My Most Anticipated Movies of 2013

2012 is quickly coming to an end, and the last week of the year is full of some highly anticipated major releases, such as Les Miserables and Django Unchained (both of which made this list last year), while others won't make it to the Ohioan shores until mid-January or later (Amour and Zero Dark Thirty, I'm looking at you).  Even with all these great movies, it's hard not to start getting excited about all the great movies coming out next year.  Here are the ten 2013 releases - along with a slew of honorable mentions - that I'm most excited to get my eyes and ears on.

Michael Fassbender and Steve McQueen

1. Twelve Years a Slave - Steve McQueen's follow-up to Shame tops this list for many reasons.  First: did you see Shame?  The film featured one of the best performances in recent (or distant) memory by Michael Fassbender, and the film was gorgeous, dark, and brutal, all qualities that McQueen will likely bring to this story of a man living in New York in the mid-1800s who is captured and sold into slavery. The cast is embarrassingly good: Fassbender is back, along with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt, Quvenzhane Wallis, Dwight Henry, Adepero Oduye, Scoot McNairy, Paul Dano, and Paul Giamatti.  One has to wonder if this will be the film that brings a McQueen film into the Oscar game; Shame was too racy for the Academy's more conservative tastes, but this film, if executed well (and I expect it will be), could be a major awards player. (TBD)

2. I'm So Excited - I recently posted the wonderful teaser trailer for Pedro Almodovar's latest film, a light-hearted comedy that appears to take place mostly on an airplane.  The plot details are being kept under wraps, but even so, with Almodovar behind the camera, the film easily earns its spot on this list.  Almodovar is one of the most distinctive auteurs out there; his films feature a flair for melodrama, dark labyrinthine scripts, and deeply-felt performances.  I'm So Excited looks to be more fun than the director's usual stuff, and the cast is full of previous collaborators like Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Cecilia Roth, and Blanca Suarez.  I'm So Excited is sure to be a treat for Almodovar's loyal fans, and curious movie-goers who happen to stumble into the theater. (November 22)

3. Her - Her is the movie on this list that I know the least about, but like I'm So Excited, the director's pedigree is enough to launch it to a prominent spot.  Spike Jonze wrote and directed the film, which centers on a lonely writer (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with a new operating system on his computer that is designed to follow any command he gives it, a la Ella Enchanted, or something.  Joining Phoenix in the cast are Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, Rooney Mara, and Samantha Morton.  The film represents Jonze's first solo screenwriting effort, and with a slew of incredible movies under his belt (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Where the Wild Things Are), I can't wait to see his vision brought to the big screen once again.  (TBD)

4. The Great Gatsby - For the first time ever, a movie makes my Most Anticipated List two years in a row.  Baz Luhrmann's gorgeous 3-D adaptation of the great American novel was originally scheduled for a Christmas release, but was delayed by Warner Bros. to serve as a bit of early summer counter-programming.  The new release date seems like a nice fit, as the action of the novel/movie unfolds in the heat of the summer (who can forget how sticky Fitzgerald's prose was when the characters go into the city on a steamy afternoon?).  Luhrmann's films always provide plenty to look at, so even if the novel doesn't translate successfully to the screen (a la the 1974 adaptation starring Robert Redford), The Great Gatsby will be a lush visual dream; hopefully, it'll be worth a literary anomaly worth the additional 3-D surcharge, like Hugo or Life of Pi . (May 10)

5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - While the first installment in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy failed to thrill me the way the Lord of the Rings movies did a decade ago, the film's final moments have me looking forward to seeing Bilbo and the gang continue their journey to the Lonely Mountain.  Aside from finally getting a proper look at Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is going to have a very big year, indeed), we'll get to see more of the Necromancer (also Cumberbatch), Beorn, and the elves of Mirkwood.  Based on Andy Serkis's name being listed amongst the cast, I imagine we'll also see Gollum venture out of his cave in search of the precious, and any excuse to see more of Gollum is good enough for me.  I only hope the film is more focused on its central narrative, and less concerned about weaving a completionist history of Middle-earth.  At the very least, I'm hoping for less Radagast. (December 13)

