9. Oldboy (10/11)
While Park Chan-wook will be making his English-speaking debut with
Stoker, Spike Lee will be remaking the film that put Chan-wook on the international map:
Oldboy. To be fair, the source material is a Japanese manga and how much creative freedom Lee decides to take with the material remains to be seen. We do know that Josh Brolin will be playing the lead: A man locked away for fifteen years for reasons he doesn't know. When he is released, he goes on a vengeful mission to discover his captor and why he was imprisoned. This film won't do anything to taint the Korean version, but I do hope it does its own thing with the material. There's a lot of room to input original ideas into the premise, and Spike Lee is nothing if not an original filmmaker. I just hope Josh Brolin sports that crazy hair at some point.
8. The World's End (10/25)
Edgar Wright has not made a bad film. In fact, all of his films have been spectacular. So, there's no reason to think that
The World's End will be any less amazing. Forming the last entry in the "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy,
The World's End looks like it'll be taking on the one genre Wright has yet to play with: science fiction. A group of friends decide to recreate a pub crawl they took part in twenty years prior, and along the way discover they are humanity's last hope of survival. Wright regulars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are back for the fun, along with newcomer Martin Freeman in tow. While little is known about the movie, I can assure ou of one thing: it will be one of the funniest movies released in 2013. Edgar Wright has not made a bad film.
7. Ender's Game (11/1)
You may notice that later on in this list, the sequel to
The Hunger Games is not present. I'm sorry, I'm just not a fan. But, I am a fan of children being forced into violent situations (fictionally) and one of the originators of this idea is Orson Scott Card's landmark novel,
Ender's Game. Set in a future where Earth has barely survived attacks from an alien race, children are recruited and rigorously trained at a young age in order for their superiors to discover who among them is talented enough for the upcoming war. Ender Wiggin (
Hugo's Asa Butterfield) is one of these children, and his tactical prowess will soon be discovered by playing a certain kind of game.
Ender's Game is a cornerstone of modern science fiction, and its fitting that it has taken this long to make its way to the big screen. It's a complex story that looks at the justification of violence and the potential we have as humans, even in our youth. Throw in Harrison Ford as a surly military leader and you've got me sold.
6. Thor: The Dark World (11/8)
Thor had a great first and third act, but the middle of the film was a total slog. probably because it all took place on Earth, and after seeing the majesty and grandeur of Asgard, New Mexico was a dull place to spend the majority of the movie. The sequel looks like it's taking a few steps in the right direction by making the fantasy elements more prominent throughout the entire picture. The biggest plus for this continuation is the addition of new director Alan Taylor, fresh off the hit HBO show
Game of Thrones. He plans to bring a new visual style to Thor and his world, and that can only mean good things for us. Hopefully, next year will be a good one for Marvel as they implement their Phase Two movie plan.
Thor: The Dark World would be a nice way to close out the comic book year.
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (12/13)
The Hobbit trilogy is going to be an interesting one to watch in the coming years, and this sequel is no different. Continuing the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, this film will give us a much-anticipated look at the dragon Smaug, and will start stepping into that darker realm that the future
Lord of the Rings films inhabit. At the end of the day though, this is a mega budget fantasy adventure that the whole family is supposed to be able to sit down and enjoy, and that's never a bad thing to have at the movies. also, are you going to be the only person on the planet next December who won't have seen the next
Hobbit movie?