Happy 2012 White Plains, Lo-Hudson Valley, America, the World!

I thought I would start off my first official year as a Local Voice blogger for Patch by saying this looks like one of those banner years for movies. And what a good thing, because 2011 was the pits!

How bad was it? Twilight wasn’t even one of the worst movies to come out last year—rim shot, please.

Quentin Tarantino, Park Chan-Wook, Christopher Nolan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Affleck, Oliver Stone, Ang Lee, Steven Spielberg, and Seth MacFarlane all have movies coming out this year. Plus we have Avengers, Batman, zombies, Expendables, two movies about Abraham Lincoln, gangster flicks, Men in Black, musicals, and Will Ferrell playing a politician in one movie and a Mexican in another.

I’m so excited about 2012 that I couldn’t just do a Top 10 and be done with it. I wanted to get people as excited as I am! So, I put together three lists of the 15 most anticipated action flicks, comedies, and dramas that I’ve heard about (so far).

There’s something here for everyone so grab a calendar and find out what your in for in 2012, and don’t forget to check back every week for the movie reviews. 

The most anticipated movie of the year:

No surprise!

"The Dark Knight Rises" - Christian Bale returns as the caped crusader and battles Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and Bane (Tom Hardy). Director Christopher Nolan has far exceeded expectations for what a super hero movie should be.

His “Dark Knight” was a brilliant crime saga, thrilling battle between good and evil, and fascinating social commentary, which he seems to be continuing here with the very timely 99 vs. 1 percenters argument.

And this is a master class in acting, from Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Joseph Gordon Leavitt. I know it's wrong to drink the Kool-Aid and go with the hype, but I can’t help it. This already looks way too great. (Releases: Jul 20).

Drama

15. "Wettest County" - Tom Hardy, Shia LeBeouf, and Tom Hardy play the Bondurant brothers, real life prohibition-era bootleggers who soon find their business under threat. It’s based off a book by Matt Bondurant, whose grandfather happens to be the main focus of the story. Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce complete a stellar cast and screenwriter Nick Cave and director John Hillcoat are no stranger to doing westerns, after the critically-lauded “The Proposition”.  (Releases: Apr 20)

14. "Magic Mike"- Steven Soderbergh takes us inside the world of male strippers. It stars Channing Tatum, and is inspired by the actor’s real life, as a dancer who teaches a young protégé (Alex Pettyfer) about partying, picking up women, and making easy money. That Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Videotape) is on board makes me think this will be as cerebral as it will be a guilty pleasure, plus it offers decent counter programming to a summer with movies aimed at teenagers. (Releases: Jun 29)

13. "Savages"- Oliver Stone directs this film, based off Don Winslow’s best selling crime novel, about two marijuana farmers thrown into a war when a Mexican cartel tries to move in on their business. Stone’s films have lost some of their anger as of late (W and Alexander couldn’t have been more boring), but Stone doesn’t shy away from the controversial and here’s hoping and finds some of his fire with this one. (Releases: Sept 28)

12. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"- Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, and a bunch of other British acting royalty play retirees who decide to spend their remaining years in exotic India, only to find that the hotel is a shell of its former self. Still, life and love prove prosperous, and with this excellent cast—why not? (Releases: May 4)

11. "Great Hope Springs" - Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones play a couple trying to spice up their marriage by going to a relationship guru (Carell) in the town of Great Hope Springs. Streep, Jones, and Carell: three actors who know how to walk the fine line of comedy drama.  (Releases: Dec 14)

10. "The Life of Pi" - Ang Lee adapts Yann Martel’s novel about a young boy who is the lone survivor of a sunken freighter and winds up sharing a life-boat with a hyena, injured zebra, orangutan, and Bengal tiger. Interesting and suspenseful for obvious reasons but Lee is so good at finding beauty and heart in his films that this should be quite an experience. (Releases: Dec 25)

9. "Les Miserables"- I’ve seen it before but never in musical form, plus watching Broadway’s favorite son Hugh Jackman play Jean Valjean is probably gonna be a thrill in and of itself, and Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert is a perfect opportunity to hear him sing something that doesn’t come from that awful band of his. Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried also star and Tom Hooper (The Kings Speech) directs. (Releases: Dec 7)

8. "Stoker" - Mia Wasikowska (The Kids are Alright, Alice and Wonderland) plays a young girl whose uncle (Mathew Goode) moves in with her and her unstable mother (Nicole Kidman) after the death of her father and she finds herself both wary and drawn-in by his motives.

