Films to look forward to in 2013

2012 has been a pretty good year for movies, although there were some shockers; but now it’s time to look ahead to all that 2013 has to offer.

The Impossible
Ignoring the fact that this is the true story of a Spanish family yet a white English family has been cast; The Impossible looks like a fantastic film. Arguments over whether enough time has passed to dramatise the tragic events of Boxing Day 2004 will continue to rage, but as a film addict I’m looking forward to it. Juan Antonio Bayona’s first English speaking film looks set to wow and provide an unflinching portrayal of disaster. I’ve always had a soft spot for Ewan McGregor but he looks on top form in this one. Naomi Watts is sure to get an Oscar nod for this one but for me I want to see the ten minute sequence of the ravaging tsunami that’s a testament to the dedication of Bayona’s direction.

Man of Steel
Now that The Dark Knight trilogy is done and Marvel are churning out film after film, it’s now Superman’s turn to take centre stage. From the trailer it seems that this film is going to have a similar impact to Batman Begins. Zack Snyder isn’t to everyone’s taste, I loathed 300 but loved Watchmen, but I have high hopes for Man of Steel. The casting of the relatively unknown Henry Cavill is intriguing and the trailer itself shows a combination of intense action and emotional maturity. Marvel are excellent at the action part, but when it comes to raw emotion and the stereotypical “dark” element of the superhero genre, DC rules.

The Great Gatsby
Intrigue rather than excitement is drawing me to Baz Luhrmann’s take on F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel. The two trailers we’ve seen are typical Luhrmann – big, brash and fast editing – but I’m intrigued to see what he does with the source material. As a lover of the book, Leonardo DiCaprio seems perfectly cast as Gatsby and Toby Maguire as narrator Nick Carraway makes sense as well. Where Luhrmann loses me is in the casting of Carey Mulligan as Daisy. Mulligan is a fantastic actress, but simply put she is not Daisy, she is too blonde and fragile to play this tragic heroine. The novel is told entirely from Nick’s POV and he never sees Daisy and Gatsby alone together, so the various scenes of them together might not work. DiCaprio very rarely disappoints so I’m hoping he can carry this film.

Iron Man 3
Robert Downey Jr is a joy to watch and with the first trailer of Iron Man 3 doing the rounds it seems that Tony Stark’s 3rd outing will be no different. From the trailer it does seem that this is following the standard “darker than the predecessor” formula but with a couple of decent villains on show I think Iron Man 3 will live up to expectations. Iron Man 2 was disjointed so with the directing reigns being handed to Shane Black, here’s hoping for a return to form. Action wise it looks like they’ve turned it up to 11, with Stark’s stylish pad being blown to smithereens in the trailer – here’s hoping Pepper Potts makes it.

Star Trek into Darkness
I never liked Star Trek on TV, so I went to see JJ Abrams interpretation with trepidation – and thank God I went. The first film was funny, emotional and packed full of action and great performances and I can’t wait to see what the sequel offers. The unnamed villain played by Benedict Cumberbatch is intriguing and a step up from Eric Bana’s Nero. Cumberbatch has come into his own in the last couple of years and his eerie voiceover in the first trailer looks set to catapult him even further into stardom. All the originals have returned which is excellent as the ensemble nature of Star Trek is what made it such an excellent movie. The title annoys me slightly, but I’m really just looking for a fault.

Elysium
District 9 is in my top 10 sci-fi films ever made, so to see Neil Blomkamp making another film has got me all giddy. Set in the year 2159, a man takes on a mission to bring equality to two worlds. The wealthy live on a man-made space station, whilst everyone else resides on a ruined Earth. Starring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and the sublime Sharlto Copley, Elysium looks set to top District 9s originality. It’s been quite quiet on the marketing side of things, but a few images have been released and that got my mouth watering. Hopefully a trailer will land soon and I can analyse to my heart’s content.

