Part 2 - Is 2013 the year for nerd cinema?

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Continuing our round up of this years must see Nerd films we take a look at the upcoming movies for the rest of this year Despicable Me 2 (July 2013) - Steve Carell The LONG overdue sequel to the amazing 2010 Chris Meledandri movie starring Steve Carell as villian Gru who adopts 3 young girls in an effort to fulfill his plan to steal the moon.  Gru eventually realises that family is what matters and becomes a good guy - aided by his little yellow Minions who steal the film so much that they even have their own spin off due out Christmas 2014. Monsters University (July 2013) - John Goodman, Billy Crystal The sequel that's actually a prequel explores the beginning of the relationship between the best scare team in the history of Monsters Incorporated - Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan. It's great to see that the whole team are back for the sequel and are joined by Nathan Fillion in the role of Johnny Worthington, president of the Roar Omega Roar fraternity. The Worlds End (July 2013) - Simon Pegg, Nick Frost The third installment of Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy looks set to storm the box office when it opens next month with many cinemas showing the previous two films back to back before a midnight premiere.  Blending equal parts Shaun of the Dead and Falling Skies the story starts with five friends attempting to re-enact a pub crawl from over 20 years earlier and unwittingly becoming the possible saviours of the entire human race!    The Wolverine (July 2013) - Hugh Jackman Hopefully this X-Men spin off will prove to be far better than that god awful Wolverine Origin movie that was released in 2009, the only good part of that film was the genius casting of Liev Schrieber as Sabretooth (although it was still a shame not to see Tyler Mane return to the role).  Early photo's look promising and the fact that this is a 15 instead of a family friendly PG-13 like it's predecessor indicate we'll see a darker story and a meaner Wolverine.  Drawing from Wolverine's Japanese saga storyline, which I'm a big fan of, I'm looking forward to seeing if this Wolverine wants to shred your face or simply sleep on your lap. Pacific Rim (July 2013) - Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba There are three things that make this film awesome - ~ Guillermo Del Toro ~ Big fucking monsters ~ Big ass robots If that doesn't give you a little wood already then you're dead from the waist down and may as well go euthanize yourself right now before you waste more oxygen. R.I.P.D (August 2013) - Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon Adapted from the Dark Horse comic book of the same name Reynolds plays cop Nick Cruz who joins the supernatural Rest In Peace Department after his murder.  Teamed with Bridges veteran agent Roy Pulsipher the pair protect the living from supernatural entities who refuse to pass on to the afterlife whilst attempting to track down Cruz's killer. Kick-Ass 2 (August 2013) - Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Christopher Mintz-Plasse Taylor-Johnson returns in the titular role joining forces with Colonel Stars and Stripes (played by Jim Carrey) to patrol the city and protect the innocent.  Meanwhile Hit-Girl (Moretz) has 'retired' and is trying to enjoy a normal life and supervillian Red Mist (Mintz-Plasse) reinvents himself as The Mother Fucker and attempts to exact revenge on Kick-Ass for killing his father. RED 2 (August 2013) - Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren Following on from the previous film Frank Moses (Willis) is trying to lead a normal life, again, when he's notified that Interpol are hunting for him.  In the process of trying to clear his name he has to disarm a nuclear device in Russia, fend off the amorous advances of an old flame, and avoid being assassinated... all in a days work apparently. Elysium (August 2013) - Matt Damon, Jodie Foster Neill Blomkamp's follow up film to 2009's hugely successful District 9 this sci-fi actioner will follow similiar themes to those explored in D9 such as immigration, health care, and class separation.  Set in a not too distant dystopian future the rich live on a crime free floating city called Elysium whilst everyone else struggles to survive on a dirty, crowded, Earth far below. Riddick - Rule the Dark (September 2013) - Vin Diesel Back to an 'R' rating in the states the new Riddick movie looks alot like a re-hash of the original Pitch Black with Riddick fighting nasty alien beasties in the dark.  Set after Chronicles Diesel's third outing see's him betrayed and left for dead on a desolate planet fighting off bounty hunters attracted by the price on his head.  Karl Urban has been confirmed to reprise his role as Vaako from Chronicles so it will be interesting to see how Twohy and Diesel rounded off the Necromonger's story arc from the last movie. Machete Kills (September 2013 (US)) - Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Mel Gibson Danny Trejo returns as ex-Federale Machete in Robert Rodriguez second Mexploitation flick which features more over the top action and an equally over the top plot.  Mel Gibson joins the cast as the billionaire arms dealer hell bent on starting World War 3 that Machete is sent to stop by the American president (played by Charlie Sheen).  Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez reprise their roles from the original film and there's even a place for Sofia Vergara, Alexa Vega, and Lady Gaga?!? Oldboy (October 2013 (US)) - Josh Brolin Spike Lee's remake of the cult Korean film and Manga of the same name has received positive feedback from viewings of an early rough cut.  Josh Brolin plays the lead role of an executive who is incarcerated in solitary confinement for 20 years with no reason given and is then, just as suddenly, released. Hopefully this remake will be better than the terrible remakes of other cult asian cinema classics like Ringu, Ju-on, and The Eye. Thor: The Dark World (October 2013) - Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston Hemsworth reprises the role of Thor for his third outing as the God of thunder.  Set approximately one year after the end of The Avengers movie Thor must battle Malekith the Accursed (played by Christopher Eccleston) and his army of Dark Elves in order to save the Nine Realms.  Hiddleston returns as Thor's adopted brother Loki, Portman returns as the love interest Jane Foster and we get to discover more of Asgard and it's inhabitants. Ender's Game (October 2013) - Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford Never having read the books I've not been caught up in the hype of this one but considering the following for the series it seems only right to include it here. The series follows Ender Wiggin, a shy but brilliant boy as he's recruited by the military to help defeat a race of aliens called the Formics who have attacked Earth.  The trailer looks stunning and, considering the wealth of source material, this could be another Harry Potter franchise. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (November 2013) - Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson The second film in the series continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark after their victory at the 74th Annual Hunger Games when they must embark on a victory tour as rebellion stirs in the districts. I enjoyed the first film but didn't understand why everyone raved about it so much, it pretty much stole the idea of kids fighting each other in a TV show from Battle Royale and didn't manage to do it with quite so much style.  I hope Catching Fire is better than the first film but I won't be rushing out to see it. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (December 2013) - Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen I'm going to make an admission here... I still haven't seen The Hobbit yet.  I want to see it but, with a baby, finding three hours of time to watch a film is pretty difficult, in addition to that I'm unsure how Peter Jackson can take a book considerably smaller than the Lord of the Rings trilogy and make it into a series of 3 films of nearly 3 hours each. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (December 2013) - Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate I don't know how to put this but... this films kind of a big deal. Set 10 years after the original Anchorman this film finds the news team disbanded and at rock bottom until they are recruited for a 24 hour cable news show in New York City.  Prepare for the triumphant return of Ron, Brian, Champ, and Brick (not forgetting Baxter of course) - News Team Assemble!!!! An honourable mention goes to Sin City: A Dame to Kill For which was due for release in October 2013 but was pushed back to August 2014 whilst this post was being written which sucks but does give us more to look forward to next year.

