5 Must See Movies This Winter

There are a lot of crap movies out there… A LOT, but it’s my job to filter through that crap and bring you wonderful, loyal followers the goodness that is brilliant cinema.  I felt it was high time to take a look at what is going to be hitting theaters in the next couple months and give you a quick synopsis on each, and direct you over to some sweet behind the scenes footage, and their respective trailers.

2012 – Out Now

So you guys have definitely heard about the blockbuster this winter (is it winter yet?) that is 2012.  Roland Emmerich’s crazy destruction movie in which the prophecies of the Mayan calender that predict that the world will end on December 21st 2012, come true.  The two things that I have heard about this move are acting=blah, VFX=absolutely phenomenal.  I have yet to see the movie so I can’t pass judgment myself, but the behind the scenes featurettes that I have seen over the last few months are reason enough to get me out of the house and grab a 9 dollar ticket and see it on the big screen.  Some of the features I am talking about can be found here: 30 Ninjas Coverage of 2012, Vegas In Ruins, Yellowstone Eruption Featurette, & The Special Practical Effects @ Cominsoon.net.

Avatar – December 18th

Easily one of the most hyped up and talked about movies this winter is James Cameron’s Avatar.  This is a movie that he has been developing the concept for, writing, planning and biding his time waiting to make until it was actually possible to conceive what he saw in his mind, to the big screen.  This is going to be an absolutely huge experience, and this is a definite must see in the theaters.  It stars Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation) as a paraplegic marine named Jake Sully, who is part of a military operation to gain the indigenous people of Pandora’s (an alien land) trust.  They want to collect a substance worth a ton of money, but the people live above it.  The military creates these synthetically grown beings, called avatars, where they hook Jake up to a machine and he can live through his avatar and gain the people of Pandora’s trust.  After a while Jake decides to fight the military, having a change of heart, and basically all hell breaks loose and awesomeness ensues.  Check out the theatrical traailer here, or this 4-minute BTS feature.

Sherlock Holmes – December 25th

Now, maybe it’s just me, but I am super psyched to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie.  I mean, as badass as Robert Downey Jr. can be, and looking at the trailer for the movie, I don’t see how it could be anything other than amazing.  Basically if you don’t already know… Sherlock Holmes was in Guy Ritchie’s words “the first real superhero” in the thought that, his brain was his superpowers, Watson was his sidekick, and he always seemed to stop all the bad guys from their evil plans.  I don’t know if I will be seeing this on opening day, since it is on Christmas, but I will definitely put a few bucks aside to see it that weekend.  You can check out the trailer over at Apple.com, and a sweet Behind the Scenes Featurette here.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – NY & LA – Dec. 25th, Internationally – Jan. 8th

Terry Gilliam is a brilliant director, and this movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is chuck full of superstar actors, breathtaking visual effects, and some concepts that just blow your mind. The story is of Doctor Parnassus, who made a deal with the devil, Mr. Nick, thousands of years ago to trade his daughter when she became 16 years of age, in exchange for immortality. Well, he didn’t have a kid for a few thousand years, but it is nearing that time, and now Mr. Nick is coming to collect. This movie almost looks like action filled “Across the Universe” with some really good actors thrown into the mix. According to the Official Site, it opens up in New York and Los Angeles on Christmas Day, and the rest of the world on January 8th. Keep and eye on the Official Site, and check out some of the behind the scenes pieces too.

Legion – Janary 22nd

This almost seems like it’s going to be another bang-bang, shoot-em-up film, but I can’t help believing its got some amazing potential to blow up the box office.  It’s about a lone angel that comes down from Heaven to protect a woman and her unborn child, because apparently it’s the only hope for humanity… or something like that.  It’s kind of based on the story of Noah, when God lost faith in man, He flooded the Earth… but this time He is sending Angels to exterminate the human race.  It’s a pretty out there story, but what isn’t these days?  Check out the trailer on Apple.com, or you can see the Red Band trailer here (it’s safe for work).  Sadly, there is no behind the scenes coverage that I could find for this movie as of yet, but make sure you keep your eyes peeled and watch the Official Website as well for more news.

It is definitely going to be a good winter for movies, and I personally can’t wait to have a few really good reasons to hit the theaters.  So my question to all of you is, what movie of all of these are you most amped for, or if I forgot one of your most anticipated… what is it?  Let us know in the comments below!