Tuesday, September 16, 2014

DrogeMiester's Top 20 Most Anticipated Movies for the End of 2014

The summer season in movies ended several weeks ago now. While I honestly am sad that it is over because I do enjoy a lot of the big blockbusters just like everyone else, I've come to learn recently that the last four months of the year are equally as exciting, if not more so in some cases. Why? Well, not only do we have the big blockbusters that come out during the holiday season, but it's also Oscar season. And Oscar season is WAY fun! Lots of great movies that sometimes get overlooked by the casual moviegoer. Now that the slow weeks of September are behind us, I want to share with you my most anticipated movies for the rest of the year. Beware, this will be long as I came up with a list of 20 movies. And yes, this is in order. Although it's a fairly loose order because there are a lot of interesting movies coming out! After reading through this, let me know what your most anticipated movies are for the rest of the year.

20- The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (Sept 12) -- I normally wouldn't say I'm excited for romance dramas, but this one sounds super creative and I'm all for creativity. It's done in three movies. One from his prospective, one from her prospective and one from both of their prospectives. The latter, subtitled "Them" is already out, but only in a few theaters, so it's still an upcoming release for me. Eventually all three will reach theaters.
Click here to watch the trailer

19- Into the Woods (Dec 25) -- Yes, despite what some think, I am a big fan of musicals. I don't know a lot about Into the Woods, but I do know it's a well-liked play and that alone has me interested. Added to that, director Rob Marshall has good experience with musicals and the writers of this movie are the same writers from the original musical. Finally, the cast is amazing. It looks like Disney has a huge Christmas hit on their hands.
Click here to watch the trailer

18- Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (Dec 19) -- I really liked the first Night at the Museum, and although I admit that I actually haven't seen the second one, I'm definitely tuning in for the third just because it will be one of the final performances from the late Robin Williams. And don't worry, I'll catch up on the second one sometime between now and December.
Click here to watch the trailer

17- Big Hero 6 (Nov 7) -- Can Disney animation match the success of their previous outing of Frozen with this? I doubt it. But being that this is an adaption of a Marvel comic, I might actually be more excited for this one than I was for Frozen. And no, there's no Big Hero 1-5.
Click here to watch the trailer

16- The Boxtrolls (Sept 26) -- You can call me a sucker for animated movies. This here would be my most anticipated animated movie from the rest of the year simply because it's stop motion. I have a lot of respect for that genre of animation because I know how long it takes to make one of those movies.
Click here to watch the trailer

15- Gone Girl (Oct 3) -- I've always been a sucker for crime dramas and that will be even more obvious as you continue this list because this is the first of several that I will mention. In this, Ben Affleck's wife has gone missing and suddenly he's the one being blamed for her disappearance. Out of all the crime dramas I will mention, this one has the most Oscar buzz surrounding it and should be another good addition to Affleck's resume that will help ease the minds of people still worried about him as Batman.
Click here to watch the trailer

14- St. Vincent (Oct 10) -- I love Bill Murray! When you watch the trailer for this movie, you get the feeling that this is a movie that is just made for him and it looks like it will be just adorable watching him and this kid get along. Word from Toronto International Film Festival is that Bill Murray's performance is so good that he should be one of the many names in contention for best actor.
Click here to watch the trailer

13- A Walk Among the Tombstones (Sept 19) -- Liam Neeson in an action thriller involving kidnapping. Sound similar to you? Liam Neeson is really good at these roles, so I'm not complaining. And actually, this movie is a lot more mystery than action and thus this would once again fall into the crime drama category. Last year at this time the movie Prisoners was released and I loved that movie. This one feels a lot like that one and I really hope it's as good.
Click here to watch the trailer

12- Nightcrawler (Oct 31) -- Another crime drama. But also this is a journalism related movie, so that's two reasons to be excited for this. Specifically, this deals with the dangers of going too far with freelance journalism, which is a pretty big issue right now. Also, Jake Gyllenhaal is a great actor, so this movie has a lot going for it in my eyes.
Click here to watch the trailer

