Dr. Shaun Duke, Professional Nerd

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10 Movies I’m Looking Forward to in 2013

The other day, I released my “top 10” list for television shows premiering or continuing in 2013.  Now it’s time for movies.  Why?  Because movies are where it’s going to be hot this year.

Here goes:

The Award Contenders

Elysium

From the writer and director of District 9 comes this promising new science fiction wonder starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.  I have no idea what it’s about, except that it involves some crazy guns and this odd viral promo and an incredibly vague description on IMDB.  But it’s Neill Blomkamp, which means I’ll watch it no matter what.

Bonus Point:  Matt Damon is my kryptonite.

Ender’s Game

Regardless of what I think of Orson Scott Card as a person, I am thoroughly looking forward to this adaptation of one of the greatest science fiction books of all time.  With a strong cast and Gavin Hood as writer/director (the guy behind Tsotsi), I expect this one to not only be good, but great.

Bonus Point:  Asa Butterfield is set to play Ender.  Given his performance in Hugo, I can easily see good acting coming our way.

I still believe that Children of Men is one of the best science fiction movies ever made, and that Alfonso Cuaron is a superb director when not messing with Harry Potter.  I’ll see Gravity for that reason alone; the fact that Clooney and Bullock are the stars is icing on the cake.  My only hope is that they take the concept seriously enough to consult actual scientists.  What would happen to a pair of astronauts stranded in space?  No idea.  Where’s a scientist when I need one?

Bonus Point:  Rumor has it that Sandra Bullock’s performance in Gravity is the crown jewel of her career.  I’m willing to shell out $10 to see that!

The Amusing and Exciting

Iron Man 3

The first film was about what you’d expect from a good superhero movie — awesomeness.  The second was still pretty good, but always stuck with that “I know I’m a middle movie and will probably not live up to my promises” bin.  Now comes what I hope will be the best of all the Iron Man movies.  With Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin, what could go wrong?
Bonus Point:  Robert Downey, Jr. is still here, which means all the things we’ve come to love about the Iron Man will remain.
I’m not one for prequels — not since Star Wars screwed that all up.  But Monsters Inc. is still one of my favorite Pixar movies, which means I’ll go to the prequel without much fuss.  With all the original cast returning, it’s hard to say no…
Bonus Point:  Billy Crystal and John Goodman will bring us more comedy gold.
The Soon-to-be-Ignored-for-No-Good-Reason
Technically, this movie is already in theaters…if you live somewhere like Hong Kong or Canada.  Bastards.  In any case, I love the premise for this film.  It promises to have a flare of the beautiful to it, with solid actors and a compelling, if not unique, spin on the alternate reality concept.  Can’t wait!
Bonus Point:  Kirsten Dunst.  Some people can’t stand her, but I love her.  Period.
Guilty Pleasures
Arnold returns!  And he’s not taking himself too seriously either.  That’s a good thing when you consider that the man has dozens of devoted impersonators and an amazingly mockable career.  Throw in Luis Guzman and Johnny Knoxville and you can expect this to be campy, explosive, and a whole lot of fun.  That’s why I’m seeing it…because it’s fun!
Bonus Point:  Jee-woon Kim directs, which means it will probably be pretty good.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Riddick films.  I loved Pitch Black and I still think The Chronicles of Riddick is one of the most underrated science fiction films from the last decade.  And now we get one more try for franchise success, with everyone of significance from Chronicles returning to their original roles.  I have no idea how they’re going to tie everything together, but Twohy has never disappointed me, so I’ll see this one as soon as it hits the big screen.
Bonus Point:  Katee Sackhoff is in it.  Color me Starbucked…

John McClane meets Russia.  Russia gets its ass kicked.  What else do you need to know?  I mean, it’s Die Hard.  Either you love it or you hate it.  I happened to enjoy the hell out of Live Free or Die Hard, so you better believe I’m going to see this bad boy in theaters the first chance I get!
Bonus Point:  Patrick Stewart is supposedly playing a Russian general.  I don’t know if that’s true, but it sounds awesome…
Film-I-Should-Know-Better-Than-To-See-But-Will-Anyway-Because-Benedict-Cumberbatch-is-in-it!

Star Trek Into Darkness

I know.  I hated the first J. J. Abrams foray into the Star Trek universe.  I still do, even though the first 20 minutes are actually pretty good.  But Benedict Cumberbatch is the villain in this one.  And I bet he’ll make Eric Bana look like a wimp.  Besides, the trailer looks good and they might actually keep the plot coherent in this one…It’s worth a shot, right?
Bonus Point:  We still don’t know who Benedict Cumberbatch is supposed to play.  IMDB still think he’s Khan, but I’m hoping he’s either a brand new villain or a more sinister version of someone we’ve all forgotten…

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There you go.  What would you add to the list?

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