Happy New Year and welcome to 2013 one and all! The last twelve months truly offered something for all cinematic tastes, with barn-storming Hollywood blockbusters such as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, Joss Whedon’s Avengers Assemble and Sam Mendes’ box office-busting Skyfall sating the appetites of mainstream audiences, whilst arthouse gems such as Michael Haneke’s Amour, Miguel Gomes’ Tabu and Peter Strickland’s Berberian Sound Studio challenged and delighted in equal measure. But what does 2013 have in store, on top of new releases from Kathryn Bigelow, Steven Spielberg and Zack Snyder? A handful of CineVue’s finest contributors have provided a rundown of their own personal Top 5 releases of 2013 below.
Daniel Green, Editor
Top 5 Most Anticipated
1. Nymphomaniac: Danish enfant terrible Lars von Trier may well make his Cannes return with a seemingly incendiary tale of one woman’s 50-year long sexual exploits. Regular collaborators Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård and Udo Kier will all feature. TBC
2. Twelve Years a Slave: Steve McQueen follows up the well-received Shame (2011) with this tale of slavery and brutality it turn-of-the-century America. Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender top a stellar cast. TBC
3. The Double: Submarine (2011) director Richard Ayoade returns to screens with his own unique take on a Feydor Dochevsky novella, starring Jesse Eisenberg as a man haunted by a mysterious doppelgänger.
4. The World’s End: Edgar Wright rounds off the ‘Blood and Ice Cream’ trilogy with this apocalyptic British dramedy. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan all feature. 14 August
4. Her: Spike Jonze may have divided critics with his last effort, the overly neurotic children’s tale Where the Wild Things Are (2010), and his follow-up may well do the same. The re-emerging Joaquin Phoenix stars as a man who ‘falls in love’ with his new operating system – no word of a lie. TBC
Joe Walsh
Top 5 Most Anticipated
1. Stoker: Old Boy director Park Chan-wook draws together an impressive cast that includes Mia Wasikowska, and Nicole Kidman in what looks to be a thrilling horror drama. 1 March
2. Trance: Danny Boyle’s new crime-drama that sees James McAvoy taking the lead in a tale of a fine art auctioneer who gets involved with a gang in an attempt to recover a lost painting. 27 March
3. Monsters University: The sequel to Pixar’s Monsters, Inc sees little-known director Dan Scanlon taking the helm, with return performances from Billy Crystal, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi. 12 July
4. A Late Quartet: Directed by Yaron Ziblerman, the prospect of Christopher Walken and Philip Seymour Hoffman on screen together is enough to get anyone excited. 5 April
5. To the Wonder: Ben Affleck stars in Terrence Malick’s latest as Neil, a man who finds himself torn between his wife (Olga Kurylenko) and his past love (Rachel McAdams). 22 February
Patrick Gamble
Top 5 Anticipated Films
1. Hors Satan: With last year finally seeing the release of his meditative parable on religion, Hadewijch (2009), its nice to see his latest won’t be held in stasis for quite so long. 4 January
2. Cloud Atlas: It’s rare that Hollywood takes a chance with such a sprawling epic and for that reason alone this ‘beautiful mess’ of a film remains a potential highlight of 2013. 22 February
3. The Fifth Season (La Cinquième Saison): Screening towards the end of this year’s Venice film festival, when most critics had packed their bags and departed for their respective homes The Fifth Season went relatively unnoticed. TBC
4. To the Wonder: A resounding flop at its respective screenings in Toronto and Venice, even a poor Malick film is surely more enticing than the majority of films released throughout the year. 22 February
5. Frances Ha: Frances Ha will see Noah Baumbach reunite with Greenberg’s leading lady, Greta Gerwig and has already been lauded as a far superior film to his cherished breakthrough The Squid and the Whale. TBC
John Bleasdale
Top 5 Anticipated Films
1. Django Unchained: Cult American director Quentin Tarantino meets Sergio Corbucci – a match made in Hell, it would seem. Award buzz has already been strong with this one. 18 January
2. Elysium: Exciting new dystopian science fiction from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp. Matt Damon and Jodie Foster are the star names here. 20 September
3. Knight of Cups: The shine is definitely off Malick after the atrocious To the Wonder, but there’s still a lot to get excited about in his Christian Bale star fest. Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman are also set to feature. TBC
4. Inside Llewyn Davis: The Coen Brothers present a 1960s drama/comedy about a struggling folk singer, with rising star Oscar Isaac in the title role and Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan in support. What could possibly go wrong? Answer: Gambit. TBC
5. The Wolf of Wall Street: Marty Scorsese is back in New York, but this time with a whole different set of criminals in this Leonardo DiCaprio-starring tale of corporate greed and corruption. The dollars will fly. TBC
Ben Nicholson
Top 5 Anticipated Films
1. The Grandmaster: It’s hard not to be excited by a new film from Wong Kar Wai and seeing the brilliant Tony Leung as Bruce Lee’s mentor, Yip Man, is a must. TBC
2. Man of Steel: With a new trailer that has Super-fans salivating, it would appear that the Nolan/Snyder team-up of the Kryptonian’s latest incarnation may be on to a winner. 14 June
3. Only God Forgives: Partnering up again after the massive success of Drive (2011), Nicholas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling head to Bangkok for a Thai boxing match. TBC
4. Stoker: South Korean director, Park Chan-wook, makes his English-language debut with a dark and disturbing thriller penned by Wentworth Miller and starring Nicole Kidman. 1 March
5. No: Pablo Larrain is joined by Gael Garcia Bernal for more on Pinochet-era Chile as he brings to a close his loose trilogy after Tony Manero (2008) and Post Mortem (2010). 8 February
Cleaver Patterson
Top 5 Anticipated Films
1. Quartet: Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay and Billy Connolly star in this well-meaning drama directed by American star Dustin Hoffman – what more could you want in terms of star appeal? 1 January
2. Texas Chainsaw 3D: Not only is it a reworking of a 20th century classic, but scream queen Marilyn Burns returns from the said 1974 original – a brilliant bit of marketing, regardless of your thoughts on remakes. 4 January
3. Hitchcock: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren and Scarlett Johansson star in this biopic of the undisputed ‘Master of Suspense’, Alfred Hitchcock. Early reviews have been lukewarm, but the ingredients are there for an award season sleeper hit. 8 February
4. Oz: The Great and Powerful: It undoubtedly won’t be a patch on the original film – what with Judy Garland and the Yellow Brick Road – but from early glimpses featured in the trailers, it’ll be be worth paying just to see the Wicked Witch, fully, in all her green glory. 8 March
5. Sleep Tight (Mientras Duermes): A bona fide hit at 2012’s Film4 FrightFest, the lucky ones are those who will be able to watch it for the first time upon its theatrical release. This Spanish chiller, starring the underrated Luis Tosar, is a real treat for chiller/horror fans. TBC
With all the new movies arriving this summer there are plenty of fantastic posters to build the excitement and hype. If you are looking to print some for your bedroom wall or living room then visit InstantPrint.co.uk
What is your most anticipated film of 2013? Please feel free to leave your comments and suggestions in the box below, and Happy New Year from all of us at CineVue.
Daniel Green
