I’m never really been one of those people who is always looking for new movie releases, keeping up with big-budget movies and smaller indie titles as well. With me, it’s always been more that my friends will call, and we’ll have a conversation that sounds like the following:
Random Friend: “Hey, Femme, some of us are going to that Big Movie tonight at 7:30, wanna come?”
Femme: “What Big Movie?”
RF: “What do you mean, What Big Movie? It’s THE Big Movie. It had a budget of a gazillion million dollars and was directed by Someone Totally Famous, and Someone Else Famous was a producer, plus That Other Famous Guy was a consultant for the costuming department. How have you not heard of it?!”
Femme: “… Um… Oh, yeah, THAT movie. I thought you meant… um, the other one.”
RF: “Oh, no, that Big Movie doesn’t come out until exactly forty-three days after this Big Movie, and The Famous Lead in that Big Movie is supposedly a little out of their element in Whatever Genre. So, you wanna come? We got an extra ticket, since Some Famous Actor You Have a Crush On is in it, and we figured you’d like to see him, since you totally loved him in That Big Movie From Last Summer. You can pay Other Random Friend back if you want it.”
Femme: “Oh, that was really nice of you guys to think of me, but I’d kinda earmarked this evening for finishing my Medieval Studies essay, and then reading Amazing Spiderman and eating chocolate alone in my room.”
RF: *concerned and pitying look* “Um…”
Femme: *realizing what I just said and how pathetic it sounded* “Uh, you know what, forget what I just said. That Big Movie sounds great. 7:30, right?”
RF: *looking incredibly relived that I’m not totally crazy* “Yeah, we’ll pick you up at 3 so we can get in line, okay? Oh, and don’t forget to dress up- you should totally go as Hot Chick of the Franchise DuJour!”
So, yeah. Honestly, movies in general are just not usually my cup of tea. I enjoy them and everything but I don’t normally keep up with release dates or actors or anything. Even when I went to the Harry Potter movies, which I loved and am crazy for the franchise in general, I didn’t organize it. My friends did, and I just tagged along- thankfully, they knew me well enough to get me a ticket in advance.
But this year, for some reason, I’ve been looking at all the movies that are coming out and there are a ton that I want to go see. So much so that I actually did research into them and found out who was in them, who was directing them… everything. Maybe 2013 is the year of great movies.
Anyway, I’m complied a list of the movies I’m most looking forward to this year, in order of release dates. I might end up writing reviews of a few of them, just because I want to.
Gangster Squad (January 11)– I think this movie looks amazing- I was actually really looking forward to it before the release date got pushed back, but, in light of why, I completely support the decision to. However, I’m hoping to see this extremely soon- the story seems predictable, but I don’t think this is the sort of movie that is supposed to be complicated. It’s just supposed to be some bad-ass action mixed in with hot guys/girls and some corny one-liners that become awesome when Ryan Gosling says them.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (January 25)– Okay, in all honesty, I don’t have high hopes for this movie being great in terms of the writing or acting (although I don’t think it’ll be bad.) No, it’s on this list because of the costumes, which are supposed to be steam-punk with a little Gothic flair thrown in. That just sounds awesome. Steam-punk cosplays and costumes have been all the rage these past few years, and it’ll be really amazing to see what Hollywood does with them. Or it might completely fail. I’m still going to see the movie.
Warm Bodies (February 1)– Okay, don’t judge me before you read this. When I first heard the words “zombie love story” to describe Warm Bodies, my reaction was “Oh, dear God, you have got to be kidding me. Fantasizing about vampire cock wasn’t enough for some girls? I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.” I remained extremely judgmental until a few days ago, when I saw a trailer for the movie- and it actually looks pretty good. Yeah, it’s a love story, but it doesn’t exactly seem like one. It seems more like it’s asking the question “What makes us human?” And it almost seems to be a little tongue-in-cheek about what it is. I don’t know if it’ll be any good, but I’ve decided to give it a chance. I may read the book first, so I know what I’m getting into, but I may not.
Oz: The Great and Powerful (March 8)– Now, this movie just looks amazing. It’s a spinoff that doesn’t seem like a spinoff at all. It seems like it’s own story, and the fact that the cast is kind of star-studded is a big plus to me. The trailers all seem amazing, too, and they actually sort of remind me of Alice in Wonderland- someone from our world is thrust into a strange one where they seem to be a sort of lodestone to that world. I have such high hopes for this movie, and since it’s Disney, I don’t think I’ll be let down.
The Host (March 29)– I pride myself on the fact that I never went to see a Twilight movie in theaters- and therefore, never gave that franchise my money. (I did read all the books, but I didn’t buy them- I either got them as gifts or borrowed them from someone else. I’m not proud of the fact I own them at all, though.) However, I have no problem saying that I own The Host, and also, that I genuinely enjoyed it. I even wrote a paper on it for my senior English class. If you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend that you give it a chance. While there is a love story, it is extremely upstaged by the sisterly relationship that develops between Melanie (the titular host) and the “parasite” Wanderer. I’m a little nervous about this becoming a movie, simply because so much of the book takes place inside the character’s head, but I’m still hopeful that this will be a good movie. Since it doesn’t have Kristen Stewart in it, I’ve got higher expectations than I would otherwise. (Although that’s not even a slightly high bar.)
