The Hard to Ignore
The Hunger Games (March 23rd)
Admit it, you've read the books, or at least some of them. You've been sucked in to this simple, often annoying, yet completely addictive sci-fi teen fiction series. It's fantastic. I just started reading book 2 last night and found myself staying up far too late because of it. Now we're just nine days away from the movies' release, and my excitement is growing. Initially, I was entirely unexcited for this movie, but as more and more leaks get released from people who have seen it, I can't help but be enthusiastic. Word on the movie-blog street is that it's great, potentially even a new sci-fi classic. If you're already sick of hearing about this series, if you're getting flashbacks of the Twilight craze, here's a word of warning: It's just going to get worse. Buckle up and prepare to get annoyed by the fans. However, the best thing you can do is just to give up, give in, read the books and go see this movie when it comes out. You won't be disappointed. At least... I hope you won't be. (please be a good movie... )
The Ones You Haven't Heard Of
The Raid: Redemption (March 23rd)
Are you sick of all these wimpy action movies with tons of CGI explosions, fake fighting robots, terrible acting, and nothing but english speakers? Well this will probably be the movie for you. Once again, the press has been going crazy for this thing. It actually came out a year or two ago (or at least that's when it was first seen), and it's gotten nothing but praise. The way I've heard it described goes like this: "You know how most action movies have a few cool scenes here and there, then the last 15 or 20 minutes of the movie are the really awesome cool part? Well, those like 15 or 20 minutes of most action movies are spread out to about 80% of this movie. It's pure adrenaline." If you don't mind heavier violence and you didn't think that trailer above was awesome enough, I suggest you watch the original trailer instead. It will blow your mind. To pieces. Many pieces. I want to make trailers like that... [trailer music is everything, that one gets it right]
Moonrise Kingdom (May 16th)
Wes Anderson. Enough said. The genius behind The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums, and my favorite, The Darjeeling Limited, is back at it again. The funny thing is, I'm rarely ever incredible excited to see his movies, but every time I see one I absolutely love it. Sometimes the topic at hand appears strange and uninteresting (like Moonrise Kingdom), and yet, even then I find that I end up loving them. He isn't to be ignored. If you're ever looking for the definition of the word "quirky," watch a Wes Anderson movie.
The Not So Unnecessary
Titanic 3D (April 6th)
At about this point, you're seriously questioning a lot of things about me. I beg you not to dismiss this movie. Yes, it has some very corny scenes that have been made fun of in pop culture to no end. Yes it's a sappy love story. Yes it's being re-released in theaters in the completely unnecessary 3D format. Put all of that aside though. It's a genuinely great movie that has only been brought down BECAUSE of societies jokes. At the time, and for over a decade after, it was the highest grossing movie of all time because loved it. Now that it's been 15 years since its original release, there are many many people that have never even seen it. Releasing it in theaters again may seem like a moneygrab, but I don't have a problem with giving people all over he world an opportunity to see something in theaters that they've never seen before, or to re-create the theatrical experience of a great movie again. I say we should bring older movies back to theaters more often.
Side note: I don't enjoy 3D in movies, but James Cameron knows how to do 3D. He's the one that brought us Avatar, and even people that don't like 3D an admit that he did a great job with it there. This movie WILL look good in 3D, and if I go see it I'll probably see it in 3D. But you should know, it's also being re-released without the 3D attached. So you aren't forced into 3D.
The Questionably Awesome
Cabin in the Woods (April 13th)
I don't like horror movies at all. But I love sci-fi, I love unique takes on things, I love being surprised, and I love Joss Whedon's writing. This has all of that. It takes a completely and very intentionally stereotypical premise and goes an entirely different direction with it. It looks like great campy fun and I'm really curious to see how the movie ends. Cabin In the Woods is another one of those movies that could have fallen into the category of being completely unnecessary, but I don't think so. We need this new take on things. Will it be good though? No clue. It could be the lamest movie of the year. It could be campy to the point of becoming unbearable. I hope none of that is true though. I hope this movie exceeds expectations. It better, especially if it has an awesome band like The Naked and Famous in the trailer.
