Tim Falkenberg December 31st, 2013 - 10:00 PM
As we begin the new year, we’d like to take a moment to break from all the looking back on 2013 and instead look forward to 2014. Doubtless, there will be many, many movies which surprise us, plenty that have release dates announced or moved before we get there, and probably several more we’re just not thinking about at the moment, but here are twelve movies, one in each month, we think are worth looking forward to:
That Awkward Moment – January 31
Michael B. Jordan is a budding star, Zac Efron is working hard to shed the Disney image, and Miles Teller is quietly building a stable of solid appearances. We’d direct you to the wide release of Her, but on the off chance that’s considered cheating, give this relationship comedy a try.
The LEGO Movie – February 7
We love LEGOs. Loooooove LEGOs. Loooooooooooooooooooooove LEGOs. Oh yeah, and this movie looks really fun.
The Raid 2 – March 28
With The Raid (don’t call it “redemption,” that’s silly) Gareth Evans made one of my favorite movies of 2012 and proved the snobs wrong: you can make a movie out of one giant action sequence. Of course my appetite was at the thought of a sequel. With the announced inclusion of “comic book” type characters like “Hammer Girl” and “Baseball Bat Man” and the goddamn Yakuza I’m salivating. Maybe Evans won’t be able to top The Raid’s final battle that pitted the truly outstanding Iko Uwais and Donny Alasmyah against Yayan Ruhian – a master of devastation who came completely out of nowhere – but it’ll be fun to watch him try.
— Erik Paschall
Transcendence – April 18
We have to wait until November for the next Christopher Nolan movie, but the directorial debut of his typical director of photography looks very promising. Mixing near-future science and some scaring sci-fi themes with a stellar cast led by Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Kate Mara, Paul Bettany, and Rebecca Hall, we won’t be missing this one.
X-Men: Days of Future Past – May 23
The marketing for this movie has been supremely interesting in its own right. We’re hoping the final product is even better.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 – June 13
The success of the first How to Train Your Dragon snuck up on a lot of people. This one will have to carry the burden of some very large expectations, but everything we’ve seen so far (granted, it’s not all that much) suggests it’s capable of doing so.
Jupiter Ascending – July 18
The Waichowskis’ last couple efforts have been marginal successes, at best, but this is still the pair behind The Matrix and V for Vendetta. Returning to an action heavy sci-fi premise, we’re not going to bet against them just yet.
Guardians of the Galaxy – August 1
This may prove to be the single weirdest movie on this list, which considering the September entry may be saying something. Did you stay to watch the second credits scene from Thor: The Dark World? Yeah, that was directed by Guardians helmer James Gunn. Expect more along the same lines.
The Boxtrolls – September 26
It’s pretty well impossible not to be impressed by how pretty this trailer looks. It remains to be seen how the plot holds up, but everything that’s been shown so far is visually stunning.
Gone Girl – October 3
David Fincher directs. Ben Affleck stars. Need we say more?
Interstellar – November 7
The final chapter in the Dark Knight trilogy may have ended on a partially sour note, but Christopher Nolan’s got a track record for making some very good films. Interstellar has a feel about it, that it has the potential to be Inception-like in its cultural significance, at least for a time. Plus, with a November release instead of a summer date, maybe Nolan will finally get that Best Director nomination (and win?) which has eluded him thus far.
Exodus – December 12
This recommendation comes with a couple of qualifiers. One, it’s December, so after we’ve been through a couple festivals Exodus is sure to have some heavy hitting company. Two, while Ridley Scott still commands excitement based on his track record, his last three directorial efforts (The Counselor, Prometheus, Robin Hood) haven’t bee that great. We’re still excited to see how his biblical epic turns out, but we’re a little nervous, too.
