75 Movies to Get Excited About in 2014 (Part 4)

Popculturology is holding off on releasing our picks for top films of 2013 for a few weeks (look, no one invited us to a screenings of Her or Inside Llewyn Davis, so we're missing a few key pieces), but that doesn't mean we can't start talking about what 2014 has in store for us at the theater. Last year, Popculturology looked at 44 Movies to Get Excited About in 2013. Guess what? This year, we're bringing you a look at 75 movies. All for the same cost. You're welcome. We'll bring you Popculturology's 75 Movies to Get Excited About in 2014 in five installments this week.

Check out the fourth set of 15 movies here. The order is strictly alphabetical, so don't worry that something ridiculous like The Expendables 3 comes before an Oscar contender like Unbroken. As always, head to the comments to let us know which movies you're looking forward to in 2014.

MONDAY: Part 1 • TUESDAY: Part 2 • WEDNESDAY: Part 3

TODAY: Part 4 • FRIDAY: Part 5

The Monuments Men
Feb. 7
The Monuments Men could've been an Oscar contender, but George Clooney and his team decided to hold onto the movie in order to perfect its tone and special effects. If you've been watching the trailers for The Monuments Men, early on it was hard to tell if the film was supposed to be a historical drama or a buddy heist movie. Since The Monuments Men was delayed, the marketing for the film has become much more cohesive.



Mr. Peabody and Sherman
March 7
DreamWorks Animation brings the Peabody's Improbable History segments from the The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show to modern audiences in glorious computer-animated 3D. There's a scene in the trailer for Mr. Peabody and Sherman where the two main characters get shot out of the Sphinx's butt. If that's your kind of humor, this is your movie ...



Muppets Most Wanted
March 21
After triumphantly returning to the big screen with 2011's The Muppets, Kermit and the gang are back for another movie, heading to Europe this time. Much of the behind-the-scenes talent from The Muppets — director James Bobin and writer Nicholas Stoller — are back for this sequel. Jason Segel won't be, but a few very talented humans like Tina Fey and Ricky Gervais are replacing him in Muppets Most Wanted.



Need for Speed
March 14
Sure, Need for Speed may be the cinematic adaption of the video game series by the same name starring Aaron Paul, but if you've seen the end of Breaking Bad, you always pretend the movie tells the story of Jesse Pinkman's future adventures. Bitch.



Neighbors
May 9
Can Zac Efron woo the Seth Rogen branch of comedy? In Neighbors, Efron plays the leader of frat that disturbs the peaceful suburban existence of a couple played by Rogen and Rose Byrne. From the looks of the trailer, Neighbors could be the movie that makes people stop associating Efron with High School Musical, just like 21 Jump Street made people stop thinking of Channing Tatum as the Step Up guy.

Noah
March 28
Darren Aronofsky has built a career through directing small-budget, artsy films like Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain and Black Swan. Noah will be his first big-budget film — which seems to already be causing trouble. You'd think a story of Noah and Ark starring Russell Crowe should be pretty straight forward, but according to some reports, Aronofsky has added some environmental overtones to his film, which isn't sitting well with test audiences and his studio.



Non-Stop
Feb. 21
It's Liam Neeson. It's like Taken, but on a plane. That's all you need to know.



The Nut Job
Jan. 17
While Frozen ended the 2013 year of animation with class, The Nut Job should open 2014's animated slate with crass. There's fart jokes and an entire ad campaign based on Psy's "Gangnam Style" song. No idea how that song matches up with The Nut Job, but there's even an animated Psy in some of the commercials. Also not quite sure how Disney/Pixar hasn't sued the makers of The Nut Job for ripping off the design of Ratatouille's Remy.



Nymphomaniac
March 21 (Part 1) and April 18 (Part 2)
Director Lars von Trier is no stranger when it comes to controversy, and based on the posters and trailers for Nymphomaniac, there's more controversy on the way. When he wasn't busy plagiarizing, Shia LaBeouf shot a NSFW sex scene for the two-part Nymphomaniac. That Even Stevens reunion special is probably out of the question now.



The Other Woman
April 25
Oh look, it's Kate Upton in a bikini. [Buys ticket.]

Paddington
Dec 12
Another piece of your childhood is getting turned into a movie, but unlike abominations like Alvin and Chipmunks or The Smurfs, the team behind the Paddington movie is actually kind of impressive. Harry Potter uber-producer David Heyman is producing the movie and King's Speech Oscar winner Colin Firth is voicing the title bear. That's a step up from a Justin Long vocal track sped up.



Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones 
and Paranormal Activity 5
Jan. 3 and Oct. 24
After skipping a year, the Paranormal Activity franchise is back times two in 2014. The first spinoff of the series opens in early January, with an official sequel hitting theaters in October. After four movies, does Paranormal Activity still have what it takes to keep scaring up box office results?



Pompeii
Feb. 21
You probably never imagined that before Mount Vesuvius obliterated Pompeii, the ancient city was filled was vengeful gladiators and lovers torn apart by war. That's why we have Paul WS Anderson, the genius behind the Resident Evil movies to think up stories like Pompeii. Good luck teaching history, high school teachers.



Ride Along
Jan. 17
Kevin Hart's mission to star in every movie continues with Ride Along. The trailers for Ride Along have been consistently funny, with Hart exhibiting a knack for his trademark fast-paced delivery along with a willingness to throw himself around.



Rio 2
April 11
The first Rio didn't get nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, but the movie was still good enough to convince Pixar to cancel Newt, a planned movie of the studio's that apparently had a storyline too close to Rio's. While Pixar doesn't have a film in 2014, Blue Sky Studios will roll out Rio 2, hoping to build on the praise the studio got for Rio.