Most Anticipated Movies of 2011

It's not always easy predicting what movies will be good. Sometimes you just see a trailer or hear about a movie and you know it's going to be a great film. Other times, and more often, a movie will look really good but will end up disappointing.

Even harder than making my Top 10 list of the year is making a Top 10 list of my most anticipated movies of this coming year. I'm sure by December I'll look back at this list and be embarrassed by a few of these because of how bad they end up being.

But without further ado, the Top 10 movies of 2011 that I can't wait to see...

*NOTE: These movies are in order of theatrical release.

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If you haven't seen director Duncan Jones' debut film Moon, definitely check it out. It's a really complex movie that blows your mind with its different twists and turns. In today's world of movies that are mostly remakes and/or sequels, Moon was refreshingly original. Duncan Jones' next movie looks like it will be just as cool as Moon was. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, and Vera Farmiga, Source Code is about a soldier who wakes up in a different body and realizes his mission is to find the bomber of a Chicago train. It seems really complicated, but judging from the above trailer, it looks like it will be an edge-of-your-seat thriller.

THOR (MAY 6)

With the success of The Dark Knight and Iron Man, there was inevitably going to be a lot more superhero movies released. 2011 will see three more superhero movies and each of them has the potential to be excellent. The first one released this year will be Thor. While Thor boasts an incredible supporting cast of Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, and Stellan Skarsgaard, Thor isn't the most well-known superhero on the planet. Part of what made The Dark Knight (and to a lesser degree Iron Man) successful were the new takes on iconic characters. Nevertheless, I'm sure Thor will be really good. It's directed by Kenneth Branagh, whose best known for directing Shakespeare plays-turned-into-films Hamlet and Henry V. That alone makes me think that Thor will be a much different class of comic book movie and I'm excited to see what this cast and crew can do.

THE HANGOVER PART II (MAY 26)

There hasn't been a trailer released for The Hangover Part II yet, but there's no doubt about it that it will be a great movie. The original was flat-out hilarious and this sequel has the potential to be just as funny as we will see our three main characters (and Doug!) heading to Bangkok for Stu's wedding. Obviously hijiinks will ensue and they will inevitably lose Doug again (judging from the pictures released so far). All of the cast from the first film will be returning, including Ken Jeong and Mike Tyson, and will also feature cameos by Liam Neeson and Bill Clinton! I can't see how this one can't be good, but it makes me nervous to see that this movie has different writers than the first one, including a guy who co-wrote the atrocious Scary Movie 4 and Superhero Movie. Craig Mazin- I will kill you if you screw this movie up.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (JUNE 3)

The original X-Men movies were pretty awesome, but they definitely didn't reach their full potential. By the third movie, it was clear that the franchise just wasn't working. To fix this problem, the writers behind First Class came up with an interesting way to re-do the series while still keeping this film a part of the others. X-Men: First Class is a prequel to the original X-Men trilogy, featuring many of the same characters just much younger. This time around the director is much better (Matthew Vaughn, director of Layer Cake and Kick Ass) and if you ask me, the cast is much better too. James McAvoy (Wanted) will be playing Professor X and Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds) will be playing Magneto. The supporting cast is also a who's who of underrated actors including Rose Byrne (Damages), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone), Nicholas Hoult (UK Skins), Ray Wise (Robocop), as well as THE Kevin Bacon. My guess is that X-Men: First Class will prove to be better than at least two of the three original X-Men movies.

SUPER 8 (JUNE 10)

Besides what's revealed in the teaser trailer above, not much is known about J.J. Abrams' next film Super 8. There is literally no description on IMDB right now, with the only hint to what the plot of the movie might be is its tagline, "Next summer, IT arrives." So how could I be excited about a movie that I know absolutely nothing about? Well, I know it's written and directed by J.J. Abrams, the genius behind Lost and the new Star Trek movie. It's also executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. Personally, I'm loving the mystery about Super 8. What the hell is in that truck in the teaser trailer??? I hope I go into the movie in June completely unaware as to what the movie is really about. The best advice I have for the Super 8 team is to reveal the least amount of information as possible about the movie. NOTE: Some people are thinking it's a surprise sequel to 2008's Cloverfield (J.J. Abrams produced Cloverfield, so it's possible, but not likely).