Side Effects
Who knew that Channing Tatum could act? After a slew of rom-coms and dramas he proved himself in 2012 by taking roles in 21 Jump Street, Haywire, and Magic Mike, all of which showed that there was something more to this dancer/model. Side Effects is his 3rd collaboration with Steven Soderbergh and co-stars Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta Jones. Following the story of Mara’s descent after taking anxiety pills, it looks like an intriguing examination into the prescription drug culture we live in. It looks like there are plenty of twists and turns along the way so I’m interested to see what Soderbergh does with this one. I had a mixed response to Soderbergh in 2012, I thought Contagion was provocative and interesting, Magic Mike was hilarious and Haywire was all over the place. Hopefully Side Effects will see him back on track.

Django Unchained
Tarantino returns this January with Django Unchained and from the various trailers released, you can tell it’s classic Tarantino. Jamie Foxx is the lead, Christoph Waltz is on hand for the comedy and Leonardo DiCaprio is the racist yet camp villain. It looks like it’s chock full of violence, humour and guns so it’s got my vote as one to watch this year. True it is just shy of 3 hours but I’m hoping that Tarantino does his best to keep me engaged throughout. Tarantino films may be about dark subject matter but ultimately he wants his audience to have fun and this is what Django will deliver.

Passion
Brian DePalma is an unflinching film maker and the trailer for his new film Passion looks packed full of suspicion, intrigue and sex. Starring Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams, this film follows a young businesswoman who decides to murder her boss and mentor after she steals her idea. Many tongues are wagging about the sex scenes between Rapace and McAdams so it will be interesting to have a watch and see what all the fuss is about. It’s nice to see McAdams taking on meatier roles rather than the standard rom-coms she churns out throughout the year. Rapace is a fascinating actress so this pairing should make for perfect viewing.

Welcome to the Punch
This gritty crime drama from director Eran Creevy boasts a phenomenal cast including James McAvoy, Mark Strong, Andrea Riseborough, Peter Mullan and many more. It’s been a while since McAvoy took on a gritty role so it’s going to be interesting to see him in this crime thriller.

Maniac
Elijah Wood proved in Sin City that he could be creepy, and next year the remake of Maniac hits our screens. Since snippets of footage emerged from Cannes, this horror has intrigued me and I’ve been waiting for a UK release date for ages. There looks to be a serious amount of carnage going on in Maniac so it’ll be an interesting one to watch.

Zero Dark Thirty
Kathryn Bigelow proved with The Hurt Locker that she knew how to tackle an unconventional war movie and now she’s taking on the biggie – the death of Osama Bin Laden. Lots of politicians have been criticising the film lately due to the depiction of torture, but Bigelow’s film is a portrayal of Bin Laden’s death rather than 100% fact. This film has been in the pipeline for a while and with Jessica Chastain starring it’ll be perfect Oscar bait.

The Sessions
John Hawkes is quite possibly the best character actor in Hollywood at the moment. From bit parts in various movies he’s come into his own recently. The Sessions is the kooky film that always comes around this time of year, but this one actually looks surprisingly good. Telling the true story of Mark O’Brien who was paralysed by Polio as a child, The Sessions follows his determination to lose his virginity via the assistance of sex surrogate Helen Hunt. From the trailer the performances look excellent so here’s hoping it’ll do well at the box office.

Gangster Squad
Its release date had to be pushed back due to the Colorado cinema shooting, but Gangster Squad will hit out screens this January. Although the ending has had to be amended, it still looks like this is going to be a new take on the gangster film. Starring Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, Michael Pena, and Sean Penn with a fake nose, Gangster Squad looks set to light the cinema on fire.

Kick Ass 2
The first Kick Ass was hilarious to say the least and I cannot wait for the sequel to land. All the previous cast are returning (always a good sign) and Jim Carrey has signed on and I’m sure he’ll be at his flamboyant best. With an amalgamation of violence, slapstick and pop culture references, Kick Ass 2 isn’t to be missed.

Are there any films that I’ve missed that you’re desperate to see?