It is that time of year again where we look ahead to the magical summer season of blockbusters, popcorn movies and rare indy gems that break up all the testosterone, lasers, super powers and Axe Body spray. 2013 has had some promising films so far but a lot have come up empty so it is with a fair amount of trepidation that I approach the summer line up. It looks good and there are a lot that I am excited about that didn’t make the top 10, but every year there are a crop of promising failures and given this year’s current track record I am somewhat nervous that the body count will be higher than normal. You will see some cross over with the earlier Most Anticipated of the Year list but some things have shifted and changed as we focus more closely on the Summer. As in previous years, I will follow up this list at the end of the summer with my top 10 favorites of the season so we can look back and see which ones were hits and which ones were misses. Standard caveats apply of course, these are just the 10 I am most looking forward to, they aren’t the ONLY ones I am looking forward to and my opinion on movies doesn’t speak to my sexual history or orientation. We want to see what you think in the comments so sound off down there with your own lists just try to keep things respectful to one another. And with that, let’s get to it.

10. Man of Steel (June 4)

The more I see of this the more optimistic I am about it. I trust Snyder as far as adapting comic book material goes and the casting choices are right. The fact that it looks like there will be some action involving Superman actually punching people is also promising. The tone still puts me off, though, and I am still concerned that this is going to go too far into Nolan Batman territory. That worked great for Batman but Superman needs something different. Hopefully the tone works and we finally get a great Superman movie.

 

9. This is the End (June 12)

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this movie until I saw the red band trailer. One of the many apocalypse movies being offered this summer, This is the End features pretty much everybody from Judd Apatow’s camp ever to some varying degree as the apocalypse breaks out during a party at James Franco’s house. Written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, this looks hilarious and while there is margin for error, I like all these people and I am fairly confident that this will rock pretty hard.

 

8. The Way, Way Back (July 5)

Written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who, aside from both being hilarious actors in several hilarious things, also wrote the Descendants, the Way, Way Back is a coming of age story about a teenager who finds himself while working at a water park. This is not super high profile but the trailer looks very strong and the talent both in front of and behind the camera makes this very interesting indeed. Steve Carrell, in particular, looks interesting playing a complete ass.

7. Pacific Rim (July 12)

There is only so much I feel I really have to say about why this is exciting. If someone other than Guillermo del Torro was helming this thing then I think that giant robots versus Japanese kaiju monsters (think Godzilla) would be a much sketchier proposition. As it is, with a cast that includes Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Clifton Collins Jr, and Ron Pearlman, I am totally down.

 

6. Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17)

Not a huge amount is known about what the hell is going on in this one…hell we apparently don’t even know the villain’s real name but the fact remains that I loved Abrams’s first effort and I have a lot of faith in his second. I am also really excited to see Benedict Cummerbatch as the villain. If I can’t see new episodes of Sherlock any time soon then at least I can see him here. All that being said, I think Star Trek Into Darkness is a deeply stupid title and I hate it. I still want to see the movie though.

5. Only God Forgives (May 24)

Nicolas Winding Refn’s follow up to Drive once again stars Ryan Gosling this time as a drug smuggler in Bangkok who is asked by his mother to avenge his brother’s death. Given how good Drive was I don’t even particularly care what this is about but it sounds pretty great to me. Sure to be intense and stylistic, Only God Forgives brings a little more art to summer movie house and should provide some gritty drama to sink our teeth into. I am excited that this is going to be out so soon but I also kind of wish it were releasing at the end of June/early July as a breather for the heavy sci-fi and super hero rotation this summer has to offer us.

4. The Great Gatsby (May 10)

Based on the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel and directed by Baz Luhrmann the Great Gatsby looks huge and amazing. I have loved everything that Luhrmann has done so far and I have no doubt that this will be right up my alley. Add in Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby supported by Toby McGuire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fischer and Jason Clarke and this is a no-brainer for me. I am not normally an advocate of 3D but the 3D trailers I have seen of this look pretty great and I am excited to see what Luhrmann can do with the third dimension. Luckily I don’t have to wait too long to find out.

3. Elysium (August 9)

The trend of me being excited about these movies based on who is behind the camera continues (and will continue straight through the rest of the list) as Elysium is the next picture by the amazing Neil Blomkamp. His first movie, District 9, was incredible on just about every level so I was excited for this before ever even seeing a trailer. Now that I have, I am at least 80% more excited for it. Elysium offers a dystopian future where the rich have fled the dying Earth to led lavish lives of largess while the poor are abandoned to die in squalor and pain. Matt Damon is one such poor ex con who has learned he has a terminal illness and decides it is time for some equality. It looks pretty awesome.

2. The World’s End (August 23)

Moved up from its original October release date, The World’s End is the conclusion to the ‘Blood and Ice Cream’ trilogy (the films really have nothing to do with each other beyond characters eating Cornetto ice cream) that includes Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Again written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and directed by Wright, this installment follows a group of friends who try to regain their former glory by completing an epic pub crawl that ends at, well, the World’s End. Another apocalypse movie, the World’s End there is no reason to believe that this will not be as great as everything this team has done together ever. Even without a trailer I am beyond excited for this.

 

1. Much Ado About Nothing (June 7)

Joss Whedon does one of my favorite Shakespeare plays with his stable of actors who happen to also be some of my favorites? Yes please. This looks amazing and I absolutely cannot wait for it. Some people wonder how this will be since it is in the original Shakespeare and not Whedon’s signature dialogue. If the trailer is any indication then the answer is: amazing. Whedon shot this at his home in 12 days as a labor of love and I doubt that in this case that love’s labor will be lost. I am sorry, I couldn’t help it. Anyway, this looks great and I can’t wait.

So that is my list. There are a lot of movies I am really excited for this summer that didn’t make the cut. Some notable runners up include: Iron Man 3, Fast and Furious 6, Monsters University, and Kick Ass 2. And a lot more. There is a ton of potential here, hopefully the summer lives up to it.