44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013: Part 3

Popculturology is holding off on releasing our picks for top films of 2012 for a few weeks (look, no one invited us to a screening of Zero Dark Thirty, so we're missing a key piece), but that doesn't mean we can't start talking about what 2013 has in store for us at the theater. We'll bring you Popculturology's 44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013 in four installments this week.

Check out the first 11 movies after the jump. The order is strictly alphabetical, so don't worry that something ridiculous like G.I. Joe: Retaliation comes before an Oscar contender like Saving Mr. Banks. As always, head to the comments to let us know which movies you're looking forward to in 2013.


The Lone Ranger
May 31
Disney hopes to replicate the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise with The Lone Ranger, reuniting Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer. Armie Hammer, best known for playing the Winkelvii twins in The Social Network, dons the Lone Ranger's mask.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 2


Man of Steel
June 14
Will Zack Snyder deliver the Superman movie we've been hoping for? After Superman Returns wound up just being a lukewarm rehashing of Richard Donner's Superman movies, Man of Steel needs to establish the superhero in today's world. With Christopher Nolan producing and Henry Cavill looking the part (but not looking like Christopher Reeve), Man of Steel could take Superman to new heights.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 3


Monsters University
June 21
John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprise their roles in the prequel to one of Pixar's most-underrated movies. Monsters, Inc. is one of the studios most creative projects, and Monsters University appears to have the ingredients to expand the secret world of monsters.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 3


Now You See Me
June 7
Jesse Eisenberg and Isla Fisher play magicians ready to pull off a huge heist. Morgan Freeman and Mark Ruffalo play men who are ready to stop them. Morgan Freeman. And magic. Do I need to say more?
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 2


Oblivion
April 12
Joseph Kosinski teams up with Tom Cruise in this futuristic scifi thriller before the director gets to work on Tron 3. I didn't mean to put two movies that feature Morgan Freeman in a row, but Oblivion also has Freeman. And secrets. Lots of secrets.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 2

Olympus Has Fallen
March 22
We're going to get two movies about Secret Service agents having to protect the president after the White House is attacked by terrorists. Olympus Has Fallen is the one starring Gerald Butler as the Secret Service agent and Aaron Eckhart as the president, with Antoine Fuqua directing.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 1

Only God Forgives
No release date yet
Drive was one of the best film's in 2011 (if you didn't like it, we have to reconsider our friendship), and Only God Forgives partners Ryan Gosling with director Nicholas Winding Refn again. From what we've heard and seen about Only God Forgives, the duo plans on delivering a film that's just as violent as Drive.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 4


Oz: The Great and Powerful
March 8
The Lone Ranger isn't the only live-action franchise Disney hopes to launch in 2013, with the studio having high hopes for Oz: The Great and Powerful too. James Franco takes time out from his busy General Hospital schedule to star as the man who would become the Wizard of Oz. Sam Raimi directs.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 2


Pacific Rim
July 12
While he's best known for his use of animatronics and puppets in films like Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Pan's Labyrinth, director Guillermo del Toro has some epic CGI action planned with Pacific Rim. Massive interdimensional monsters? Check. Equally massive human-driven robots? Check. Let's smash them together now and see what happens.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 2


Pain and Gain
April 26
Before he joins director Michael Bay to fight alongside some Autobots in Transformers 4, Mark Wahlberg will star as a roided-up, gym rat-turned-criminal in the director's Pain and Gain. The Rock co-stars.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 1


The Place Beyond the Pines
March 29
Ryan Gosling must have made it his mission to reunite in 2013 with the directors who got his career's best performances, since the actor finds himself working with Derek Cianfrance, his Blue Valentine director, in The Place Beyond the Pines. Soon-to-be-Oscar-nominee Bradley Cooper co-stars. Hopefully The Place Beyond the Pines doesn't turn everyone into a weepy mess like Blue Valentine did.
Oscar contender on a scale of 1 to 5: 5

Check back on Friday for 44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013: Part 4. Don't forget to check out 44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013: Part 1 and 44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013: Part 2 too.