Continuing our round up of this years must see Nerd films we take a look at the upcoming movies for the rest of this year

Despicable Me 2 (July 2013) - Steve Carell

The LONG overdue sequel to the amazing 2010 Chris Meledandri movie starring Steve Carell as villian Gru who adopts 3 young girls in an effort to fulfill his plan to steal the moon.  Gru eventually realises that family is what matters and becomes a good guy - aided by his little yellow Minions who steal the film so much that they even have their own spin off due out Christmas 2014.

Monsters University (July 2013) - John Goodman, Billy Crystal
The sequel that's actually a prequel explores the beginning of the relationship between the best scare team in the history of Monsters Incorporated - Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan.

It's great to see that the whole team are back for the sequel and are joined by Nathan Fillion in the role of Johnny Worthington, president of the Roar Omega Roar fraternity.



The Worlds End (July 2013) - Simon Pegg, Nick Frost

The third installment of Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy looks set to storm the box office when it opens next month with many cinemas showing the previous two films back to back before a midnight premiere.  Blending equal parts Shaun of the Dead and Falling Skies the story starts with five friends attempting to re-enact a pub crawl from over 20 years earlier and unwittingly becoming the possible saviours of the entire human race!

  

The Wolverine (July 2013) - Hugh Jackman

Hopefully this X-Men spin off will prove to be far better than that god awful Wolverine Origin movie that was released in 2009, the only good part of that film was the genius casting of Liev Schrieber as Sabretooth (although it was still a shame not to see Tyler Mane return to the role).  Early photo's look promising and the fact that this is a 15 instead of a family friendly PG-13 like it's predecessor indicate we'll see a darker story and a meaner Wolverine.  Drawing from Wolverine's Japanese saga storyline, which I'm a big fan of, I'm looking forward to seeing if this Wolverine wants to shred your face or simply sleep on your lap.

Pacific Rim (July 2013) - Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba

There are three things that make this film awesome -

• ~ Guillermo Del Toro
• ~ Big fucking monsters
• ~ Big ass robots

If that doesn't give you a little wood already then you're dead from the waist down and may as well go euthanize yourself right now before you waste more oxygen.

R.I.P.D (August 2013) - Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon

Adapted from the Dark Horse comic book of the same name Reynolds plays cop Nick Cruz who joins the supernatural Rest In Peace Department after his murder.  Teamed with Bridges veteran agent Roy Pulsipher the pair protect the living from supernatural entities who refuse to pass on to the afterlife whilst attempting to track down Cruz's killer.

