If you thought 2010 was a good year for big-budget comic book movies (“Kick Ass”, “Iron Man 2″, to name just two), you haven’t seen anything yet. 2011 promises to kick start Marvel Studio’s avalanche of big-budget superhero movies, which should, if I understand my Hollywood, lead to even more big-budget superhero movies from the other studios. (No one does sheep like Hollywood, after all.) And oh yeah, there are a couple of highly anticipated sequels that aren’t comic book movies coming out in 2011, too. Here, then, is our list of the 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2011, in order of release dates.
Fast Five (April 29)
Fast cars. Hot women. Exotic locales. Then toss in the Rock playing a badass lawman and Vin Diesel and Paul Walker doing their thing, along with just about every character that has been in the franchise at one point or another (even the dead ones!). It won’t be Academy Award material, but after four movies, anyone who expects it to be is a damn fool. Go with a buddy or two, grab some popcorn, fill up on soda, and shut off the old noggin. It’s gonna be a fun ride. Justin Lin returns to direct. Full Preview Page.
Battle: Los Angeles (March 11)
In a year or so, big-budget Hollywood movies about alien invasions will become boring and tedious and repetitive. And that’s just on the big screen. There’s an alien invasion show headed to TNT this year, too. “Battle: Los Angeles” is coming out at just the right time — first. (Not counting 2010′s “Skyline”, of course.) Throw in a fantastic actor like Aaron Eckhart in the lead, badass devastation on a global scale, and you’ve got yourself “Black Hawk Down” with aliens. Jonathan Liebesman, who will soon be helming “Clash of the Titans 2″, directs. Full Preview Page.
Sucker Punch (March 25)
Who does slick action like Zack Snyder? No one, that’s who. Throw in a bunch of attractive young lasses running around with machineguns blowing the shit out of anything and everything, and you’ve got a visual feast that can withstand just about anything. And it might just have to. “Sucker Punch” will either be very good or very bad. Here’s hoping it’s more of the former, cause, yeah, some of those dialogue in the trailers are pretty cringe-worthy. Full Preview Page.
Thor (May 6)
Will it be uber camp, or will director Kenneth Branagh, diving into his first big-budget Hollywood action movie, somehow make it all work? Right now, I have no idea, and that’s what makes “Thor” so damn interesting. Chris Hemsworth will either become the “big new thing” in Hollywood or he’ll go the way of Hayden Christensen, forever mocked. Natalie Portman lends some class to the production, and Branagh’s apparently got a way with words and actors. We’ll see if it all shakes out. Marvel’s certainly hoping it doesn’t stink up the joint, because if it does, that will really be a downer on the rest of their superhero slate. Full Preview Page.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (May 20)
Jack Sparrow is back! Unfortunately, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom aren’t, and that’s going to rub some people the wrong way. But let’s face it, the “Pirates” movies have always been about Jack Sparrow as played by Johnny Depp, and as long as he’s back, the franchise is intact. Throw in a spicy Penelope Cruz, the always awesome Ian McShane, and how could you possibly go wrong? Okay, there are plenty of ways to go wrong, but from what we’ve seen, this should be another good one. Rob Marshall takes over directing chores for Gore Verbinski, who directed the previous three films. Full Preview Page.
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