Fall & Winter Movie Preview

I'm a regular subscriber to Entertainment Weekly and I love to receive their various Preview issues throughout the year, as I did last week. The anticipation of upcoming movies in the next four months is a lot of fun. Granted, my actual viewing decisions may change if I have a choice between an obscure critical darling and the current Hunger Games sequel but you just gotta go with the flow sometimes. In any case, here are my personal rankings...

Top Ten Picks
[10] Foxcatcher (Nov14) Trailer
Based on a real story of a wrestling coach trying to prepare an athlete to win gold at the 1988 Olympics, it becomes a grim psychological drama instead of the usual type of sports flick. It's being sold as a high-profile vehicle for Channing Tatum since he's on a roll at the box office lately but I'm also a fan of Steve Carell as a serious actor. There is plenty of award talk.

[9] Birdman (Oct17) Trailer
So much award buzz is coming out of Venice right now for this one. Michael Keaton stars as a former superhero actor a la Batman. Edward Norton joins in the fray as Keaton's character directs a Broadway play and starts to fall apart. Definitely in the running for Best Actor.

[8] The Interview (Dec25) Trailer
James Franco and Seth Rogen doing their shtick as reporters covertly tasked with assassinating the leader of North Korea. Their stoner humour has made me laugh too many times and the serious edge this time is intriguing.

[7] The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (Nov21) Teaser
My wife and sister-in-law are big fans of the books so they'll likely see this in theatres before I do. Regardless, it is one of the biggest movies in the next few months and I have seen the previous ones, so I'll put this in my calendar. I guess it's obvious that I'm not geeked out for it but I do like my blockbusters.

[6] Gone Girl (Oct3) Trailer
Ben Affleck uses some of his real-life experience in celebrity to inform his character, which is a famous actor whose wife disappears... and then the clues and tabloids seem to point back to him as the culprit. It also includes various people like Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry and a few other notable faces playing against type. The fact that David Fincher directed it and it had high expectations because of the book kind of annoyed me but I have to admit that my desire to see this is gradually increasing.

[5] Big Hero 6 (Nov7) Trailer
Now here's an obscure comic movie. Based on an old X-Men tie-in, it's been revamped without the Marvel stuff and with more new-era Disney influence. I was sold based on the "robot and his boy" aspect.

[4] The Judge (Oct10) Trailer
Robert Downey Jr. gets to make his big, personal movie with his producer wife now that he's a bigger/richer star than ever before. And I love this choice about a lawyer returning home to defend his estranged father in court. I'll watch Robert Duval in anything and Billy Bob Thornton can kick ass, too. This movie opens a week after Gone Girl so I'll be very curious to see how they duke it out for the same audience, but I'll certainly be watching it.

[3] Exodus: Gods and Kings (Dec12) Trailer
It's a massive Bible spectacle from Ridley Scott starring Christian Bale but the trailer sells the brother vs. brother drama at the heart of it. I am quite surprised at how much I want to see this one. And on a personal note, my Christian beliefs have changed a fair bit over the past few years as I question that factual nature of ancient stories like this one and the supposedly God-inspired Old Testament laws. Logic doesn't negate the desire for a fantastic flick, though. ; )

[2] The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Dec17) Teaser
I know I've said it before on this blog but I just don't agree with all of the LOTR fans that have dismissed this Hobbit series. Granted, the gold dragon was silly but this is still going to be awesome.

[1] Interstellar (Nov7) Trailer
Christopher Nolan directs this epic sci-fi, which stars Matthew McConaughey at the top of his game. The world is dying, so someone needs to go into far space and find a new home. I expect an immersive experience with plenty of heart and it may get into the award discussion based on something other than technical merits. There is no doubt that this gets my #1 spot.

Oscar Bait
Every year, I try to see the main contenders for the Oscars and I have a competition with my wife and sister to predict the winners. So even if these don't rank highly for me personally, I'll still try to find some time for the following movies as well.

Selma (Dec25) **Martin Luthor King Jr. biopic with much prestige behind it.
Inherent Vice (Dec12) **70's PI flick with Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin.
Unbroken (Dec25) Trailer **Angeline Jolie directs, hero from WWII & Olympics.
Wild (Dec5) Trailer **Reese Witherspoon hikes alone and re-examines her life.

Honourable Mentions
St. Vincent (Oct24) Trailer  **Bill Murray in a Bill Murray movie. Perfect.
Whiplash (Oct10) Trailer **Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons in a movie about competitive jazz drumming.
Fury (Nov14) Trailer **I can't buy Brad Pitt in the trailer but it looks good anyway.
The Maze Runner (Sep19) Trailer **May be a fun sci-fi teenfic but we'll see...
The Zero Theorem (Sep19) Trailer **Terry Gilliam's sci-fi mindbender starring Christopher Waltz.
A Merry Friggin' Christmas (Nov7) **One of the last movies by Robin Williams.

