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FeedMost Anticipated Films of 2011
Here's a look at some of the most exciting films being released in 2011. (for full list, please visit jaredmobarak.com)
While Jon Favreau may say that 2011 will be about bloodbaths, blockbusters, and 3D, those aren't the movies that most intrigue me. Yes, Jack Sparrow, Lightning McQueen, Holmes and Watson, the Witwickys, Ethan Hunt, and Ghostface are returning. not to mention Avengers and Mutants.
But none of these big name flicks really beg for me to watch when there is so much original and inventive material on the docket. Some brilliant auteurs are returning to multiplexes around the country with singularly creative visions, making 2011 a memorable cinematic year, as follows:
Dates listed are correct as of publishing
10. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (12/09/11) – Leave it to Martin Scorsese to pull in an amazing list of actors for a family film adaptation involving a boy who lives in the walls of a 1930s era Paris train station.This is also his first try at 3D and I’m buying a ticket opening day. I have a hunch he’ll do something special with the technology. 
9. Immortals (11/11/11) – A repeat offender from my 2011 list—this time with a new title—Tarsem Singh’s tale of Theseus and titans imprisoned in the labyrinth finally has a release date. This is one of those projects that may or may not have a great story, contains a mix of young newcomers (Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto, and Kellan Lutz) and old character types (Mickey Rourke, Stephen Dorff, and Stephen McHattie), but my interest in seeing it lies mainly with the desire to glimpse what Singh’s Minotaur will look like. 
8. Super 8 (06/10/11) – The maker of Cloverfield returns for Round Two of viral media and top-secret filmmaking. J.J. Abrams is writing and directing as well as producing. He says early Spielberg inspired him.
7. Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011) – Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged finally receives a cinematic adaptation. After Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie couldn't get it done, an independent production company “The Strike” Productions takes on the daunting tale of intellectual and human value pitted against a manipulative Hollywood system. The cast includes a lot of unknowns and is helmed by first time feature film director Paul Johansson, (who did a great job behind the camera of some “One Tree Hill” episodes). Supposedly part one of three. 
6. Hanna (04/08/11) – One of the best directors working today, Joe Wright proved he could do more than just spectacular period pieces with the effective The Soloist. With this action/thriller, he enlists Atonement star Saoirse Ronan to portray a cold-hearted killer who is taken in by a French family who hope to wean her from her dark lifestyle. Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana—two of my favorites—star. 
5. Source Code (04/15/11) – Duncan Jones has decided to follow up the one-man Moon with an ensemble cast in his sophomore science fiction film Source Code. A soldier wakes up in the body of a commuter who witnesses a train explosion, and then discovers he's part of a government project. Jones's assured debut gives me confidence that he’ll follow it up with another winner.
4. Sucker Punch (03/25/11) – Genre maestro Zack Snyder, recently named director on the new Superman, decides against another graphic novel adaptation, following 300 and Watchmen, and creates a unique vision all his own. In this dark fantasy, an institutionalized girl uses an alternate reality to plan her escape.
3. Melancholia (2011) – Lars von Trier new thriller has an intriguing cast—Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander and Stellan Skarsgård, John Hurt, and the ever-creepy Udo Kier. 
2. The Adjustment Bureau (03/04/11) – Looking like a cinematic brother to a favorite of mine, Dark City, and based upon a short story from Philip K. Dick, George Nolfi’s romantic sci-fi film starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt looks promising. In an atmosphere of pre-programmed destinies, a politician and a ballerina attempt to continue a love affair that was never supposed to last longer than one meeting.
1. The Tree of Life (05/27/11) – Having recently watched Terrence Malick’s complete oeuvre—a brilliant foursome of films spanning almost forty years—I was pleased to hear that his newest finally has a firm theatrical release date. Malick skipped festivals to make sure his vision came out just as he wanted. A story about the loss of innocence, the film stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Expect gorgeous cinematography, and a storyline founded in introspection.
photography: [1] Chloe Moretz and Asa Butterfield on location of Hugo Cabret in Paris. Photo from http://cosmic-girl.com. [2] Mickey Rourke in Immortals. Photo from http://www.slashfilm.com/. [3] Super 8 image from http://www.super8-movie.com/. [4] Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) converses with her brother James (Matthew Marsden) at the Rearden Anniversary Party. ©2010 THE STRIKE PRODUCTIONS [5] Saoirse Ronan in Hanna. Photo from http://www.collider.com/. [6] Source Code Jake Gyllehaal and Michele Monaghan. Still taken from trailer. [7] (L-r) ABBIE CORNISH as Sweet Pea, JENA MALONE as Rocket, EMILY BROWNING as Babydoll, SCOTT GLENN as the Wise Man, VANESSA HUDGENS as Blondie and JAMIE CHUNG as Amber in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' action fantasy "SUCKER PUNCH," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Clay Enos [8] Kiefer Sutherland, Lars von Trier, Kirsten Dunst, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Photo by Kirstine Kiilerich. [9] MATT DAMON stars in the thriller "The Adjustment Bureau" as a man who glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue the only woman he's ever loved (EMILY BLUNT) across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York. Photo Credit: Andy Schwartz © 2010 Universal Studios [10] Jessica Chastain on the set of The Tree of Life. Photo from http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/.