42 (April 12)– This isn’t the type of movie I’d normally be interested in seeing, but after seeing the trailer, I really can’t wait to. It’s the Jackie Robinson story, which is an amazing tale of strength and a strong argument for civil protests. But it’s Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford)’s line in the trailer that really clenched it for me, simply because it really made me think. (Jackie Robinson: You want a player who doesn’t have the guts to fight back? Branch Rickey: No. I want a player who’s got the guts NOT to fight back.) Put in Jackie Robinson’s situation, how many of us would be able to not fight back? It certainly would be the harder path. I think this movie looks fantastic.
The Great Gatsby (May 10)– One of my favorite books from high school turned into a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire in it? Um, there aren’t enough ways to say yes! I love The Great Gatsby, and, while movie version have been done before, I’ve never actually seen one. This movie looks very true to the book, from the lavishness of the Gatsby’s parties, to his and Daisy’s relationship, to the divide between the rich and the poor. I hope this movie is as fantastic as it seems to be, because, if it’s not, I’m going to be crushed.
Now You See Me (June 7)- Now, this movie just looks awesome. If you haven’t seen the trailer for it yet, go do so. I see so much promise here- it looks almost too good to be true. However, in the back of my head, there’s a little niggling doubt that says I probably shouldn’t go to opening night for this one- and maybe read some reviews before I shell out $20 for a ticket. It could be absolutely fantastic, but it could also go off the deep end in ridiculousness. I couldn’t find too much information on it yet, though, so maybe I’ll fall more to one side or the other as I find out more.
Man of Steel (June 14)– You guys know me- I’m a huge superhero nerd. The Dark Knight trilogy was one of my favorite movie series to date, and there’s so much promise for a similar Superman franchise, especially since Superman is a completely different type of superhero. With Batman, you kind of expect the story to be darker and the villains to be more disturbing and less ridiculous, simply because that follows in Batman’s story. Superman hasn’t ever had that, and I think it’s about time he did. Plus, it’s directed by Zack Snyder, who directed 300 and Watchmen (one of which was a little “meh” compared to the comic, but…)
Despicable Me 2 (July 3)– Now, admittedly, there’s not much information out about this movie yet. But I loved the first Despicable Me. I thought it was completely adorable, every bit of it. Plus, Jason Segel (aka Marshall from HIMYM) was the voice of the villain, and he did so well with it! So, I’m rooting for this movie just out of pure love for the first one, which might get me bitten in the ass, but I’m hoping against hope that the sequel will be as amazingly funny and original as the first.
R.I.P.D. (June 28)– Of course a movie with Ryan Reynolds was going to end up on this list- I’m a woman. (It could’ve been Deadpool, but no! They refuse to give me that movie, because life isn’t fair.) Once again, I couldn’t find a whole lot of information on this movie, but what I did find was extremely intriguing. The idea of a sort of undead disciplinary force has been used before, but what hasn’t these days? I’m going to this one no matter what- hopefully the movie will be good (it does have Kevin Bacon in it), but if it’s not, I reserve the right to just ogle Ryan Reynolds.
Star Wars Episode II/Star Wars Episode III (3D re-release)– Yeah, these movies suck. It’s true. I’ve said before how the Star Wars franchise is essentially a cow that the owners are milking every bit of money from, and will continue to do so until the metaphorically udders turn black and fall off. But, see, here’s the thing: I don’t care. I’m going to see them, because I’m fully committed to this franchise as a whole. I love Star Wars, and I always will, through the good and the bad.
The Seventh Son (October 18)– This movie. I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL OCTOBER FOR THIS MOVIE. It’s based on one of my favorite books of all time, The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch. Ever since I read this book, which was seven or eight years ago now, I have said what an incredible movie it would make. I will be going to this movie on the premiere date, midnight showing if possible, and I don’t care how crazy that makes me look. I’ve only seen two images from it so far, and I’m so thrilled from just those that I don’t even know what’ll happen when I see an actual trailer. Either I’ll have an orgasm or my head will explode.
Ender’s Game (November 1)– Wow, two movies with Harrison Ford in them on this list! I was not this book’s biggest fan, but I did enjoy it, and it was definitely a good read. (However, I read it just after I finished Dune, which is one of my favorite books of all time, so maybe I should reread Ender’s Game to get a little less bias.) But I can see them being an amazing movie, especially with CG technology today. I can’t wait to see this-hopefully, some of my sci-fi loving friends will come with me to see this.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (November 21)– YES! Words can not express how excited I am for this movie. I am a huge fan of the books, and I loved the way they did the first movie, and how well each actor portrayed their character (especially Donald Sutherland as President Snow and Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket. Wow, talk about owning a character!) I can not wait to see this movie, and I am absolutely going to the midnight release of this. I don’t care if I have finals the next day. I’m going.
Now, these are just the top fifteen movies I want to see- I know there’s a Carrie reboot coming out, as well as Iron Man 3 and World War Z. I’d love to know what movies you guys are looking forward to, what movies you guys see that suck or are awesome, or if/when you have any information about the movies I’ve listed here. Also, let me know if you have any movies you like me to review in the future, old or new. I’m thinking I’d like to, just for fun.
Love,
The Femme Fatale Farmgirl
Femme Fatale Farmgirl 