Most anticipated films of 2011

Been waiting a while for this one now. I love Hunter S. Thompson's novel, so I'm hoping this will be a worthy adaptation. I figure Johnny Depp in the lead role is a good sign since he & Hunter were friends...should raise the odds that it'll be faithful to the source material.

OK, it's the Muppets & I've always loved them. But not all of the Muppets movies have been worth watching, especially the ones since Jim Henson died. So until I see a trailer I'm undecided on this one.

UPDATE: The trailer looks solid. Promoted this one out of the possibly anticipated category.

From the press release:

Gigantic Pictures announced today that Fix: The Ministry Movie (fixtheministrymovie.com/), a documentary film about the scariest and most extreme band ever, is confirmed to screen at the CMJ Music Festival on October 19, 2011. Directed by Douglas Freel, this screening tells the tale from the bands 1996 “Sphinctour” as a both cautionary tale and an insider’s look at life on the road with the most excessive and creative industrial band of all-time.

Ministry founder Al Jourgensen along with Paul Barker and the guys they played with, paid the price, took no prisoners and along the way became the most influential Industrial bands ever. Fix: The Ministry Movie is a backstage look at one of music’s most intelligent, creative violent and independent bands of the nineties.
Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan, Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys and Jonathan Davis of Korn are just a few of the musicians who give firsthand accounts of how Jourgensen and company changed all the rules, and became as revered for the intensity of their convictions as for their musical output.

The film is a straightforward and unvarnished look into the real workings behind the scenes of a major world tour. The madness is tempered by trips into beautiful scenery, wanderings through gorgeous European towns and cities and cultural experiences that provide a welcome relief from the oppressive closeness of the tour bus and the arena backstage areas.

Also portrayed in unflinching detail is the saga of Al Jourgensen’s drug use on the road. A charming wit one moment, a ranting self-righteous and paranoid miscreant the next, Jourgensen’s drug problem touches everyone within his circle of influence. Timothy Leary, William S. Burroughs, Joe Strummer, El Duce, Fabio, Lemmy, David Yow, Jello Biafra and others feature in the original tour footage. Many of these men would be dead soon thereafter.

Al Jourgensen has had a love/hate relationship with the development of this film. Ministry recently stopped touring and recording so that Jourgensen can engage himself in other projects. Fix shows how much you can get away with under the right circumstances and how far it is possible to go and still just manage to come back.”

I'm not so much into Ministry's later output as I am most of their late 80s/early 90s material, but since this documentary was mostly filmed during their 1996 tour I'm definitely excited to see it.

I was skeptical about this when I first heard about it, but the trailer won me over. If you haven't watched it yet, go now.

The solid cast and Favreau directing is also working in its favor.

The only other Depp film I'm interested in seeing this year (do we really need another Pirates?). It used to be I was up for any film he did, but the past few years I've become burnt out on seeing him on the screen...he's really overexposed lately & I feel like he's stopped saying no to crappy movies (or else has started saying yes to everything thrown his way) & basically walks through his roles. The trailer for this looks good though...it's easily the best for an animated film I've seen for this year.

Michel Gondry is directing, and he has yet to make a movie I haven't highly enjoyed. I enjoyed Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg's screenplays for Superbad and Pineapple Express. And this is The Green Hornet we're talking about. So yeah, I'm excited for it, though I'll most likely try to see it in 2D instead of 3D. The only way I'd be more excited is if Stephen Chow had stuck around to play Kato.

Going into this one as a fan of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, both of which were also written by & starred Simon Pegg & Nick Frost. I love their on-screen chemistry, and the newly added to Listal UK trailer suggests this film will be even better than I'd originally expected.

I watched the trailer for this recently & Rutger Hauer looks menacing in his role. And since it's stylistically similar to Grindhouse and Machete, I figure it'll at least be entertaining if not amazing.

The trailer looks great (best of all it tells you almost NOTHING about the film) and the screenplay is co-written by Guillermo del Toro. I'm definitely intrigued.

When I heard Thor was being made I figured I'd pass on it. But then I saw the trailer and it looks like it might be good. The odd choice of Kenneth Branaugh as director also has me curious. And how often do you get to see Anthony Hopkins as Odin?

Here's the trailer:


Now I bet you want to see this movie too.

I love Don Coscarelli and I loved Bubba Ho-tep. This is supposed to be a prequel to that film, and everything I've said so far excites me for this film. Then there's the small issue I have: instead of Bruce Campbell as Elvis it's Ron Perlman. I can't see Perlman as Elvis at all, so that really worries me...plus I like Bruce Campbell WAY more. So I'll likely see it, but lower my expectations.

OK, so it says 2009 up there, but this movie opens in America in January of 2011 so I'm counting it. I just watched the trailer this past weekend and it looks like a highly entertaining foreign film.

My only exposure to the work of J.J. Abrams is Armageddon (which he co-wrote the screenplay for and I HATED) and Mission: Impossible III (which I thought was pretty good). I never got into Lost, and the other main thing I know he was involved with was Cloverfield which I had no urge to see.

Between the teaser trailer and the more recent, longer trailer for Super 8 I'm very intrigued and this has been bumped up to definitely anticipated.

Recommended by terceira

After seeing the trailer, I'm intrigued.

Recommended by terceira

After seeing the trailer, I'm intrigued.

