Best Movies Due in 2012?

Picking the best movies for 2012 is not quite a shot in the dark. All you need for a great movie is a top director, an excellent cast, a wonderful and original screen play plus plenty of money to lavish on production.

Except, it doesn't really work like that. Stars fight. Directors turn into alcoholics. Mega bucks are poured into special effects that get more groans than ahhs! Screenplays that look great on paper turn to dust in the actors' mouths.

So, maybe the predictions for top movies on this page should be seen as a volley of shots in the twilight. I reckon I will hit a few winners and miss a few.

Dark Shadows due 11 May

Tim Burton directs Johnny Depp in 'Dark Shadows' a gothic horror tale.

Depp plays Barnabus, a wealthy playboy cursed by a woman he wrongs and doomed to become a vampire. After a 200 year sleep, Barnabus must deal with his contemporary, dysfunctional family. It is based on the 60's TV cult classic, 'Dark Shadows'.

There is old time Lord of the Undead, Christopher Lee onboard and rumors of equally old time, Alice Cooper. Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green and Bella Heathcoate should make the production sparkle

I am taking a chance on this one. Anyone who enjoyed 'Sleepy Hollow' or 'Sweeny Todd' will probably want to check this out. Just don't forget the pretty lousy 'Alice in Wonderland'. 'Dark Shadows' could be another stinker.

Depp fans with kids might want to look out for 'The Lone Ranger' from director, Gore Verbinski (he also directed 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'). That is due 21 December.

The Dark Knight Rises (due July)

Two of the most bankable names in Hollywood team up again for the latest Batman. It is hard to imagine Director Christopher Nolan and (the slightly crazy?) Christian Bale messing up this oppertunity to take the Dark Knight one step closer to the heart of the American imagination.

They are joined by the usual suspects; Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Friedman.

Nolan sees his final Batman as a chance to wrap up the storylines developed in earlier films. It has been shot in Los Angeles, New York, India, London, Glasgow and Pittsburgh- so Gotham City will less of a star.

Anne Hathaway looks more alley cat than Persian in her Cat Woman jump suit. Which is sort of appealing.

The Hobbit

I reckon I am on safe ground with this one. Director, Peter Jackson hasn't stumbled yet and his Lord of the RIngs is masterly.

There are two Hobbit movies in the pipeline: 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' is due 14 December 2012. 'The Hobbit: There and Back Again' will be released 2013.

The cast is stellar with many 'Lord of the Rings' favorites. Andy Serkis returns as Gollum. Elijah Wood is Frodo. Orlando Bloom is Legolas and Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf.

Cate Blanchard- the closest thing we have to a Hollywood Goddess, right now, will surely beguile as Galadriel.

If this is not the number one box office draw for Xmas 2012, I reckon New Zealand must have burnt down.

Super Hero Movies

This is getting to be a genre in itself. Spiderman will return. Nicholas Cage appears in Ghostrider. Wolverine 2 and Deadpool are expected.

Should I have included Batman here? No, I reckon Batman has made its own place in the movie world.

'The Avengers' due 4 May

The pick of the super hero movies looks like being the Marvel Comics based 'Avengers'.

Chris Evans plays Captain America, Scarlett Johansson is the Black Widow, Robert Downey Jr.is Ironman one more time and after this impressive line up there is still room for Paul Bettany. Samuel L. Jackson and Gwyneth Paltrow (as Pepper Pots!).

With Joss Whedon, of 'Buffy the Vampire' fame as director, it has a chance of being fun.

The movie is 3D which may be a good thing or a bad thing (why are so many 3D movies so lame?).

Comedy

OK, you are on your own here. There are a lot of comedies in production but nothing that really screams 'I will be the best'. Also, comedy is one of those things that happens or doesn't. Throwing talent at a project is no guarantee of success.

I am picking the outsider movie "Gambit" with Colin Firth. Why? because it was written by the Cohen Brothers and it has one of my favorite screen villains- Alan Rickman. A Texan oil man is the target of a hoax.

More likely to get big office is 'Moonrise Kingdom' with Bruce Willis, Edward Norton and Owen Wilson. Young Lovers cause mayhem in a New England town when they disapear.

Adam Sandler, Leighton Meester and James Caan star in 'I hate you Dad'. James Caan is an impossible father staying with his son and the bride to be.

Sci Fi

'Total Recall' due 3 August in the US

Arnold Schwarzenegger took the starring role in the original outing. He was not perfect but the movie worked and a whole slew of stolen identity and lost memory movies followed.

This version has a great cast- including Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston and Jessica Biel.

Director, Len Wisemen, made the very entertaining 'Men in Black' and the less than stellar 'Independence Day'. Can he handle a dark theme like mind control? I'm hoping he can.

It is based on Philip K. Dick's short story 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale'. Now that is a classy pedigree. Encouragingly, the producers say it is truer to the book than the earlier movie

Animation

'Brave' expected June 22, 2012.

Scotland has no track record as a setting for animated classics so maybe I am going out on a limb here. In a year of sequels though, I reckon there is no choice.

I was swayed by the trailer of course- well, it did win an Oscar. And, I have always been a fan of the underrated, Kelly MacDonald.

She voices the Princess with an illicit fascination for archery. Billy Connolly is her outraged father.

Scotland itself might be the star- that landscape is astonishing in Pixar's rendering.