Something you may not know about me if you come to Critical Hits mainly for the RPG content is that I’m a huge movie nerd. In April of this year I posted a look ahead at the big summer movies of 2010 that I was hoping to see, just as I have done for the last four years running. Iron Man 2 came out in the lead this year and it is actually (unfortunately) the only one from the list that I have seen at the moment.
I wrote in that post that I couldn’t include Tron:Legacy because it isn’t a summer movie and I am very thankful that I can finally see it tonight at midnight! On the other hand Inception didn’t even make my list back in April but between then and its release the trailers convinced me it was a must-see, so I saw a midnight showing and promptly wrote a review of it the next morning.
This year is a bit different from the last few because I am already excited to see a ton of movies in 2011 and we’re not even through December yet! Here’s a look at the movies of early 2011 that I’m most excited to see, and a quick description of why I’m excited about it:
The Green Hornet – January 14th
Staring Seth Rogen, directed by Michael Gondry, and has a direct relation to Bruce Lee. Plus it looks pretty funny. Win! (trailer)
Unknown – February 18th
Liam Neeson in what looks like a role similar to the one he played in Taken. (trailer)
The Adjustment Bureau – March 4th
Matt Damon in a movie based on a Philip K. Dick short story (think Minority Report, Total Recall, and Blade Runner) by the director of the Bourne Ultimatum. (trailer)
Battle: Los Angeles – March 11th
I’m a sucker for alien invasion movies, and this one looks like a better version of Skyline. Also looks along the same lines as Cloverfield or District 9, but possibly with robotic aliens. (trailer)
Paul – March 18th
The next movie from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. If you need more, they’re playing sci-fi fans who encounter and befriend a real ‘grey man’ style alien voiced by Seth Rogen. (trailer)
Sucker Punch – March 25th
The next movie from Zack Snyder, Sucker Punch looks like it combines the best elements of 300 and Watchmen together into an original story that feels like it’s based on a comic book. Also it combines samurai, robots, machine guns, dragons, and women who kick some serious ass. (trailers)
Your Highness – April 8th
The trailer for this is one of the funniest I’ve ever seen. Danny McBride, James Franco, and Natalie Portman doing a modern style comedy set in a medieval fantasy setting. This is already in the running for potentially the funniest movie of 2011. (trailer)
Thor – May 6th
Really it should be no surprise that this is on the list, but with Kenneth Branagh, Anthony Hopkins, and Natalie Portman involved I’m really hopeful that this one will be a good one. (trailer)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – May 20th
Though Orlando Bloom is noticeably lacking from this project so far, the addition of Penelope Cruz and what appears to be a consistent continuation of the best parts of Depp’s performances, this one stands a chance at being one of the best 4th movies ever created (though admittedly that’s not a hard category to outshine so far). (trailer)
X-Men: First class – June 3rd
I’m eager to see how the X-Men franchise reboot will happen, but so far I’m still not thrilled with what I’ve heard about it. However, it’s an X-Men movie so it has a lot of potential ahead of it and we’ll see if director Matthew Vaughn can follow up Kick-Ass adequately.
Super 8 – June 10th
The next movie from J.J. Abrams, and I’ve been waiting for a follow-up to the enticing teaser trailer for months now. I’m hooked at least until I find out some more information about what in the world this movie is going to be!
Green Lantern – June 17th
Again there’s not much justification for comic book movies needed to be on this list, but I will say I disagree with some people and I think the trailer for this makes it look much better than it could have. I’m a fan of Ryan Reynold’s charisma no matter what, and I’m excited to see how this DC franchise looks on the big screen. (trailer)
Cars 2 – June 24th
Pixar has proven that they can do a very good sequel, and the first Cars was a great movie, so I’m interested to see where they go with this one. (teaser trailer)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon – July 1st
Okay, so let’s not think much about the second Transformers and instead look forward to seeing even giant robots fighting with amazing sound effects. I can hope, right? (teaser)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – July 15th
Considering I read through all of the books specifically to see this after reading the book, I’m excited to see how they series is finished off by Part 2. I was not a fan of the first few movies, but I am really looking forward to this one.
Captain America: The First Avenger – July 22nd
So many comic book movies! Captain America stands out because it takes place in the past and focuses on the origin story of Cap, also because they cast the Human Torch (Chris Evans) but it looks like he’s doing everything he can to live up to the legendary role. My biggest hope is that the Marvel movies of 2011 don’t fall flat and all become simple lead ins for the Avengers movie, but can stand alone on their own merits as well as building towards a unified project. With the director responsible for The Rocketeer doing another period piece about a very much human superhero, I’m already sold.
Cowboys & Aliens – July 29th
Jon Favreau’s next movie starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, and Sam Rockwell taking place in a western setting that features aliens. I guess the straightforward titles tells you that much already. This one is worth keeping an eye on to see what direction the Iron Man director is taking post Iron Man 2. (trailer)
If there’s a movie in early 2011 that you think should be on this list and isn’t , please share! I hope that this list helped point out a few movies you weren’t aware of or hadn’t paid much attention to yet but are interested in seeing now. For the most part I just enjoy having a list all in one place so I can look through and see what movies are coming up that I’d really like to see.
A much further look out and I also spotted an untitled Sherlock Holmes sequel and the next Mission: Impossible movie which would both make the list except that they’re not coming out until December of 2011 or later.
Just saw the preview for Sucker Punch. Looks like it will be a lot of fun… and also looks like it would be a fun story for a short campaign. 🙂
Is Cowboys & Aliens based on a comic book? Pretty sure I read a comic with that title, about exactly what it sounds like. The only thing I remember from it, though, was indians using alien technology to create shoes for their horses that let them fly.
Oh, and that poster alone makes me want to see Sucker Punch. Definitely will be keeping an eye on that!
Asmor: You’re right! I had forgotten about it recently but should have mentioned that Cowboys & Aliens is another comic book movie on the list. Thanks! Also, I agree on Sucker Punch, I saw some artwork for it and wanted to see it just from that, but then the trailer makes me want to see it even more!
I’m excited for about 90% of these movies. However incredibly disappointed that Hollywood won’t drop this sudden 3D obsession. It doesn’t even look good. At least Nolan has promised us that Batman won’t be following suit.
@Asmor: that’s the right comic–it was pretty stupid IMO. The movie looks amazing though, if only because it seems like they’re aiming to pull off the ridiculous premise with a straight face, which will be absolutely hilarious. I’m excited ;p
Question: when you list the actors for Thor and follow up by saying you hope its good, does that imply that those actors give it the potential be really good or that they make it unlikely it will be good?
Personally, my first thought was the latter 😛