Superman: Man of Steel ~ Snyder & Nolan Teamed Up

Release Date: 14 June 2013

Directed By: Zack Snyder

Produced By: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder

Screenplay By: David S. Goyer

Story By: Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer

Based on: Superman by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Ayelet Zurer, Michael Shannon, Antje Traue, Christopher Meloni, Laurence Fishburne, Richard Schiff, Harry Lennix

Music By: Hans Zimmer

Editing By: David Brenner

Studio: Legendary Pictures, Syncopy Films, DC Entertainment

Distributed By: Warner Bros. Pictures

Synopsis

In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Cavill) is a young twentysomething journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone's imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question - Why am I here? Shaped by the values of his adoptive parents Martha (Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Costner), Clark soon discovers that having super abilities means making very difficult decisions. But when the world needs stability the most, it comes under attack. Will his abilities be used to maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer? Clark must become the hero known as "Superman," not only to shine as the world's last beacon of hope but to protect the ones he loves.

Man of Steel is an upcoming American superhero film directed by Zack Snyder, produced by Christopher Nolan and scripted by David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Superman, the film will be a reboot of the Superman film series, portraying the character's origin story. The film stars Henry Cavill in the title role, with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and Michael Shannon as General Zod.

Darren Aronofsky, Duncan Jones, Ben Affleck, Tony Scott, Matt Reeves and Jonathan Liebesman were considered to direct the movie before Zack Snyder was later chosen. 

Matthew Goode, Armie Hammer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Zac Efron and Colin O'Donoghue were on the final shortlist for the lead role. Henry Cavill was finally cast. He was the front runner to play Superman in another Superman movie (working title: flyby) but the the movie failed to be greenlit and Brandon Routh was cast in Superman Returns instead. Cavill was also runner-up to Daniel Craig for the James Bond role in Casino Royale (2006).

Natalie Portman, Charlotte Riley, Anne Hathaway, Dianna Agron, Kristen Stewart, Malin Åkerman, Rachel McAdams, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kristen Bell, Lake Bell, Olivia Wilde, Mila Kunis and Jessica Biel were considered to play Lois Lane. 

Due to his success with the Batman franchise Christopher Nolan was brought on to help develop the reboot of Superman along with screenwriter David S. Goyer. This was merely as a creative consultant, it was never intended for Nolan to direct. When Zack Snyder was later brought on as director, Nolan chose to hand all creative control over to Snyder and focus on The Dark Knight Rises. According to Nolan's wife/producer Emma Thomas, "They [Nolan and Goyer] brought it to an appropriate screenplay and it's now Snyder's picture." 

The film is to release in 2013, the 75th anniversary of Superman.

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Top 75 Movies to Watch in 2013 ~ Star Trek into Darkness

Release Date: 17 May 2013

Directed By: J. J. Abrams 

Produced By: J. J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Alice Eve, Peter Weller, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bruce Greenwood, Nolan North, Nazneen Contractor, Noel Clarke

Studio: Bad Robot Productions, K/O Paper Products, Skydance Productions

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Budget: $185 million

Synopsis

After being called back home, the crew of the Enterprise find a seemingly unstoppable force which has attacked Starfleet and left the planet in chaos. Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise are tasked with leading the deadly manhunt to capture the party responsible and settle an old score.

The Star Trek franchise continues with this follow-up to 2009's J.J. Abrams-directed reboot. Abrams and Bryan Burk handle producing duties on the sci-fi production, from a script by Damon Lindelof and the writing team of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.

J. J. Abrams has stated that unlike the original series' Trek films, this film will have a subtitle with no number following the series title Star Trek, like The Next Generation's film series. This will avoid repeating the sequel number of the acclaimed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan or making a confusing jump from Star Trek to Star Trek 12. On September 7, 2012, bloggers revealed that the film's title was expected to be Star Trek into Darkness.

Most of the crew of the first film are returning, including director and producer Abrams and his most regular collaborators: composer Michael Giacchino, cinematographer Daniel Mindel, and editors Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey. Kurtzman and Orci are returning as screenwriters (and now also producers), while Lindelof returns as producer and now also act as co-writer. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg and John Cho return to reprise their roles from the previous film, with the addition of Alice Eve as Dr. Carol Marcus and Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison, the villain. It is set to be released on May 17, 2013.

