Our Top-Ten for 2012
It’s hard to dispute that 2011 was a very good year for geek-a-zoid flicks–but the best is yet to come! As the year comes to a close, we felt it was only fitting to take a quick peek under-the-skirt at some of the very best sci-fi, action and of course, super hero films coming on the 2012 horizon.
1. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance: (February 17, 2012) The Pontificator (TP) - Nicholas Cage returns to the big screen as Johnny Blaze and I can't wait to see if Hollywood has learned from all the other super hero success. The Devil (Ciaran Hinds) is back (just like the bad penny he is) and wants to take human form and only the Ghost Rider can stop him. This time he's in Europe, so strap on cause I have a feeling speed isn't going to be an issue. The word is that the special effects have seen some major upgrades, so here's hoping the story can match. It doesn't hurt that Idris Elba is in this as well.
2. Prometheus: (June 8, 2012) Arth Vader (AV)–the legendary Ridley Scott returns to direct another installment to his definitive Alien franchise. The prequel horror/thriller, Prometheus chronicles a team of space explorers who discover a clue to mankind’s origins on Earth, leading them on a deep space journey to discover some dark (and acid-for-blood-filled) secrets. With an awesome cast that includes Michael “Magneto” Fassbender, lovely Charlize Theron and the stunning Noomi Rapace, we will be treated to more of H.R. Giger's incredibly creepy, surrealist and fascinating Alien creations. This will be one for the record books, Ponty; “ … game over, man, game over!!”
3. Amazing Spider-Man: (July 3, 2012) TP - After seeing the trailer, I can hardly wait for this new installment of Spider-Man. Putting us in Spidey's perspective is simply brilliant and adds a new and exciting feel to the character. I admit, at first I couldn't get excited, but Andrew Garfield looks great as both Peter Parker and Spidey. Add Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey and introduce the Lizard (Rhys Ifans)...finally, and this is looking more and more like a bonafide summer blockbuster! They even completed the package with the traditional cameo appearance of Stan Lee...now how cool is that!
4. The Dark Knight Rises: (July 20, 2012) AV– Holy Bat-gasm–it’s another Dark Kight flick! Christopher Nolan will bring his prolific Dark Knight trilogy to a close with The Dark Knight Rises, taking place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. The villainous Bane (Tom Hardy) descends on Gotham, forcing the Batman to resurface after being the fall guy for Harvey Dent. Christian Bale returns as Bats accompanied by franchise favs Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman and joined by the beautiful and talented Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman. I’ll admit, I’m more than a little giddy over this one.
5. Superman: Man of Steel: (June 14, 2013) TP - Even though it's not coming out until 2013, I'm "super" excited now. Why? Lets count the ways. 1.) Director of Watchmen and 300, Jack Snyder. 2.) Immortals star Henry Cavill as Superman. 3.) Russel Crowe, Kevin Costner and Laurence Fishburne all in the same film! 4.) No more Lex Luthor, we're getting General Zod right from the jump! Played by Michael Shannon, his hardcore sinister look alone has given me kryptonite goosebumps. This movie is taking everything back to the drawing board and for once...I agree with the idea. Here's hoping Warner Brothers can recapture the magic of Superman and take it to a level that exceeds every previous rendition. Up, up and away!
6. The Avengers: (May 4, 2012) AV–“And there came a day…” when the granddaddy of ALL super-hero movies hit the big screen! Banding together for the first time, Earth’s mightiest heroes, The Avengers comes to wallop a cineplex box office near you. Change your shorts now kids, this one’s got Iron Man (Robert Doweny, Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chirs Hemsworth), The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson–xoxo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and a CGI-ed Hulk (with Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and–gulp!–Lou Ferigno as the voice of Hulk!) who all band together under the watchful eye (pun intended) of Nick (Sam Jackson) Fury. I dare say, as an avid Avengers reader since 1975, my heart skips a beat just thinking about this one! I predict an obliterated box office to the tune of more than $400 million—Fan boys Assemble!
