The first few months of every year are always the same. The studios dump their truly awful films that will be forgotten by the time the next batch of Oscar nominations are released and we see articles about how business at the box office is struggling. Sure, there are always exceptions to this rule (this year, 42 was well-received critically) but for the most part there's not much to get excited about in the early part of the year. Once May hits, things start to change. The summer movie season rolls around and we get treated to a handful of crowd-pleasing popcorn flicks. Blockbusters then give way to the awards contenders of the fall and we spend December celebrating how many great films were released in the past 12 months. It's a cycle. Looking at the upcoming slate of films in 2013, I think we're potentially looking at a banner year for cinema with a wide variety of movies promising to deliver the goods. The summer could be even better than last year's (considering we had The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, that's saying something) and there's the potential for one of the tightest Oscar races in recent memory. Between escapist fun and real-life drama, here are 15 films you need to check out this year if you consider yourself a diehard moviegoer. Honorable mention goes to Iron Man 3 (pictured above). Most likely by the time you're reading this, it will already be out here in the U.S. dominating the box office. It wouldn't make sense to put it on this list, which is for upcoming releases. The films are ordered by U.S. release date.
15. Star Trek Into Darkness
Before I saw J.J. Abrams' reboot of the classic sci-fi series, I never was much of a Star Trek fan. I was always (and still am) more of a Star Wars fanboy when it comes to those two properties. It never crossed my mind that I would one day be invested in Kirk and Spock boldly going where no man has gone before. That all changed when I saw 2009's Star Trek. It was a fresh, exciting take that still respected what came before it (the Leonard Nemoy cameo was a stroke of genius). The film also connected with the public in a way the franchise had never seen. Star Trek is the highest grossing film in the series (even accounting for ticket inflation) and holds a spot on IMDb's Top 250 list (a feat no other Trek film - even Wrath of Khan - can claim). Critics also responded well the the reinterpretation, as it has a sublime Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%. The sequel is looking to up the ante not just action wise, but also thematically as Kirk struggles with the responsibilities of being a Starfleet Captain. Benedict Cumberbatch's "John Harrison" (if that really is his name) looks to be a truly formidable adversary that will live up to the old adage that a great hero needs a great villain. Based on the trailers, you can tell the stakes have been raised and anticipation is at a fever pitch with only a few short weeks until its release. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.