The film began principal photography on January 12, 2012, with a scheduled release date of May 17, 2013. Sequences of the film were also filmed using IMAX cameras. The film is due to be released in 3D. On February 24, 2012, images from the set surfaced depicting Benedict Cumberbatch's character engaged in a fight with Spock. Filming completed in May 2012.

Filming took place on location in Los Angeles, California, and around the area at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore; Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City and the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove.

NEXT > MAN OF STEEL

Top 75 Movies to Watch in 2013 ~ World War Z

Release Date: 21 June 2013

Directed by: Marc Forster 

Produced by: Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Ian Bryce

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, Daniella Kertesz, Matthew Fox, David Morse

Studio: Skydance Productions, Hemisphere Media Capital, GK Films, Plan B Entertainment

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Budget: $125–200 million

Synopsis

Max Brooks' epic tome of a fictional time of global war against the undead is brought to life in this Paramount Pictures/Plan B production. Quantum of Solace's Marc Forster directs from a script by Changeling scribe J. Michael Straczynski. Brad Pitt stars as a journalist covering the disaster, with Mireille Enos, Anthony Mackie, and Bryan Cranston heading up the rest of the cast.

As a zombie pandemic traverses the globe, United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) travels the world trying to find a way to stop the pandemic that is defeating armies and collapsing governments as they try to prevent social collapse.

World War Z is an upcoming post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Marc Forster and written by Matthew Michael Carnahan. It is based on the novel of the same name by Max Brooks. Brad Pitt stars as Gerry Lane, a worker at the United Nations, as he searches the globe for information that can stop the zombie outbreak that is bringing down nations. World War Z is due to be released on June 21, 2013.

In January 2012, director Marc Forster and Paramount Pictures told the Los Angeles Times that they "each view World War Z as a trilogy that would have the grounded, gun-metal realism of Matt Damon's Jason Bourne series tethered to the unsettling end-times vibe of AMC's The Walking Dead".

NEXT > No. 2 - Star Trek into Darkness

Top 75 Movies to Watch in 2013 ~ The Monuments Men

Release Date: 20 December 2013

Directed By: George Clooney

Writers & Screenplay By: George Clooney, Grant Heslov 

Starring: Daniel Craig, Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Matt Damon, Hugh Bonneville

Synopsis

Based on the book The Monuments Men written by Robert Edsel. During World War II, the U.S. government forms a crew of art historians and museum curators to recover renown works of art stolen by Nazis before Hitler destroys them.

The period film, which Clooney is co-writing and directing, centres on a real-life group of men and women who risked their lives to track down art stolen by Adolf Hitler during the second world war and prevent its destruction. If he signs up, Damon will join Clooney himself, Daniel Craig, Jean Dujardin, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville and Bob Balaban in the cast.

As well as directing – his fifth stint behind the camera – Clooney is to portray US army officer and leading art conservationist George Stout, who repatriated tens of thousands of pieces of art from the Nazis. Blanchett plays Rose Valland, an art historian and member of the French resistance. Damon and Craig's roles are as yet unclear but Clooney is searching for someone to portray New York City ballet co-founder and art connoisseur Lincoln Kirstein, who was personally involved with retrieving artworks around Munich and in the salt mines at Altaussee during the war. Paul Giamatti was at one point in line to play the latter role. Matt Damon is in talks to join the increasingly spectacular cast of George Clooney's forthcoming Nazi art drama The Monuments Men, according to Deadline.

Clooney's film is based on Robert Edsel's book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. It centres on the 11-month period between D-day and VE Day, when a taskforce of American and British art experts were charged with scouring Europe for lost and stolen art.

NEXT > No. 3 - WORLD WAR Z

Top 75 Movies to Watch in 2013 ~ Pacific Rim

Release Date: 17 July 2013

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro 

Produced by: Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Guillermo del Toro, Mary Parent

Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi, Max Martini, Willem Dafoe, Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins, Jr., Diego Klattenhoff, Ron Perlman, Robert Maillet, Burn Gorman

Studio: Legendary Pictures

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Budget: $200 million

Synopsis

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes-a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)-who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Pacific Rim is an upcoming American science fiction film directed by Guillermo del Toro from a screenplay by Travis Beacham and del Toro. The film is set in a world where soldiers piloting giant robots battle against giant monsters who have mysteriously risen from beneath the ocean. Del Toro has said the film will be "a beautiful poem to giant monsters". The film will be released in 3-D and IMAX 3D on July 12, 2013.

