Hopefully everyone had a happy and safe New Years. Turning the page on 2013 means a lot of things to a lot of different people. For me, it means the start of a fresh new cinematic year. While I was rather disappointed in 2013's offerings, here's to hoping that 2014 will go above and beyond last year. My close friend and talented writer, Greg Rouleau (Owner of Reel True), sifted through tons of resources to take a look at the 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2014. Between today and tomorrow I'll be splitting the list, so be sure to check back for the top five!
Honorable Mention Picks - Part One:
Trash – A thriller from Stephen
Daldry starring Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen.
Daldry’s last three movies have all been nominated for Best
Picture. – May (estimated)
Chef – Jon Favreau returns to
directing comedy with this summer release that boasts a tremendous cast. – May 9th
Godzilla – Never short on remakes in the
summer, we get another stab at the classic story. We have a very solid cast in place and the
trailer looked pretty solid, so, we’ll see.
– May 16th
Magic in the Moonlight – It’s incredibly impressive
how Woody Allen, at 78, still maintains his movie-a-year pace. Although every one isn’t a hit, we still get
a very solid effort on almost a yearly basis.
This period piece returns to the 1920s where part of his very successful
Midnight in Paris also took
place. – July/August (estimated)
Fury – David Ayer, writer of Training Day and End of Watch, directs this WWII epic starring Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf. – November
12th
#10. Grand Budapest Hotel
With Grand Budapest Hotel, director
Wes Anderson brings us the follow-up to his most critically-lauded and Oscar-nominated picture, Moonrise Kingdom. The trailer reveals that the auteur’s
quirky style is once again on full display.
In addition to Anderson-film regulars, Jason Schwartzman and Bill
Murray, we have a tremendous looking ensemble that includes Ralph Fiennes,
Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody and Jude Law to name a few. At this point in his career it’s evident that
Anderson can attract big name stars to his projects, so here’s to hoping they
all come together to make a great film. Release Date: March 7th
#9. Transcendence
It’s
possible that sci-fi films on the verge of a resurgence, destined to become major
box-office attractions once again. With 2013’s Gravity being the phenomenon it was,
2014 offers a few new titles to keep an eye on.
First up is Wally Pfister’s Transcendence. Pfister is best known as the
cinematographer for Christopher Nolan on all of his films from Memento to The Dark Knight Rises. Now,
Pfister steps into the director’s chair with Nolan as an executive
producer. The trailer shows Pfister
maintained his signature visual style, with a dark and gritty tone apparent
throughout. Also intriguing about the
project is Johnny Depp in the lead role.
Depp has been floundering since Sweeney Todd in 2007, with a few critical duds and disappointing
sequels/remakes. It would be great to
see the uber-talented actor headline a good film that reminds why we all fell
in love with him in the first place. The
story looks like it could really tap into something interesting with our
ever-increasing dependence on technology.
This sci-fi/action thriller also stars Kate Mara, Paul Bettany and
Morgan Freeman. Release Date: April 18th
#8. Big Eyes
When
Tim Burton isn’t obsessed with drowning audiences in his goth-inspired
production design and instead focuses on tortured yet interesting characters,
he’s proven that he can tell some very touching stories. Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood
and Big Fish are examples of
storytelling done right and it’s why these films fall into the upper echelon of
the director’s filmography. With Big Eyes, it appears Burton is
once-again giving himself a challenge, and I couldn’t be happier. With a reported low budget of around $10
million, the film's primary focus will have to be on the story. Artist Walter Keane finds notoriety after his
portraits of big-eyed children take off, but it’s really his wife, Margaret,
who is the one producing the works.
Two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz plays Walter, and Amy Adams will
take on the role of his wife. Waltz and
Burton seem like a great fit, and pretty much anything Adams is involved in
lately turns to gold. The movie also
reunites Burton with the screenwriters of Ed
Wood. Estimated Release Date:
August 2014
#7. Sequels 22 Jump Street
& Dumb and Dumber To
A
sequel two years removed from the first chapter, and another, twenty years in
the making. Comedies are difficult to
predict, even a strong cast and talented writing team don’t always equal a
surefire hit. Very few could’ve
predicted that in early 2012, a big-screen adaptation of a hardly seen TV show
would be the success that it was, but 21
Jump Street was a major sleeper and one of the best comedies of the year. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum were a great duo and the trailer for the sequel shows a lot of promise even if the
story seems to be a carbon copy of the first.
Speaking of great comedy duos, it’s been twenty years since the first Dumb and Dumber became one of the greatest comedies of all-time. Now, finally, the Farrelly brothers are back
and Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise the lead roles in a highly anticipated
sequel. You have to wonder if the two
decades will hurt this latest attempt.
Will many fans of the original return? Probably. I like to think that the Farrelly’s have had
some ideas for a sequel ever since the first one and are now confident they
have enough to make this one just as good.
Rob Riggle stars in both films and Cam Neely will reprise his role as
Sea Bass! Release Dates: 22 Jump Street: June 13th, Dumb and Dumber To: November 14th
#6. Biblical films Noah
& Exodus
On
deck for 2014 are a couple of biblical epics with two prestigious directors at
the helm. However, they each seem to be headed in very different
directions. Aronofsky is coming off the
Oscar-winning Black Swan, which was
also the director’s biggest box-office success. On the other hand, Ridley Scott’s films since the early 2000s have received mixed reactions and
his two most recent are the disappointing Prometheus
and the critically panned The
Counselor. First up will be Noah telling the familiar tale with
period-piece staple Russell Crowe as the title character. Exodus,
set for a late-year release in December, is an interpretation of the book of
Exodus from the bible, mainly the freeing of the Jews from Egypt by Moses,
played by Christian Bale. In supporting
roles are Joel Edgerton and Breaking
Bad’s Aaron Paul. It’s interesting
to note that a synopsis for Exodus states
it’s an interpretation, so how true it stays to the Bible remains to be seen. Release
Dates: Noah: March 28th,
Exodus: December 12th.
*** Stay tuned tomorrow when we look at the 5 Most Anticipated Films of 2014!
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