer. (Dec 14)
10. Inside Llewyn Davis
dir: The Coen Bros. (No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Fargo)
Now in the fourth decade of their careers, the brothers Coen are still going strong and though for me their recent films have been hit-and-miss, that doesn’t make me any less interested in their next project. Set in the Greenwich Village folk scene of the early 60’s, the film stars Oscar Isaac as the titular character, a folk singer who can’t seem to get it together. He’s supported by “Drive” co-star Carey Mulligan, F. Murray Abraham longtime Coen MVP John Goodman and (for the ladies) Justin Timberlake. (Late 2012)
a glimpse inside the mind of charles swan iii brave cogans trade django unchained film frank or francis frankenweenie gravity inside llewyn davis listomania looper moonrise kingdom only god forgives prometheus the amazing spider-man the avengers the dark knight the great gatsby the hobbit the master this is forty five year engagement
