56 geek movies of 2011

Geeky movies are my obsession. I’ll watch almost any superhero, science-fiction, fantasy, or even pseudo-science film. Maybe that’s why I’m excited and a little afraid of this year’s movie line-up.

I’m excited because one of my all-time favorite comic book characters, Thor, is coming to the big screen. When you add in another Pirates movie and Cowboys & Aliens, I’m like a three-year old waiting for Christmas.

There is some trepidation as well. Many of this year’s releases are clustered around the same opening dates. Given the current state of the economy, I’m worried that a number of the films won’t do very well. If that happens, it’s quite likely that some knucklehead in Hollywood will decide that geek movies don’t make money, so they’ll cut back on those types of films — at least until someone strikes box office gold, and the cycle will start all over again.

Here is a list of the 2011 movies that might interest geeks of all ages. My rating scale (Opening night, Matinee, DVD, Cable, or Never) is a slightly modified version of Jay Garmon’s rating scale. (Disclaimer: This list is not written in stone; movies’ release dates sometimes change.)

1. Season of the Witch
A hold-over from my 2010 list of geek movies. A group of knights transports a suspected witch to a monastery to stand trail with disastrous results. [trailer]
Release date: January 7
Rating: Matinee

2. The Green Hornet
Another hold-over from last year. Britt Reid and Kato fight crime in this classic comic turned movie. [trailer]
Release date: January 14
Rating: Opening night

3. The Rite
A priest from the United States studies at a school specializing in exorcisms. [trailer]
Release date: January 28
Rating: Cable

4. Sanctum
A cave diving team experiences a crisis in a remote unexplored cave. [trailer]
Release date: February 4
Rating: DVD

5. The Eagle
A young Roman soldier attempts to recover his father’s lost legion emblem, a golden eagle.
Release date: February 11
Rating: DVD

6. I Am Number Four
A high school student with a secret identity seeks to escape a hunter who has destroyed three others like him. [trailer]
Release date: February 18
Rating: DVD

7. Beastly
A 21st century version of Beauty and the Beast. [trailer]
Release date: March 4
Rating: Never

8. Battle: Los Angeles
The story of a group of Marines defending Los Angeles from an alien invasion. [trailer]
Release date: March 11
Rating: Matinee

9. Red Riding Hood
A live action update of the classic fairytale — with a werewolf. [trailer]
Release date: March 11
Rating: Matinee

10. Mars Needs Moms
A boy embarks on an interplanetary adventure in an effort to recover his mother who has been abducted by Martians. [trailer]
Release date: March 11
Rating: Never

11. Limitless
An aspiring author takes a secret drug that gives him extraordinary mental abilities. Unfortunately, he attracts unwanted attention. [trailer]
Release date: March 18
Rating: DVD

12. Paul
Two geeks from the United Kingdom befriend an alien and attempt to stay one step ahead of the authorities. [trailer]
Release date: March 18
Rating: Opening night

13. Sucker Punch
A girl is institutionalized by her family and escapes into fantasy with the help of four other girls. [trailer]
Release date: March 25
Rating: Opening night

14. Source Code
A soldier whose mission is to find the bomber of a commuter train awakes in the body of another man. [trailer]
Release date: April 1
Rating: DVD

15. Hop
A bad driver fills in after running over the Easter Bunny. [trailer]
Release date: April 1
Rating: Never

16. Your Highness
A prince’s intended is kidnapped, and he must rescue her with the assistance of his lazy brother. [trailer]
Release date: April 8
Rating: Matinee

17. Scream 4
The fourth installment in this horror series. [trailer]
Release date: April 15
Rating: Never

18. Apollo 18
A video about the canceled Apollo mission surfaces that seems to indicate the mission wasn’t actually canceled.
Release date: April 22
Rating: DVD

19. Thor
In an effort to teach his son humility, Odin casts out Thor to live among the humans in Midgard. [trailer]
Release date: May 6
Rating: Opening night

20. Priest
When vampires kidnap his niece, a priest ignores church law to hunt them down. [trailer]
Release date: May 13
Rating: DVD

21. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Jack Sparrow and Barbossa are among several groups of pirates hunting the fountain of youth. [trailer]
Release date: May 20
Rating: Opening night

22. X-Men: First Class
The story of two men, Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, who discover that they are not like the rest of the human race.
Release date: June 3
Rating: Matinee

23. Super 8
A mysterious new film by J.J. Abrams. [trailer]
Release date: June 10
Rating: Matinee

24. Green Lantern
A test pilot is given a ring by a dying alien that grants membership in a intergalactic peacekeeping organization. [trailer]
Release date: June 17
Rating: Matinee

