Honorable Mentions
The Hobbit: There and Back Again
Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Dumb and Dumber To
Horrible Bosses 2
10. 22 Jump Street
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum
Release Date: June 12, 2014
You get it? It's the sequel to 21 Jump Street! Sadly, I think this will be a down year for comedies, but this movie looks to be promising. I didn't originally like the first film, but after watching it a few more times, it grew on me. I hope the sequel keeps the same type of vibe, but changes the plot dramatically. Unfortunately after looking at the trailer, I don't think that is the case. The plot seems to be exactly the same, but they're just in college this time. I have complete faith that there will be some laugh-out-loud moments, but I just hope this doesn’t turn into a ‘Hangover 2’ type of sequel. Seeing them in college though could be funny, and I always love seeing “College douche-bags” in films and we're almost bound to see one in this movie.
9. 300: Rise of an Empire
Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Lena Headey, Eva Green
Release Date: March 7, 2014
Epic! This is the type of sequel where I don't care if it is the
same exact plot as the first movie. As long as it's as badass as the first, then this should
be a good movie. I really liked the first 300, and I'm assuming that this one
will keep the same type of action, but just on an even bigger scale. A lot of the
cast members returned and so did Zack Snyder as Producer, who was the director
of original.
8. A Million Ways to Die in the West
Starring: Seth McFarland, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson
Release Date: May 30, 2014
We're at #8 and we've already reached the highest ranked comedy on the list. Like I said before, this will be a down year for comedies but hopefully this movie will fill the void. The main reason this makes my top ten is because of the cast, and because it's a Seth McFarland movie. Although I'm not a big of him being an actor in the film, I am a huge fan of Seth McFarland's type of comedy. I thought Ted was hilarious, and I’m sure this movie will have that same type of humor. Also, it revolves around how messed up the old west was, so it could be a very funny combination.
7. Captain America: The Winter
Soldier
Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan
Release Date: April 3, 2014
2014 will be another year where super hero movies thrive and kill
at the box office. Can Marvel do no wrong? It's almost disgusting how much
money their movies make and how almost every one of them is good. The first
Captain America was definitely the weaker of the first phase movies
that came from Marvel, however it was still a solid film. I have no doubt that
this one will be even better, because they have already have confirmed a third
movie. As long as Marvel keeps putting these types of quality movies out, I
will keep seeing them.
6. X-Men: Days of Future Past
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Ian
McKellen, Jennifer Lawrence, Peter Dinklage
Release Date: May 23, 2014
And the super hero movies continue... I'm not the biggest fan of the
X-Men movies. I haven't even seen all of them, but this one looks very good.
This might have been one of the best trailers that I've so far this year. The
concept of this movie is super interesting because they are combining the
characters from the original X-men movies with the prequel movies they made.
I'm always a sucker for time travel movies, and the cast they assembled is
mind-boggling. I’d be very surprised if this movie turn out to be a bust.
5.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Starring: Gary Oldman, Keri Russell
Release Date: May 23, 2014
Another
sequel! This seems to be the year of the sequels, and I still have one more to
go on my list. However unlike 300, I hope this movie takes another angle on the
overall story, which it seems like it will. The movie takes place years after
the events from the first film, and the plague has already came and gone. The
remaining survivors are at an all-out war with Ceaser and his army of monkeys.
What else would you want? This origin story of the ‘Planet of the Apes’ really
fascinates me, and I think they are taking a very dark and in-depth approach to
it, which I like. This movie will grow from the great platform the first film provided, and will become a fully entertaining thriller. Also, just watch the
trailer and try not to get excited over that.
4.
The Amazing Spider Man 2
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Jamie Foxx, Emma Stone, Dane Deehan, Paul Giamatti
Release Date: May 2, 2014
When
Sony decided to reboot the Spider Man property so soon after the first trilogy,
I wasn’t that excited about it. However, I really enjoyed the first ‘Amazing
Spider Man’ movie and especially Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. I liked how
they modernized the characters and the story to make it seem like it could fit
in today’s world. My anticipation for this movie keeps rising as we get closer
to the release date and learn more about this movie. Many critics having been
raving about this film and one in particular has said that this could be the
‘Dark Knight’ of this franchise. Which obviously gets me excited because ‘The
Dark Knight’ is one of my favorite movies and is no doubt the movie that put
Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy as one of the best of all time. As for
Spider Man, that is some pretty high praise for a movie that hasn’t been
released yet, but after thinking about it, I can totally see that. One of the
main reasons ‘The Dark Knight’ is so good, is because the villain drives the
film and I feel that is how this Spider Man sequel will be. The villains are the
characters who make the hero, and are usually the most intriguing. In ‘The
Amazing Spider Man 2’ we are getting three doses of villains. Also, since the origin
story of Spider Man has already been told, they can dive deeper into the
villains’ backgrounds. Jamie Foxx (Electro) and Dane Deehan (Harry Osbourn/Green
Goblin) are phenomenal actors and I feel will they will steal the show in this
movie, which is a good thing. Sony
has already confirmed two more Spider Man movies, a ‘Sinister Six’ and ‘Venom’
movies to follow. They obviously have faith in their villains, and that is great to hear.
