The Ten: Most Anticipated Movies of 2014

A top ten list is never easy, especially when you’re picking from a list of thousands. At the end of the year, I feel good about how 2013’s releases played out in comparison to my The Ten: Most Anticipated Movies of 2013 list. However, my favorite movie of the year (Gravity) was left off and I didn’t have any of the award season titles on the list. But I managed to see eight out of ten, and in hindsight, only a few were replaced.

Last year had nothing on this year, with 2014 offering at least twenty-five movies I must see and fifteen I feel should be on this list. And that’s just the already announced blockbuster titles as I’m once again building a list without the award sleepers being easily discoverable at this point.

So, let’s give it another go…

10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

2014 Anticipated Movies TMNT

This movie makes the list on title alone. I mean it’s the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That said, Michael Bay, Meagan Fox, and Whoopi have this potential favorite of mine tinged with more of a “they’re gonna mess it up” film. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are some of my childhood favorites and the fact that the movie franchise is getting a reboot has me intrigued. Can it live up to the wants of the die-hard TMNT fans, or will Bay butcher another 80’s favorite?

9. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

2014 Anticipated Movies Sin City

Not only is A Dame to Kill For one of the best stories from the Sin City series, but the fact that we’ve been waiting far too long for this sequel makes this a no brainer. Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, and a few others return with Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Josh Brolin joining Frank Miller’s Sin City universe for the first time.

8. Transcendence

2014 Anticipated Movies Transcendence

Johnny Depp. Morgan Freeman. Science-Fiction. Artificial Intelligence. And– many details still to be announced. Sounds epic enough to me. In fact, those are really the only items we really have to go on besides the recently released photographs from the set and the knowledge that the movie is about a scientist spending his life trying to create A.I. That all sounds great to me. I would expect plenty of mystery to continue to follow this movie, only adding to the anticipation.

7. The Grand Budapest Hotel

2014 Anticipated Movies Grand Budapest

Wes Anderson finally got the attention he deserved with Moonrise Kingdom. Does that make The Grand Budapest Hotel more or less likely to please? Either way it’s helped the anticipation for this title grow. Mix in that the cast is bigger than even Anderson’s Royal Tenenbaums and now you have a potential award season dark horse on our hands.

6. Noah

2014 Anticipated Movies Noah

There’s three large-scale Biblical movies coming to life in 2014 and Noah seems to be the flagship. The Son of God is too obvious and will limit itself with the non-religious movie goers and Exodus isn’t set to release until the end of the year, so not much can be found about it. Noah, however, has the director, the cast, and even the trailer to get the masses excited.

5. X-Men: Days of Future Past

2014 Anticipated Movies X-Men Future Past

Days of Future Past is a great graphic novel read for those unfamiliar with the story. For those familiar with it, you probably have this movie on your top five anticipated titles as well. A few change-ups were bound to happen, but the cast and crew weren’t hiding those changes. We also get both casts we’ve had in recent X-Men movies, adding plenty of excitement. With the announcement of the follow up, Apocalypse, it’s just amped up the anticipation even more.

4. Interstellar

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Gravity has already taken on a huge list of award favorites this year, but Interstellar is generating buzz for the possibility of becoming a first science-fiction movie to win Best Picture at the Oscars. I, for one, would love to see a movie about a team of space travelers intent on traveling through a wormhole, and possibly encountering other dimensions. Oh, let’s not forget that Christopher Nolan is behind this project, and the often dismissed but award chasing Matthew McConaughey will costar with Jessica Chastain. But, much like Transcendence, Interstellar’s cast and crew are playing their cards close to their chest leaving much to learn about this highly anticipated film.

3. Jupiter Ascending

2014 Anticipated Movies Jupiter Ascending

The Wachowski’s have been working on the script for Jupiter Ascending for some time now. With film technology once again catching up with what they want to do, the siblings have put together another highly anticipated science-fiction adventure. The Matrix was one of the best sci-fi action films ever released, and Cloud Atlas was a wonderfully adapted masterpiece showing the Wachowski’s still have it. With an edge-of-your-seat trailer teasing this summer’s release, I’m once again lead to believe that another amazing film is just around the corner.

2. Muppets Most Wanted

2014 Anticipated Movies Muppets

After a fantastic return to the big screen, The Muppets are ready for their sequel. Jason Segal and Amy Adams aren’t around for this one, but Tina Fey and Ricky Gervias set to star, I still have high hopes. In fact, there hasn’t been a Muppets movie that has disappointed me and I don’t expect that to start here. Mix in the fact that Tom Hiddleston, Stanley Tucci, Lady Gaga, and Debby Ryan are just the tip of the cameo iceberg makes this a no-brainer.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

2014 Anticipated Movies Guardians Galaxy

I hesitated putting this ahead of the Wachowski’s newest sci-fi epic and Kermit and Co’s anticipated sequel, but seeing the buzz that the usually ignored Guardians of the Galaxy have received already makes this a list topper alone. Not to mention those of us who are actually fans of the Guardians get to see the superhero team called into action, including Rocket Raccoon! All the build-up is pointing to Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet as the core of the film; that’s even more reason to be excited.

Just shy of making The Ten were a few other action-packed films. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are both highly anticipated not just by me but the entire Project-Nerd crew. With three comic book movies already on the list, I knew my list would need some diversity. Some other action packed sequels are on the radar too, with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and The Expendables 3 are day one’s for sure, and 300: Rise of an Empire generating enough buzz to keep me interested.

Others considered included Zach Braff’s crowdfunded Wish I Was Here, the adaptation of The Giver, the Jesus biopic titled The Son of God, and Ridley Scott’s Exodus.

Award season (for 2014 releases) is  so far away, so the typical slate of late year dramas are still not on the slate and hard to include on the list at this point. But hey, that may give me a reason to revisit this list half way through the year.

But just because the list is ten, doesn’t mean I can’t see all of these movies and more. Looks like 2014 will be another busy year for us movie fans… such a great problem to have.

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