In July 2012, del Toro discussed the possibility of making a Pacific Rim sequel. "We always leave ideas that were in the first draft as you go along. You know, either a set piece that was great but too expensive, an idea that was really bright, but it couldn't quite fit the structure... so we have a little stash of stuff we wanted to do that we didn't get to do. So if that's a possibility, A) I would be very happy to do a sequel, but B) a lot of these ideas, set pieces and all that, actually have in them a really good seed for a sequel."

On December 4, 2012, Legendary Pictures announced that it had selected Travis Beacham to write the sequel to Pacific Rim, with del Toro as co-writer, though there was no comment as to whether he would return to direct the second film.

NEXT > No. 4 - THE MONUMENTS MEN

Top 75 Movies to Watch in 2013 (TOP 10)

6. Elysium

Release Date: 9 August 2013

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Wagner Moura, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, William Fichtner

Synopsis:

In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) will stop at nothing to preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium - but that doesn't stop the people of Earth from trying to get in by any means they can. Max (Matt Damon) agrees to take on a life-threatening mission, one that could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

Elysium is an upcoming American science fiction film written and directed by Neill Blomkamp. The film stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Wagner Moura, Carly Pope and Alice Braga. It is scheduled to be released on August 9, 2013. Elysium takes place on a ravaged Earth and a space habitat named Elysium.

Elysium was scheduled to be released on March 1, 2013. When the film was first announced, Sony Pictures intended to release it in late 2012. It later set an official release date for March 8, 2013. Sony then announced they had pushed back the release date to August 9, 2013.

7. Evil Dead

Release Date: 12 April 2013

Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Elizabeth Blackmore, Jessica Lucas

Synopsis:

In the much anticipated remake of the 1981 cult-hit horror film, five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin. When they discover a Book of the Dead, they unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.

Evil Dead is an upcoming 2013 American horror film directed by Fede Alvarez. It is a remake of the 1981 critically acclaimed cult horror film The Evil Dead written, produced, and directed by Sam Raimi, who co-wrote and produced the remake. It is the fourth installment of The Evil Dead franchise, and the first not to be directed by Raimi and star Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams. The director Fede Alvarez was hand picked by Raimi himself and it is Alvarez's first feature film.

This remake is focusing on the roots of The Evil Dead. The Evil Dead was intended to be a serious horror film, but due to "melodramatic dialogue delivered by bad actors" said Campbell The Evil Dead seemed rather humorous. The remake will be significantly darker, disturbing, and brutally violent. 

8. The Lone Ranger

Release Date: 3 July 2013

Directed by: Gore Verbinski

Starring: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Ruth Wilson, William Fichtner, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, Barry Pepper, Tom Wilkinson, James Frain

Synopsis:

From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, comes Disney/ Jerry Bruckheimer Films' "The Lone Ranger," a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice-taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

The film was initially scheduled for a Summer 2011 release date, but Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides replaced it, because the latter was considered a priority for the studio and because The Lone Ranger did not have a director. After Gore Verbinski signed for director, The Lone Ranger's release date was moved to December 21, 2012. However, budget concerns and negotiations resulted in a production delay, so the release date shifted to May 31, 2013. On May 31, 2012, the release date was pushed further back to July 3, 2013, assuming the place of DreamWorks' Robopocalypse (distributed by Disney, through Touchstone Pictures) for the July Fourth holiday weekend.

9. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Release Date: 13 December 2013 

Directed by: Peter Jackson 

Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Graham McTavish, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Barry Humphries, Mikael Persbrandt, Lee Pace, Stephen Fry, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Sylvester McCoy, Elijah Wood, Ian Holm, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Ryan Gage, Mike Mizrahi, Jeffrey Thomas, Conan Stevens, Bret McKenzie, Billy Connolly

Synopsis:

The Dwarfs, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the misty mountains, but Bilbo has gained the one ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back off the Dragon, Smaug.

The Hobbit is a series of three epic fantasy adventure films directed, co-written and produced by Peter Jackson and based on J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit. The films are, by subtitle, An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and There and Back Again (2014). The Lord of the Rings is originally a sequel to the novel, thus the series acts as a prequel to Jackson's film trilogy.