3.
Interstellar
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
Release Date: November 7, 2014
I
know less about this movie than any other movie on this list, but I don’t care.
I am giving this a favorable position mainly because of two people, Chirstopher
Nolan and Matthew McConaughey. Nolan is one of my favorite directors, and
Matthew Mcconaughey is having the year of his life. Ever since he graced the
screen with his portrayal of Wooderson in ‘Dazed and Confused’, I have loved
McConaughey as an actor. I am glad now he has gotten some great roles and is
getting the respect/attention he deserves. This movie has a phenomenal actor, a
phenomenal director and movie plot that reads, “A group of explorers make use
of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel
and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage”. Uhhh…yes
please. Until I hear anything more, this movie is right up my alley.
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Benicio Tel Toro, Lee Pace
Release Date: August 1, 2014
Who?
Those were my thoughts exactly. Marvel is taking a risk and rolling out one of
their most unknown properties onto the big screen, and I am super excited.
Here’s a quick bio of the group (they explain more in the trailer); they are a
group of intergalactic misfit warriors who come together to help protect an orb
that can destroy (you guessed it) the universe. They’re like the Avenger’s B
team, but in space. Sounds pretty dumb right? Oh, and I forgot to mention there’s also a gun wielding, talking raccoon, and a walking tree in the group. Still with me?
So before we go any further, I want to state that I have never read a comic
book or even knew who this group was before this movie was announced. However
after learning more about the movie these past few months, I have become overly
intrigued with this film. This is mainly because I can’t wait to see how these
characters fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man, Captain
America and the rest of the crew. This movie will be different from every other
Marvel film that we’ve seen, and I’m excited to see something new. This film
will have a lot of comedic elements to it, and having Chris Pratt (from Parks n
Rec) as a ‘Han Solo type’ lead character is going to be great. However, there
will still be a lot of action as well because these characters are real super
heroes who can kick some ass. For example, one of them is called Drax ‘The
Destroyer’ and the only female, Gamora, is known as “The most dangerous women
in the universe” (#nerdalert). Finally, they have a great cast behind this
movie. Chris Pratt is hilarious and is becoming an established movie star; Zoe
Saldana was great in Avatar, Star Trek, etc.; and Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel
voice Rocket and Groot respectively. It’s hard for me to give this movie
justice, but just watch the trailer and you will understand what I mean.
Uga-Uga-Uga-chaka!
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen
Release Date: May 16, 2014
Godzilla
is back, and it is legit. Get that 1998 version out of your head, because it looks
like this one will be done right. This is a dark, terrifying take on the story,
and I’m enthralled with this idea. Yes the premise is that a large creature
surfaces onto a city, but it looks like this movie is more than that. There
seems to be a certain realistic take on this story that doesn’t make the
premise look so absurd. It almost has a “Rise of the Planet of Apes” or
“Walking Dead” feel to it where the situation is unfathomable, but it sucks you
into this world and makes you feel like this could really happen. Then on top
of that, it takes that apocalyptic idea and raises it to a whole new level. I
have complete faith that this movie will engage me immediately and keep me on
the edge of my seat throughout the entire film. Also, they have assembled a
great cast that is led by Bryan Cranston. From what he has shown on Breaking
Bad, Cranston can go through an array of emotions and really capture your attention. Even in the trailer you can see the emotion he gives and it makes
you believe that he can’t fathom what is happening to his world at that moment.
Once I saw the teaser and the full length trailer, I was completely sold on
this movie and it confirmed everything I hoped for. The trailer also hints at
other monsters appearing and has a nice homage to the original Godzilla. I
believe this will be a breathtaking and thrilling movie that will please many
movie going audiences, and it is my most anticipated movie of 2014.
Sincerely,
The Beef