2011 Movies Guide2010 has been considered by many to be a bad year for film. Blockbusters, anyway. And from a certain point of view that may be true, there were many disappointments, among them Iron Man 2, which failed to better its predecessor, and The Last Airbender, which disappointed even those with low expectations. But the year wasn't all bad, there were some fantastic major hit movies, most of which ranked pretty highly on our list: Inception, Toy Story 3, Scott Pilgrim...
2011, though, 2011 looks a little lacklustre. And that's before we get to some (inevitable) disappointments. Hopefully 2011 is the year of surprises and sleeper hits. We could have had a list comprised entirely of sequels and remakes (we came pretty close, actually) but managed to avoid that. o without further ado, Movie Moron's most anticipated movies of 2011.
20. The Green HornetStarring: Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz
Director: Michel Gondry
Release Date: January 14th
First up on our list is The Green Hornet, a comic book adaptation (of which there are few on this list) from wacky auteur Michel Gondry. Anticipation was a little higher for this one before the trailer hit, if only because we all assumed it would be more outlandish than it appears to be, given the director at the helm, but it still looks like a really well executed superhero flick. If anything, it seems somewhat reminiscent of Iron Man, in terms of having a strong personality (in this case Seth Rogen) in the central role to give a piece of standard fare that added verve. Also looking good is Kato-vision, as seen at 2:05 in the trailer:
We're optimistic. It may not be
the best superhero movie to feature Tom Wilkinson, but it is potentially the best superhero bromance to ever hit our screens.
19. Fright Night18. Cowboys and AliensStarring: Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford
Director: Jon Favreau
Release Date: July 29th
Most people were sold on this movie on its title alone - it's about as high concept as it gets. Cowboys. Aliens. Throw in James Bond, Indiana Jones and
Miss Tron and you have the kind of movie that makes the crowds at SDCC go nuts:
It's telling that there was virtually no talk about the movie on that panel...I guess there's always next year. Director Jon Favreau was hot off of Iron Man when first attached to the project, but now, coming off of the lukewarm reception to the somewhat disappointing Iron Man 2, we're hoping for a return to form. 'Lost' scribe Damon Lindelof has helped out in the writing department, so we're hoping his nerdcore sensibilities shine through too. Cowboys. Aliens.
17. ThorStarring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Release Date: May 6th
With the mighty Thor hitting theatres, we are one step closer to The Avengers, which we've been impatiently waiting for since we saw this:
But more than just a stepping stone to a bigger picture, Thor is a different breed of Superhero movie. Sure, there's a cape or two, and people punch things in the name of truth and justice, but the mythic side of Thor is pretty much unprecedented in the world of superhero movies, and now that we've seen stills and that leaked SDCC trailer, we could not be more excited to see what the god of thunder has in store for us.
16. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark15. TintinStarring: Jamie Bell, Simon Pegg, Daniel Craig
Director: Steven Spielberg
Release Date: December 23rd
The dream team of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are presenting us with an adaptation of Herge's beloved comic book adventures of Tintin. The ginger-quiffed Belgian reporter is being portrayed by Jamie Bell, who previously collaborated with Peter Jackson on King Kong. You'll never see Bell's face though, because the whole thing is being done using the performance capture technology that made James Cameron's Avatar possible. We're curious to see what the 3D versions of Herge's illustrations will look like, and intrigued to see what Spielberg does with the character and the technology. And Daniel Craig's 'camp bad guy':
14. Twilight Saga: Breaking DawnStarring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson
Director: Bill Condon
Release Date:
Boy, did we get moaned at for not having Twilight on our list last year. Well I hope you're happy. Me? I'm confused. One of the votes was for 'Twishite: Breaking Dawn' which was presumably a typo, and the other had the following to say:
"2011 looks so crappy that I'd rather laugh and yawn through Twilight than watch most of that list."
...so yeah. The further adventures of Edward Cullen and his (sort of) paramour - yeah, it's a word, not just a band - make number 14 on our list. Apparently it's the craziest storyline of the bunch, so it'll be interesting to see if even the twi-hards are happy...
13. The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever MadeStarring: Jason Segel, Charles Grodin, Steve Whitmire
Director: James Bobin
Release Date: December 25th
Kermit and Co are like old friends. It's been a long time since we saw them, and it'll be a pleasure to see them on screen again - the silver screen is even better! With a title like The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever made, writer and star Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) is giving himself a lot to live up to - and that's a good thing, he's acknowledging the daunting task ahead of him introducing the Muppets to a whole new generation.
Segel is joined on the project by James Brobin, an unfamiliar name perhaps, but he was instrumental in bringing us Sacha Baron Cohen's colourful cast of characters (Ali G, Borat and Bruno) as well as all-singing all-moping Kiwi folk-comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. We can't wait to see him help the Muppets put on a show to save their old theatre.
12. ContagionStarring: Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Release Date: October 21st
Not a great deal is known about this film, but the man behind the movie is Steven Soderbergh, and although it's not as if he's never made a bad movie -
he has - he remains an extremely talented filmmaker and has assembled an amazing ensemble for his virus-combatting film.
In aaddition to reuniting with Ocean's and Informant! star Matt Damon, Soderbergh is teaming up with Marion Cotillard and Laurence Fishburne, and rounding out the already stellar cast cast are Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Gwyneh Paltrow.
