Vagrant Rant M o v i e s . G a m e s . M u s i c . "L i f e".

Here are two more lists for you to disagree with at your leisure.

So just over a year ago year I got all excited about the pile of new movies and games that were coming out in 2012 and posted a pair of top ten lists to order my anticipation. As it turned out, I didn’t even end up watching some of the movies on the list and an embarrassing amount of the games I wrote about didn’t even come out in 2012. Here’s hoping I’ll be a little more accurate with this year’s equivalent.

For the sake of neatness, I’ll only count movies/games that are coming out after the month of March has run its course.

MOVIES

10. jOBS (Teaser)
I’m curious, OK? I don’t actually think Ashton Kutcher is the worst guy in the world and, even if his turn as the late great Steve Jobs sucks, this movie is still going to be talked about quite a bit and I want in on that conversation.

9. World War Z (Trailer)
Zombie movies can be great, they can be decent, or they can be so bad they’re good. In my lifetime I have never come across one that is just bad, and so I will happily watch the eerie World War Z when it hits.

8. The Great Gatsby (Trailer)
Baz Luhramann’s latest pulls out so many Moulin Rouge stops in its trailers that it kinda demands to be watched on style factor alone. Which I suppose is Luhrmann’s deal in the first place. Leo DiCaprio and Michelle Williams sweeten the deal.

7. Pacific Rim (Trailer)
On face value I can’t really believe that this movie is actually happening. It looks like Battleship meets Real Steel, and while the latter movie was surprisingly decent, the former, well, it kinda sucked. Everything changes, of course, when you realise that Guillermo del Toro is directing. Colour me hyped.

6. Despicable Me 2 (Teaser)
If there was ever a non-Disney, non-Dreamworks animated feature that surprised me enough for me to rate it among my favourite animated movies of all time, it’s the hilarious and heartfelt Despicable Me from Illumination Entertainment. Now a sequel is well on the way and while it will struggle to top the first one, you can bet I’ll be at the cinemas in week one to make that call for myself.

5. Man of Steel (Trailer)
I’ve never really liked Superman as a character, as I’ve never seen him depicted in a way that makes him relatable (with the possible exception of Smallville, where Clark Kent takes so long to become Superman that this is almost a moot point). However, it’s pretty hard to deny that the combination of Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder at the helm is more than a little promising. I am cautiously optimistic that Man of Steel will finally be the modern film that such a comic book icon deserves.

4. Monsters University (Trailer)
Pixar is in an unfamiliar position with critics at the moment, as the consensus on their last film Brave, while still favourable, was a bit less glowing than what the studio is typically used to. This is the first time Pixar has tackled a prequel and hopefully it can steady the ship with a well beloved property.

3. Iron Man 3 (Trailer)
Even pre-Avengers the Iron Man series was making some serious waves in the comic book movie world (and some serious money), but now there are even more eyes on Tony Stark and co. The trailers look absolutely fantastic and if the threequel can solve the final act problems of the first two, it might just end up as the best one yet.

2. Kick Ass 2 (Trailer)
The first Kick Ass thoroughly lived up to its name, ending up as easily one of my favourite comic book movies ever. The sequel, featuring a ripped Kick Ass and a grown up Hit Girl, looks to keep things decidedly un-PC. As long as it doesn’t drown itself in all those new characters I should be singing its praises come mid-year.

1. Catching Fire (Teaser)
Now that we know what Gary Ross achieved with the first Hunger Games adaptation, the sequel is arguably easier to screw up. New director Francis Lawrence will need to keep Panem’s politics in the foreground without letting them dominate the movie, plus he’ll need to ensure that its many plot points are balanced in the right way. I don’t envy him all that fanboy/fangirl attention, but I’m super keen to see this no matter what the verdict.
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GAMES

10. Remember Me (PS3/360/PC)
This one has snuck up on me and a lot of the rest of the world, but Capcom’s intriguing sci-fi stealth game is looking like a potential surprise hit. I will be picking this up come June.

9. Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)
Even though the Japanese will have had this game for almost half a year and the Americans for two months by the time we get it here in Australia in April, all reports indicate that it is an immensely deep game well worth waiting for.

8. Rayman Legends (Wii U/PS3/360)
I can’t help but feel very disappointed at Ubisoft’s decision to delay this spectacular-looking former Wii U exclusive, which was already all but finished, by seven months from February to September this year just so it could get a simultaneous multi-platform release. I just want to play it!

7. Pikmin 3 (Wii U)
Every little screenshot and detail that Nintendo releases for this game is making me a little more excited to play it. I’ve been waiting ten years for another Pikmin sequel and way too long for something more to play on my Wii U.

6. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
The last portable entry in the bizarre life sim series Animal Crossing, the DS’ Wild World, proved beyond doubt in my book that its gameplay is built to be accessed on the go. The myriad of small changes this game is bringing (e.g. pants, swimming, StreetPass) all look terrific and I want to play NOW.

5. The Last of Us (PS3)
The middle of the year is already looking jam-packed with quality releases and I fully expect this one to stand above them all. Every new piece of footage is more tantalising than the last and I refuse to let its apparent scariness get to me…

4. South Park: The Stick of Truth (PS3/360/PC)
I’m putting this one in the same place as it was on last year’s list and my feelings on it haven’t changed. I really hope Ubisoft’s acquisition of the license won’t change the vision of this excellent prospect too much.

3. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (Wii U)
I would imagine that my level of excitement for this game – a remake of one of my favourite Zelda titles ever – is matched by a vast number of Wii U owners. I know people who either already have or will purchase a Wii U just for it and, with Nintendo currently facing a drought of third party support for its newest console, someone at the Japanese giant needs to stand up and take notice. People will buy remakes of your past gems, so make some more please!

2. Just Cause 3 (?)
OK, so all we have to suggest that this game is even coming at all are two screenshots, but hey, last year only half of the games on my list even came out, and man, if this game is real… Hoo boy.

1. Pokemon x (3DS)
This was never going to be anything else. A new Pokemon game is never going to face much competition when it comes to anticipation in my book, but the first one in proper 3D, with a worldwide October release? Um, yes, definitely, please.

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By E3 I will probably have even more to look forward to in the way of games, plus enough new details on games I already know about to start getting hyped up about them (case in point: Watch Dogs, Destiny, the new Mario and Luigi, Beyond: Two Souls). With new consoles on the horizon things are looking very exciting indeed!