Kick-Ass 2 (August 2013) - Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Taylor-Johnson returns in the titular role joining forces with Colonel Stars and Stripes (played by Jim Carrey) to patrol the city and protect the innocent.  Meanwhile Hit-Girl (Moretz) has 'retired' and is trying to enjoy a normal life and supervillian Red Mist (Mintz-Plasse) reinvents himself as The Mother Fucker and attempts to exact revenge on Kick-Ass for killing his father.

RED 2 (August 2013) - Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren
Following on from the previous film Frank Moses (Willis) is trying to lead a normal life, again, when he's notified that Interpol are hunting for him.  In the process of trying to clear his name he has to disarm a nuclear device in Russia, fend off the amorous advances of an old flame, and avoid being assassinated... all in a days work apparently.

Elysium (August 2013) - Matt Damon, Jodie Foster
Neill Blomkamp's follow up film to 2009's hugely successful District 9 this sci-fi actioner will follow similiar themes to those explored in D9 such as immigration, health care, and class separation.  Set in a not too distant dystopian future the rich live on a crime free floating city called Elysium whilst everyone else struggles to survive on a dirty, crowded, Earth far below.

Riddick - Rule the Dark (September 2013) - Vin Diesel
Back to an 'R' rating in the states the new Riddick movie looks alot like a re-hash of the original Pitch Black with Riddick fighting nasty alien beasties in the dark.  Set after Chronicles Diesel's third outing see's him betrayed and left for dead on a desolate planet fighting off bounty hunters attracted by the price on his head.  Karl Urban has been confirmed to reprise his role as Vaako from Chronicles so it will be interesting to see how Twohy and Diesel rounded off the Necromonger's story arc from the last movie.

Machete Kills (September 2013 (US)) - Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Mel Gibson

Danny Trejo returns as ex-Federale Machete in Robert Rodriguez second Mexploitation flick which features more over the top action and an equally over the top plot.  Mel Gibson joins the cast as the billionaire arms dealer hell bent on starting World War 3 that Machete is sent to stop by the American president (played by Charlie Sheen).  Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez reprise their roles from the original film and there's even a place for Sofia Vergara, Alexa Vega, and Lady Gaga?!?

Oldboy (October 2013 (US)) - Josh Brolin
Spike Lee's remake of the cult Korean film and Manga of the same name has received positive feedback from viewings of an early rough cut.  Josh Brolin plays the lead role of an executive who is incarcerated in solitary confinement for 20 years with no reason given and is then, just as suddenly, released.

Hopefully this remake will be better than the terrible remakes of other cult asian cinema classics like Ringu, Ju-on, and The Eye.

Thor: The Dark World (October 2013) - Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston
Hemsworth reprises the role of Thor for his third outing as the God of thunder.  Set approximately one year after the end of The Avengers movie Thor must battle Malekith the Accursed (played by Christopher Eccleston) and his army of Dark Elves in order to save the Nine Realms.  Hiddleston returns as Thor's adopted brother Loki, Portman returns as the love interest Jane Foster and we get to discover more of Asgard and it's inhabitants.

Ender's Game (October 2013) - Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford

Never having read the books I've not been caught up in the hype of this one but considering the following for the series it seems only right to include it here.

The series follows Ender Wiggin, a shy but brilliant boy as he's recruited by the military to help defeat a race of aliens called the Formics who have attacked Earth.  The trailer looks stunning and, considering the wealth of source material, this could be another Harry Potter franchise.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (November 2013) - Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson
The second film in the series continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark after their victory at the 74th Annual Hunger Games when they must embark on a victory tour as rebellion stirs in the districts.

I enjoyed the first film but didn't understand why everyone raved about it so much, it pretty much stole the idea of kids fighting each other in a TV show from Battle Royale and didn't manage to do it with quite so much style.  I hope Catching Fire is better than the first film but I won't be rushing out to see it.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (December 2013) - Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen

I'm going to make an admission here... I still haven't seen The Hobbit yet.  I want to see it but, with a baby, finding three hours of time to watch a film is pretty difficult, in addition to that I'm unsure how Peter Jackson can take a book considerably smaller than the Lord of the Rings trilogy and make it into a series of 3 films of nearly 3 hours each.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (December 2013) - Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate
I don't know how to put this but... this films kind of a big deal.

Set 10 years after the original Anchorman this film finds the news team disbanded and at rock bottom until they are recruited for a 24 hour cable news show in New York City.  Prepare for the triumphant return of Ron, Brian, Champ, and Brick (not forgetting Baxter of course) - News Team Assemble!!!!

An honourable mention goes to Sin City: A Dame to Kill For which was due for release in October 2013 but was pushed back to August 2014 whilst this post was being written which sucks but does give us more to look forward to next year.