South Korean director Park Chan-Wook makes his American debut here and I couldn’t be more exciting. “Oldboy” and “Thirst” are classic films in my opinion, blending graphic violence and twisted story-telling to near perfection. These movies stay with you for years afterward, which is the true power of a genius director.

And also very interesting here is Wentworth Miller, the Princeton-educated actor most famously known as Michael from “Prison Break”, wrote the screenplay for this and it was voted as one of the 10 best screenplays floating around Hollywood back in 2010. I’m completely sold on this, give me a release date if you please.  (Releases: TBA)

7. "Gravity"- George Clooney and Sandra Bullock play an Astronaut and Scientist on a space shuttle mission who find themselves trapped floating in space when their shuttle blows up. I love acting challenges and Clooney and Bullock floating in space for 2 hours seems to offer nothing but. (Releases: Nov 21)

6. "Argo"- Ben Affleck directs, and also stars as an ex-filtration specialist who helps get six Americans out of Iran after they manage to escape the Tehran U.S embassy in 1979 when militants took it hostage. Affleck the director is on a roll after “Gone Baby Gone” and “The Town” and I can’t wait to see what he can do outside of Massachusetts crime stories.  (Releases: Sept 14)

5. "The Great Gatsby" - Tobey Maguire is a would-be writer in 1922 who comes to NY and becomes entangled in the super-rich world of Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). DiCaprio has been on fire with all of his choices lately and Maguire has always been an appealing dramatic actor, even in “Spider-Man”.

Plus, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton (Warrior) have also been getting some buzz for this, director Baz Luhrman is a consummate style guy and I can’t wait to see what he does here, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic story of wealth, power, and tragedy may even hold up well during our own tough economic times.

This is a sure-fire Oscar contender next year. (Releases: Dec 25)

4. Untitled Osama Bin Laden Film- Focuses on the efforts to capture, or kill, Bin Laden. Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Point Break) has been developing this since 2008, it will incorporate the “happy ending” that occurred last year, and should be fascinating. (Releases: Dec 19)

3. "The Gangster Squad" - Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling play cops in 1949 trying to bring down notorious gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), who had much of the rest of the LAPD and politicians under his control. I love a good-old fashioned crime story and Reuben Fleischer (Zombieland) has gained a lot of steam as a director and it will be interesting to see how he sets his first big screen drama, plus you have Emma Stone and Nick Nolte in your supporting cast which is a major plus. (Releases: Oct 19). 

2. "Dark Shadows" - Johnny Depp plays Barnabas Collins, a playboy in 1752 who wrongs the wrong woman, is turned into a vampire, and then buried until being unearthed in 1972 where he sees that the descendants of his family have all fallen to dysfunction, each harboring dark secrets.

Tim Burton directs, which is a major plus, and we also get a cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, and Jackie Earle Haley. Dark, mysterious, Depp-Burton, I can’t wait. (Releases: May 11)

1. "Lincoln"- Boasting the most impressive group of actors of any movie this year, Steven Spielberg’s bio-pic of the 16^th president is being produced at a grand scale and at its center, Daniel Day-Lewis, in a role he seems born to play, is a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination come next year. The script is from Tony Kushner (Munich), based off of the book “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

If this is anything less than one of the best bios I’ve ever seen than it will be a huge disappointment. (Releases: TBA)

Action:

15. "Taken 2" - Liam Neeson again must stop some kidnappers. This may be a complete waste of time the second time around but watching Liam Neeson kick ass again has gotta have some redeeming quality to it.   (Releases: Oct 5)

14. "Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters" - This is like the Brothers Grimm meets Quentin Tarantino, with a little bit of super-natural horror thrown in too, and I love it. Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton play grown-up versions of the brother and sister duo and you can basically tell the rest from the title.

