There’s no formal release date announced for Anchorman 2 yet, but it’s widely expected to turn up in 2013. It’s comfortably our most eagerly-awaited comedy of the year, and looks far, far more worthwhile than something like The Hangover Part III.
The Channel Five news crew is back together for the sequel, led by Will Ferrell in his finest screen role as Ron Burgundy. Crucially, Steve Carell’s excellent comedy creation, Brick Tamlin, is reporting back for duty too. Expect loud noises.
Adam McKay is returning to direct, and if he can control the ensemble the way he managed to with the first movie, then expect Anchorman: The Legend Continues to have the belly laugh quotient to beat in 2013. It's due on December 20th.
Here's our review of
24. A Good Day To Die Hard
Perhaps it’s the optimist in us, but the last trailer we saw for the return of John McClane in A Good Day To Die Hard looked really quite promising. Clearly, Die Hard 5 is about as far removed from the one man against some people in a building setup of the first film. This time, it’s John McClane and son, saving the entire world while sojourning Moscow.
There are lots of reasons to be wary, not least the decision to appoint John Moore to direct. Moore has his moments, but his finest film perhaps remains Behind Enemy Lines, and that in itself wasn’t too much to get excited about. His Max Payne movie still makes us shudder.
But then, Die Hard 4.0 turned out fine (thought it’s best not to consider it a Die Hard movie), and the appointment of Len Wiseman to direct that was widely questioned. Turns out, he did a decent job, and John Moore may yet surprise a few people.
Finally, there’s Bruce Willis, in his most iconic screen role. A Good Day To Die Hard firmly rests on his shoulders, and if he can deliver, then Valentine’s Day 2013 – for that’s when it’s out – might turn out to be really rather fun.
23. Evil Dead
Remakes - particularly of the horror variety - seldom give us much cause for celebration, but the forthcoming Evil Dead has a better pedigree than most. Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez came to Sam Raimi’s attention about three years ago, following the appearance of his sensational short film Ataque de Panico! on YouTube.
Made for just a few hundred dollars, the film depicted a giant robot attack on Uruguay’s capital, and given the limited resources Alvarez had available, it’s a remarkable achievement. Raimi perhaps saw something of his own creative verve as a young filmmaker, since he’s seen fit to hand over the keys to the franchise that made him such a success in the first place.
A remake of as beloved an 80s film as The Evil Dead is always going to be controversial, but with Alvarez at the helm, Diablo Cody behind the script, and the first trailer displaying some strikingly creative gore, we’re willing to take next year’s riff on the classic cabin-in-the-woods horror on its own merits.
Here's our review of The Evil Dead remake.
22. World War Z
The prolonged and troubled production of World War Z has been played out in the public eye probably far more than the filmmakers would have liked. Still, if we’re going to get panicky about films that have late reshoots, that’s a good many blockbusters we’ll have to discount.
The broader problem with World War Z, based on the work of Max Brooks, is that – as strong as the source material is – it doesn’t immediately lend itself to a movie (the same can be said of Daniel H Wilson’s Robopocalypse, which Steven Spielberg is bringing to the screen in 2014). Perhaps that’s why late writing work was done on the final act of the film.
Brad Pitt is starring in this one, with Marc Forster directing (his first blockbuster since 007 misfire Quantum Of Solace). Forster’s CV includes strong movies such as Finding Neverland and Monster’s Ball, and he has the capability of turning in a very strong film. We hope he’s done so again with World War Z, not least because follow-ups have already been planned.
21. Captain Philips
Since Green Zone underperformed at the box office in early 2010, we’ve not had a new film from director Paul Greengrass. Green Zone came at the end of a prolific few years that included the terrific United 93 and The Bourne Ultimatum.