10. Oblivion

Release Date: 12 April 2013

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

Starring: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo

Synopsis:

A court martial sends a veteran soldier to a distant planet, where he is to destroy the remains of an alien race. The arrival of an unexpected traveler causes him to question what he knows about the planet, his mission, and himself.

Oblivion is an upcoming 2013 science fiction film based on the Radical Comics graphic novel Oblivion by Joseph Kosinski and directed and co-produced by Kosinski. Kosinski wanted to film a cinematic adaptation of the graphic novel Oblivion which he wrote with Arvid Nelson. Disney wanted the film to have a PG rating in line with the family-based reputation of the company. Such a rating would "creatively strangle" the project, and hence Disney released the rights for sale. Subsequently, Universal Pictures (which had also bid for the original rights) bought the filming rights from Kosinski and authorized a PG-13 version.

Details about Oblivion were kept in secrecy, though the studio was said to have been "very excited" about the film. Promotions of the film began in April 2012, with a part of the film's footage being screened at the 2012 CinemaCon, despite the fact that filming had begun just one month prior to the event. The footage was described as "a combination of early concept art, rough animation, and unfinished dailies", showcasing a glimpse of the film's landscapes.

NEXT > No. 5 - PACIFIC RIM

Top 75 Movies to Watch in 2013 (PART V)

11. Iron Man 3

Release Date: 3 May 2013

Directed by: Shane Black 

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, James Badge Dale, Ashley Hamilton, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, Paul Bettany, Stephanie Szostak, William Sadler

Marvel's "Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? 

12. RED 2

Release Date: 2 August 2013

Directed by: Dean Parisot

Starring: Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Byung-hun Lee, Karl Urban, Neal McDonough, Anthony Hopkins, David Thewlis

In RED 2, the high-octane action-comedy sequel to the worldwide sleeper hit, retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device. To succeed, they'll need to survive an army of relentless assassins, ruthless terrorists and power-crazed government officials, all eager to get their hands on the next-generation weapon. The mission takes Frank and his motley crew to Paris, London and Moscow. Outgunned and outmanned, they have only their cunning wits, their old-school skills, and each other to rely on as they try to save the world-and stay alive in the process.

13. Kick-Ass 2

Release Date: 28 June 2013

Directed by: Jeff Wadlow 

Starring: Aaron Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Leguizamo, Donald Faison, Robert Emms, Morris Chestnut, Nicolas Cage, Lyndsy Fonseca, Lindy Booth, Jim Carrey, Clark Duke

Kick-Ass 2 is an upcoming 2013 film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John S. Romita, Jr. and is a sequel to the 2010 film Kick-Ass. The film was written and directed by Jeff Wadlow and co-produced by Matthew Vaughn who directed the first film. The film stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse reprising their roles from the first film.

14. Despicable Me 2

Release Date: 3 July 2013

Directed by: Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin

Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Al Pacino, Steve Coogan, Ken Jeong, Moises Arias

Universal Pictures presents this sequel to the wildly successful 2010 animated picture following Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), the ex-scheming evildoer-turned-parental figure, from animation company Illumination Entertainment.

15. Fast and Furious 6

Release Date: 24 May 2013

Directed by: Justin Lin 

Starring: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Luke Evans, Joe Taslim, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Gina Carano

The Fast and the Furious franchise continues with this sixth entry from Universal Pictures. Director Justin Lin returns to helm.

16. The Wolverine

Release Date: 26 July 2013

Directed by: James Mangold 

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Will Yun Lee, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Brian Tee

Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine in this sequel to the member of the X-Men's first solo outing. Mark Bomback and The Usual Suspects' Christopher McQuarrie penned the script, which takes its inspiration from the Chris Claremont/Frank Miller Marvel miniseries from the 1980s dealing with the character's adventures in Japan as he fights ninjas in the ceremonial garb of the samurai.

17. 300: Rise of an Empire

Release Date: 2 August 2013

Directed by: Noam Murro 

Starring: Rodrigo Santoro, Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton, Jack O'Connell, Andrew Tiernan, Callan Mulvey, Ygal Naor, Ashraf Barhom, Andrew Pleavin

Xerxes, the Persian villain from 300 gets the center stage with this Warner Bros. picture based on Frank Miller's follow-up to his best-selling comic series. Smart People's Noam Murro directs from a script by Zac Snyder and Kurt Johnstad.

18. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Release Date: 4 October 2013

Directed by: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Michael Madsen, Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen, Jaime King, Jamie Chung, Alexa Vega, Dennis Haysbert

Dwight plans to have his vengeance against the woman who betrayed him, Ava Lord, while Nancy is trying to cope with Hartigan's death.

19. The Great Gatsby

Release Date: 10 May 2013

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki, Amitabh Bachchan

The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.

20. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Release Date: 23 August 2013

Directed by: Harald Zwart

Starring: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Jemima West, Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Aidan Turner

Lily Collins stars as a young girl whose life is upended when she realizes that she's part of a long line of demon-slayers in this Screen Gems adaptation of Cassandra Clare's first book in her series of best-selling novels. Lena Headey and Jonathan Rhys Meyers head up the rest of the starring cast.

NEXT >>> TOP 10

Top 75 Movies to Watch in 2013 (PART IV)

21. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Release Date: 22 November 2013

Directed by: Francis Lawrence 

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Toby Jones, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone, Amanda Plummer, Willow Shields, Lynn Cohen, Patrick St. Esprit, Meta Golding, Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Wright

After returning home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and fellow tribute Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) try to forget their time in the arena. But all is not well in the districts; rebellion is simmering. As they embark on the Victors Tour of the districts, Katniss has to prove to the Districts that her act to save both her and Peeta in the arena was not that of defiance against the Capitol, but one of love for him. Meanwhile, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games, otherwise known as The Quarter Quell, to try and remind the districts who is ultimately in control.

22. 47 Ronin

Release Date: 25 December 2013

Directed by: Carl Rinsch

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kou Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi

From ancient Japan's most enduring tale, the epic 3D fantasy-adventure 47 Ronin is born. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors. 47 Ronin is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch (The Gift). Inspired by styles as diverse as Miyazaki and Hokusai, Rinsch will bring to life the stunning landscapes and enormous battles that will display the timeless Ronin story to global audiences in a way that's never been seen before.

23. Thor: The Dark World

Release Date: 8 November 2013

Directed by: Alan Taylor

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Jaimie Alexander, Idris Elba, Zachary Levi, Stellan Skarsgård, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Christopher Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Rene Russo

Marvel's "Thor: The Dark World" continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel's "Thor" and "Marvel's The Avengers," Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

24. Monsters University

Release Date: 21 June 2013

Directed by: Dan Scanlon 

Starring: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Dave Foley, Julia Sweeney, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Jennifer Tilly, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger, Ken Jeong, Rob Riggle, J.B. Smoove

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn't always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. "Monsters University" unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends. 

25. Carrie

Release Date: 15 March 2013

Directed by: Kimberly Peirce

Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Gabriella Wilde, Portia Doubleday, Judy Greer, Ansel Elgort, Alex Russell, Cynthia Preston, Michelle Nolden

A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.

26. A Good Day to Die Hard

Release Date: 14 February 2013

Directed by: John Moore

Starring: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Yuliya Snigir, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Anne Vyalitsyna, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

When John McClane's son Jack gets into trouble while in Russia, McClane travels to Moscow to help him out, only to get caught up in a terrorist plot involving the circumstances behind his son's arrest.

27. The Hangover Part III

Release Date: 24 May 2013

Directed by: Todd Phillips 

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Mike Epps, Mike Tyson, Heather Graham, John Goodman, Sasha Barrese, Sondra Currie, Justin Bartha, Jeffrey Tambor, Gillian Vigman, Jamie Chung

The Hangover Part III is an upcoming American comedy film produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the sequel to 2011's The Hangover Part II, and the third and reportedly final film in The Hangover franchise.

28. After Earth

Release Date: 7 June 2013

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan 

Starring: Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Isabelle Fuhrman, Zoe Kravitz

A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

29. Epic

Release Date: 24 May 2013

Directed by: Chris Wedge

Starring: Beyoncé Knowles, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Chris O'Dowd, Steven Tyler, Blake Anderson, Judah Friedlander

An army of bugs summon mythical creatures known as Leaf Men to help them protect their garden from an evil spider queen. Based on a children's book by William Joyce.

