The Cream of the New Movie Crop: 10 New Movies Worth Seeing in 2012
What makes a movie worth seeing? It's usually a combination of a stellar plot, an interesting cast or just good marketing. An audience can usually get reeled into seeing a movie simply from seeing an interesting preview six months on regular rotation. That's all it takes. A preview that ranges from 30 seconds to less than two minutes to reel someone in. Sometimes the preview teased just enough to get people to want to see the rest of the film, or they give too much away to make it pointless to even see the movie.
Now that 2011 is coming to close in a matter of days, it's time to examine the latest crop of upcoming films that'll arrive in 2012 to see if they're worth shelling out the money to see them. Here are a list of ten upcoming films that will be released in the new year that are early contenders for being must see worthy material. Some films were left off for various reasons such as release date and just the fact that is still too early to tell whether certain films will make the must-see worthy cut. Read on to see if you agree or disagree.
Franchise Films/Action Thriller
The Hunger Games (Not Yet Rated)- Fans of Suzanne Collins' book series are waiting rather impatiently for the release of the first movie which followed young Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) as she volunteered to enter a fight to the death competition on live television. She is unaware of the danger she's in until she faces it for the first time. Will she live long enough to savor her victories? Audiences are searching for a new movie franchise to cling to now that Harry Potter and Twilight closed their sagas, but could the execution be ruined on the big screen? Audiences will find out when The Hunger Games is released in theatres on March 23rd.
The Avengers (Not Yet Rated)- The S.H.I.E.L.D. agency has recruited a wide array of superheroes to save the world from possible destruction. The only problem with that theory is wondering about the possibility of them getting along. Too many egos in the same room is a potential recipe for disaster. Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) tests Bruce Banner's (Mark Ruffalo) temper to get him to turn into The Hulk. Captain America (Chris Evans) is searching for his identity after many decades passed him by while he was cryogenically frozen and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) believes in his superiority. Is the comic book superhero craze gone too far? Too early to tell. If it can survive a horrendous Green Lantern, anything is possible. The Avengers is coming to theatres on May 4th.
Prometheus (Not Yet Rated)- There has been so much speculation as to the plot of this film and how it connects to Director Ridley Scott's popular classic Alien in terms of a potential prequel. The preview teases that possibility without telling the audience anything. All that's revealed is that there's an expedition led by a crew that included Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender (who could be the movie's only android). Throw in some threat of danger and exotic creatures to make a potentially thrilling film no matter what. Prometheus is coming to theatres on June 8th.
The Dark Knight Rises (Not Yet Rated)- This latest and final installment in the Batman saga followed Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) as he was forced to return to being Batman when the terrorist leader Bane (Tom Hardy) tested Gotham's police force to its limits. Will he be able to make it out of this battle alive? How does Selina Kyle's Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) fit into the mix? That's so far is unclear. It should be interesting to see how the saga will end and whether audiences will be satisfied with the conclusion. The Dark Knight Rises will be released on July 20th.
Haywire (Rated R)- This Steven Soderbergh directed action thriller is showing genuine promise based on the early previews that showed newcomer Gina Carano (a former American Gladiator) in a leading role who could literally give her mostly male cast a run for their money. The plot followed Carano as black ops operative who is betrayed while on a mission and spends most of the film plotting revenge against those who did her wrong. Expect some intense fight scenes that would make the mostly action boys club (Stallone, Willis and others) blush. Haywire is coming to theatres on January 20th.
Risky Propositions
Man On a Ledge (PG-13)- The preview for Man starts off with a seemingly desperate ex-con (Sam Worthington) who climbs onto a building ledge and appeared to be ready to jump. A police psychologist (Elizabeth Banks) arrives to see what makes the ex-con tick, but she's unaware that there's a greater plan at work that includes a dangerous diamond heist. The man's friend (Jamie Bell) is involved in this heist to help clear his friend's name, but will he lose his life over it as well? Man appeared to have early echoes of Spike Lee's twisty Inside Man, which could either work in its favor or against it. Only time will tell. Man On a Ledge will be released on January 27th.
The Woman in Black (PG-13) - This movie is former Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe's first major film since the Potter series ended last summer. The story to this horror thriller followed a young lawyer (Radcliffe) who travelled to a remote town and came across the ghost of a vengeful woman who is terrorizing the locals. The preview shows some scary potential and is the right role to transition the now adult Radcliffe into potential adult stardom. Will audiences embrace him with open arms though? The Woman in Black is coming to theatres on February 3rd.
This Means War (Not Yet Rated)- This romantic comedy followed two CIA Operatives (Chris Pine and Tom Hardy) are the best of friends until they realized that they are dating the same woman (Reese Witherspoon). Both men pull out all the stops in a two man battle to see who she will choose. It featured comedian Chelsea Handler as Witherspoon's best friend. This movie is going to score good with romantic comedy fans with just enough action to satisfy the men being dragged to this movie. Witherspoon is in desperate need of a hit after shaky and limited movie choices after her Oscar win. Will this be the film to help salvage her movie career? We'll just have to wait and see. This Means War is coming to theatres on February 17th.
The Vow (PG-13)- What's better than a love story? A love story in reverse. Vow followed married couple Leo (Channing Tatum) and Paige (Rachel McAdams) hitting a major road block when she's gets in a car accident that causes her to lose her memory. Leo has to work really hard to get his wife to fall in love with him all over again, but will he lose her to someone else? Vow takes the romantic movie formula of boy meeting girl and falling in love plot to a whole new level, which seems to work. It's an unconventional but realistic idea of how love is never as easy as it appeared to be in the movies. The Vow is coming to theatres on February 10th.
Rock of Ages (Not Yet Rated)- This movie is based on the popular Broadway musical and is filled with an all-star cast (Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Tom Cruise among them). The story is set in 1987 and followed a young couple (Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta) who get immersed in the music scene, which included a music superstar (Tom Cruise) and a woman (Catherine Zeta-Jones) set to destroy it. Will the young couple help put a stop to it and be able to focus on their relationship? You'll just have to see and sing along with the classic 80s tune come June 1 when Rock of Ages arrives in theatres.
In the end, 2012 has the potential to be an eventful year at the movies with various films that are guaranteed to cause interest (The Amazing Spider-Man, Ice Age: Continental Drift and two Snow White movies). The year's latest trend appeared to be fairy tale reboots that included Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters among them. It's too early to tell if this new trend will be successful or not. For every good one, there's a Red Riding Hood to take it's disappointing place. Take your time to savor the slew of movie previews heading your way before choosing which ones are worth shelling out a fortune to see. Choose carefully and you'll leave the theatre happy, hopefully.