RISE OF THE APES (JUNE 24)

The original Planet of the Apes movies were a huge hit when they were released, so it was probably somewhat disappointing to fans of the original when Tim Burton's shitty 2001 remake was released (You suck Burton!). Well Hollywood is trying again and so far it looks like they're doing a lot more this time around to make sure this doesn't suck. Instead of Mark Wahlberg in the lead role, we have James Franco and Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto, as well as John Lithgow, Brian Cox, and Harry Potter's Tom Felton. Perhaps the most intriguing part about Rise of the Apes is the decision to have the apes in the movie by CGI motion-capture creations, a la Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies. Even the same actor who played Gollum, Andy Serkis, will be playing the main ape. This movie will also be set in present-day San Francisco, which also adds an interesting twist. I'm excited for this one.

HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II (JULY 15)

I actually skipped the first Deathly Hallows movie because I found the first half of the final Harry Potter book to be incredibly boring. Despite that fact, there is no denying how freaking epic this final Harry Potter movie will be! Just the thought of the final fight inside Hogwarts translated to the big screen gets me really excited. Ten years of these great movies finally culminates into this last one. My one piece of advice though? Lose the really cheesy piece of shit epilogue that was attached to the end of the book. It made me want to throw up with its corniness. Apparently, someone's already been cast as Albus Severus Potter though. Blech.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (JULY 22)

The third and final big superhero movie of the year, also in The Avengers cannon like Thor, will be Captain America: The First Avenger. Like Thor, Captain America also has a really good supporting cast, including Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, and Toby Jones. But unlike Thor having the talented Kenneth Branagh directing, I'm surprised to see that Jurassic Park III and Jumanji director Joe Johnston was given such an important movie to direct. This Captain America movie is the last movie in The Avengers franchise (which also includes Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor) before the actual The Avengers movie, so it's important that this movie is good to increase the hype. Marvel hopefully sees something in Joe Johnston that I don't, because I'm really hoping this movie is good. Captain America is a different kind of superhero movie because he's created during World War II and that will hopefully provide a much different perspective that's never been done before.

HUGO CABRET (DECEMBER 9)

I'm not familiar with the book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" that this movie is based on, but everything about the movie looks really good. It's going to be directed by Martin Scorsese and it will mark his first foray into 3D filming. It stars Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass) as well as Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christopher Lee, Michael Pitt, and Michael Stuhlbarg. So what is it about? According to IMDB, Hugo Cabret is set in 1930s and is about an orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station who gets caught up in a mystery involving his father and a robot. It's going to be a family movie, but still- Martin Scorsese making a kids movie in 3D with that cast? Sounds good to me.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (DECEMBER 21)

Full disclosure: I've never seen the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies nor have I read any of the books. I've heard they're really good, but I've just never gotten the chance to get into them. I'm sure before the American version of the movie comes out, I'll get a chance to, but for now I can only go by what I think the movie will be like. Another thing I probably have to disclose: I typically HATE IT when Hollywood remakes a foreign movie within a few years of the original film. Just release the damn foreign movie as it is! You don't have to Americanize everything! Foreign films aren't that unaccessible, I promise! With that being said, if they HAD to remake this series, they picked a damn good team to do it. David Fincher, fresh off his probable Best Picture Oscar win for The Social Network, will be directing and Steven Zaillian (Mission: Impossible, Schindler's List, Gangs of New York) has adapted the screenplay. The cast includes Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsgard, and Robin Wright, with The Social Network's Rooney Mara playing main character Lisbeth Salander. The original was about "a journalist who is aided in the search for a presumed dead woman by a young female hacker." Apparently this new remake will stray a little bit from the original though, especially in the ending. With a pedigree like this however, how could they go wrong?

Those are my most anticipated movies of 2011? What movies are you looking forward to?

-Jared

Top 10 Movies of 2010

2010 was a weird year for movies. Looking back at the post below which includes all of the movies I saw that were released this past year, there were a lot of disappointments. The Expendables wasn't the amazing movie it should have been. Get Him to the Greek was okay, but there wasn't a really good comedy like previous years that would have made it on to my Top 10 list. Even things that should have been surefire hits like Iron Man 2 weren't what they could have been. I don't know if it's a fair claim that movies are worse than they used to be, but it's accurate to say I saw a lot of average to below average movies this year.

That's not to say that there weren't some amazing ones though. Below are my Top 10 favorite movies of 2010.

