Five to Get Excited For

There were some good movie moments in 2011. Really, the only ones I can truly remember fully enjoying, though, were my midnight viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and The Muppets. We’ve had a recent dearth of great movie years. I think 2012 should put things back to rights. There are currently 5 movies premiering in 2012 that I am REALLY stoked for. You may have seen some or all of these trailers by now, so maybe you won’t watch them. However, I know at least for this girl, you can never watch a 2 minute snippet of an upcoming movie about wizards and hobbits too many times…. So here are the five, in order of how excited I am to see them:

Number 5: Prometheus

I don’t consider myself a huge expert on Ridley Scott’s work, however, what I HAVE seen, I’ve throughly enjoyed. There seems to be some debate (and early internal indecision) regarding the exact plot of the film, however, considering that most of the films that will be included on this list are based on stories that I have already read, maybe it will be nice to have a surprise or two?

Number 4: Brave

Honestly, I would gladly go see anything that came out of Pixar Studios. With the exception of Cars (and probably Cars 2, though, I’ll admit I did skip that one), these guys have never let me down. And a spunky redhead heroine set in medieval Scotland? SOLD.

Number 3: The Hunger Games

On a whim, I picked up the first book in the Hunger Games franchise as I saw it idling on a return cart at the library about a year and a half ago. I started reading at 6pm on a Monday. At 2:30 AM, I finally crawled into bed, dreading my 6am alarm. For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, do not let the fact that it is a YA series deter you- these books are phenomenally fast-paced and throughly entertaining, set in a future dystopian society that uses an annual fight-to-the-death between dozens of children as a form of national entertainment. The blogosphere has been abuzz about the movie ever since it was announced probably about a year ago, and, if the trailer is any indicator, the movie should be equally satisfying. I’m especially interested to see how they depict the actual killings.

Number 2: The Dark Knight Rises

Ya’ll. Besides the fact that this movie includes Cillian Murphy, Joseph Gordon Levitt AND Christian Bale- WHOA. If the movie is anywhere near as stylish and intriguing as the trailer, this should be the best Batman yet. I mean, THAT FOOTBALL FIELD IMPLOSION! BRUCE WAYNE WITH A CANE (why???), A FLYING BATMOBILE, and of course, I love the treatment of the vertical perspective of the buildings of Gotham City turning into the Bat Symbol. Ya’ll. I’m already preparing for the post-watching depression that accompanies the last great movie in an epic series (we are talking BUCKETS OF TEARS at the last Harry Potter).

Number 1: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Could it really have been anything else? I have been anticipating this film since I shed the aforementioned buckets worth of tears upon my first theatrical viewing of Return of the King. The idea that maybe at least they would still make a hobbit movie was the only thing that could console me. As a child, my Uncle Glenn would often tell us the story of The Hobbit as a bedtime story, and I remember well drifting off to sleep to the tale of Bilbo and the trolls and the dragon. I’ll admit, I have had my moments of doubt and anguish over the many trials that plagued the production of this film. The Director changes! The legal hang-ups! But in the end, if the trailer is ANY indication, our wait wil be rewarded with a film worthy of it’s trilogy predecessor (and hopefully, my Uncle’s many retellings).

I hope that you are as excited as I am about at least SOME of these films. If not, you and I were clearly never meant to be friends.

In other news, I will be spending the next several days down in Daytona with my family, as I just learned this morning that my Dad has three major artery blockages and is going to require major heart bypass surgery. I know that this is a “routine” procedure these days, but it’s not routine for us, so any prayers and good thoughts you can send towards him and my family would be very much appreciated.

Until next time, stay gold.