17 movies to geek out to in 2013

No matter what we say about the current state of Hollywood and the movie industry in general, one thing is for sure: it has never worked harder to bring geeks entertainment.

The last year saw some great geek oriented films including The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers and Judge Dredd. There were also the not-so-great offerings such as the disappointments that were Prometheus and The Amazing Spiderman.

This year there are quite a few movies that the geek community is expecting. This list could go on forever if every single movie was included so we’ve chosen a few of the ones we’re most looking forward to.

So check them out, chosen from Hollywood’s dripping tap of entertainment. 2013 is sure to be a cracker, full of aliens, robots, superpowers and space ships. Kinda like last year but part deux!

Star Trek: Into Darkness
I have been waiting for this one for a while now. The first Star Trek movie was amazing, introducing us to a characters we have loved for a generation with new faces and new adventures.

The upcoming JJ Abrams film is slated for May 17th and once again we join Kirk, Spock and Scotty on an adventure through the stars that will likely end up saving Earth from total annihilation. Our villain this time is everyone’s favourite detective, television’s Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch.

The USS enterprise returns home to a less than impressive Starfleet that has been attacked by an unknown force that leaves a panicked planet. Of course it is up to the crew of the Enterprise to find the culprit and put things right.

Cumberbatch looks pretty menacing as our villain, and if the trailer is anything to go by, he is a force to be reckoned with and our heroes will need all their savvy know-how and logic to outsmart him.

Iron Man 3
Every super hero movie these days seem to come in threes. Our favourite billionaire playboy hero (in the Marvel universe — I love Batman too) returns after the events that shook the world in New York. Tony Stark and his girlfriend seem to be enjoying their little piece of bliss — but stuff like that never really lasts.

Iron Man faces a deadly enemy in the form of Ben Kingsley who plays the Mandarin. Kingsley’s brilliance is sure to pour out as he is pretty good at being a villain. It must be the disapproving look coupled with the accent.

It seems Stark will finally answer the question that has haunted him the last two movies: “Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?”

This installment is not directed by Jon Favreau (shocker!) but he does return as Happy Hogan, the chauffeur/bodyguard. Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle return as “Pepper” (Stark’s girlfriend) and War Machine respectively. Guy Pearce will also be making a small appearance. Then again, that seems to be his thing these days.

Man of Steel
The last Superman film was terrible, and that’s me being nice, so hopefully with producers like Chris Nolan onboard — Man of Steel will redeem the previous effort.

We are back in Smallville where an alien vessel crash lands and you know the rest. The film is a complete reboot of the Superman film series, portraying the character’s origin story.

Director David Snyder has put together quite the star-studded cast, with the likes of Lawrence Fishborne, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Amy Adams all taking up central roles. Henry Cavill takes up the daunting role of the man of steel, Earth’s defender.

Superman will have to face his own history with Krypton’s General Zod threatening the safety of the only home he has ever known.

If the trailer is anything to go by this should be good.

Thor: The Dark World
This is a tricky one. The first movie was alright, a sort of cheesy awesome if you will, but it’s time for us to get a bit more from our favourite Norse god. It can’t all been a great hair and a formidable weapon.

Thor is set on a quest to save all the Nine Realms from a mysterious enemy older than the universe, a bit much for one person but okay. As if that wasn’t enough, he must deal with a primeval race led by the revenge driven Malekith, who intends to descend the universe into darkness. Why do villains always want darkness? For once I want a villain that just wants the whole world to be rainbows and unicorns.

Christopher Eccleston plays Malekith the Accursed, ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, and I am scared already. The original cast of Thor returns in this new adventure including his lady-love, Natalie Portman.

Oblivion
Tom Cruise, oh dear. The scene, a post-apocalyptic Earth. Wait, hasn’t he done one of those? In this new film, the human race has long moved on after a war with some alien race or other left the planet ravaged and pretty much derelict. A few people remain, living and patrolling the skies and repairing things.

As luck would have it, just before Cruise is done and about to join the others in wonderful paradise, he saves some girl and everything changes and his world comes crashing down. Seriously, where have I seen this before?

The trailer is jam-packed full of action.

The Host
Hello again, Stephenie Meyer. Just as the world thought it was done the overly emotional, pronoun loving Twilight author, another of her books is coming to the big screen.

Thankfully this time it is only one book. The Host is not about vampires, it’s about aliens. Remember that show Stargate, and the host-taking aliens? Yup, it’s just like that expect the aliens came and took over and there are no gates to other worlds.

