Featured

The Young Folks’ Top 10 Most Anticipated for 2013

While it’s fun to look back, it’s way more exhilarating to look forward. 2013 has a ton of cool things in store for us. We decided to highlight which movies, books, games, TV shows, etc. that were are most excited for in the Top 10 lists below! Sound off in the comments what you are most excited for in 2013!

Maxwell Zupke’s Top 10 Most Anticipated for 2013

1. Star Trek Into Darkness

Full disclosure – I’m a Star Wars kind of guy. Star Trek was never my thing, with the silly special effects and hour-long episodes that never found their footing amidst lengthy pseudo-scientific diatribes and sterile philosophical meditations. Then came J.J. Abram’s 2009 blockbuster, and I was won over by the sheer charm and ease with which the cast meshed. Benedict Cumberbatch joins the cast – supposedly as the ubiquitous villain Khan – but I’m frankly more excited to see Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the rest back in action.

2. Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

Okay, okay, this one is a bit of a cheat. Markus Zusak’s new opus has been in the works for years, and was to be released in 2012. This ranking, I suppose, reflects my naive and earnest hope that it will be released. But if it’s anything like Zusak’s previous two works, the beautiful I Am the Messenger and the tear-yanking The Book Thief, Bridge of Clay will be well worth the wait.

3. Native – OneRepublic

To my ears, most modern music carries the same beat. The lyrics are so torrid and pointless, the rhythms tired and flat. But every so often there comes a band that ignites our generation of Tumblr-addicted hipsters to a unanimous chorus of approval. OneRepublic’s new album will be a well-deserved New Year’s treat for ears everywhere.

4. Pacific Rim

Guillermo del Toro’s 2006 fantasy masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth, dealt with the complexity of childhood and innocence as well as the fusion of reality and fairy tales. Now del Toro takes on science fiction – and you can bet cinephiles and geeks will storm the multiplex.

5. The Great Gatsby

A hammy Leonardo DiCaprio performance, an appearance by An Education‘s Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire having a ball tripping Hemingway lines off his tongue? Baz Luhrman’s upcoming summer drama-slash-jukebox-soundtrack-vehicle is one of those that could either be the best film of the year or the worst. Either way, I’m in.

6. To the Wonder

For my part, I was among The Tree of Life‘s detractors – and I am unafraid of the intellectual and artistic derision that statement will doubtless bring on me. What keeps me interested in visionary auteur Terrence Malick’s latest venture into nature shots mixed with hush narration is my recent viewing of his sprawling war epic The Thin Red Line, which – though far from a masterpiece – may contain some of the most beautiful shots ever put to film. To the Wonder is said to be Malick’s most experimental film yet, to which I cry the man works best when working an actual narrative into his philosophy. Either way, Javier Bardem’s (fully articulated and projected!) narration in the trailer is reason enough to see the film.

7. 85th Academy Awards

Even Seth MacFarlane can’t ruin my excitement for this year’s Oscar ceremony. This could be a great watershed year in Academy history – will they choose to honor a classically and canonically great film like Lincoln, mirroring The King’s Speech’s recent win? An electrifying critical lightning rod like Zero Dark Thirty? Or perhaps the crowd-pleasing Argo? This year’s Best Picture decision will influence Oscar ceremonies for years to come.

8. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Yes, the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ groundbreaking novel The Hunger Games was shallow and uneven. Yes, new director Francis Lawrence doesn’t exactly have Gary Ross’s pedigree. Yes, the second book isn’t as good as the first. But there is only one movie that will allow me to get my Philip Seymour Hoffman fix, my Woody Harrelson fix, my Elizabeth Banks fix, and most importantly, my Stanley Tucci fix, all in one two hour popcorn bundle.

9. Gravity

Children of Men mastermind Alfonso Cuarón – okay, okay, the guy who made Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban look dark and pretty – is quite possibly the most audacious and risky movie of the year. It has a cast of only two stars – albeit bankable ones – in George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, who star as two astronauts whose shuttle is destroyed on a routine mission. For the entirety of the film, the two are tethered to each other in the great black nothingness of space. Who wouldn’t want to know how Cuarón thought to make the emptiness of space so visually inspired?

10. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey could not match the focus and intensity of The Lord of the Rings, but nobody could deny the film’s entertainment value. In the next chapter of our hero’s journey, Ian McKellen’s Gandalf and Martin Freeman’s Bilbo will be joined by the always delightful Stephen Fry – and an old friend named Orlando Bloom.

Cat Gioino’s Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2013

10. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

How can you not be excited for this movie? It’s been talked about 2009 and it will finally be released on March 15^th, so of course there’s been a lot of waiting. Plus, it stars Jim Carrey, Steve Buscemi and Steve Carell, so you know it’s going to be hilarious.

9. Man of Steel

Well, being the Kevin Spacey fan I am, of course I’m a bit sad that he won’t show up in this reboot. But his L.A. Confidential costar Russell Crowe will, which does even out. And it’ll be fun to see how Crowe attacks Jor-el differently than Marlon Brando.

8. Pacific Rim

I guess I’m excited for this only because of Comic-Con where I saw a special preview and a talk about the film from Legendary officials. And it is a bit Blade Runner-esque looking, which could only mean great and memorable scenes.

7. Warm Bodies

While I can’t stand the MacGuffin (Alfred Hitchcock’s word for plot movement) of the film, the trailer seems quite entertaining- even though I still think zombies are way over-milked.

6. The Lone Ranger

Armie Hammer was on Conan last week and while it might seem like a modern take on westerns, it’s quite the opposite- a western take on modern society. (that makes sense. . . . sort of).

5. Iron Man 3

It’s the last Iron Man movie, so you can’t just watch the past two and quit now (just like how you can’t quit watching The Simpsons after watching over 20 years of its quality diminishing). Plus, have you seen this awesome looking picture of Ben Kingsley wearing this awesome looking suit while sporting an awesome looking beard? ( http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4042501888/tt1300854). How can you not want to go see this movie?

4. The Wolverine

I’m such a hypocrite when I say this, but I honestly can’t stand spin-offs, sequels or reboots. But maybe it’s the comics my friend made me read that makes me know this movie will be good. It’s like reading The Walking Dead comics and knowing exactly what will happen- but you’re still surprised when it does.

3. Gangster Squad

Have you seen Sean Penn in the trailer? I love this type of film-noir dramas, and like I mentioned before with L.A. Confidential, it has that perfect mixture of grittiness and “vintage” that one would expect in these movies.

2. Now You See Me

While it may not be as original as it seems (Robin Hood?), the premise is that magicians steal money with their magical skills and give it to their audience. Plus, having Michael Caine in there only adds to the mysteriousness, with him in The Prestige, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Italian Job. (Wow, I really am a name dropper).

1. Ender’s Game

Yep, this is my top pick, mostly because I know how amazing the book is so it would be whimsical to see how far the movie version can go. So maybe reading the book might have spoiled the movie for me, but this is a film that you just can’t miss.