1- SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR: Crazy that this is even coming out. The first one was released in 2005. Not sure what took so long. Probably Robert Rodriguez's divorce. He didn't make anything for a few years there and now only makes cartoon crap (granted, not that he ever made anything serious or artistic, but I was hoping he'd grow up). I didn't think the original Sin City film was a masterpiece or anything, but it was something new and it looked insane and was fun and I loved seeing the comics come alive. This new one features the tale about a for hire photographer and a cheating wife named Ava. The first film included "Sin City" and "That Yellow Bastard" and "The Big Fat Kill." There are only a few stories left...and I doubt they'd tackle "Hell and Back." Surprise us.
2- THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL: Wes Anderson's latest. The trailer, sadly, gives it all away, but it reinforces the fact that this new one has the same style but seems a bit more light than some of the downer aspects of Tenenbaums and Darjeeling. It looks like a kaleidoscopic candy-color thrill ride of film. It's about a hotel manager, Ralph Fiennes, and a painting and a lobby boy. A popcorn film for the art house connoisseurs.
3- INHERENT VICE: Well now. Paul Thomas Anderson adapting and directing a Pynchon novel, one of his lesser novels, but his first novel to be filmed. Starring the best actor in the world, Joaquin Phoenix, as a pot smoking P.I. Yeah, it's a complete Lebowski rip-off. So what? At least they're ripping off quality.
4- UNDER THE SKIN: After the Toronto film festival, City Paper's film critic wrote about the best film he saw and the one everyone was talking about. He was more excited by it than Gravity. I had never heard of it so quickly watched the trailer (awesome) then read the book (fucking weird...semi-good). The story is basically what if aliens treated humans like Thanksgiving turkeys. They capture, pen, drug, fatten, butcher us. That's the book anyway, written by Crimson Petal and the White's Michel Faber. The film does feature Scarlett Johansson as the alien that picks up hitchhikers in Scotland and kidnaps them. This critic may have loved it for the gratuitous nudity...but it looks incredible nonetheless.
5- INTERSTELLAR: Christopher Nolan's latest featuring Christian Bale is about...space? It's veiled in secrecy, but he always makes awesome films. Bring it on.
6- THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN: Everyone seemed to hate the last two...not sure why as they're more or less the same as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, albeit a bit lighter. This last one features the final battle against the dragon and some big battle between several armies. Can't wait.
7- THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1: So I didn't even see the second film yet and I loathed this last book (except for the final lines between Peeta and Katniss). I still want to see what they do with this. First off, this last book doesn't feature a Hunger Games and is totally bleak (Katniss' sis dies...Peeta is brainwashed and totally fucked up). But I loved the first film. There is a lot of action in this last book. It'll be cool to see the dystopian world during battle put on screen. I am curious if it'll be as sadistically morbid as the book, though.
8- THE RAID 2: The first one featured a police raid on a drug-dealer owned/controlled apartment building. It was brutal, action packed, wild. Curious about this encore. The first film featured what I thought was the longest kung-fu fight sequence ever. It was exhaustingly awesome. With a sequel I figure they're probably going to try make it even more intense and I can't even fathom that.
9- INTO THE WOODS: Sondheim's fairy tale musical. I've never seen it...and it's not famous enough to have produced any songs I've heard of...but Sweeney Todd is great, Johnny Depp is the Big Bad Wolf and Meryl Streep is in it. Might be a total mess but it's at least intriguing.
10- GODZILLA: A new one, obviously, that hasn't come too far ahead of the last remake, although time flies 'cause Emmerich's debacle hit in '98. This looks awesome. It's not ha-ha fluff, it looks like serious business. No big stars but the f/x look sweet. Might be the surprise of the summer.
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