My 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2011

I have little doubt that as the year goes on other films will make themselves known, but as of today, this is my list of the ten movies that I am most looking forward to this year (luckily none of them have been released yet so I'm not late with my list). I have provided trailer links where available and tentative release dates. Here we go, in reverse order:


10b. Super 8 (June 10) - Here's another film from the mind of JJ Abrams. And with it we get more classic Abrams secrecy. I chose this trailer because it gives us a little better idea of what's going on than the Super Bowl spot did.



10a. Green Lantern (June 17) - A couple months ago, Green Lantern would have been much higher on this list. The current Geoff Johns run on the Green Lantern comic has been amazing and the character has a ton of potential on the big screen, but the trailer comes off as a little more campy than I had anticipated. I hope the movie plays better. The cast is pretty solid with Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard (among others) joining Ryan Reynolds.



9. Battle: Los Angeles (March 11) - There's not much more fun than a good invasion flick, and it has been a while since we've had one. Here's hoping Battle: Los Angeles fills the void.



8. Sucker Punch (March 25) - Director Zack Snyder has masterminded two of the most visually stunning films of the past few years (300, Watchmen). This is his latest installment. How can you go wrong with a quest involving a dragon, robots, samurai, and ass kicking ladies all stemming from an insane asylum in Vermont? My hope is that you can't. At the very least, Sucker Punch will look amazing.



7. Paul (March 18) - The latest buddy flick starring the dynamic duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost + an Alien voiced by Seth Rogan? Sign me up!



6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2 (July 15) - The final installment in the Harry Potter franchise, Deathly Hollows: Part 2 has been set up to be epic (says the guy who still has not read any of the books).


5. Cowboys & Aliens (July 29) - I love the concept. With all of the genre mash ups that there have been over the years, how have we not gotten cowboys and aliens together before? I also love how straight forward the title is. They're saying 'we've got cowboys and we've got aliens and we're not going to try and be cute about it'. Oh by the way, it stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde and is directed by John Favreau (the guy who wrote Swingers and directed the Iron Man movies).



4. Thor (May 6) - Marvel has two potentially huge movies coming out this summer. Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger (I'll get to that in a minute). When this was first announced, as much as I loved the thought, I wondered how well Gods and Asgard would play on screen (even considering the amazing technology available for effects these days). Well, take a look at the trailer. I'd say it plays pretty well.



3. Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22) - Cap gets a slight nod over Thor on this list as I have only gotten into Thor by way of the comics over the last couple of years. Some balked at the announcement that Chris Evans would bring Steve Rogers to life in the Cap movie. After all, hadn't he already been Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) in the Fantastic Four movies? Personally, I think he's a great choice. He's always been quite entertaining in all of his movies. The role of Steve Rogers will require a little less sarcasm and humor than Evans usually portrays, but this is his chance to really hit the big time. I also don't believe there could have been a more perfect casting for the Red Skull than Hugo Weaving. I really wish there was a full length trailer, but all we have for now is the teaser from the Super Bowl.



2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (December 21) - Anyone who has paid any attention to this blog or my rantings over the past year know that I loved not only Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, but the Swedish films that followed. I still haven't quite figured out how I feel about an American adaptation (of the novels, David Fincher has made it clear he is adapting the novels, not the Swedish films). Considering how well done the Swedish films were, is it really necessary? I do however understand that a Hollywood version will reach far more people in this country than the foreign films could ever hope to (unfortunately). That being said, I have great respect for Fincher's previous works and the cast he has put together has the potential to be great. I am very intrigued to see how it turns out. Especially how Rooney Mara portrays Lisbeth Salandar. For that reason alone, it jumps all the way to number two on my list.


1. The Adjustment Bureau (March 4) - It's a good thing that The Adjustment Bureau hits theaters in just a couple of weeks because I look forward to it more and more every time I see an ad for it. Matt Damon as about as 'go to' of an actor as it gets in my book. I'm not sure I've ever seen a movie he has been in and not liked it. On top of that, it's a good old fate vs free will story and one scene in the trailer is reminiscent of Dark City (although obviously not nearly as sci-fi-ish). At this point I really hope that it lives up to expectations and that I haven't over-hyped it in my own mind. We'll find out soon enough!



There they are, the ten movies I'm most looking forward to in 2011. An old roommate (or at least his son) will probably give me all kinds of hell for Cars 2 not making the cut. It is definitely right there on the outskirts of the list though (probably a solid number eleven). What films are you anticipating the most this year?

Comments

  1. Some may wonder about my exclusion of the third Transformers movie (Dark of the Moon). The trailer appears promising, but after being so awfully disappointed in Revenge of the Fallen (I realize that I am in the minority here) I vowed not to spend any more money on the franchise in the theater. So that one is going to have to wait for NetFlix.

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