11- Kill the Messenger (Oct 10) -- I could almost cut and paste from Nightcrawler as to why I'm excited for this. Journalism movie. Crime drama. Great lead actor (Jeremy Renner in this case). Different journalism subject, though. If you're a journalist and you have a story that you feel the public needs to know, but writing it could put your life at risk, what do you do?
Click here to watch the trailer

10- Fury (Oct 17) -- I love myself a good war movie. Lone Survivor from earlier this year is a great example of that. Turns out the Academy also loves a good war movie, so me and Oscar should be in agreement here with this movie. It also stars the great Brad Pitt and I'm a big fan of his.
Click here to watch the trailer

9- Birdman (Oct 17) -- No, this is not a superhero movie. This is a movie about a washed-up actor who used to play a superhero and is trying to make a comeback. Michael Keaton stars and is currently thought of as one of the front-runners for best actor and that makes me excited because I've always been a big fan of Michael Keaton. It'll be great to see him in the limelight. Also, this movie stars Emma Stone. And I love Emma Stone. She could get a nomination for best supporting actress and I'd also be totally down for that.
Click here to watch the trailer

8- Selma (Dec 25) -- This is a movie about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights, with David Oyelowo playing MLK. Yes, I'm interested. If you don't know David Oyelowo, go watch the movie Jack Reacher. He's amazing and will be a great MLK.
(No trailer has been released yet)

7- Exodus: Gods and Kings (Dec 25) -- I was initially worried about this newest telling of the story of Moses, especially after the Noah disaster. Then the trailer came out. This looks epic. Christian Bale plays Moses. Joel Edgerton is Rhamses. We also have Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, John Torturo and several others scattered in. Director Ridley Scott is very good at doing epics, Gladiator being one of many great examples. At the very least, this will be visually entertaining.

6- The Theory of Everything (Nov 7) -- This is a movie about Stephen Hawking and word from Toront International Film Festival is that it's fantastic. Add Eddie Redmayne to your list of actors to get to know as he's also a top contender for best actor this year. On the female side of things, Felicity Jones could walk away with the best actress award as she plays Hawking's significant other.

5- The Imitation Game (Nov 21) -- This just won the top award at the Toronto International Film Festival and is now considered to be one of the front runners at the Oscars. I don't know much about Alan Turning's story in WWII, but who isn't excited to see Benedict Cumberbatch in the role that could win him an Oscar?

4- Foxcatcher (Nov 14) -- A movie based on the true story of two Olympic wrestlers and their psychopath coach. And dang does Steve Carrell look insanely good and creepy in this! I love it when a comedy actor can completely switch gears and play a serious role. Also, look out for Channing Tatum. While Carrell is pretty much guaranteed to get an Oscar nomination, Tatum probably won't just because of the crowded field, but the fact that he's been in the conversations is impressive considering he's not usually seen as an actor who would get consideration.

3- Intersteller (Nov 7) -- I'm expecting big things from Christopher Nolan's next film. Something on the level of Inception that deals with interstellar travel. Am I expecting too much? I don't think so. Nolan is a genius. Also this movie stars Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley, Topher Grace, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, John Lithgow, David Oyelowo and more. Call me a Nolan fan boy if you want, but I'd be among the crowd that hopes the Academy finally gives him recognition with this. We'll see if it actually happens.

2- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (Nov 21) -- I'm a huge fan of the Hunger Games series and so far this series has been executed to perfection on the big screen. Even though I liked the final book, ever since I finished it, I've been saying they need to go beyond what's in the book and focus on the drama and rebellion that's happening around the districts instead of just staying with Katniss. Looks like they are doing exactly that.

1- Unbroken (Dec 25) -- I just finished this book a few weeks ago and it's amazing! It follows the heartbreaking and yet inspirational story of Louie Zamperini, who went from Olympic runner to Prisoner of War in Japan during World War II. If done right, this could be this decade's Schindler's List, because dang life was awful for those who were POW's in Japan. I know that's a high comparison, but the book was that good and thus is why I have it at the top of this list.

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