25. Cars 2
The sequel to Pixar’s/Disney’s 2006 Cars. [trailer]
Release date: June 24
Rating: Cable (if I’m the only one home)

26. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Both the Autobots and Decepticons learn of a derelict Cybertronian spacecraft on Earth’s Moon. [trailer]
Release date: July 1
Rating: DVD

27. Zookeeper
The animals of a zoo break their code of silence to help a zookeeper. [trailer]
Release date: July 8
Rating: Cable

28. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The final chapter in the Harry Potter saga.
Release date: July 15
Rating: DVD

29. Captain America: The First Avenger
A man who is unfit for military service becomes a super soldier with the aid of science.
Release date: July 22
Rating: DVD

30. Cowboys & Aliens
In 1873 all that stands between aliens and the conquest of Earth is a posse of cowboys. [trailer]
Release date: July 29
Rating: Opening night

31. The Smurfs
Those annoying little blue creatures have hit the big screen and Manhattan. [trailer]
Release date: August 3
Rating: Never

32. The Darkest Hour
A group of Russian teenagers try to survive an alien invasion.
Release date: August 5
Rating: Cable

33. Conan the Barbarian
During the Hyborian Age, Conan seeks revenge for the destruction of his people.
Release date: August 19
Rating: Matinee

34. Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World
The fourth installment to Disney’s young spy series.
Release date: August 19
Rating: Never

35. Final Destination 5
The fifth in a series that shows you can’t really cheat death.
Release date: August 26
Rating: Never

36. The Apparition
A college experiment results in a couple being haunted.
Release date: September 9
Rating: Cable

37. Piranha 3DD
The sequel to last year’s fish story about prehistoric man-eaters.
Release date: September 16
Rating: Never

38. Real Steel
A vision of a future where humanoid robots battle in the boxing ring. [trailer]
Release date: October 7
Rating: Matinee

39. The Thing
The story of a group of Norwegian scientists in Antarctica who discover an alien spacecraft buried in the ice. Can you say, “Se til helvete og kom dere vekk. Det er ikke en bikkje, det er en slags ting! Det imiterer en bikkje, det er ikke virkelig! KOM DERE VEKK IDIOTER!!”?
Release date: October 14
Rating: Opening night

40. The Three Musketeers
Alexandre Dumas’ novel returns to the big screen. Wine, swords, wenches, and muskets — it sounds like a good way to spend a fall weekend afternoon.
Release date: October 14
Rating: Matinee

41. Paranormal Activity 3
The third installment of the poltergeist-type tale.
Release date: October 21
Rating: Never

42. Contagion
All that stands between a disease and the human race is a group of international team of doctors.
Release date: October 21
Rating: Cable

43. Dibbuk Box
A girl purchases a box that contains an ancient evil.
Release date: October 28
Rating: Cable

44. Now
In a future where the genetic cause of aging is turned off, time has become currency.
Release date: October 28
Rating: DVD

45. 11-11-11
On the eleventh day of the eleventh month, an otherworldly entity arrives on Earth.
Release date: November 11
Rating: Never

46. Immortals
Chosen by Zeus, Theseus must battle the legendary Titans to save the human race.
Release date: November 11
Rating: DVD

47. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1
The first part of the last of Stephenie Meyer’s cutesy vampire books.
Release date: November 18
Rating: Never

48. The Muppets
The Muppets team up to save their old theatre.
Release date: November 21
Rating: Matinee (with a disguise)

49. Rise of the Apes
Genetic experiments create intelligent apes and cause a war for supremacy.
Release date: November 23
Rating: Matinee

50. Untitled Sherlock Holmes sequel
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson match wits with Professor Moriarty. Need I say more?
Release date: December 16
Rating: Opening night

51. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
The fourth in this classic spy series.
Release date: December 16
Rating: DVD

52. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
A girl hacker aids a journalist in the search for a woman 40 years missing, or dead.
Release date: December 21
Rating: Matinee

53. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
The young reporter from the Belgian comic finally comes to the big screen in this Spielberg directed motion picture.
Release date: December 28
Rating: Matinee

54. Cloud Atlas
Six interconnected stories each set in a different time and place. Stars Halle Berry, Natalie Portman, James McAvoy, and Tom Hanks.
Release date: 2011 (no specific release date yet)
Rating: Opening night

55. The Cabin in the Woods
A horror movie penned by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard. [trailer]
Release date: 2011 (no specific release date yet)
Rating: Cable

56. Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope
A behind the scenes look at San Diego’s Comic Con written by Joss Whedon and directed by Morgan Spurlock.
Release date: 2011 (no specific release date yet)
Rating: DVD

What movies are on your must-see list this year? Let us know in the discussion.