I like that Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola, who made a cool little movie called “Dead Snow” about Zombie-Nazis who terrorize a group of young campers, is involved and this seems like the year that turns Jeremy Renner into a bona fide action hero.  (Releases: Mar 2)

13. "The Amazing Spider-Man" - Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker, the nerdy kid who gets super powers after being bitten by a spider. I love Spider-Man, but I refuse to rank this any higher until I see a reason for why we have to go all the way back to the beginning again to see how Parker becomes Spider-Man and learns to accept his powers. The memories of my generation aren’t that bad, the Tobey Maguire version wasn’t that far in the past.  (Releases: Jul 3)

12. "The Bourne Legacy"- This seems to be something only writer-director Tony Gilroy understands at the moment, but according to him Jason Bourne isn't in the movie, and the first three films will serve as a trigger for this film, which builds a wider conspiracy. Considering the last three films, the guy’s earned the benefit of the doubt. (Releases: Aug 3)

11. "The Expendables 2" - Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews are back for a new mission and when one of their brothers gets killed, its payback time. Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger also figure more into this one, so muscles and guns are in full supply.  (Releases: August 17)

 10. "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter" - If you see one movie about Lincoln this year, see Spielberg's. If you wanna go for two, you might give this one a try.

Based off Seth Grahame-Smith’s comical and action packed take on Lincoln’s biography, the movie tells of how Vampires came to shape Lincoln (Benjamin Walker), his run for the White House, and the Civil War.

Fans of vampires, director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), supernatural horror, and the all-around gothic please apply here. History buffs - go at your own risk. (Releases: Jun 22).

9. "The Avengers" - If you’ve been to the movies in the past couple years, you know the super heroes involved. Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor just to name a few. This thing’s been promoted to death, so much so that it’s given people a chance to be both excited and skeptical all at the same time.

One good thing the trailer shows so far- it’s got Robert Downey Jr. For the rest we’ll have to wait and see if director Joss Whedon can work these different personalities into a cohesive whole.  (Releases: May 4)

8. "47 Ronin" - Keanu Reeves will play an outcast Samurai who joins the 47 Ronin and together try to defeat the overlord who killed their master and banished them. I can’t wait to see what director Carl Rinsch (The Gift) brings to this film in the trailer, because it sounds like the sort of gorgeous looking martial arts film, with exquisite looking landscapes and huge battle sequences, that “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” was.  (Releases: Nov 21).

7. "Skyfall"- The newest James Bond film, where 007 (Daniel Craig) must destroy the threat to MI6. Craig is owning this role right now and his nemesis in this one is none other than the great Javier Bardem, plus Berenice Marlohe looks like one of the best Bond girls they’ve gotten in a while. Sam Mendes (having no previous action movie experience) directing should be all the more interesting.  (Releases: Nov 9)

6. "Brave"- The latest offering from Pixar about a skilled young archer who defies a sacred custom and winds up unleashing a terrible curse on her kingdom; the resulting peril forcing her to find the true meaning of bravery in order to undo it. “Cars 2” notwithstanding, Pixar has still yet to do anything wrong. (Releases: Jun 22)

5. "World War Z"- Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace, Monsters Ball) directs Brad Pitt, who must race to stop a zombie pandemic from wiping out humanity. Pitt, Zombies, need I say more. How about that this is based off a hugely popular book by Max Brooks that was lauded not just for zombies but for provocative social commentary as well? (Releases: Dec 21)

4. "The Hobbit"- The journey that happened before the other journey in “Lord of the Rings”, where Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) faces all kinds of treachery (including Gollum and his ring) in order to reclaim the lost kingdom of Erebor.

