Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
August 8, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Edwin Davies: The only film that I'm absolutely dying to see is The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson's long-awaited, fairly secretive follow-up to There Will Be Blood. Four of the five films Anderson has made have been masterpieces (and even the remaining one, Hard Eight, is pretty damn good) and what little has been seen of The Master seems to suggest that he is going to have five to his name before the year is out.
Other than that, I'm really looking forward to Looper, which looks great, and Lawless and Killing Them Softly, two films from a couple of Antipodean directors whose earlier films (John Hillcoat directed The Proposition and The Road; Andrew Dominik directed Chopper and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) have me excited to see whatever they to next.
Jason Barney: That is a great question. It seemed like going into the summer I was aware of almost every single major release. Now, here we are, entering mid August, and I can't really mention that many films on the schedule between now and the holidays. The only one that really comes to mind is the Bruce Willis time travel story, Looper. Seems like this year there should have been a District 9 or Contagion type film ready to lead the late summer and fall box office, but I just haven't seen it yet.
Felix Quinonez: I'm really excited to see Paranorman. I love the tagline; "You don't become a hero by being normal." I think the animation and story both look great. But I am also dying to see Skyfall. James Bond has been gone too long. But the movie I'm most excited to see is Django Unchained. I know that actually comes out after The Hobbit but it's still the movie I'm looking forward to the most. Tarantino has yet to let me down.
Jim Van Nest: I'm pretty pumped about Django as well, but more immediate, I'm really excited to see the new Bourne flick with Jeremy Renner.
Shalimar Sahota: I've been a fan of Rian Johnson ever since I viewed Brick, so Looper, with its immediate and wild concept, has been up there as one of my most anticipated films of the year. Following closely behind would be ParaNorman, the kind of film I can see myself chilling out to over Halloween (though it's a slight shame it isn't being released then). Also Coraline is one of the best 3D films I've ever seen, so I'm pretty much sold on anything Laika produce.
Brett Ballard-Beach: I'll put my vote out there for Wreck-It Ralph, whose trailer has brought a smile to my face each of the three times I have seen it. If we count December as a whole, then I would also include Django Unchained and This is 40, if only because I sense that it could be either A) charmingly navel-gazing, b) the How Do You Know of winter 2013 or c) simply Judd Apatow's Blake Edward's That's Life!. Finally, Anna Karenina and Lincoln. Can Spielberg sell us a non-vampire hunting 16th president? I think so!
Max Braden: In long terms, Skyfall just released a kickass trailer after featuring Bond as part of the Olympic opening ceremony, so that's the highlight on my mind right now. Near term, I'm most eager to get out and see the American Bond, The Bourne Legacy. I expect both those movies to be seriously good. But I'm also looking forward to my trashy late-summer fix in The Expendables 2. As far as I'm concerned, turn in your Man Card if you were born before 1980 and don't feel an immediate itch when that trailer comes on TV.
David Mumpower: I agree with Brett that Wreck It Ralph is waaaaaaay up there on my most anticipated list. Rise of the Guardians is another animated movie I think looks great. I will also give Hotel Transylvania a chance on opening weekend. In terms of absolute WANT NOW, however, my vote goes to Cloud Atlas. In addition to adoring The Matrix trilogy (all of it), I also consider Speed Racer to be one of the most staggering visual accomplishments of my lifetime. I cannot wait to see what else they've invented after four years of downtime. I am also curious about David Chase's first feature film, currently entitled Not Fade Away. I loved his work on Northern Exposure long before his masterful run with The Sopranos. The only reason I'm 100% not over the moon about Not Fade Away is that I'm not 100% sure it will hold its 2012 release date. Whenever it is released, I will be there on opening day.
Kim Hollis: A lot of people have mentioned Looper, and I agree that it looks really interesting. I'm also perfectly willing to admit that I'm ready for another round of Liam Neeson in Taken 2. I am pretty much in love with the marketing for Wreck-It Ralph ("I'm gonna wreck it!"), and ParaNorman does have me hopeful that Laika can deliver another wonderful animated treat in the vein of Coraline. Spielberg's Lincoln has me fairly excited (I grew up in Illinois, where Lincoln is not unlike a god), and I'm wondering what Ang Lee can do with Life of Pi. I'll also mention Django Unchained even though it does come after The Hobbit and Tarantino can be hit or miss for me (though I love Inglourious Basterds so much that I'm willing to overlook his stuff I don't like).
And finally, I love David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas a ridiculous amount. It's probably my favorite book of the last decade or so. I had no idea how it could possibly be filmed as a movie, because...well, if I really tell you why it actually spoils a lot of what I think it's better to discover yourself. Having seen the extended preview of the movie by the Wachowskis, I am actually quite eager for it to be released. On the surface, at least, they seem to have made it work. I still think there's a bigger chance that I'll be disappointed rather than happy, but I didn't dismiss it out of hand after seeing what they've tried to do.