Weekend Movie Discussion: Anticipating 2013 Films

January is known for a lot of things. Let's see, there's snow... um... January is known for one thing at any rate. When it comes to movies, it's always been a bit of a dumping ground. Sure, there's the odd exception, a big movie thrown in to clean up, but mostly it's a barren wasteland of films forgotten, unloved, and unwanted. The main release this weekend is Texas Chainsaw 3D (no 'massacre' moniker for this one?) which seems a  highly unnecessary addition to the long winded franchise. Supposedly this one cuts out all the other films except the first, masquerading as the sequel. Cause, you know, that's worked out so well for other franchises. Does it make it a reboot? I don't know. Do I care? Zzzzzz...

So rather than drone on about what crap this month yields I thought I would run over some films I'm anticipating this year. 

The Worlds End

While these are ranked in no particular order, this would be fighting for first place. I have an undying love for Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright. This apocalyptic closer to their blood and ice cream trilogy, about a group of friends on an epic pub crawl to end at The World's End, has high expectations on it. Better believe I'll be there opening day.

Oz The Great And Powerful

I was sold when it was just Sam Raimi and Oz being thrown around. The cast looks fantastic, the previews are amazing, and it looks like it's beautifully shot. As a fan of the original books as well as The Wizard of Oz, I'm looking forward to it on multiple levels. 

Warm Bodies

In a genre that's incredibly tired, a fresh and funny looking take on zombies has my attention. Zombies with enough consciousness to fall in love and begin coming back to life, all with hilarious results. I haven't read the book it's based on, and I don't intend to. It should be a great watch.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Despite J.J. Abrams best attempts to squeeze the life out of the hype with his death grip secrecy, and despite a couple anemic trailers, I'm geared up for the sequel. The first one was messy script-wise, but was still a blast. The action, comedy, and pacing was done so well you don't pay attention to plot holes. This one they've had more time to work on, and I expect to enjoy the heck out of it. Especially since this time they're packing the always awesome Benedict Cumberbatch.

Pacific Rim

Guillermo del Toro, big monsters, giant robot piloted war, Idris Elba, Apocalypse cancelled... I'm sorry, what else were you needing for motivation to see this? The movie looks like it's on a whole other scale. It's big, it's beautiful, and most importantly it'll be fun.

Side Effects

First I just want to say how much I love this poster. With so many generic one sheets being pumped out, I always appreciate something unique and creative. Steven Soderbergh's steamy thriller about anxiety drugs, murder, and Jude Law (What? He almost always plays the same type of character, I just assume he's playing himself) looks to keep him on the roll he's been on. 

Man Of Steel

Does this require any forethought? The previews are enough to make me think, at last, someone's going to give us the Superman we should always have had. Unless I see something otherwise, I'm going into it fully optimistic. I'm a DC kid at heart, and Marvel has kicked the crap out of DC when it comes to film for years. I'd like to believe that this is the start of an upward trend.

Some other notable ones to look for include About Time a Richard Curtis time travel film, Ender's Game finally brought to film, the Anchorman sequel, and Olympus, which sounds like a great action flick. And of course it's early, so there'll be plenty other films to get excited about as we progress through the year. 

What movies are you looking forward to this year?