I didn't realize I had so many films I wanted to see until I started listing them. Whittled down from a starting point of eighteen, here are my seven most anticipated films releasing in the last bit of 2012 in no particular order of preference …
WRECK-IT-RALPH
Release Date: November 2
I was sold the moment I saw the scene in the trailer with M. Bison, Zangief, Bowser and Clyde (among plenty of other well known old-school game characters) sitting together in what looked like some kind of video-game-villain support group. I'm willing to bet that whoever thought of this film would be someone I'd get along with very, very well.
ZERO DARK THIRTY
Release Date: December 19
The Hurt Locker, Point Break, Strange Days, Near Dark … all of those films are tauter than a tightrope in terms of suspense and straight-on intensity. Kathryn Bigelow, to me anyway, is like the one girl in the playground who isn't afraid to punch a bully in the face and then stomp on his balls afterward for good measure. Fuck what the pundits in D.C. say about this being an Obama campaign piece for the upcoming election. The story behind the Osama bin Laden hit carried out by U.S. Special Forces is material tailor made for her. I wouldn't be surprised if she was there herself with a RED camera strapped to her.
SKYFALL
Release Date: November 9
Director Sam Mendes scoops himself up some Daniel Craig-flavored James Bond ice cream with a Javier Bardem fudge ribbon swirl and puts that shit on an IMAX cone, baby. Would not be surprised if this one surpasses Casino Royale, but even if it falls just a tad short, that's still fine by me. It looks like they're bringing back some of the old-school, slam-bang 007 action that fans have been clamoring for and I couldn't be any happier.
LINCOLN
Release Date: November 9
Daniel Day-Lewis, your Oscar pre-order is in the mail, and you should be receiving it sometime early next year. Okay, that may be a bit presumptuous but, seriously, that first official picture of him in character as Honest Abe gave me the chills. Spielberg and Lewis teaming up, along with the others in a star-studded cast, has me wringing my hands in anticipation.
LOOPER
Release Date: September 28
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been on one hell of a streak since Inception, but this one I'm interested in for two reasons in particular. For one, they did a surprisingly great job of making him look like a younger Bruce Willis, and, two, the word of mouth on this so far from advance viewings is very, very positive. The story looks pretty unique and should give us some solid entertainment for our money if the cards are played right with this sci-fi mind bender.
TAKEN 2
Release Date: October 5, 2012
The trailer shows a mass funeral of all of Liam Neeson's victims from the first film with their leader/boss/dad/some important guy swearing revenge. SOLD.
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DJANGO UNCHAINED
Release Date: December 25
I've heard a lot of things about Jamie Foxx from people in the biz in regards to how much of a prick he is. True or not, I still wanna see him lay the smack down on a bunch of white people while getting paid for it. Christoph Waltz as his sidekick, Leonardo DiCaprio as the heavy, QT back doing what he does best … I'd say this is one to get VERY excited for.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
In the end, there's simply way too much shit to see over the next few months and paring it down to seven was a case of killing your babies if ever there was one for me. Yeah, of course I wanna see The Hobbit, and hopefully I'll be able to catch a 48 fps screening of it somewhere to see for myself if the shit looks like Masterpiece Theater or not.
Seven Psychopaths? Uh, Christopher Walken? Yeah, take my money.
I'd even plunk money down for The Impossible, which looks about 99.9% sure to make me sob like a whore in a donut shop. (Do NOT ask me to explain that. I'd be better suited to tell you where Hoffa's body is and who killed him).
Shit, even the mere idea of Ray Liotta getting the ever living Christ beat out of him for an extended bit of time in the upcoming Killing Me Softly sounds like something I need to see for myself in a darkened theater. I've been needing to let loose a good cackling as of late.
I haven't even mentioned Cloud Atlas, but I think the fear that the Wachowskis might botch this one horribly is what kept it off of the list for me. I'm waiting for it alright but with a high, high level of trepidation and uneasiness.
So you've read Bob's list of his most-anticipated fall movies. And now you've seen mine. Whether you agree with our choices or not, I'd love to know what your personal picks are. Comment away, folks!
