Movies I Can't Wait to See

Here we go... hopefully making up for last year's Summer of Suck, there are plenty of movies coming up that have me excited to visit my favorite multiplex.

Needless to say, this weekend sees the much-anticipated The Hunger Games, based on the first of three YA novels by Suzanne Collins about a dystopian North American society some 150 years in the future, in which 2 young people from 12 distinct districts must fight to the death in a wilderness arena. The battle is mandatory television viewing for all of Panem's citizens. The hype surrounding this film is unlike any I can remember and while I do wan to see it, my rehearsal schedule for Hairspray makes it unlikely I'll get to it for a while. I have not read the books, though I want to. My reading habits of late have been deplorable. I will, however, be reviewing a new novel by a regular reader and frequent commenter, soon.

But that's okay. I know I'll see it and read the books, eventually. Still, there are plenty of other films (both large and small) that have piqued my interest this coming season. 

Opening the same weekend as Hairspray (April 13th) is Joss Whedon's much-delayed and highly-anticipated horror movie The Cabin in the Woods, which got caught up in the MGM bankruptcy and is finally getting released by Lionsgate after more than two years. Folks are saying this film may well be a genre changer. I will definitely find time to see this one.

April 27th sees John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe (Father of the Mystery genre) in the serial-killer thriller The Raven. A maniac is copying the murders in Poe's stories and challenges the author to stop him before he kills again.

May 4th brings us another Joss Whedon film: The Avengers, based on the Marvel Comics series and featuring characters previously established in the Marvel movies The Incredible Hulk; Iron Man; Thor and Captain America. While I loved both Iron Man movies and Captain America, I haven't seen Thor or The Incredible Hulk. But I honestly don't think I need to in order to enjoy this movie:

May also brings us Tim Burton's comedic take on Dark Shadows (ick); Peter Berg's board game-inspired Battleship (double ick) and two other films that I actually want to see. 

First is the British comedy Hysteria, about the invention of the vibrator:

And then there's Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black III, in which Will Smith's Agent J travels back in time to meet a younger version of Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) played by a perfectly cast Josh Brolin, who does a spot-on Tommy Lee:

June has four films on my radar. The beautiful Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen and the beautiful Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman have made Snow White and the Huntsman a 'Must See' for Uncle P:

Wow! Then there's Ridley Scott's "Not an Alien prequel" Prometheus (again starring Charlize Theron), which is totally an Alien prequel:

Next is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (based on a very clever novel I actually read on vacation in Florida last spring and highly enjoyed), which posits Lincoln's quest to banish slavery was based on his hatred of the vampires who feed on them:

The same weekend sees Pixar's Brave, a tale about a Scottish princess who defies tradition and sets out on her own adventure:

And the only movie I really care about in July is my semi-annual Birthday Gift from director Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises. The third and final film in Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises looks to be the darkest and grimmest of the three films. Co-starring Anne Hathaway as Selena Kyle/Catwoman and Tom Hardy as Bane, TDKR may well best The Dark Knight as the best superhero movie ever:

Finally, August features two for me and one for D. First up, Colin Farrell in the reboot of Philip K. Dick's Total Recall. Then there's the animated horror comedy ParaNorman:

And D has made me promise to see The Expendables 2 with him, even though I have yet to see the first one (I see a DVR night at D's in my near future):

There are plenty of other movies I'll probably want to see in the next four or five months, and if I get to see them you'll be sure to have my thoughts on them. 

What movies are you looking forward to seeing this spring and summer?

More, anon.

Prospero