The first teaser didn’t show much but you know by the summer director Peter Jackson is going to be showing us all the amazing effects that went into this. Plus “Lord of the Rings” built up such an amazing fan base already so this movie, and its box office success, is going to be a given.

One word: Epic. (Releases: Dec 14)

3. "The Hunger Games" - The evil Republic of Panem forces one boy and girl from each district to participate in the games, only one survives. Jennifer Lawrence plays the latest young adult hero, Katniss, who must rely on instinct and make impossible choices that pit survival against humanity and life against love.

If you haven’t read the books yet, here is your chance to see what the fuss is about. It’s not good to start comparing these young adult novels against one another but I’m really hoping that director Garry Ross can get rid of that terrible after-taste that the “Twilight” films have left and really give a three dimensionally female heroine. So far the results look thrilling and the clamor for this movie is ever-growing. (Releases: Mar 23) 

2. "Prometheus" - This is Ridley Scott’s return to the sci-fi genre, taking a team of scientists (played by Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender) and stranding them on a distant planet where they will be tested physically, mentally, and will discover secrets to the most profound questions of all.

The trailer is terrifying, the cast terrific, and if Scott can back this all up with a story to go with his visuals, then this will most likely be one of the greatest sci-fi films to come out of the genre. (Releases: Jun 8)

1."Django Unchained"- Jamie Foxx is a former slave who sets out to free his wife from an evil plantation owner. It’s a western, a revenge flick, a chance for Leonardo DiCaprio to play a villain which i’m dying to see, and indictment against slavery, and it’s all coming from the mad mind of Quentin Tarantino. Oh yeah, people are gonna talk about this one.  (Releases: Dec 25) 

Comedy:

15. "I Hate You Dad" -There’s tolerable-Adam Sandler and then there’s “Jack and Jill”, and this one where he plays a father who begins feuding with the bride-to-be of his son (Andy Samberg) sounds more like tolerable, likable Sandler material.

That the screenplay was written outside Sandler’s usual circle of writers by Ken Marino and David Wain (Role Models) probably bodes well also. (Releases: Jun 15)

14. "Men in Black 3"- The second one had a few laughs here and there but it’s still good to see Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones back. This time Smith’s Agent J must go back in time in order to save Jone’s Agent K, as well as the planet, and he finds out secrets about the universe that K never told him.

Director Barry Sonnenfeld is also back and Josh Brolin, in a really nice bit of casting, plays the young Agent K. (Releases: May 25)

13. "Moonrise Kingdom"- From Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums), comes a story about a young boy and girl (Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward) who fall in love and run away together, sending everyone in their small New England town into an uproar.

The cast, which includes Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Harvey Keitel, and Billy Murray among others, is fantastic. Keep an eye on this one. (Releases: May 25)

12. "Rock of Ages" - Just a small town girl (Julianne Hough). Just a city boy (Diego Boneta). Living just to find devotion, and “don’t stop believing” that their Hollywood dreams may actually come true. Street lights, people (the cast also includes Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, and Paul Giamatti).

I can’t quote Journey anymore, but I’m down for a musical romance that features stuff from them as well as Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Poison and Twisted Sister. Sounds like a fun rock odyssey. (Releases: Jun 1)

11. "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" - Steve Carell and Keira Knightly play characters who each take respective journeys upon hearing that the world is coming to an end and soon find romance with one another. This sounds like one of Carell’s less goofier comedies, which if you’ve seen “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love” is just fine with me. (Releases: Apr 20)

10. "Neighborhood Watch" - Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn play dads who create a neighborhood watch in order to spend time away from their families, but wind up in over their heads when they discover an evil plot. Three really funny guys (plus Jonah Hill), a script from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and it sounds like the type of breezy fun summer is all about. (Releases: Jul 27)