Never read the book, so I was indifferent when the original movie adaptation came out of Sweden. Now I feel like I should check out the 2009 film or the book (or both), because David Fincher is directing his version now. I can't think of a Fincher film I don't like. And he's rehired Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross to score the film (they previously scored The Social Network), which also increases my excitement. So unless watching the original film or reading the book turns me off of the story altogether, I'll check it out.

UPDATE: I've watched the Swedish film version and thought it was very well done. If an American version has to be made (and I'd argue that it doesn't), I can't think of anyone more perfect to handle the adaptation than Fincher.

It's a Greek mythology film, which is what initially caught my interest. Mickey Rourke & John Hurt being in it adds to my interest, as does director Tarsem Singh (The Cell and The Fall). However, I'd like to see a trailer before I sign myself up for this one.

From Exploredia.com...

Plot: “A quintessential Cold War story, Apollo 18 casts light on the covert and undocumented lunar mission that officially ‘never happened’. Bekmambetov, hired by Russia to shoot a documentary about the Russian space station, recently came across footage in its space archives that bolsters the idea that an Apollo 18 mission did, in fact, take place, and reveals startling evidence of extraterrestrial life forms. This actual footage will be part of Apollo 18, a paranormal thriller that will interpolate fact and fiction."

Could be awesome, could be terrible...guess it all depends on how well the "found footage" turns out. I'd like a proper trailer before I decide to see this one.

The names behind this one have my interest: Spielberg directing, Edgar Wright as co-writer of the screenplay, Simon Pegg & Nick Frost (together again!) & Daniel Craig & Cary Elwes starring in it. Apparently it's based on a comic I've somehow never heard of, which means I need to check out the comic a bit first. A trailer would be nice too to solidify my interest.

Robert De Niro & Clive Owen are in this, and since I'm a fan of both I may check it out. Then again, both actors have done movies I've loved and movies I've hated/avoided in recent years, so I'll definitely need to see a trailer for this one. Jason Statham's presence also gives me pause, but at least it doesn't sound like he's the lead in it.

The X-Men films are among the better of Marvel's films, and with director Matthew Vaughn signed on to direct my interest is amplified. I've enjoyed all 3 films he's directed so far, so I expect good things from this installment. I'm not sure about James McAvoy playing young Professor X though, so a proper trailer should help me decide for certain.

Aside from the second one, I've enjoyed the Mission: Impossible films, so I'll probably see this one more out of loyalty than anything else. Unless, of course, the trailer scares me away from it.

Just look at the names on this one & you'll understand why I'm interested. I'll most likely see it since Soderbergh usually makes excellent films, but I'd like to see a trailer before I decide.

Right now the main reason I'm interested in this one is as a fan of horror films. There's a few actors attached to it that I like, but I've hated the majority of Joss Whedon's work so it's likely I won't see this one. A trailer will decide.

Wanted was an unexpected surprise for me. The trailers made it look horribly stupid, but one of my best friends dragged me to see it anyway. I sat there, prepared to walk out on it & ended up loving it so much I saw it again while it was in theatres. I didn't think it left much room for a sequel, so I feel like this is unnecessary, but they could prove me wrong & deliver another story I'll enjoy.

UPDATE: Looks like this one has been pushed back & is no longer slated for a 2011 release.

As a teen, I dug the old Conan films. So I'm at least curious to see a trailer for this one.

Caught the trailer for this one recently & it reminded me of Quantum Leap and 12 Monkeys, with a little bit of The Matrix thrown in. All of that gave me a been there, done that vibe. However, this film is directed by the same dude that did the excellent Moon, so maybe it'll be better than I expect.

I've never cared for Captain America unless you count the brief period of time where U.S. Agent took over the costume (yeah, I used to read comics)...that dude was insane. Anyway, I really have no urge to see this, but if the trailers show promise & the reviews are positive I may change my mind.

I heard about this one from PvtCaboose91's 2011 list, and I'm intrigued. The youtube video provided there told what the creator wants the film to be, and it sounds like it could be cool. However, since the video seems like more of a pitch in hopes of finding someone to fund it than an actual trailer I'm withholding some enthusiasm. Give me a proper trailer for a completed film & I'll weigh in again.

As a fan of Brad Pitt, I'd like to see this. However, Terrence Malick hasn't made a single film I've had a desire to see, and the trailer for this one looks somewhat interesting but not very impressive. So I may wait for reviews on it or else DVD. Right now it's on my "wait for Netflix to watch it" list.

A no-name director attached to an unnecessary prequel screams stay away to me, as does the largely unknown cast (hence why it's near the end of this section). At least it's not a remake, and apparently it's going to end where the previous film begins. I'll definitely need to see a trailer on this one before ruling it out completely.

I was entertained well enough by Sherlock Holmes, but it could've been a lot better. It definitely fell short of my expectations of what a Sherlock film should be. So unless I hear they've improved things I probably won't see it, or at least I'll wait until I can stream it for free on Netflix.

I've seen 2 trailers for this now and can't decide if it will be worth watching or not. It looks like the performances are good, but maybe it's just hearing Metallica's "Battery" play behind the scenes that makes me excited. I'm holding out for what any friends who see it have to say & reviews from trusted sources.

I may end up waiting until it hits Netflix.