7. The Hobbit : (December 14, 2012) TP - With the worldwide success of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, this movie has to be one of the most anticipated films of 2012. Peter jackson returns once again to take us on a wild adventure through Middle Earth. speaking of "returns", Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom and Christopher Lee are all on deck once again! This will be the first of two films with the second one coming out sometime in 2013. The magic of these movies in undeniable and it's expected that this movie will meet all expectations that the trilogy has imbedded into fans everywhere. With goblins, trolls and the dragon, Smaug...plus Gollum and the One Ring, I can't fathom this movie being anything less than absolutely epic.
8. John Carter: (March 9, 2012) AV–ask Arth Vader about the new John Carter and a series of colorful animated question marks start swirling around his head. Almost as legendary as Tarzan, Sci-fi mage Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars is reimagined by–uhh, Disney?–for the big screen. The off-world adventures of ex-confederate soldier John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) looks awesome in the debut trailer(s), if not a little pointless. While Disney holds a long, credible history for visually stunning movies, their movies run the gamut from WOW! To WTF?!? The veteran talents of Bryan Cranston, Willem Dafoe, Lynn Collins, Thomas Hayden Church and the heart-stopping Polly Walker should help. Here’s to hoping…
9. Underworld: Awakening: (January 20, 2012) TP - Kate Beckinsale returns as the vampire Selene in this fourth installment of the Underworld movies. This time around, she awakens to find that humanity has discovered the existence of both the Vampires and the Lycans and has set out to eradicate both species. I don't expect this to be anything like Twilight and I'm glad it won't be. Selene is coming with knives, swords, guns and an array of martial arts moves to kick some serious human and Lycan butt. Hopefully it isn't all just more of the same, although that was good, and they break some new ground in every aspect of the film.
10. Men In Black 3: (May 25, 2012) AV–Director Barry Sonnenfeld (finally!) will round out the MIB franchise with Men in Black 3. The film chronicles Agent J’s time-travel to the early days of Agent K with a stunning all-star cast. The usual MIB suspects Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Rip Torn are joined by the lovely Alice Eve, silly Billy Hader, the elegant Emma Thompson and Josh Brolin as young Agent K (with voice-overs by Jones that will be both funny and disturbing). I wonder if Smith or newcomer, actress and singing diva Nicole Scherzinger will spearhead the soundtrack. Either way, MIB3 should be… (ahem) out-of-this-world fun.
1. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance: (February 17, 2012) The Pontificator (TP) - Nicholas Cage returns to the big screen as Johnny Blaze and I can't wait to see if Hollywood has learned from all the other super hero success. The Devil (Ciaran Hinds) is back (just like the bad penny he is) and wants to take human form and only the Ghost Rider can stop him. This time he's in Europe, so strap on cause I have a feeling speed isn't going to be an issue. The word is that the special effects have seen some major upgrades, so here's hoping the story can match. It doesn't hurt that Idris Elba is in this as well.
2. Prometheus: (June 8, 2012) Arth Vader (AV)–the legendary Ridley Scott returns to direct another installment to his definitive Alien franchise. The prequel horror/thriller, Prometheus chronicles a team of space explorers who discover a clue to mankind’s origins on Earth, leading them on a deep space journey to discover some dark (and acid-for-blood-filled) secrets. With an awesome cast that includes Michael “Magneto” Fassbender, lovely Charlize Theron and the stunning Noomi Rapace, we will be treated to more of H.R. Giger's incredibly creepy, surrealist and fascinating Alien creations. This will be one for the record books, Ponty; “ … game over, man, game over!!”
3. Amazing Spider-Man: (July 3, 2012) TP - After seeing the trailer, I can hardly wait for this new installment of Spider-Man. Putting us in Spidey's perspective is simply brilliant and adds a new and exciting feel to the character. I admit, at first I couldn't get excited, but Andrew Garfield looks great as both Peter Parker and Spidey. Add Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey and introduce the Lizard (Rhys Ifans)...finally, and this is looking more and more like a bonafide summer blockbuster! They even completed the package with the traditional cameo appearance of Stan Lee...now how cool is that! 