11. PaulStarring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen
Director: Greg Mottola
Release Date: March 18th
Known primarily for his collaborations with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, all eyes were on Edgar Wright to see what kind of film he'd make without them, and he made Scott Pilgrim vs the World, which was a critical if not commercial success. And now the comedy duo are off making a movie without Edgar Wright, and all eyes will be on them.
The main draw of this movie is the talent involved, Pegg, Frost and Superbad helmer Greg Mottoala are almost guaranteed to provide a few laughs, despite the boring title and somewhat thin premise.
10. Sucker PunchStarring: Emily Browning, Jon Hamm, Vanessa Hudgens
Director: Zack Snyder
Release Date: March 25th
This is the first original movie from slow-mo supremo Zack Snyder. The director of the Dawn of the Dead remake and adaptations of 300, Watchmen and The Guardians of Ga'Hoole is taking us inside the mind of Emily Browning's Babydoll, who is committed to to a mental institution and whilst inside dreams up some pretty mental stuff:
This is allegedly set in the 1950s, so why the fantasy world comes of as a [http://tinyurl.com/2wtoz9k]Heavy Metal[/url]/anime hybrid remains to be seen. What we can already see is that Snyder's visual flair is in tact, and that his mostly female ensemble cast look pretty kick ass. And pretty pretty. And if graffiti artist and MC Abbie Cornish isn't already your favourite human being,
she should be.
9. X-Men: First ClassStarring: James McAvoy, January Jones, Michael Fassbender
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Release Date: June 3rd
The X-Men franchise is pretty tragic. Bryan Singer's X-Men is the movie that kicked off the superhero boom at the turn of the century, its sequel remains one of the best superhero movies ever made, but its third movie is an abomination and its spinoff for Wolverine fared no better. So it was great news when Singer announced he would be returning to the franchise. It was not so great news when he announced he wouldn't be directing. It was sort of great news when Matthew Vaughn, director of Kick-Ass, Stardust, Layer Cake and the man originally slated to direct X-Men 3 was announced as director. Since then X-Men: First class has continued to be the yo-yo of good and not so good news...
The title of the movie suggests a feature that chronicles either the assembling of, or the first adventures of, Xavier's first class of X-Men. Singer recently confirmed that Cyclops and Jean Grey will not appear in the film. James McAvoy has been cast as a young Xavier. Minor, hated, and/or timeline-displaced characters Darwin, Azazel, Angel and Havok have also been cast. To put this in perspective, it's the equivalent of having a Batman prequel where a young Alfred mentors an adult Robin as he goes up against
Hush. And calling it Batman: Year One. But there is some great talent behind the whole thing...hopefully it all comes together in the end.
8. Sherlock Holmes 2Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law
Director: Guy Ritchie
Release Date: December 16th
Guy Ritchie surprised a lot of people with the first Sherlock Holmes, a movie that was outside of his comfort zone but managed to retain his sensibilities and be a fast paced, humourous adventure. In contrast to the staid adaptations of Holmes that have gone before, Ritchie managed to inject some real excitement into the proceedings. Unfortunately, because the movie wasn't based on anything Conan Doyle had written, it deviated considerably from the structure of Holmes mysteries, and the actual mystery itself didn't seem so important. But the interplay between all of the characters was great, Robert Downey Jr got to be Robert Downey Jr (which doesn't seem to bother people as much as Michael Cera being Michael Cera) only this time with an English accent, Jude Law got to shine in his supporting role as Watson, and Mark Strong cemented his go-to-badguy status.
Not much is known about the sequel at present, other than that all the key talent should be returning, so hopefully the sequel is just as fun as the first one, if not more.
7. Harry Potter Part Two6. Green LanternStarring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Mark Strong
Director: Martin Campbell
Release Date: June 17th
The highest ranking comic book movie on our list is Green Lantern, the first major DC hero to hit the big screen that doesn't dress up as a bat to inspire fear in Gotham's criminal element or wear Kryptonian overpants to inspire the citizens of Metropolis. Coming to us from Casino Royale director Martin Campbell, Green Lantern, much like Thor, promises to show us a different side to superheroics and take us on a cosmic adventure. There have been a few voices of dissent about the casting of Ryan Reynolds - ignore them, he's perfect for the role of Hal Jordan.
5. Scream 44. The Cabin in the Woods3. Super 8Starring:
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Director: JJ Abrams
Release Date:
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Godammit, Abrams. You're doing it again. Remember how the hype for Cloverfield was fueled by furious speculation? How the starfleet uniforms from Star Trek were hidden from the world? Well, here's JJ Abrams' Super 8. Another project shrouded in mystery. All we know as of right now is that it's heavily influenced by the films of producer Steven Spielberg, and that it involves Area 51.
The Movie Preview Critic has a few interesting predictions about what the movie might have to offer, so it'll be interesting to see how much he gets right:
2. Hugo CabretStarring: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Ben Kingsley
Director: Martin Scorsese
Release Date: December 9th
Hugo Cabret is a film of firsts. It is Martin Scorsese's first children's movie, it is Martin Scorsese's first 3D movie, and it is Martin Scorsese's first major release in ten years not to feature Leonardo DiCaprio. The story of The Invention of Hugo Cabret is as follows:
ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together...
You can see some of the illustrations from the book upon which the movie is based
right here. The movie has the potential to be magical in every sense of the word (apart from the one that means real hocus pocus, of course), which is why id's so high on our list.
1. The ThingStarring:
Director:
Release Date:
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November 17, 2010, 05:17:34 AM