9. "Seven Psychopaths" - Colin Farrell plays a struggling screenwriter who becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his friends steal a gangster’s dog. Farrell worked with director Martin McDonagh once before on “In Bruges” with terrific results and the supporting cast of Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, and Woody Harrelson suggest this could be the sleeper oddball-comedy hit of the year. (Releases: TBA)

8. "Casa De Mi Padre" - A comic-Mexican soap opera starring Will Ferrell as Armando Alvarez, a ranch-hand on his fathers struggling Mexican ranch. His business-savvy younger brother (Diego Luna) shows up in order to save the ranch from bankruptcy but when his business dealings turn out to be less than legit, and Armando begins an affair with his fiancée, they both wind up in a war with a drug lord (Gael Garcia Bernal). I hope Ferrell can pull this off because it will be hilarious if he does. (Releases: Mar 16) 

7. "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" - Jason Segel is perfectly cast as a lovable slacker who one morning wakes up to discover clues that may actually lead to him finding meaning in his life. Throughout the day Jeff tries to decipher the clues, all while trying to help his brother (Ed Helms) with his divorce and stay focused enough to run an errand for his mom (Susan Sarandon).

Sounds like it could be a fun, quirky trip from the Duplass Brothers (who previously did the movie “Cyrus” with Jonah Hill).  (Releases: Mar 2)

6. "The Five-Year Engagement" - Jason Segel and Emily Blunt look cute together as a couple who keep getting thrown curveballs on their way to the alter, and screenwriters Segel and Nicholas Stoller can do no wrong after “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “The Muppets”. (Releases: Apr 27)

5. "This is Forty" - A spin-off for the Paul Rudd-Leslie Bibb characters from “Knocked Up” about being married, having kids, and being 40. Director Judd Apatow is on board, and so are Albert Brooks and Melissa McCarthy as co-stars. Apatow’s funny, personal looks at life haven’t disappointed me yet and a release date at the end of the year could mean that Universal finally sees the Oscar potential in his work. (Releases: Dec 21)

4. "Dog Fight" - What would an election year be without a movie where Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis play rival politicians campaigning in South Carolina? I’m a big fan of both Ferrell and Galifianakis and think this could be a lot of goofy fun, and good counter-programming to the sadly goofy politicians we get to choose from in November.

Director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents) has a deft hand with comedy so that should be promising as well. (Releases: Aug 10)

3. "Ted" - Mark Wahlberg plays a grown man still dealing with a wish he made during childhood, for his teddy bear to come to life. Problem is, now it just won’t leave. I love a creative fantasy-comedy and that this comes from boundary-pushing “Family Guy” creator Seth McFarlane only makes its comic potential all the more interesting. (Releases: Jul 13)

2. "Frankenweenie" - Tim Burton uses stop-motion animation to bring a tale of a young boy who brings his dead dog back to life…to life. In the mold of “Nightmare before Christmas”, this should be heartwarming, funny, and twisted in all the right ways. (Releases: Oct 5)

1. "The Dictator" - Sacha Baron Cohen plays the oppressive dictator of the Republic of Wadiya, invited to America as a diplomat. Cohen again proves he’s a genius at stirring people up, this time with a political satire that so far seems right on target. It’s impossible to watch the trailer for this and not burst out laughing. (Releases: May 11)

Some final thoughts:

"American Reunion" - Jim, Stifler, Stifler’s mom, Finch, Oz, Michelle and the rest are back for the fourth film in the “American Pie” series and I don’t know how to feel about that.

You know how in horror movies people in the audience shout out “Nooo, don’t go upstairs”, but you know they will because it’s a redundant plot device?

I kind of feel that way about “American Pie," just instead I shout “Nooo, lock the door first.” (Releases: Apr 6).

"Twilight: Breaking Dawn" - Ok Twilight fans, I mentioned it. Now go back to learning your multiplication tables. (Releases: Nov 16)