10. TRON: LEGACY

I was really excited to see TRON: Legacy. I'm one of the few people I know that has actually seen and enjoyed the original TRON, also starring Jeff Bridges from 1982 (yes, way before I was born). The original was really ahead of its time when it came out in terms of technology and I was expecting the same from this sequel 28 years later. While I admit perhaps the story was not exactly what it could have been, I thought TRON: Legacy contained some of the most incredible CGI and visual effects I've ever seen. From the light cycle races to the disc fights, visually this movie was outstanding. Usually the fact that a movie is in 3D is a deterrent for me, but the 3D here is awesome. If you're looking to just have some mindless fun and have your mind blown away by some incredible visuals, this movie is for you. Plus, Jeff Bridges is awesome and Daft Punk's score for this is even more awesome!

9. SHUTTER ISLAND

I don't really understand why February's Shutter Island is being forgotten about now during awards season. Sure, the end was a little predictable, but that doesn't take away from the incredible cinematography and direction by Robert Richardson and Martin Scorsese. The acting is really good too- everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, and Jackie Earle Haley are all at their best. So why no love for Shutter Island? Everyone loves a good detective mystery movie, and although I guessed the ending to Shutter Island well before the characters did, there were certain parts of the movie where I was completely clueless as to what was going to happen. I'm guessing the February release date has something to do with it, but I'm hoping Oscar voters remember this cool thriller.

8. BLACK SWAN

When I first watched Black Swan, I had no idea what to think of it. There were parts of this movie that made me feel really anxious and disturbed and just downright uncomfortable. I chose the above picture because I thought Winona Ryder in particular had a scene that was unexpectedly gruesome. But when you take a step back, you realize that most of these emotions are what director Darren Aronofsky intended for the viewer to feel and in that sense he succeeded. This movie is about a young dancer's descent into madness as the pressure of being a top ballerina for an important show finally gets to her and you're really taken on that journey with her. This movie caught me completely off guard from what I thought it was going to be like, and part of me is still digesting what I saw. What I do know is Natalie Portman gives THE best female performance of the year and I strongly feel that had anyone else been cast in the role, the movie would not have been as good.

7. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

I'm really sick of Michael Cera. He's the same character in every movie and after Youth in Revolt earlier last year, I had just about enough of him. So when I heard about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, based on the hit graphic novel series, I wasn't too excited. Little did I know that this movie would end up being one of the most fun movies of the year, despite it starring Michael Cera AND Jason Schwartzman (who I find equally annoying). With both video game and comic book influences, the visuals behind Scott Pilgrim are incredible. This movie is the first ever live-action video game and it works really well. It uses such video game staples such as enemies turning into coins when dying and the main character picking up extra lives to beat the bad guy to perfection. I highly recommend this movie- it's a lot of fun!

6. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

I love a good documentary and Exit Through the Gift Shop was the best one this past year. It begins as a documentary about the underground world of street art and a filmmaker's quest to seek out infamous street artist Banksy. When the two finally meet, Banksy decides to take over the filmmaking and the previous director, John Thierry, turns to a life of street art. The most interesting part of this documentary is the question of its authenticity. Banksy is such a mysterious character (he never reveals his identity), that both himself and this movie have brought about a lot of questions. Are John Thierry and Banksy the same person? Was this entire documentary staged? There are so many possibilities of what's really going on in Exit Through the Gift Shop that it only adds to the incredible story. Whether it was fully staged, slightly staged, or completely legitimate, it doesn't take away from an entertaining viewing.

5. TOY STORY 3

Who would have guessed that fifteen years after the original Toy Story came out, the third and final entry in the series would be just as good as the original? Toy Story 3 is very funny, especially with the new additions of Jodi Benson and Michael Keaton playing Barbie and Ken. But Toy Story 3 wasn't all laughs, addressing such serious themes as moving on and even death. Looking at a lot of the mindless garbage geared towards kids today, it really makes you appreciate movies like Toy Story that have heart. I also think that Toy Story 3 definitely deserves its probable Oscar nomination for Best Picture and although it won't win, I think it has even more of a chance than Wall-E did.

4. TRUE GRIT

Anytime a Coen Brothers movie comes out, I have high expectations. They are, after all, the same guys who created The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, Fargo, and No Country for Old Men. Add in Jeff Bridges in a role that was originated by John Wayne, as well as Matt Damon, Barry Pepper, and Josh Brolin and you have a surefire winner on your hands and that proved to be true. What I loved the most about True Grit was the fact that everything seemed really authentic. From background actors who seemed legitimately from the time period to the way the principal actors spoke and acted, True Grit transported you to that time in the west. I thought Jeff Bridges was incredible and the little girl, Hailee Steinfeld, definitely deserves an Oscar nomination. Combining the right amount of action and dialogue, the Coen Brothers proved that they could succeed in the Western genre just as well as they succeed in other ones.

