My Most Anticipated Films of 2013, #19-14

Here’s Part 1, #25-20 if you missed it.
Part 2 of 5: “A Healthy Mix of Indy and Blockbuster”




19) THE HOBBIT: The Desolation of Smaug (Dec. 13th)

I kind of thought the first installment of Bilbo’s trilogy, THE HOBBIT: An Unexpected Journey, showed the best and worst of Peter Jackson. We moreless know what to expect in the next two films of this increasingly bloated series, but this middle(-earth) act makes my list for one very big reason: Smaug. I’m pretty geeked to see the magicians at WETA bring the iconic, “magnificent” dragon to life on the big screen.




18) SIGHTSEERS (unknown)

Chris wants to show his sheltered girlfriend Tina the English countryside, but things like litterbugs, noisy teenagers, and pre-booked caravan sites soon conspire against the couple, and their dream holiday takes a very wrong turn. Ben Wheatley (KILL LIST) directs stars Steve Oram and Alice Lowe, who also wrote the script, in this very British blend of quirky character-comedy and homicidal violence. This is up my alley, for sure.




17) THE HUNGER GAMES: Catching Fire (Nov. 22nd)

I was fresh off of reading the novels when I saw the first film last spring, so the movie was somewhat of a letdown, and truthfully, it hasn’t gotten any better in my head. This time around, they’ve replaced Gary Ross with Francis Lawrence (CONSTANTINE, I AM LEGEND), and cast Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, and Jena Malone in a few key roles, so I have some hope that this one will far outshine the first.




16) INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (unknown)

The latest film from the Coen Brothers, based on Dave Van Ronk’s posthumously published memoir, The Mayor of MacDougal Street, tells the story of a singer-songwriter navigating New York’s folk music scene in the 1960s. T Bone Burnett, who worked with the Coens on O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, and Mumford and Sons’ Marcus Mumford produced the film’s soundtrack. You had me at “Coen Brothers.”




15) THE SPECTACULAR NOW (Aug. 2nd)

I’m halfway through reading the novel as I write this, so the story being fresh in my head, and the great response this received at Sundance have me pretty excited for this. Maybe I’m easy, but you’ve got me hook, line, and sinker when you call a film “this year’s PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER” or “the new (500) DAYS OF SUMMER.” This screenplay, by the way, was penned by the latter’s co-writer, so I’m triple sold.




14) ENDER’S GAME (Nov. 1st)

Orson Scott Card has made news lately for being a giant douche, but that doesn’t change the fact that his influential, “unfilmable” classic was a big part of my genre-loving childhood, and I’m pretty stoked to finally see it get turned into a film. The only reason this isn’t higher on the list is that the possibility for suckage here is quite high, but with the strong cast, James Horner composing the score, and necessary budget, it has the potential to be great, too. Here’s hoping for the latter.




UP NEXT: Three comic movie sequels, and three films from pretty badass directors.