My entire outlook on film suffered a devastating blow in 2011. There were some great films but overall I felt it was a pretty lacklustre year. In recent years I’ve become quite the jaded critic towards film, with a growing feeling of it evolving into a three ring circus of remakes, reboots, and sequels with a complete lack of originality and smelling like dirty cash-ins. For the first time in what seems like years I have this renewed exuberance and excitement at the beginning of 2012 with the new lineup of films heading our way……many of which are remakes, reboots, and sequels. What the hell is going on here??!!!

So, the other day I was sitting on YouTube checking out trailers for the new films of the year and I had an epiphany: 2012 is going to be an awesome year of film and for once, I’m really excited about it. When you love film and you watch four or five kickass trailers in a row, a wave of excitement can hit you like a tsunami and for a jaded prick like myself, I couldn’t be happier to feel this way again. I don’t think I can remember a time in 2011 where I was actually looking forward to a single film but this year, my nads are fully pumped already! I had the odd surprise like Rise of the Planet of the Apes knocking my socks off but I certainly wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Playing in a band in front of crowds and being a musician sure has its levels of extreme fun for me but in all honesty, sitting in a cinema waiting for the film to start with jittery anticipation, then the lights dim with my popcorn and coke in hand is my favourite thing in the universe.

Film is the one thing I’ve been into my entire life, thanks to having an awesome Father that bought one of the first VHS players in town and getting our movies from a backyard tin garden shed “video shop” before real video stores existed. I must’ve only been about 5 years old. Everytime I smell brand new carpet, I think of that little tin garden shed as all the walls were lined with it and only had less than a hundred films to pick from. I also remember gravitating to the Alien cover because the cracked egg on the cover intrigued me. So film has the largest impact with me over everything else, but that’s enough nostalgia for now. This year I will be doing my favourite thing more than ever and I can’t wait. So let’s take a quick look at what’s coming……….

Prometheus: This is the very top of my “there with bells on and possibly a raging geekboner” list. Being a ridiculous uberfan of the first two Alien films, having a prequel with a possible origin of the Xenomorph that we all know and love and some familiar settings we haven’t seen in 20 years while also being helmed by the original master of space terror, Ridley Scott, is a recipe for the ultimate titillation of all geekdom. Words cannot describe my excitement for this film. I’ve pause-clicked through the entire trailer numerous times to try and glean as much information as i can as Scott is very tight lipped on the story and downplaying any kind of involvement of the Xenomorphs at all. This only makes me more interested. Please be good, please be good, please be good………..

The Avengers: For a time I was feeling all superheroed out. Once they got down to Thor, I remember saying to myself “wow, they’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel now.” What a surprise it was for me then that it turned out to be great. The biggest shock for me was that Captain America was the one which was the epitome of banality. The same film I’ve seen a hundred times with a different skin. I couldn’t believe just how much of a yawnfest the supposed climax was. Thor humiliated it and Thor himself is quite honestly an absurd addition to the Avengers group. All the other Avengers have some semblance of reality about them. Humans with superpowers and then they throw this space alien guy in and you’d think it would fall apart but really, Thor appears to be one of the stronger characters of the entire bunch. Now we have The Avengers upon us in 2012 and I can safely say that I’ve done a complete 180 degree turn and am aching to see it now. Yes, I was one of those who decried it upon its initial announcement and the second announcement that Joss Whedon was directing. The subsequent trailers were enough to change my mind and I’m starting to really buy into the whole universe of the Avengers. I believe this will be the highest grossing film of all time. Tony Stark’s final line in the trailer of “We have a Hulk” sealed it. I’m in.

The Hobbit: I really don’t need to explain anything here though I will say that having it split into two films is a bit of a bastard. It’s a really short book and surely Peter Jackson could’ve just released one giant LOTR sized film at the theatre to cover the whole thing. Still, if anyone can get it right and possibly flesh the story out even further without padding it with crap, it’s Jackson.

Dredd: I don’t know if the film will be called this but for those not in the know, Judge Dredd is a character in the hard edged UK comic 2000AD who was mercilessly raped by Sylvester Stallone in his depiction of the incredibly unforgiving character in 1995′s Judge Dredd. In an effort to salvage some dignity from that utter abortion of a film is a very welcome redo starring Karl Urban as Joe Dredd. I read 2000AD to death as a youngster and know the character very very well. Rumor has it that Urban stated he refused to take off the Judge’s helmet throughout the entire film, something Sly did within the first five minutes of that atrocity and left fans aghast all over the western world. One thing about Dredd is, you only ever see his mouth and chin and that’s it. I hope they maintain that aesthetic in the new film. I’m excited about this nearly as much as Prometheus. Bring it on! For 2000AD to have a possibly successful film franchise on their hands makes me very happy and it may pave the way for more films based on stories from the awesome comic. Strontium Dogs, ABC Warriors and Finn would be an awesome trio of films and there is a veritable wealth of fresh new content that filmmakers can pillage. (with respect for the fans of course) I cannot wait for a trailer let alone the film itself.

