This summer I previewed 15 nerdy movies that were being released. I only managed to see and review five of those movies. That’s a pretty bad percentage. Hopefully I can pick up the pace this fall.
Check out the nerdy movies coming to a theater near you over the next four months.
Riddick – September 06
I’ve never seen Pitch Black or The Chronicles of Riddick. In fact I haven’t seen any Vin Diesel movies other than Saving Private Ryan, which can’t really be called a Vin Diesel movie. I don’t really think I’m going to see Riddick, though I do appreciate Diesel’s commitment to the character. I don’t think anyone wants to see more Riddick movies as much as Diesel and he just keeps getting them made.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au2xw42-8IA&w=560&h=315]
Gravity – October 04
I’m really excited for Gravity. Alfonso Cuarón is one of my favorite directors, even though Alycia thought all of his landscape-panning shots in The Prisoner of Azkaban were completely unnecessary. I’ve only watched the teaser trailer for Gravity, which is about two astronauts floating in space. There have been more trailers that show more of the film, but I’m abstaining from those and just waiting until I see it in the theater.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufsrgE0BYf0&w=560&h=315]
Seventh Son – October 18
How many fantasy book series is Hollywood going to turn into big budget, CGI-heavy, action movies? The Lord of the Rings trilogy is absolutely amazing but since the credits rolled on The Return of the King, it feels like movie studios have been trying to find the next billion-dollar fantasy epic. I don’t think Seventh Son has what it takes to carry the LOTR torch; I don’t think any movie has what it takes to carry that torch. Even The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which is set is Tolkien’s world and produced by the same people, can’t carry the LOTR torch. Maybe Hollywood should just take a break from fantasy epics and get busy on producing an Alpha Flight movie. We need a Canadian super hero movie; it would be so polite and welcoming.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQt6lYJHIOA&w=560&h=315]
Ender’s Game – November 01
I read Ender’s Game for the first time this summer in preparation for the movie this fall. I had no idea what the book was about but, after reading it, I’m excited for the movie. I hope the movie manages to capture a lot of the same moral quandaries that the book presented as well as the uneasiness of training children to be soldiers. Gavin Hood, who directed X-Men Origins: Wolverine (which I still haven’t managed to watch), is directing Ender’s Game. Hopefully he’ll be more successful with a child soldier than he was with an immortal mutant.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP0cUBi4hwE&w=560&h=315]
Thor: The Dark World – November 08
Of all the movies coming out this fall, I’m probably most excited for Marvel’s second entry in Phase 2 of its Cinematic Universe. I really liked Thor and how it was a smaller and more intimate super hero movie. Most of the movie was contained in a small town and focused on Thor’s growth as an individual. Now that Thor has grown, though, I’m excited to see a little more action and I don’t think Thor: The Dark World is going to disappoint. I am a little bummed, though, that the God of Thunder is probably going to end up killing the ninth Doctor.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npvJ9FTgZbM&w=560&h=315]
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – November 22
While Hollywood may be flailing to find a follow up to the Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games pulled in that Twilight audience and that Twilight money. I actually really enjoyed The Hunger Games and I’m looking forward to Catching Fire. It’ll be great to see Katniss shoot some fools but I’m more interested in the political machinations and seeds of revolution planted in the first movie.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keT5CRhhy84&w=560&h=315]
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – December 13
I liked The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey even though it felt like they were trying to stretch two movies’ worth of content into three movies. Martin Freeman is a great Bilbo and I’m looking forward to seeing him don the hairy Hobbit feet once again. I’m also excited to hear his Sherlock partner, Benedict Cumberbatch, as the voice of Smaug, the dragon. Even if I wasn’t that excited about The Desolation of Smaug, Alycia would make sure I got excited.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnaojlfdUbs&w=560&h=315]
I’m probably going to see more than 33% of these movies but I can’t make any promises. The fall may not have as many nerdy movies as the summer, but there are more than enough to keep our nerdy lights burning even as the temperature drops and the days grow short…if you live in the northern hemisphere.
Which of these nerdy fall movies are you most excited about?
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