My childhood is coming back WITH A VENGENANCE!

Well folks it's offically 2015. Like holy shit right? It's crazy! I remember when the year 2000 was supposed to be the end of the world. I also remember when 2012 was supposed to be the end of the world. I don’t know when the next end of the world is supposed to be but hopefully it can wait till after Batman V Superman comes out next year.  Then the world can end. 

You better not have some secret apocalypse we don't know about!

Anyway, 2015 is gonna be a big year for movies. Several big budget blockbusters are coming out and many of them have something in common – they’re reboots, sequels, or reboot-sequels to movies that I grew up loving. Jurassic World, Terminator: Genisys, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man! Actually, screw Ant-Man I don’t really care about that one.  

Let's just say I don't think they made the "Wright" choice . . . Ha ha . . . get it?

But the other ones sound awesome! Granted, a lot of people are reboot-weary and I totally get it, but this is exciting for me growing up loving these films and getting to see them reborn. I’d like to share with you why I’m so excited for these films.

TERMINATOR: GENISYS:

Whether we want it or not we're getting another Terminator movie. I'm excited for it. I wasn't at first, but then that trailer totally turned my frown upside down!

My crazy hair and I are so thrilled!

We all have a right to be worried. Not only is it being directed by the same guy that directed Thor: the Dark World but it's the fifth Terminator movie after 3 and 4 were . . . how do I put this delicately . . . those movies were terrible. Just awful. Terrible, terrible films. Well they weren't that bad, you know, if you haven't seen Terminator 2. And if you haven't seen it, then what the hell's the matter with you? It's on Netflix!

Anyway, I still hope this new Terminator film will be awesome and exciting. It's got the whole reboot-sequel aspect going for it in the vain of JJ Abram's Star Trek. I really enjoyed that film despite its many plot holes. And there were many. Oh well, it's still fun! And I think this new Terminator has the potential to be a lot of fun and an interesting new take on the Terminator franchise.

JURASSIC WORLD:

Here's something you may not know about me. When I first saw Jurassic Park the T-Rex scene scared the hell out of me. My mom had to take me out of the movie theater. I was 7 years old! And that thing looked really, really fucking real!

Jesus H Christ!

As I got older I appreciated the debate in the movie. Ian Malcolm became my favorite character and I loved his monologue about the "lack of humility before nature." It made perfect sense to me and it gave the movie more depth for me to enjoy other than just screaming at that fucking T-Rex.

I'm not putting that picture here again. I just can't do it!

When I heard they were making another Jurassic Park I became a little worried. It's 20 years later, are we STILL going to that island and letting secondary, disposable characters get eaten? Then I heard about the actual plot of the film. Jurassic World is a fully functioning amusement park like Sea World or Disney World or JJ World (it's a work in progress). Except people are becoming bored with regular dinosaurs (because you know that T-Rex just gets LESS scary with age), so the scientists decide to breed a new dinosaur. Then the dino escapes, people get eaten, and it's up to Star-Lord to save the day!

Who?

I like the idea of a new breed of dinosaur. Sadly, it's a realistic idea. We're bored with dinosaurs so let's make new ones! It's also kind of a meta-commentary on the film itself. We're bored with new movies so let's make old ones new! I think that's what they're trying to say. Either way, Chris Pratt is in it and I'm a big fan of his work. I mean, remember that one episode of Parks and Recreation where he went into outer space and became friends with that hot green chick from Avatar? . . . No? Hmm . . . it's possible I've been binge watching too many things at once. Either way, I have high hopes for Jurassic World and the return of BD Wong to the franchise. He was missed. 

He went from breeding female dinosaurs to training female warriors. Such a gay stereotype. 

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII - THE FORCE AWAKENS:

Here it is. The crown jewel of everyone's childhood. And JJ Abrams is gonna bring it back to its former awesomeness. 

Just look at him! 

Say what you will about the prequels but they at least attempted to be different and exciting new films. Many will argue that they didn't succeed but they still made billions of dollars and in the end that's all that matters. 

Star Wars means a lot to me. It was the kind of film you could watch over and over again and your parents were cool with it because they liked Star Wars too! Those original films were lots of fun to watch as a kid and as an adult I still get the same amount of excitement when my nephew asks to watch it for the 30th god damn time. I can't be mad though. It's actually really great watching Star Wars with a kid. He gets so into it, it's hard not to share his enthusiasm.  

JJ Abrams is a great storyteller and I'm sure that what he has in store for the new film will be nothing short of epic. I mean did you see that trailer? That was the frickin Millenium Falcon man! It was great! The truly exciting thing is how little we actually know about the movie. Abrams and his team keep their cards close to the chest, so we'll really only have internet rumors and speculation till that film finally debuts next Christmas. And it will be a great Christmas indeed!

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON:

This one is a bit of a cheat because I didn't read Avengers comics growing up and the movie is not that old. This film represents to me what I always thought comic book movies should be. They should be big events that everyone can enjoy and spend their summer in the movie theater instead of at the beach.

They don't have a Hulk so . . . No thanks 

The first Avengers film reminded me of the big summer movies I saw with my family as a kid like Independence Day, Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, and yes even Batman Forever. Those were event movies that drove people to the movie theaters. They were fun and exciting! They had big stars! They had toys! Avengers reminded me of my childhood and got me excited about being a comic book fan. The second one looks to be even bigger! And plus it will give the Marvel fans something new to brag about . . . So we can look forward to that . . . 

2014 was fun and some great movies came out but I'm always looking forward to the next thing. If the internet has taught me anything, it's to never live in the present. Till next time!

JJ - The Comic Junkie