The aliens, called “Souls”, have taken over almost all the people except a few. Melanie Stryder’s body has been inhabited by a Soul named Wanderer, but she refuses to give in. So begins a somewhat dodge love story… wait where have I seen this? Oh yes.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
One does not simply go back to normal life after winning a bucket of money by making sure one doesn’t die. The second installment of the science-fiction dystopian thriller/action-adventure film based on Suzanne Collins’ trilogy is back.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and fellow tribute Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) try to forget their time in the arena. Moving on is put on hold as rebellion runs rampant in the districts. As if that wasn’t enough, our heroes will have to head back into the arena again for the 75th annual games (the quarter quell), a victor’s game.

After Earth
What would any movie list be without a Will Smith flick? I mean seriously, I am convinced Will Smith is cinema these days he can play anyone and anything — he can play Abe Lincoln and probably should have been the vampire hunter.

In After Earth though, he teams up with his song Jaden Smith, who plays… well, his son. The story begins with the duo crash landing on Earth, 1 000 years after cataclysmic events that forced humanity to leave. Humanity seems to be quite fond of running away from the planet.

Now faced with savage animals that have evolved to rule the planet, little Smith must face a world he does not know in order to save himself and his father. Big Smith and little Smith mostly dominate the screen but other people show up at some point I am guessing.

The trailer is pretty epic though.

World War Z
Zombies! About time. Here we are in a post-apocalyptic world, with people attempting to go about their daily lives: enter a horror film starring Brad Pitt and other people.

This is the movie: Pitt is Gerry Lane, a United Nations employee whose life is interrupted by a small Zombie problem that is sweeping through the globe. For some reason, it his job to travel the world in hopes of finding a way to stop the pandemic that is defeating armies and collapsing governments as they try to prevent social collapse.

He runs a lot in the trailer.

Cirque de Soleil: Worlds Away
I don’t know if you would call this geeky, but the amazing fantasy world that the creators of Cirque de Soleil have brought to life is too breathtaking not be on this list.

The epic stage show is brought to life in cinema this year. I am not sure how they intend to create a narrative here but if Disney could do it with Fantasia then I am sure Paramount Pictures can make it happen.

I do know that it involves a young woman and a circus performer who travel through the “Tent Worlds” and encounter the Cirque de Soleil performers.

Watch the trailer.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch hunters
Hello witch hunters. So apparently when you have a slightly traumatic experience with a Gingerbread house, a witch and a bunch of edibles, it changes you. Meet Hansel and Gretel 15 years after the fact. This time they refuse to be fooled by any evil witches.

Children turned hunters, the two roam the kingdom showing some witches who is boss. Think Brothers Grimm but they actually do the job not just swindle people.

If anything, I bet it is going to have a kick ass soundtrack.

A Good Day to Die Hard
Yippee-ki-yay! John McClane I have missed you, yes I have. Bruce Willis returns with his catchphrase. This time his son is in trouble in Russia and he must save him, foil a terrorist plot and blow some things up. Yes, please.

Oz: The great and powerful
It’s about time someone told the story of the Wizard. Set before the events of the 1900 book and 1939 film we follow Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician as he is transported into the magical and trouble world of Oz.

The star-studded cast includes, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and a very dangerous looking Rachel Weisz in adventure sure to change the story we know and love.

Pacific Rim
Said to be “a beautiful poem to giant monsters” Guillermo del Toro takes us to the future where soldiers pilot giant robots in order to battle giant monsters who have risen from beneath the ocean.

There is a battle for the survival of the human race as it faces the enemy in a last stand against the oncoming apocalypse. It stars Idris Elba and a host of semi-known Hollywood faces.

The Wolverine
I am not sure why there is another one of these movies. The first one was such a travesty I would have thought the idea of it would have been shelved. But it seems 20 Century Fox is determined to prove that a film doesn’t need much more than Hugh Jackman to make it a hit.

I am not sure what they intend to do but off to Japan we go with Logan where he faces and enemy more deadly than before. Jean Grey supposedly makes an appearance is this flick — we will see come 24 June.

Elysium
From the director of District 9 comes another science fiction extravaganza. Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth (seriously what is with post-apocalyptic films?), society is divided into two groups, the haves and the have-nots. Wait, how is that different from now? The haves live on a space station (ahh) while the rest schlep it out on a ruined Earth. Everyone wants to get on the space station for the plush lifestyle. Matt Damon might just make it happen.

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters
Where would the film industry be without books about mythology and mythical creatures? Coming up with original ideas, I guess. Based on the book by the same name, the film is the sequel to Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. We join young Percy, the demigod, and his friends as they head out to in search of the Golden Fleece. There will be monsters from ancient Greek myths and gods to reckon with.