If memories of 2012’s most momentous movies are already starting to fade, never fear! Greg Evans is here to welcome in 2013 with the second part of his essential guide to films to watch out for in the coming year …
If memories of 2012’s most momentous movies are already starting to
fade, never fear! Greg Evans is here to welcome in 2013 with the second part of
his essential guide to films to watch out for in the coming year …
Superheroes/Comic Books
The current trend of
superhero movies and comic book adaptations doesn’t look like dying anytime
soon. After the success of Avengers
Assemble, Marvel will be looking to capitalize on their success with Iron Man 3 and Thor: Dark World. (Released 26th April & 30th
October). Both promise to be a lot darker in content to previous installments
but it will be good to see Robert Downey
Jr and Chris Hemsworth back in
those famous suits. The Avengers won’t be the only Marvel heroes returning to
the screen next year either. The
Wolverine (26th July) sees
Hugh Jackman reprise his best-known
role, as Logan travels to Japan to train with samurais. Based on a popular
series of comics from 1982, The Wolverine has already gone through several director
changes, so this could be turbulent affair.
Three other, very popular
franchises are also returning. First is Kick
Ass 2 (19th July), which will continue to follow the
misadventures of Kick Ass and Hit Girl. Having
been rumoured for a while, Sin City: A
Dame To Kill For has finally been given a release date of October 4th in the
US. We’ll wait and see if that comes to fruition. While these two sound
genuinely promising, do we really need a 300
prequel? 300: Rise Of An Empire will
once again dine in hell on 2nd August.
Most of the films listed
stand on their own merit. Yet one film is sure to overshadow them all. Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel (Main Picture) (14th
June) will aim to do for Superman, what Christopher Nolan did for Batman.
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that Nolan is a
producer on this film, so look out for those Nolan-like quirks. The trailers look firmly focused on
this being about Clark Kent’s
journey to becoming Superman and how he eventually becomes a symbol for hope.
Quite frankly it doesn’t look like any other superhero film we have seen
before. Henry Cavill is an
interesting choice to play Superman but the best casting decision has to be Michael Shannon as General Zod. Zod is a strange and erratic villain and there is no
one better at doing strange and erratic than Michael Shannon. If one film will
come to encapsulate 2013, you can bet Man of Steel will be it.
Art House/Indie
For those cinemagoers with
more highbrow taste, 2013 is showing real potential. Two of the world’s most
elusive directors Terrence Malick
and Wong Kar Wai both have new
releases out. Malick’s latest film To
The Wonder is already good to
go. With stunning cinematography and intimate dialogue, Malick doesn’t appear
to have steered too far from The Tree Of Life in terms of aesthetics.
This time it does look like there is a bit more story to work with so this may
appeal to a larger audience. However the film has already been a source of
controversy. Several cast members, including Rachel Weisz, have had all of their scenes cut, sparking outrage
from those particular actors. Whatever the outcome, a Malick film is always a
spectacle worth seeing and we’ll get the chance to do just that on 22nd
February.
While Malick seems to have
stuck to his tried and tested formula, Wong Kar Wai has taken a different route
for The Grandmaster. Telling the
story of Ip Man, the legendary
martial artist who trained Bruce Lee, Wai
has departed his usual comfort zone of romance and gone for all out action. The
colourful visual flair of his work is still evident but we’ll have to wait and
see if his usual warmth and emotive qualities prevail.
Apart from the previously
mentioned Gangster Squad (see Part One),
Ryan Gosling has two other films out
in 2013. Teaming up once again with Drive’s
Nicolas Winding Refn, Gosling will appear in Only God Forgives. Early promo stills presented us with a
mangled-faced Gosling, whose character has descended into the world of Thai
boxing in Bangkok. So the sporadic violence seen in Drive looks likely to
feature again here.
In a more somber affair, The Place Beyond The Pines (12th
April) pairs Gosling with his real
life partner Eva Mendes, to play a
stunt driver who contemplates a life of crime to provide for his young family.
Comparisons have already been made with Drive, but the fact that Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance is helming this should
indicate there will be a bigger focus on relationships, rather than action.
If Ry-Gos isn’t your man then
R-Patz has a new movie out as well. Robert Pattinson will be appearing
alongside Naomi Watts in The Queen Of The Desert. This new film
from Werner Herzog will chronicle
the life and times of Gertrude Bell,
a highly influential British traveler, prominent at the start of the 20th century.
It will be interesting to see where Herzog will go with this one.
Much like Herzog and Malick, Lars Von Triers films’ are always an
event worth seeing. His next one, the subtly named Nymphomaniac sees Von Trier mainstays like Charlotte Gainsbourg, Williem Dafoe, Udo Keir and Stellen Skarsgard join up with Jaime Bell and Shia LeBeouf, in what has been described as a series of erotic
experiences. Knowing Von Triers previous work, this wont be the sexy tale that
we’re expecting.
Another notorious little
director is Harmony Korine. The
maker of Gummo and Julien Donkey Boy, is often criticised
for his controversial subject matters and grim style. Spring Breakers stars former Disney
actresses Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens as armed robbers who
are trying to accumulate enough money to go on a spring break. This isn’t
Korine’s usual territory so God only knows what he has in store for audiences
this time.
Finally, a rare occurrence in
the world of filmmaking will take place next year. One director is seeing his
film turned into an American adaptation, while he himself is also making an
American film. Park Chan Wook is the
director who finds himself in this unique position. Stoker (1st March)
is his newest film and marks his first venture into the English language.
Starring Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska, it looks at the
suspicions a young girl has about her mysterious uncle following the death of
her father. Only a few months after that release, Wook’s own Oldboy film from 2003 is being
American-ised by Spike Lee of all
people. With a cast that includes Samuel
L Jackson, Josh Brolin and Elizabeth
Olsen, the talent on show should indicate that this will be slightly better
than other American remakes.