The Specialists

December

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
It’s unfortunate that the Lord of the Rings movies were made before The Hobbit. If the books had been adapted in order, they could have built from the simpler, more personal story of Bilbo Baggins to the grand epic of the trilogy. What we get instead is a ridiculously bloated prequel that’s trying too hard to be as big (and lucrative) as its predecessor. Which isn’t to say that the first Hobbit movie was bad, but its runtime was definitely padded, and the relentless action sequences started to get a little tiring. Still, I’m eager to see some of the iconic scenes shown in this trailer. (But what’s going on with Legolas? He looks like he’s made out of plastic.)

47 Ronin
This looks really cool. I just wish that it starred pretty much anyone but Keanu Reeves.

Janurary

I, Frankenstein
I’ve never read the comic this is based on, but it seems like the kind of thing that works a lot better on the page than on the screen. An immortal Frankenstein’s monster, who looks like he’s just stepped out of an underwear ad, fights a horde of angels? Demons? I really don’t know. Looks pretty goofy.

February

RoboCop
I have a feeling that if this weren’t a remake, I’d probably think it looked pretty cool. But I’m so tired of the remake and reboot treadmill we’ve been on for so long. Also, what’s up his flesh arm? I thought we agreed on total body prosthesis. Now lose the arm, okay?

March

300: Rise of an Empire
This seems like a sequel that no one was asking for, and about five years too late.

April

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
I am an unabashed Marvel Studios fanboy, and I’m really excited for this one. I love that the tone is so different from the first one and that it’s taking the Marvel cinematic universe in a different direction. (But where is our Guardians of the Galaxy trailer?)

May

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
I didn’t hate the first Amazing Spider-Man movie, but it was nothing special. I liked Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, but I’m completely uninterested in whatever intrigue they’re trying to set up for Peter’s parents. This trailer hints at some pretty cool action (and possibly the best Spidey costume yet — check out those eyes!), but it also seems to be going down the 1990s Batman road of cramming way too many villains into a movie. It seems pretty obvious that they’re trying to set up the Sinister Six for a later movie, but it seems too fast.

Godzilla
I like the restraint of this trailer and the way that they’re teasing out the reveal of Godzilla. Also, it pretty much has to be better than the last American Godzilla movie.

X-Men: Days of Future Past
This is looking pretty promising. I liked X-Men: First Class, and I think it’s pretty cool that Fox was able to bring back so much of the cast from its two different eras of X-movies to pull of this classic time travel story. Also, having Bryan Singer return to direct is a plus. On the other hand, if it’s not handled well, this story could prove to be a giant mess. Fingers crossed.

Maleficent
Disney is so shameless about milking its classic properties. Angelina Jolie looks pretty good in the costume, but that’s not nearly enough to justify this movie’s existence.

June

Edge of Tomorrow
I’m not sure about the Starship-Troopers-Meets-Groundhog-Day premise, but I’m intrigued by the combat scenes, which look like something right out of Robert Heinlein’s dreams.

July

Jupiter Ascending
The Wachowskis have a knack for making cool-looking movies that think they’re a lot smarter than they are, but I have to admit that this looks really damn cool. This is the rare movie that I am interested in seeing solely because of the visuals (although they went a little crazy with Channing Tatum’s guyliner).