Top Potential Films For 2014

57 For 2014 – That’s the total number of films I researched that I think will be from generally entertaining to all the way at being dramatic and thought provoking for 2014.

Upon reading their various plots and seeing a few advance trailers, I believe this is a pretty solid list of films that have the potential to do well and or being on several short lists as the best films for 2014. 

Those you see highlighted in “BLUE” I have a high threshold of interest.

The 10 highlighted in Red are on my must see list for 2014.

1.    "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" (Jan. 17)

2.    "The Monuments Men" (Feb. 7) - George Clooney's erstwhile Oscar contender was moved to 2014 to avoid the crunch of year-end 2013 releases. (It still looks great despite the date change.) Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett all co-star.

3.    "RoboCop" (Feb. 14)

4.    "Non-Stop" (Feb. 28) -Liam Neeson in a suspense thriller played out at 40,000 feet in the air during a transatlantic flight from New York City to London.

5.    "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (March 7) - Wes Anderson's new film includes the usual coterie of Anderson regulars (Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Harvey Keitel, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton, Owen Wilson) and newcomers like Saoirse Ronan and Ralph Fiennes. "What happened, my dear Zero, is I beat the living shit out of a sniveling little runt called Pinky Bandinski." Where do we check in?

6.    "300: Rise of an Empire" (March 7) - This. Is. Sparta. Again.

7.    "Veronica Mars" (March 14)

8.    "Bad Words" (March 14) - Jason Bateman directs subversive comedy as Guy Trilby, a 40-year-old who finds a loophole in the rules of The Golden Quill national spelling bee and decides to cause trouble by hijacking the competition.

9.    "Grace of Monaco" (March 14)

10.  "Divergent" (March 21)

11.  "Muppets Most Wanted" (March 21)

12.  "Stretch" (March 21)

13.  "Nymphomaniac Part 1" (March 21) - is the story of a girl named Joe a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who is discovered badly beaten in an alley by an older bachelor, Seligman who takes her into his home. Stars Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Uma Thurman, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Connie Nielsen and Udo Kier.

14.  "Noah" (March 28) - Biblical epic about Noah, of Noah's Ark fame.

15.  "Breathe In" (March 28)

16.  "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (April 4)

17.  "Dom Hemingway" (April 4)

18.  "Under The Skin" TBD

19.  "Draft Day" (April 11)

20.  "Sabotage" (April 11)

21.  "St. Vincent De Van Nuys" (April 11)

22.  "Transcendence" (April 18)

23.  "Only Lovers Left Alive" (April 11)

24.  "The Other Woman" (April 25)

25.  "Locke" (April 25)

26.  "Chef" (May 9)

27.  "Godzilla" (May 16)

28.  "Million Dollar Arm" (May 16)

29.  "Maleficent" (May 30) - Angelina Jolie plays the evil queen in this new take on Disney's "Sleeping Beauty."

30.  "A Million Ways To Die In The West" (May 30)

31.  "Edge of Tomorrow" (June 6)

32.  "The Fault in Our Stars" (June 6)

33.  "Jersey Boys" (June 20) - Clint Eastwood directs this adaptation of the hit Broadway musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

34.  "Tammy" (July 2)

35.  "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (July 11)

36.  "Jupiter Ascending" (July 18)

37.  "Hercules" (July 25)

38.  "Get On Up" (Aug. 1) - Chadwick Boseman, who played Jackie Robinson in "42," stars as Soul Singer James Brown in Tate Taylor's ("The Help") new film.

39.  "Sex Tape" (Aug. 1)

40.  “Lucy" (Aug. 8) - The plot summary for Luc Besson's "Lucy," as written by THR: "a woman is forced to become a drug mule, but the drug instead goes into her system, transforming her into an ass-kicking machine. She can absorb knowledge instantaneously, is able to move objects with her mind and can't feel pain and other discomforts." Scarlett Johansson plays Lucy.

41.  "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For" (Aug. 22)

42.  "Jane Got A Gun" (Aug. 29)

43.  "The Equalizer" (Sept. 26) - Denzel Washington reunites with "Training Day" director Antoine Fuqua for "The Equalizer," a reboot of the popular '80s television series.

44.  "This Is Where I Leave You" (Sept. 12)

45.  "Gone Girl" (Oct. 3) - David Fincher's follow-up to "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is another novel adaptation: "Gone Girl," Gillian Flynn's mystery thriller. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike star, with Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry in supporting roles.

46.  "Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" (Oct. 10)

47.  "The Judge" (Oct. 10) - Free from Iron Man for the moment, Robert Downey Jr. stars as a man who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral and then finds out that his estranged father has been arrested for murder. Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, Melissa Leo and Leighton Meester co-star.

48.  "Interstellar" (Nov. 7) - Christopher Nolan's first film since "The Dark Knight Rises" is a sci-fi epic starring Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway and many others. The trailer elicits goosebumps with the smallest of details. Imagine what the finished film might do.

49.  "Untitled Brad Pitt WWII Movie" (Nov. 14) - Formerly titled "Fury," this film stars Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, Michael Pena and a tank and the invasion of Iraq

50.  "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" (Nov. 21)

51.  "Exodus" (Dec. 12) - Not to be outdone by Darren Aronfosky's "Noah," here's Ridley Scott's "Exodus," with Christian Bale as Moses.

52.  "Annie" (Dec. 19) -

53.  "Into The Woods" (Dec. 25) - Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt and more star in this adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's hit musical.

54.  "Unbroken" (Dec. 25) - Angelina Jolie directs this true account of Olympian Louis Zamperini, who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.

55.  "Magic In The Moonlight" (TBD) - Woody Allen's annual film stars Colin Firth, Emma Stone and Emma Stone's cute hat.

56.  "Foxcatcher" (TBD) - Bennett Miller's presumed 2013 Oscar contender became a presumed 2014 Oscar contender when Sony Pictures Classics moved the film off its original December release date. Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo all star.

57.  "Inherent Vice" (TBD - Paul Thomas Anderson adapts Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel about a stoner detective. Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Jena Malone, Maya Rudolph and many more all-stars.