With 2013 officially over it’s time to start turning our attention towards the long list of films that will be releasing during the hopefully fine year of 2014 (though I still need to type up my top 10 of 2013). As with every cinephile there are certain films that I’m really anxious to see and for some that excitement has been hard to contain. I’ve decided to compile a list of the films I’m most excited to see this year and, just maybe, I’ll call myself out on how these films did come the end of 2014. The below list only includes films that already have a 2014 release date listed on IMDB, as a result the below list is light on independent and foreign cinema, especially since there will be a ton come festival time, but I made sure to include as many I could remember or haven’t seen at festivals thus far.
Check out the list of my most anticipated films of 2014 below, which include a handful of honorable mentions, and let us know what you’re excited for most this year.
1. Snowpiercer – I’ve been dying to see this and have only heard fantastic things about Bong Joon-ho’s English-language debut and adaptation of the ambitious graphic novel. The dramatic action/sci-fi film has an all-star cast that makes it worth seeing regardless of your feelings towards subtitles. I mean, how can you say no to Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Ed Harris, Octavia Spencer and Kang-ho Song? You don’t, you just get ready for cinematic mastery.
2. Godzilla – Do I really need to say more? Did you see the teaser? Did you read my review of Pacific Rim? I love giant monsters destroying shit and it’s time the real Godzilla is brought back to the big screen to crush some buildings and other monster ass.
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past – If I wasn’t riding two years of excitement for Snowpiercer and Godzilla this would easily be my number one. Basically everyone that was in the prior films is back for Bryan Singer’s return to the franchise and it has Sentinels. Enough said. 4. The Raid 2: Berandal – I’m a massive fan of Gareth Evans’ The Raid and Merantau and the first is one of the top action films I recommend to people. The sequel continues where the last one left off and promises to be bigger, more expansive and more bad-ass than the first.
5. The Lego Movie – I honestly was extremely skeptical of a lego movie and then I saw the trailer and all of the characters that were being featured in the film and it reassured me that this might end up being the most entertaining family film of the year.
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – I loved Rise of the Planet of the Apes and so far the teaser trailer and poster have me anxious to see this sequel. I’m concerned with the directorial change but there is a good chance this film, which will be much darker than the first, has the potential to be a worthy sequel which is rare these days. I’m hoping the hype will be justified.
7. The Monuments Men – As a screenwriter and director I think George Clooney has a pretty damn good track record and when you combine that with the ensemble cast of Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman and Jean Dujardin for a WWII movie about a platoon of aging soldiers/historians attempting to save art from being destroyed by Nazis, I’d say we’ll get a fun and interesting flick come its release in February.
8. The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson films are an acquired taste and his movies don’t always cut it for me but I really enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom so I’ve learned to never ride his films off. That being said, every time I see the trailer for his next feature I laugh out loud at the absurdity of it all and can’t wait to see how Ralph Fiennes and his lobby boy handle the adventures at their beloved hotel. It also doesn’t hurt that anybody that Anderson has worked with has a role in his film, it’s a pretty damn impressive list.
9. Foxcatcher – Originally slated to come out at the end of 2013, Foxcatcher was pushed to 2014 but it just makes me want to see it more. The film follows Olympic Wrestling Champion Mark Schultz and how coach and multimillionaire John DuPont killed his brother, Olympic Wrestling Champion Dave Schultz. As a former high school wrestler this is a must-see for me but I’m also eager to see Steve Carell in a twisted role while Channing Tatum gets the chance to step up his dramatic game.
10. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan. Matthew McConaughey. Space. That’s all the info I need to see it.
11. Guardians of the Galaxy – An interplanetary Marvel film with really cool looking characters is something that basically screams “Alex, get to the theater now!” The movie is directed by a guy known for independent films (did you see Super?) so I think this important film in the Marvel universe is going to have a good chance of wowing audiences even if few are familiar with the characters. At the very least we’ll get a tease of The Avengers 2 at the end of it.
12. Inherent Vice – I’m not really familiar with writer Thomas Pynchon but everyone raves about the recluse’s work and this book in particular. When it was announced that director Paul Thomas Anderson was tackling a 1970s detective film I couldn’t help but jump for joy since Joaquin Phoenix would be working with the fine filmmaker again in a lead role.
13. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – I didn’t like the first Captain America, it’s at the bottom of my list when it comes to all the films in the Marvel universe but when my comic book loving friend assured me that this storyline was awesome I felt a little better about the sequel. It wasn’t until I saw the trailer, realized this was going to be a political action thriller and when the Winter Soldier caught his shield that my heart started pumping. Once the trailer finished I knew this would be a film I wanted to see in 2014, not one that I had to see.
14. Transformers: Age of Extinction – It has Dinobots!
15. 22 Jump Street – The reboot was a surprisingly hilarious film and the trailer for the sequel, bringing the guys to college looked promising. I’m hoping this ends up being one of the funniest films of the year as I found it so refreshing for Channing Tatum to play a dumb jock, a role he looks like he was built for.
16. The Expendables 3 – STALLONE. STATHAM. BANDERAS. LI. SNIPES. LUNDGREN. GRAMMER. CREWS. GIBSON. FORD. SCHWARZENEGGER.
17. Transcendence – Wally Pfister is Christopher Nolan’s Director of Photography/Cinematographer and is making his directorial debut with a pretty cool and ambitious film where Johnny Depp plays a scientist who downloads his body into a computer, giving him an insane amount of power and a force that can’t be stopped.
18. Nymphomaniac – Lars von Trier is a controversial filmmaker but the guy knows how to make a cinematically stunning film, some of which are actually compelling. His upcoming two part (or one depending on where you are) sexual odyssey with a cast full of well known faces is certainly going to make an impact and early buzz on the film says it’s a good film that’s a little less pornographic and more story oriented than we think, making it something I’m really eager to see.
19 .R100 – I love me insanely crazy Japanese movies and when you read the synopsis of the film and hear the comments from people that have already seen it you’ll understand why I have to see a movie where “a lonely man hires a boutique S&M agency that specialize in random acts of extreme public degradation.” It’s also being released by Drafthouse films which means that there is an extremely good chance I’m going to love this film.
20. Filth – Our very own Tom Hunt loved this movie so much that he alone got me excited about seeing it. Since we have similar tastes and tend to agree on films often I couldn’t ignore his passion for this film and had to add it to my list. James McAvoy plays “a bipolar, bigoted junkie cop [who] manipulates and hallucinates his way through the festive season in a bid to secure promotion and win back his wife and daughter.” It sounds like a movie right up my alley and when you watch the trailer I think most adults will agree it’s going to be a highly entertaining ride in the vein of The Wolf of Wall Street.
Honorable Mentions: Noah, Don Hemingway, St. Vincent De Van Nuys, Chef, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Edge of Tomorrow, The Interview, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, The Boxtrolls, Animal Rescue, Fury, Journey to the West
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