New Year, New Movies

So it's the start of another year, and one I've been looking forward to very much. Every year is a new start (because no other day can be, apparently) and right now I want to start watching some new films.

I wrote on my other blog last year about my problems with sequels, but 2013 looks to be pretty good. I liked the Hobbit (apart from a few problems with the whole 3D thing - looks like it's 2D for me this year!) and The Desolation of Smaug ought to be the best of the three; from what I remember of the book, Mirkwood will be one of the most terrifying and action-packed parts of the whole thing.

One of my other movies to watch this year is Star Trek Into Darkness, in part because it has Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain but also because the original movie was a sci-fi epic which I loved. Captain Kirk going up against a powerful enemy - apparently already established in the Star Trek 'verse but seemingly unknown to any Trekkie, though rumours abound - someone worse than the Romulans, and since this is a sequel we can get past the establishing character moments and jump straight into the action. Hopefully it'll prove to be as good as, if not better than, the original, but I hope they leave it at that; I'm sure a third movie would simply ruin it.

Of course, not everything is a sequel, and not every sequel will be good. In terms of the former, we have Wreck-it Ralph, a Disney movie featuring an all-star cast of video game characters, including a bad guy who doesn't want to be bad, and a glitch in the game who just wants to hit the big-time. From all the teasers and clips uploaded by Disney onto YouTube, I have to say I'm impressed. I wasn't sure how a video game world could translate to the big screen but the settings and the plot seem pretty damn awesome. This is one film I cannot wait to see.

In terms of the latter, however, we have Riddick. It stars Vin Diesel and Karl Urban, so expect the usual mindless violence as a follow-up to whatever happened in The Chronicles of Riddick. It's been so long since I saw that film, I forget what it was about.

Red 2 is also one I'm wary of, as well as Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World. I've seen RED and that was pretty good, but I can't see how that would lead to a sequel and I'm worried that they're just making it to make money out of what could become a franchise, although it sounds like this was planned from the outset, and the actors seem to want to do it all again - if the love and enthusiasm is there, it'll be a good movie.

As for the other two, well I'm sick to death of superheroes. I didn't see Thor, or Iron Man 2, and quite frankly I'm kinda glad. Avengers was good but after that they're going to try and go even bigger and badder for every single super. And that's just going to get really bad, really fast.

So I'm going to finish up with two movies I do want to see. First up, Pacific Rim. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, when I first heard about it I loved the idea. I get it, it's going to be the exact same thing as Riddick which I ridiculed, but this is going to be a huge, bust-a-gut epic with alien monsters and a whole heap of giant robots. I don't know if you'll remember Spy Kids 3D, but the whole robot fighting bit in that was brilliant, and I'm looking forward to a bigger, more grown-up version of that same thing in Pacific Rim.

The last film I'll discuss is Despicable Me 2. What to say about this? Well, nothing can top those minions, and I don't know what the story's about, but the trailers look promising. Steve Coogan is credited on imdb as a nameless character - is he playing the villain, possibly kidnapping Gru's loveable minions? I can't wait to find out.

So it turns out this year I'll be spending all my money on movie tickets. And that will be money well spent. Before I go, one last thing: save your pennies. You never know when you might need 'em...