30. Oldboy

Release Date: 11 October 2013

Directed by: Spike Lee

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen, Josh Brolin, Sharlto Copley

Oldboy follows the story of an advertising executive who is kidnapped and held hostage for 20 years in solitary confinement without any indication of his captor's motive. When he is inexplicably released, he embarks on an obsessive mission to discover who orchestrated his bizarre and torturous punishment only to find he is still trapped in a web of conspiracy and torment. His quest for revenge leads him into an ill-fated relationship with a young social worker and ultimately to an illusive man who allegedly holds the key to his salvation.

31. The Tomb

Release Date: 27 September 2013

Directed by: Mikael Hafstrom

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Vincent D'Onofrio, 50 Cent, Vinnie Jones, Sam Neill, Amy Ryan, Faran Tahir

Action superstars Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger team up in the action-thriller THE TOMB. Ray Breslin (Stallone), the world's foremost authority on structural security, agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called "The Tomb." But when he is wrongly imprisoned, he must recruit fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) to help devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape from the most protected and fortified prison ever built. 

32. The Host

Release Date: 29 March 2013

Directed by: Andrew Niccol 

Starring: Max Irons, Saoirse Ronan, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt, Frances Fisher

Parasitic aliens called "Souls" have invaded the Earth and have begun to possess the minds of humans. Melanie Stryder's body has been inhabited by a Soul named Wanderer, but she refuses to fade away. Wanderer starts to see Melanie's memories, in which she sees her loved ones and eventually finds a connection with them, too. Melanie is trapped inside Wanderer's mind, speaking to her mentally, when both decide to set off and find Melanie's loved ones.

33. Gangster Squad

Release Date: 11 January 2013

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Robert Patrick, Michael Pena, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Nick Nolte, Wade Williams, Mireille Enos, Sullivan Stapleton, Frank Grillo

Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and-if he has his way-every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop...except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart.

34. G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Release Date: 29 March 2013

Directed by: Jon Chu

Starring: Channing Tatum, Ray Park, Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Elodie Yung, D.J. Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson, Byung-hun Lee, Jonathan Pryce, RZA, Walton Goggins, Joseph Mazzello, DeRay Davis

The film will feature the G.I. Joe Team coming into a conflict with Zartan, Storm Shadow and Firefly, all serving under the newly released Cobra Commander. Zartan (who is still impersonating the President of the United States) frames all G.I. Joe operatives as traitors to the United States, exterminating most of them and leaving a small group of survivors.

35. Oz: The Great and Powerful

Release Date: 8 March 2013

Directed by: Sam Raimi 

Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, Joey King, Zach Braff, Bruce Campbell, Abigail Spencer, Tony Cox

Disney's fantastical adventure "Oz The Great and Powerful," directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved wizard character. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking-that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great wizard but into a better man as well. When small-time magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) pulls one flimflam too many, he finds himself hurled into the fantastical Land of Oz where he must somehow transform himself into the great wizard-and just maybe into a better man as well.

36. Jack the Giant Slayer

Release Date: 1 March 2013

Directed by: Bryan Singer 

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Ian McShane, Eddie Marsan

Jack the Giant Killer tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack, into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend-and gets the chance to become a legend himself. 

37. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Release Date: 25 January 2013

Directed by: Tommy Wirkola

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Zoe Bell, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Thomas Mann

After getting a taste for blood as children, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have become the ultimate vigilantes, hell bent on retribution. Now, unbeknownst to them, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches...their past. 

38. Saving Mr. Banks

Release Date: 20 December 2013

Directed by: John Lee Hancock

Starring: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Ruth Wilson, B.J. Novak

When Walt Disney's daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers' "Mary Poppins," he made them a promise one that he didn't realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney's plans for the adaptation. For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn't budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp. It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.

39. Anchorman: The Legend Continues

Release Date: 20 December 2013

Directed by: Adam McKay

Starring: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Christina Applegate, David Koechner

The continuing, escalating misadventures of a humble San Diego news anchor.

40. Jack Ryan

Release Date: 25 December 2013

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley

Jack Ryan is an upcoming American action-thriller directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on the character Jack Ryan. The film stars Chris Pine in the title role, becoming the fourth actor to assume the role, following Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck. The film is scheduled for release on December 25, 2013.

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