Welcome to the Cult Spark Movie Excitability Index, a monthly chart where we rank upcoming films by order of just how excited we are to see them. Movies will rise or fall on the chart as our giddy anticipation waxes or wanes. Once a film is widely released, it will be pulled to make room for another movie. The index is also used as a monthly news dump for trailers, posters, article links and other bits of pre-release materials that succeed in getting us jazzed for an upcoming release. Don't agree with the list? Post in the comments below and convince us to make changes for next month! Now on to this month's chart …
1. MAN OF STEEL
Director: Zack Snyder | Release date: 6/17/13
The about-to-be-released Superman flick easily takes the top spot on the strength of trailers like this recently released Zod-centric one.
Also, the Lego Jor-El minifigure is the cutest thing ever.
2. THE WORLD'S END
Director: Edgar Wright | Release date: 8/23/13
True story: I actually prefer Hot Fuzz to Shaun of the Dead. Does that make me some kind of heretic? Anyway, part three of the Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's Blood and Ice Cream trilogy, has a nifty trailer out.
3. ELYSIUM
Director: Neill Blomkamp | Release date: 8/9/13
Ninety-nine percent of today's movie-poster art sucks. But this one most certainly does not …
4. ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES
Director: Adam McKay | Release date: 12/20/13
Yet another teaser, probably the best one yet if only for the way Steve Carell goes "full Brick" by staring awkwardly at the camera after saying hello.
5. ONLY GOD FORGIVES
Director: Nicholas Winding Refn | Release date: 7/19/13
It got booed at Cannes. But, then again, so did Inglourious Basterds, and that seemed to work out well for everyone. I originally had it a couple of spots lower, but then Terrence stepped up to me and made this move …
6. PACIFIC RIM
Director: Guillermo Del Toro | Release date: 7/12/13
The new trailer features kaiju, robots and Stringer Bell. These are things we are not opposed to here at Cult Spark.
7. THIS IS THE END
Director: Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogan | Release date: 6/12/13
Early reviews are good, and the red-band trailer makes me laugh every time I watch it.
8. GRAVITY
Director: Alfonso Cuaron | Release date: 10/4/13
I'm not yet sold on the perhaps overly simplistic story being told here, but there's no denying the allure of Cuaron's audacious visuals.
9. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
Director: Joel and Ethan Coen | Release date: 12/6/13
Despite all the good things going on in this trailer, I honestly have a hard time focusing on anything other than John Goodman's hair.
10. THE WOLVERINE
Director: James Mangold | Release date: 7/26/13
X-Men Origins: Wolverine left too bad of a taste in everyone's mouth to push this one much higher, but Mangold is a lot more capable than Gavin Hood. And I'm glad they decided to avoid the prequel route this go-round.
Threatening, but not there yet: Thor: The Dark World, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Monuments Men, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Star Wars: Episode VII.
Disagree with our rankings? Use the comments below to make the case for your most-anticipated film being moved up the list!
