2012 PREVIEW: A Peek at Some Cool-Looking Movies
While 2011 was a fairly tepid year at the movies, 2012 looks downright hot.
Here, in alphabetical order -- with tentative release dates -- are some promising titles on the cinematic horizon:
“The Avengers” Superhero extravaganza featuring all the original actors as Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Nick Fury and the Black Widow, plus newcomers Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Mark Ruffalo as Hulk. (5/4)
“The Dark Knight Rises” Final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy adds to the cast Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway (as Catwoman). (7/20)
“Django Unchained” Quentin Tarantino writes and directs this 19th-century story of a slave-turned-bounty-hunter seeking to rescue his wife from a cruel master. I’m no Tarantino fan, but this cast is irresistible: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Sacha Baron Cohen, Don Johnson -- and Leonardo DiCaprio as the bad guy. (12/25)
“The Expendables 2” With an action cast so great you can list them by last name: Stallone, Norris, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, Li, Willis, Lundgren and Statham. Bring it on! (8/17)
“Gravity” Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in a sci-fi movie from director Alfonso Cuaron (“Children of Men”). Count me in. (11/21)
“The Great Gatsby” New version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic from director Baz Luhrmann; starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. (12/25)
“Great Hope Springs” Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones get marriage counseling from Steve Carell. Nuff said. (12/14)
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Peter Jackson reunites most of his “LOTR” cast (Wood, Bloom, McKellen, Blanchett, Holm, Lee, Serkis, Weaving) for this first of two installments based on Tolkien’s 1937 novel. Also starring Stephen Fry and Martin Freeman. (12/14)
“The Hunger Games” Much-anticipated version of Suzanne Collins’ smash bestseller, starring Jennifer Lawrence (Oscar-nominated last year for “Winter’s Bone”), Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson. (3/23)
“Les Miserables” Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena-Bonham Carter star in this musical version of Victor Hugo’s novel, from director Tom Hooper (“King’s Speech”). (12/7)
“Lincoln” Spielberg epic with Daniel-Day Lewis in the title role. Also starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field as Lincoln’s wife. Script by John Logan (“Hugo,” “Gladiator”). (December)
“Lock-Out” Check out this premise from imdb.com: “A man wrongly convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage against the U.S. is offered his freedom if he can rescue the president's daughter from an outer-space prison taken over by violent inmates.” Acknowledged as “‘Taken’ in space” by producer Luc Besson, it features “Taken’s” Maggie Grace as the endangered daughter. (4/20)
“Looper” Nifty-looking sci-fi about a bounty hunter who kills people sent back from the future -- and then learns that his next target is an older version of himself. With Emily Blunt, Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is clearly about to have a banner year. (9/28)
“Nero Fiddled” Formerly titled “The Bop Decameron,” the new Woody Allen pic stars Alec Baldwin, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Penelope Cruz, Alison Pill, Roberto Benigni and -- after a six-year absence -- Allen himself. Filmed in Rome. (TBA)
“Prometheus” Neither the previews nor director Ridley Scott reveal much of the plot for this highly anticipated sci-fi opus whose storyline reportedly precedes Scott’s landmark thriller “Alien” (1979). Starring Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce and Idris Elba. (6/8)
“Premium Rush” A dirty cop (Michael Shannon) pursues a bike messenger (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) with a hot package in this actioner from first-time director David Koepp, who has written some terrific scripts (“Jurassic Park,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Spider-Man”). Koepp wrote this one too. (8/24)
“The Raven” Fictionalized story of Edgar Allan Poe on the trail of a serial killer -- with John Cusack playing Poe. (3/9)
“Safe House” Hot-looking thriller starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. (2/10)
“Skyfall” Fifty years after the Bond movies kicked off with “Dr. No,” Daniel Craig makes his third appearance as 007 in this deftly plotted entry; with Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Javier Bardem as the villain. Directed by Sam Mendes (“American Beauty,” “Road to Perdition”). (11/9)
Also looking good: “Act of Valor,” with real soldiers in the cast (2/24), Ben Affleck’s “Argo” (9/14), “Gangster Squad” (10/19), “John Carter” (3/9), “The Lorax” (3/2), “Silent House” (3/9) and “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” a romantic road-trip apocalypse movie starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley (4/20).
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