6. The Wolf of Wall Street - After taking a short break from his favorite leading man, Martin Scorsese reteams with Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall Street, about a stockbroker who refuses to cooperate in a massive fraud case that involves widespread corruption in the financial system, including mob activity.  It'll be a return to the more mature worlds Scorsese usually explores, after his wonderful fantasy adventure Hugo.  The castalso includes Jonah Hill, Jean Dujardin, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Spike Jonze, and Jon Favreau.  Expect sharply dressed men (just look at that picture of Leo) and lots of cursing, courtesy of screenwriter Terrence Winter, who has worked on The Sopranos and Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire, and won a few Emmys doing so. (TBD)

7. The Spectacular Now - I've just started reading Tim Tharp's young adult novel, and after only a dozen short chapters or so, I'm already in love with narrator/protagnoist Sutter Keely (the great Miles Teller in the movie), a compassionate, goofy high schooler with a penchant for drinking and a love for the female gender as a whole.  He seizes the day and tries to appreciate each moment, and after messing things up with his "beautiful fat girlfriend" Cassidy (Brie Larson), Sutter sets his sights on a social outcast (Shailene Woodley) who he hopes to help get the most out of life.  The great cast also includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Kyle Chandler, but the main reason I'm excited for the film, which premieres at Sundance, is because Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter, the screenwriting duo behind (500) Days of Summer, wrote the script.  I'm expecting it to be spectacular. (TBD)

8. Much Ado About Nothing - With the massive success of The Avengers earlier this year, Joss Whedon has sky-rocketed from a beloved geek god with a bevy of cult hits under his belt to a bonafide Hollywood heavy-weight whose near future is dominated by overseeing the ever-expanding Marvel universe.  Thankfully, right after finishing The Avengers, Whedon gathered a group of his friends to shoot a black-and-white, modern-day take on one of Shakespeare's finest comedies.  The film is full of Whedon regulars like Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz, and Alexis Denisof, and the simple aesthetic approach should let the language and cast alike shine. It'll be a nice oasis of cleverness and wit in the explosion-filled summer movie season. (June 21)

9. August: Osage County - Tracy Letts adapts his own play for the big screen, with John Wells (The Company Men) set to direct.  The film centers on the Weston family, full of dysfunction and trying to overcome their differences as the family's alcoholic patriarch goes missing.  The play raked in a slew of awards, including the Pulitzer and five Tonys, but the main reason I'm excited for the film adaptation is the jaw-dropping cast: Meryl Streep, Julie Roberts, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney, Sam Shepard, and Abigail Breslin.  I can already hear them accepting the SAG award for best ensemble. (TBD)

Concept art from the film

10. Frozen - In recent years, Disney has shown a new devotion to producing high-quality animated fare, likely thanks to John Lasseter's leadership.  While films like Bolt and (especially) this year's Wreck-It Ralph prove that the studio can craft funny, sweet stories in all sorts of settings, there's nothing like a classic Disney fairy tale.  Frozen is the latest in the long line of such films, about a young girl (Kristin Bell) who joins forces with a mountain climber (the just-announced Jonathan Groff) to travel through perilous territory to find the Snow Queen (Idina Menzel) and plead with her to lift the wintry curse that plagues their land.  Broadway composer Robert Lopez (who recently provided music for Winnie the Pooh) and his wife Kristin Anderson-Lopez are providing the music, which should sound great with such talented singers in the cast (including The Book of Mormon's Josh Gad, too). (November 27)

Terrence Howard and Oprah Winfrey in The Butler

Honorable Mentions: George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are adrift in space in Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity (October 18); Matthew McConaughey stars as a homophobe diagnosed with HIV/AIDS who smuggles non-FDA-approved drugs into the country in Dallas Buyers Club (TBD); a trio of great-looking blockbusters are sure to empty fans' wallets: Man of Steel (June 14), Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17) (another one with Benedict Cumberbatch), and Iron Man 3 (May 3); Katniss and gang are back in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (November 22); Charlotte Gainsbourg stars as Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac (TBD); the decades-spanning story of The Butler who served under numerous presidents (TBD); Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney in the tale of bringing Mary Poppins to the big screen in Saving Mr. Banks (December 20); Naomi Watts plays Diana (TBD); Michael Shannon and Jeff Nichols reunite for Mud (TBD); Gangster Squad finally makes its way to the big screen (January 11); and Mike and Sulley's school days take center stage in Monsters University (June 21).