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SALT LAKE CITY -- Movie studios love their little films. They're often the artistic gems that get noticed throughout award season, and occasionally, in cases such as "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Paranormal Activity," offer high returns with very little investment.
But there's a lot of money to be lost on the low- to medium-sized projects. General audiences don't want to risk the ever-growing cost of a movie ticket and two hours of their busy lives on a subtitled movie about a guy who may or may not have a mustache ("La Moustache").
Sure, they might catch it on Netflix or pick it up at the nearest Redbox, but when it comes to generating serious revenue, Hollywood invests in the tent pole — a high-priced, flashy spectacle designed to guarantee profitability for studios no matter how poorly their little projects perform.
Luckily for moviegoers, and possibly because Hollywood types are very superstitious, 2012 has a tent-pole lineup worthy of possibly our last year on earth.
Here's what we have to enjoy until spring of 2012.
Sure it's a repeat, but it was a breakthrough film, and Disney spent a lot of money converting its Best Picture nominee to 3D. Not a fan of 3D but still wanting to enjoy an evening of nostalgia with your favorite little ones? ThinkGeek sells 2D glasses that will convert any 3D film back to the dimension from which it came.
However you experience it, though, there's a reason this film was the first animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture. Beautiful, memorable and one of the final traditionally animated films Disney could be proud of.
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George Lucas has been talking about this film for ages now. Whenever a reporter would ask him about any projects he had in the works outside of "Star Wars," he'd have to say something about the classic WWII story of the Tuskegee airmen.
After the “Star Wars” prequels and the latest “Indiana Jones” adventure, Lucas may not have the following he once enjoyed, but it's obvious this project has been his labor of love. Hopefully, we'll see some of the old George here, and a little less of the Jar Jar Lucas we've been seeing for the last decade or so.
“Star Wars: Episode I - the Phantom Menace 3D”
Speaking of Jar Jar, you can see him in 3D in February. A film that absolutely didn't live up to the hype, but probably took a little more heat than it should have, "Star Wars: Episode I" makes a return to the theater for audiences new and old.
“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” and “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”
These movies may not seem like they belong together on this list, but they do. Neither sequel had particularly strong original films, and most people raise an eyebrow when they hear that someone took the time to create a sequel. Also, both films are playing the 3D card, and neither film appears any better than their predecessor.
But you never know. There was a lot of bad press coming out before last year's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," and it turned out to be one of the dark horses of 2011.
Converting Dr. Seuss classics to film has been both a beautiful and terrifying experience. Animated ventures ("Horton Hears a Who") have proven more successful than live action ("Cat in the Hat") for sure, and DreamWorks is hoping its latest adaptation will continue that tradition.
Is the world ready for a Taylor Swift and Zac Efron project? On March 2, we'll know for sure, but the trailers definitely project a storybook charm that suggests another successful Seuss experience.
If you follow any movie news at all, you've been hearing about "John Carter" for some time now. Back in 2004, Kerry Conran was slated to direct a version of the film co-written by Harry Knowles of Aintitcool.com fame. That’s probably the version the world wanted to see. Harry has been obsessed with this project since he was a kid and very passionate about seeing his dream movie realized.
However, through a series of Hollywood handoffs, Disney and Pixar ended up with the rights and revised the script. This March, we find out if a half-naked man on Mars fighting CG aliens was worth the wait.
One of two "Snow White" movies coming to theaters this year, "Mirror Mirror" sells itself as a playful, Julia Roberts vehicle for the whole family. Starring Lily Collins as Snow White, trailers for this movie feel like a Bollywood take on Robin Hood — while "Snow White and the Huntsman," scheduled for a June release, looks like a “Twilight” meets “Lord of the Rings” take on the classic fairy tale. There's a promtional clip on YouTube worth watching.
Critics of "Clash of the Titans" were pretty brutal. Rottentomatoes.com has it listed with a painful 28 percent, enjoying such stinging comments as "It isn't a train wreck — a train wreck would be memorable" from critic David Edelstein of New York magazine.
So, why the sequel? Hopefully because there's a great story they just couldn't quite get to in the first film. Maybe this will be that rare sequel that's better than the original, and in fact, make people take a second look at the first film as they say, "You know, that's much better than I remember it."
It's possible. No really, it happens.
Observers have called this the most anticipated release of this first set of films. "The Hunger Games" has a solid fan base already, and while not as fanatical as "Twilight" or "Harry Potter" enthusiasts, "Hunger Games" fans are anxious to see if the movie can live up to their imagination.
The final movie in the pre-Spring lineup is "Pirates: Band of Misfits." "Wallace and Gromit" creators are back at it with their British wit and patient animation process yielding beautiful visuals.
Sans "Brave," this is probably the movie animation buffs are most excited for this year. Sony Pictures Animation is lucky to have any affiliation with Aardman Animations these days, and "Pirates" looks to prove that once and for all.
Post-Spring is when the real heavyweights come in: “The Avengers,” “Men in Black III,” “Prometheus,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Brave,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Hobbit,” etc. So, so many great ones on the way.
But forget about those for now. While there’s still snow on the ground, grab a friend and catch a few of these off-season movies. There are some potentially great films to start the year off right with.