Skyfall: the latest James Bond film heading our way. I never really liked Bond much and thought Pierce Brosnan and Goldeneye was one of the major highlights of the entire franchise. Imagine my delight when Daniel Craig’s Bourne-esque revamped Bond hit the scene with Casino Royale which was utterly jawdropping. Although Quantum of Solace was quite so-so, Casino Royale’s awesomeness is hard to snuff out and with luck Skyfall will amaze like Royale did. The very straightforward interplay between cheeky Bond and Judi Dench’s ultra serious M is one of the things I love most about those two films. I hope to see more of that.

The Dark Knight Rises: Really there’s no need for explanation here. Nolan’s Batman is easily my favourite iteration of the man. Superb, as will be this film.

Ghost Rider – Spirit of Vengeance: Now let me just defend myself a little here. Although many people seem to think the first Ghost Rider was beyond awful, I didn’t find it quite as repugnant as most. I actually enjoyed it on a level that usually happens with Nicholas Cage films. GR2 however has possibly one of the most awesome looking trailers on the net today and really looks like it will be stepping things up a notch. Even better is the awesome daytime effects which look flawless. Seeing the Ghost Rider flipping people and cars around with his chains in broad daylight is fantastic and demands your attention. Any trailer that ends with your hero pissing fire means I’m automatically on board for this one.

The Bourne Legacy: based on novels set after the original trilogy but not written by the originals writer Robert Ludlum, director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon weren’t jumping on board for any other Bourne films. I thought this spelled the end of the franchise which was fine by me. I got those three great films to watch and that was more than enough, BUT, just watch the trailer for The Bourne Legacy and tell me that it’s going to be shit with a straight face. All the main actors from the previous films are back, minus Damon, and in his place is Jeremy Renner continuing his meteoric rise of fame by kicking ass and taking names, the Bourne way. Renner is an agent like Bourne with his story heading down a different path but ultimately affected by Jason Bourne’s antics in the first three films. Looks fantastic.

Totall Recall: Len Wiseman’s new take on Phillip K Dick’s novel will apparently closer emulate the story than the Arnold Schwarzenegger version. Having not read the novel, I’ll be interested to see what those differences are. Starring Colin Farrell as Quaid and also the man who seems to be everywhere at the moment, Bryan Cranston as the evil Cohaagen. Cranston is awesome in everything he does and Farrell is…well……pretty good too sometimes.

Taken 2: Liam Neeson kicks seven shades of shit out of bad guys? Yes please! Neeson never seemed like an action star to me but he is fantastic as Bryan Mills in Taken and shows that he has the chops to do it, even at the age he is and to top it off, he’s also a top shelf actor so that’s a huge bonus for adding some much needed gravitas to revengefests. I haven’t seen any trailers yet but it’s a given that I’ll be checking it out in the cinema.

Men in Black III: First one awesome, second one awful, third times a charm…..hopefully. The MiB universe is an awesome one and it’ll be good to see if they can recapture the magic found in the first film this time around. Smith and Jones play very well off each other but I believe that Josh Brolin’s younger version of K could be one of the greatest imitations of Tommy Lee Jones ever. Interesting enough but I’ll probably wait for a few reviews before donating to the “Supporting Shitty Films Fund”.

Man on a Ledge: Sam Worthington is, funnily enough, a man on a ledge who is threatening suicide but has ulterior motives in play using his suicide pact as a decoy to other shenanigans going on. Looks very interesting and original. I’ve heard absolutely nothing about this film and only stumbled on the trailer by accident but it sure does have me looking out for it.

Battleship: Ridiculous? Absolutely, but looks to be a whole lot of fun anyway…..and besides, it has Liam Neeson. Nuff said!

Whew! That’s a hefty bunch to get excited about and there’ll be plenty more to come. It sure is shaping up to be a great year of film and possibly one of the more memorable years of film in my life. Whats funniest about all my picks here is that barring Man on a Ledge, every single film is either a prequel, sequel, reboot or team up for the ultimate cash in. Usually I would be shouting from the mountaintops about how theres no originality anymore, but maybe I’m right where Hollywood wants me. One of the brainwashed masses? Nah…I’ll still slip the boots in if they suck, no doubt. It is a good feeling to be excited again, I just hope most of these can live up to the hype but we’ll just have to wait and see now, won’t we? Now is the best time to be a film addict. Bring it on!