Now that 2010’s film book is nearly closed, save for WINTER’S BONE, 127 HOURS and the actual Academy Awards ceremony, it’s time to look ahead to 2011. Looking back at 2010’s list, a majority of the films on the list I likely hadn’t heard of or knew of in January of 2010. This is quite likely the case with 2011. Likewise, there were films on my 2010 “MUST SEE” list that came nowhere close to being included in my ‘Oscar Watch 2010’ series: Iron Man 2, Burlesque, Tron, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter 7A (as I like to refer to it as), Shutter Island, Tangled, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Kick-Ass, and more. Hell, I didn’t even get around to seeing some of the movies on the list!
Anyhoo, I just scanned the list of movies coming out in 2011, and these are the titles that jump out at me. I’m going to proactively warn you, however, that most of the films on my list will make me look like an uber-dork.
- I Am Number Four - 2/18/11 - The trailer got me on this one. Interesting premise, interesting visuals, and Dianna Agron. Sold. (IMDb)
- Apollo 18 - 4/22/11 - Basically anything sci-fi gets me going. Plus, with a poster like it has, and I’m there. Interestingly, the skeptic in me also has this as a potential worst film of the year, also based on the poster alone. (IMDb)
- Thor - 5/6/11 - I’m a geek, but I’m not THAT big enough of a geek to read all the Marvel comic books religiously. However, the recent track record of Marvel movie adaptations have me hooked, and I will see the films blindly (full disclosure: I did not see X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE). The trailer for this one? Absolutely epic. Plus, it has Natalie Portman. Midnight showing material. (IMDb)
- X-Men: First Class - 6/3/11 - See the description for Thor, re: Marvel films. The idea of this film interests me quite a bit, so I’m excited. (IMDb)
- Super 8 - 6/10/11 - J.J. Abrams. Sci-fi. And IMDb tells me Kyle Chandler. Kick-ass teaser trailer. Sold. No idea what this film really is, but I don’t even care. Opening weekend. (IMDb)
- Green Lantern - 6/17/11 - Another comic book geek film. Sure, I’m mixed on the trailer, and the CGI suit looks super lame… but I’ll see it. Looks entertaining. (IMDb)
- Cars 2 - 6/24/11 - I will blindly see Pixar films until the company ceasts to be. Was CARS as good as the other ones? Nope. Does CARS 2 look better? Nope. Will I see it and likely love it? Absolutely. (IMDb)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - 7/15/11 - This movie will be like TOY STORY 3 for me. The end of a long series that, frankly, I grew up with. The last several films, all directed by David Yates, have been getting better and better in my book, so this one should be EPIC. (IMDb)
- Winnie the Pooh - 7/15/11 - Like Pixar films, I will blindly see Disney films forever. (IMDb)
- Captain America: The First Avenger - 7/22/11 - Another Marvel comic book movie. Another movie I am completely geeked out for in multiple ways. Chris Evans as Captain America? Yes please. (IMDb)
- Cowboys & Aliens - 7/29/11 - I saw the poster for this recently, and thought “well, that looks lame”. Then I saw the trailer, which got more and more awesome as it went along… then Harrison Ford showed up. Naturally, I’ll be seeing this one, as I want to be Harrison Ford when I grow up. Without Calista Flockhart. How about a hybird of iconic Harrison Ford roles. Ok, maybe just Han Solo. (IMDb)
- The Smurfs - 8/3/11 - Normally, I’d have mentally flung this movie into the “crap” pile along with the Garfield movies or the Chipmunks movies or whatever - cartoons that should have stayed animated in my childhood. But this movie has something all of those other ones don’t: Neil Patrick Harris. (IMDb)
- Moneyball - 9/23/11 - While this list has been my coming out party as a major geek, I am a major sports nut. MONEYBALL is an adaptation of a non-fiction book about baseball statistics and how to build a team around them. Yep. I MUST know how they are making this into a movie. I’ll go on record that this could be an early Oscar favorite or quite possibly be the most pointless movie of 2011. (IMDb)
- Rise of the Apes - 11/23/11 - To my friends that don’t follow the movie scene until the trailer pops up: yes, this is exactly what you’d think it is when you read the title. I’m not a huge fan of this series, but this one is on here out of morbid curiosity. Being a prequel to a major science fiction series gets you that much. (IMDb)
- The Muppets - 11/23/11 - You’ve read this far, so you know I have a bit of a soft spot for movies from my childhood…. well, new Muppets movie! And looking at the (rumored) cast list, it looks appropriately random and wonderful. Well, except Katy Perry. She’s just horrid. Can’t she (and her breasts) not be around Muppets anymore? (IMDb)
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 12/21/11 - I haven’t read the book this is based on (yet!). This is on my list because of buzz only. And David Fincher. (IMDb)
You’ll notice two high profile summer movies are missing: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, along with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1. There’s a good reason for that…. I really, really don’t care about either of those series. I’ve given the first two a shot, and they’ve done absolutely nothing for me, aside from annoying me, so I’ll pass on those. As for Twilight…. I will judge you for seeing that film. I’ll do it.
2011 is certainly shaping up to be a year full of blockbusters, that’s for sure. As noted, this list will quite likely grow as smaller, likely better films come out, movies that will fill out my Oscar Watch 2011 series. Yes, that’s right…. OW2011. Get excited.
