vonDread (Level 24)

I've officially lost all interest in this site. Thank you Bernstein Braum, or whatever the fuck your name is.

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Top 20 Most Anticipated Movies of 2012

If Guillermo Del Toro didn't step away from directing The Hobbit, I imagine it would be pretty high on the list. As it is, more Peter Jackson Middle-Earth is all well and good, but I can't say I'm as excited about it as the following.

Update: Since World War Z's been pushed back, I guess that opens up a spot for the sequel I never thought I would give two shits about, since the original movie was godawful. But yes, I am looking forward to G.I. Joe: Retaliation more than The Hobbit.

	1. John Dies at the End If you've never heard of this, then you can't possibly get what a big deal it is to see this is an actual movie that's actually happening. With a real director (genre master Don Coscarelli of Phantasm and Bubba Ho-Tep fame) and real actors (Clancy Brown, Doug Jones, and Paul Motherfucking Giamatti) even.
	2. The Cabin in the Woods I had no idea just how ambitious and genre-bending this was going to be until I saw the trailer (which shot it to the top of this list). I should've known, since it's co-written and produced by Joss Whedon.
	3. The Dark Knight Rises Tom Hardy has one of the most badass voices ever, and I could understand what he was saying just fine. I'm with Nolan on this one, fuck all the haters.
	4. The Avengers 'Nuff said? 'Nuff said.
	5. Brave Thank you Pixar for laying off the sequels this year. And for replacing Reese Witherspoon with Kelly Macdonald. Definitely a trade-up.
	6. Looper Rian Johnson's next one sounds like something from the mind of Philip K. Dick. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a futuristic time-travelling hitman, recognizes one of his targets as his future self, Bruce Willis. Definitely wins the prize for most awesome premise of any 2012 movie. I'm not too worried about the execution either.
	7. Django Unchained Tarantino honestly hasn't disappointed me yet, and I can't see this being his first movie that does.
	8. Stoker Chan-wook Park's English-language debut. He didn't even need Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Jacki Weaver, or Philip Glass for the movie to make this list, but he got them anyway.
	9. Gangster Squad Yes, I am looking forward to this more than Prometheus, Spider-Man, James Bond, or The Hobbit (which doesn't even make this list!). Why? It's a '40s Los Angeles crime drama with Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, and Mireille Enos by the director of Zombieland. All the special effects in the world can't top that.
	10. Prometheus That being said, the obvious Alien prequel does look amazing.
	11. Skyfall It's a good thing Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond since he'll be sticking around for a while. Skyfall definitely boasts the best director the entire franchise has ever had (and probably the best cast too). But I'm still unsure how Mendes is going to handle directing action, otherwise this would be higher on the list.
	12. Seven Psychopaths Returning champion Martin McDonagh (In Bruges) assembles a mind-blowing cast for this strange tale of screenwriters, dog kidnappers, and gangsters. He's joined this time by Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson (replacing Mickey Rourke), Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Tom Waits, with Abbie Cornish and Olga Kurylenko to boot.
	13. The Amazing Spider-Man Would also be higher on the list, especially with the pedigree of its director and cast, but the awful make-up design for the Lizard has me worried. And I'm afraid the origin story might be retreading too much ground. We'll see I guess.
	14. Lawless Aussie John Hillcoat adapts a novel about Depression-era bootleggers from a screenplay by his buddy Nick Cave. The hot shit cast includes Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Shia LaBeouf, Mia Wasikowska, Gary Oldman, and Guy Pearce. Fucking hell this is going to rule.
	15. Killing Them Softly Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) finally returns with a movie that looks and sounds like a perfect fit for him, with a stellar cast including Brad Pitt, Ben Mendelsohn, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta, and Sam Shepard.
	16. Argo I'll bet Affleck goes 3 for 3 with this, but I really wish he'd just restrict himself to directing. Nonetheless, this is going to be the most insane "based on a true story" movie to come this year, I have no doubt. If you're not familiar with the events it depicts, read this.
	17. Lockout Taken meets Escape From New York sounds good to me. And the trailer sells the SHIT out of it. Why isn't Guy Pearce a bigger star?
	18. ParaNorman A horror-themed stop-motion movie from a bunch of dudes who worked on Corpse Bride and Coraline? Yes please.
	19. Cosmopolis Despite the presence of Robert Pattison, who for the remainder of his on-screen career is going to have a harder time winning me over than Leonardo DiCaprio did. But if David Cronenberg is okay with him, then at least I'll give him a chance.
	20. G.I. Joe Retaliation A good trailer can make all the difference. This would've been on my list of movies to catch on cable or Netflix without the perfectly cut, nerdgasm-inducing original trailer set to that remixed White Stripes song. But The Rock, Bruce Willis, ninjas fighting on a goddamn mountainside, Cobra taking over the Whitehouse, general badassery on display, and total lack of Marlon Wayans' presence actually has me excited for this.