4. The Dark Knight Rises: (July 20, 2012) AV– Holy Bat-gasm–it’s another Dark Kight flick! Christopher Nolan will bring his prolific Dark Knight trilogy to a close with The Dark Knight Rises, taking place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. The villainous Bane (Tom Hardy) descends on Gotham, forcing the Batman to resurface after being the fall guy for Harvey Dent. Christian Bale returns as Bats accompanied by franchise favs Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman and joined by the beautiful and talented Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman. I’ll admit, I’m more than a little giddy over this one. 
5. Superman: Man of Steel: (June 14, 2013) TP - Even though it's not coming out until 2013, I'm "super" excited now. Why? Lets count the ways. 1.) Director of Watchmen and 300, Jack Snyder. 2.) Immortals star Henry Cavill as Superman. 3.) Russel Crowe, Kevin Costner and Laurence Fishburne all in the same film! 4.) No more Lex Luthor, we're getting General Zod right from the jump! Played by Michael Shannon, his hardcore sinister look alone has given me kryptonite goosebumps. This movie is taking everything back to the drawing board and for once...I agree with the idea. Here's hoping Warner Brothers can recapture the magic of Superman and take it to a level that exceeds every previous rendition. Up, up and away!
7. The Hobbit : (December 14, 2012) TP - With the worldwide success of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, this movie has to be one of the most anticipated films of 2012. Peter jackson returns once again to take us on a wild adventure through Middle Earth. speaking of "returns", Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom and Christopher Lee are all on deck once again! This will be the first of two films with the second one coming out sometime in 2013. The magic of these movies in undeniable and it's expected that this movie will meet all expectations that the trilogy has imbedded into fans everywhere. With goblins, trolls and the dragon, Smaug...plus Gollum and the One Ring, I can't fathom this movie being anything less than absolutely epic.
8. John Carter: (March 9, 2012) AV–ask Arth Vader about the new John Carter and a series of colorful animated question marks start swirling around his head. Almost as legendary as Tarzan, Sci-fi mage Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars is reimagined by–uhh, Disney?–for the big screen. The off-world adventures of ex-confederate soldier John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) looks awesome in the debut trailer(s), if not a little pointless. While Disney holds a long, credible history for visually stunning movies, their movies run the gamut from WOW! To WTF?!? The veteran talents of Bryan Cranston, Willem Dafoe, Lynn Collins, Thomas Hayden Church and the heart-stopping Polly Walker should help. Here’s to hoping…
9. Underworld: Awakening: (January 20, 2012) TP - Kate Beckinsale returns as the vampire Selene in this fourth installment of the Underworld movies. This time around, she awakens to find that humanity has discovered the existence of both the Vampires and the Lycans and has set out to eradicate both species. I don't expect this to be anything like Twilight and I'm glad it won't be. Selene is coming with knives, swords, guns and an array of martial arts moves to kick some serious human and Lycan butt. Hopefully it isn't all just more of the same, although that was good, and they break some new ground in every aspect of the film.
10. Men In Black 3: (May 25, 2012) AV–Director Barry Sonnenfeld (finally!) will round out the MIB franchise with Men in Black 3. The film chronicles Agent J’s time-travel to the early days of Agent K with a stunning all-star cast. The usual MIB suspects Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Rip Torn are joined by the lovely Alice Eve, silly Billy Hader, the elegant Emma Thompson and Josh Brolin as young Agent K (with voice-overs by Jones that will be both funny and disturbing). I wonder if Smith or newcomer, actress and singing diva Nicole Scherzinger will spearhead the soundtrack. Either way, MIB3 should be… (ahem) out-of-this-world fun. 
I'm really excited about Superman: Man of Steel...
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