This is Blog! 10 Most Anticipated ’12 Movies: #10

2011 may have been known as the Year Of The Rabbit (or so Google tells me) but 2012 already appears to be shaping up as the Year Of Great Movies (or the Year Of The Dragon, so Google tells me).

Yes, there are quite a few I’m eagerly anticipating, many of which sound awesome but have yet to release any footage, shots from the set or a mere teaser poster (World War Z, This Is Forty, Red Dawn, The Great Gatsby, The Bourne Legacy, Skyfall, this untitled Bin Laden/Kathryn Bigelow project, etc.).

Some are still ones I want to see, but so far look very, “meh” (Wanderlust, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Rock of Ages, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Jack the Giant Killer, Men In Black III) while others might just give a previously excellent director a chance to redeem himself after his last awful outing (Tim Burton with Dark Shadows, the Expendables sequel) and others could either be good or mind-numbingly bad (The Avengers, the Total Recall remake, Dredd, Frankenweenie, Chronicle, Snow White & The Huntsman, the movie based on the board game Ouija).

And then there are the films for which Kevin and I truly can’t wait to see, entries into the oversaturated cornucopia that is Hollywood which could serve to bring about a welcome breath of fresh air. These are those movies:

Brian’s #10(s)

The Hunger Games, March 23

Casa de mi Padre, March 16

Say what you will about my choice(s). Also note that they are currently not my number one choice(s). I just think they look pretty neat-o.

Although I can’t honestly describe the plot to either of these films off the top of my head, the former of which is based on a popular series of books (so everyone tells me), the trailers to both definitely served as a welcome surprise – The Hunger Games appears to come off as a mix between Never Let Me Go and The Running Man, with the underappreciated Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in the lead roles, blending what appears to be a post-apocalyptic future society (fans of the book, correct me if I’m wrong) with an interesting story about reaching beyond one’s own limits. Plus, Lenny Kravitz is in it.

Casa de mi Padre has been in development for several years now, and the now-infamous teaser trailer first surfaced a little under a year ago, quickly gaining notoriety for its quirky, deliberately over-the-top feel and obvious slam on any number of campy Spanish-language movies/television shows. However, the biggest draw to this clip came from the unlikely appearance of Will Ferrell, who stars as Armando Alvarez-again, speaking solely in Spanish, with the benefit of some hilarious subtitles-and presenting a film that looks to owe a great deal to films like Desperado as much as Ferrell’s previous efforts. As a devoted fan of Ferrell (I can honestly say I’ve even enjoyed Kicking & Screaming, Bewitched, Elf, The Other Guys and Land Of The Lost) I look forward to this, and sincerely hope that Ferrell and long-time writing partner Adam McKay (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights, The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, The Other Guys) don’t let me down.

As I wait for their respective release dates to approach, I’ll look forward to future trailers and early reviews, both of which will more than likely shape my desire down the road to venture out and take them in. Hopefully these early peeks into both releases don’t represent the best that each has to offer, otherwise I’m in for a few hours of completely wasted time.

The Hunger Games trailer:

Case de mi Padre trailer:

Kevin ‘s #10

Prometheus, June 8

Prometheus: A Titan who stole fire from Olympus and gave it to humankind, for which Zeus chained him to a rock and sent an eagle to eat his liver, which grew back daily

No idea how that relates to the upcoming Sci-Fi horror film, Prometheus, but color me intrigued. Or periwinkle.

Prometheus was originally intended to be a prequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien franchise, but after several rewrites from John Spaihts and Damon Lindelof (co-writer of LOST), the movie took on its own identity with few remaining ties to the other films (which is probably just fine as Hollywood has no shortage of prequels, remakes, adaptations and “let’s re-release this movie from 1998 … but in 3D” these days). Something new could be refreshing. Like lemonade.

The plot revolves around scientists in a not too distant future finding clues to the origin of mankind on Earth. The clues lead them across the universe to an apparently not-too-friendly planet where they eventually find themselves in a horrific fight for survival. I think we can all agree that if movies have taught us anything its 1) Jennifer Lopez is horrendous 2) Don’t go searching for the origins of mankind 3) No one likes Sno-Caps.

The cast includes Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, some other people and Noomi Rapace (best known for her role as Lisbeth Sander in the Swedish versions of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest).

I’m a big fan of Sci-Fi horror films and when done well, they usually kick a normal horror film’s not Sci-Fi ass – The Abyss, Event Horizon, and of course, Alien, Aliens and Alien 3 (Yes … I liked Alien 3). Considering the pedigree of the director and writers associated with Prometheus, I have high hopes that it will be one of the better all-around movies in 2012.

Prometheus Trailer:

What movies are you most looking forward to in 2012?