3. THE FIGHTER

I was really surprised how much I liked The Fighter. There are tons of movies about boxing out there, especially boxing movies based on a true story. But The Fighter proved to be different by focusing more on the boxer himself and the different events going on in his life while he was fighting for the championship. I think The Fighter succeeded by not making a movie about a boxer who has problems in his life, but about a guy who has problems in his life who is a boxer. Instead of focusing the entire movie in the ring, which we've seen a million times before, the writers and director David O. Russell instead focused and depended on some incredible performances. And there is some incredible acting in The Fighter. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo provide two of the best supporting performances of the year and I hope they both win Oscars. Christian Bale in particular is AMAZING as Mark Wahlberg's character's drug addict brother, who is so loyal to his brother that he's ignorant to the fact that his drug addiction is actually hurting the family.

2. INCEPTION

I think it's too early to call Christopher Nolan one of the greatest directors of all time because he only has six movies under his belt. But with Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and now Inception all among my favorite movies of all time, Christopher Nolan is undoubtedly going to be in consideration soon. All three of those movies were groundbreaking because they were incredible action movies but they didn't sacrifice good performances for good action. By casting award winning actors in his action and comic book movies, Christopher Nolan has brought both genres to new heights. Inception was no exception. It boasts an incredible cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, and Ellen Page, among others. But the greatest thing about Inception was its amazing action and special effects. The scene pictured above was one of the coolest things I've ever seen! The premise and complexity of Inception were all so amazing that it easily could've been my favorite movie of the year if it weren't for...

1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK

I want everyone to remember back nearly a year ago when the first trailer for The Social Network was released. "A movie about Facebook- that's gonna suck!" was the general response the movie got among my friends, despite me trying to tell them that I thought it was going to be really good. With the incredible team of Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher, how could it not have been? Before seeing The Social Network, I had no idea what the backstory of Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg was. Who knew that he was such a snake who would screw his own friend out of millions of dollars? Using that story that is incredibly appealing to my generation in particular, The Social Network was really entertaining. Sorkin's quick-paced dialogue kept things interesting and just the fact that Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield could keep up with it is a testament to how awesome they were in this movie. Yes, even Justin Timberlake proved he deserved to be in the best movie of the year. It's actually hard to pinpoint what my favorite thing about The Social Network was, but just by watching it you get the feeling that you're watching a modern day masterpiece. It just gives off that aura. I would love to see more Sorkin-Fincher collaborations in the future as I think they make an awesome team. As for The Social Network, I believe it deserves to win Best Picture of the Year and looking at all the awards its received so far, I'm sure it will do so.

So there's my Top 10 favorite movies of 2010? Comment below if you agree or disagree about my picks! What were your Top 10 favorite movies of the year?

Will 2011 be a better year for movies than 2010 was? I'll be back in a few days with a look at some of my most anticipated movies of 2011.

-Jared

Movies of 2010

I'm still working on my Top 10 Movies of 2010 list. There are still a few movies that I know would probably make it onto my Top 10 that I haven't gotten a chance to see yet. Obviously I won't be able to see everything that I want, but I'm gonna hold out an extra couple of days before I give in and finally make my list. Some movies I'm still hoping to see include The King's Speech, 127 Hours, The Town, and Animal Kingdom.

Below is the list of all of the movies I've seen this past year. Can you guess which ones will make my Top 10 list? After looking at the list below, maybe some of these will refresh your memory and help you make a Top 10 list too.

*The movies are listed in order of release date, certainly not quality order!

Daybreakers

Youth in Revolt

The Book of Eli

The Lovely Bones

From Paris with Love

Shutter Island

The Crazies

Alice in Wonderland

The Runaways

Hot Tub Time Machine

Clash of the Titans

Date Night

Kick-Ass

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Harry Brown

Iron Man 2

Shrek Forever After

MacGruber

Solitary Man

Get Him to the Greek

Toy Story 3

Cyrus

Knight and Day

The Kids Are All Right

Inception

Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

The Other Guys

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

The Expendables

Piranha 3D

Resident Evil: Afterlife

The Social Network

Due Date

TRON: Legacy

True Grit

The Fighter

Black Swan

Winter's Bone

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Never Let Me Go