Top Ten Movies of 2013

Finally, I have arrived upon this momentous milestone: My Tenth Annual Top Ten Movie List! I've had a hectic schedule lately so I'm getting to this about a month and a half too late. The silver lining is that it provided me with extra time to catch up on the late-year Oscar-worthy movie releases, so I feel like this year's list is much more inclusive.

This list only accounts for movies that were actually released in 2013. I saw 57 movies in total, though I still have another 60 potential movies on my Wish List.

Top Ten List

[10] The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Link)
Despite the tepid critical response, I found this movie to be a sweet and adventurous fairy tale of sorts. Kristen Wiig lent some needed soul, I wanted to punch Adam Scott in the mouth, and classic actors like Shirley MacLaine and Sean Penn slipped in seamlessly. Kudos to Ben Stiller for directing this movie.

[9] Frozen (Link)
This was a nice crowd-pleaser and it's hard to get away from the songs these days, either at work or at home. It plays against some of the stereotypical plotlines, while still fitting snugly into the Disney world. I suspect that I will become more fond of this one as my daughter approaches the Disney phase of her life. And yep, the snowman made me laugh a number of times.

[8] The World's End (Link)
It starts out as one type of movie and it becomes a very different type of movie halfway through. It's way too easy to spoil it but the heart of it is the relationships between a group of old high school friends as they ponder their past and present a bit. And when the movie takes a gigantic detour, it somehow manages to keep focused on that core theme. It's astonishing that they managed to merge two completely different concepts like this, there's a certain kind of genius in it. I was also roaring with laughter, so this was definitely my funniest movie of the year.

[7] 12 Years a Slave (Link)
It's a true story and it certainly has a lot to say. I really admire it but it doesn't have a lot of moments that stand out in my memory, and it doesn't make me want to revisit it. I originally had this as my #3 movie but it kept dropping on my list because I felt like it was an important movie, as opposed to actually liking it. Since this Top Ten list is so clearly geared towards my particular tastes, I decided to let it slide down the list.

[6] The Wolverine (Link)
At long last: They were finally able to make a Wolverine movie that gave me the exact feeling of reading one of his various comic collections. I have a cheap black-and-white reprint of some of the classic Japan stories and this translates it to the big screen very capably. I could have done with a little less mutant weirdness going on but that's life in a Marvel universe. I can't believe Hugh Jackman is still running with this character but I'll enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.

[5] Lee Daniels' The Butler (Link)
This is the Forrest Gump of real life. The central character is at the cross roads of a number of milestones throughout US history, and it almost gleefully skips forward to catch all of the key moments. I don't know why there was so much acclaim for Oprah's role but I did enjoy the Forest Whitaker as he portrayed the central character's lifetime and personal growth. I look forward to seeing this one again sometime.

[4] Man of Steel (Link)
Hooray, they made a good Superman movie! I thought that the director, Zack Snyder, pulled off the action in spectacular fashion. The villains were great, and Amy Adams managed to win me over. The first part of the movie is set on Krypton and they realized that alien world and culture perfectly - much better than some of the weirdo interpretations of Krypton that I've seen in the comics. Most importantly, though, was the recurring theme of the two fathers. It's emotional, it meant something, it was useful to the plot, and Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe really made their scenes stand out.

[3] The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Link)
Despite it's lack of domestic box office success, I was still very excited to dive back into this realm. The barrel escape sequence was the single best (and funniest!) action scene of any movie this year. I was clapping and cheering in the theatre repeatedly, even though the crowd was more subdued. Come on, people! Enjoy the thrill of it all!

[2] Ender's Game (Link)
When I was growing up, my best friend was a big fan of Orson Scott Card's book series. I confess, I never bothered to get into it - until last year, when Marvel released a superb series of graphic novels based on the books. It was the best comic series that I read last year and I've read them repeatedly since then. So take that newly-found love of the stories and add it to the top-notch special effects of the movie and this was my top sci-fi movie of the year. Actually, I have to amend that last statement because of my #1 pick...

[1] Gravity (Link)
I guess this is my top sci-fi movie of the year, as well as being my top movie, period. I mean, it is fictional and very sciency so that makes it sci-fi, right? Sandra Bullock owner this movie and George Clooney provided some needed lightness. However, the spectacle and inventiveness must be credit to the director, Alfonso Cuarón, since he literally had to invent new movie techniques just to make this thing. It's an edge-of-your seat roller coaster with an emotional impact to match.

Honourable Mentions:
Pacific Rim, Iron Man 3, Saving Mr. Banks

Sequels Schmequels:
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Too much like the first movie, too slow, and too much setup for the next movie.)
Star Trek Into Darkness (Stupid "Not Khan" PR, and it was such a mirror of previous movies.)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (All the charm and brains of the first movie vanished.)

Most Annoying:
Inside Llewyn Davis (Seriously, the central character is a selfish prick.)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Yeah, I'm one of the people that couldn't sit through all the filth.)

Worst Movies:
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (This made me roll my eyes numerous times.)
The Internship (Sooo many stereotypes, cliches and predictable everything.)

Top Wish List:
The Heat, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Much Ado About Nothing

References:
Top Grossing Movies of 2013