2012 is now officially over, and over the past few weeks we've been looking back at what the best of 2012 had to offer.  As we turn our attention to the year ahead, it’s time for the latest installment of our “Most Anticipated” feature.  Throughout 2013, we'll once again be taking a quarterly look at what Collider's editors are most looking forward to, and today we're focusing on the films that will be hitting theaters from January through March.Hit the jump to see the films that Matt, Adam, Brendan, and Dave are most anticipating in the next few months.

Matt’s Picks

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MAMA

Director: Andrés Muschietti

Cast: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, and Isabelle Nellsse

Release Date: January 18

Why I’m Excited: When it comes to horror films, I'm always receptive to Guillermo Del Toro's stamp of approval.  In addition to hearing positive buzz on the flick, I like the creepy vibe I'm getting from the film.  There seems to be a strong mystery at the center revolving around a ghost-witch of some kind, and I'm eager to uncover the source of the film's tension.  I also like that while the kids are clearly troubled, they're not evil.  Evil kids in movies are so dull and silly.  You can't be afraid of something you can dropkick.

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WARM BODIES

Director: Jonathan Levine

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, Dave Franco, and John Malkovich

Release Date: February 1

Why I’m Excited: I hope Nicholas Hoult has a great year.  He's a great young actor with a lot of charisma, and Warm Bodies will be the first of his two leading roles this year (the other is Jack the Giant Slayer).  Warm Bodies easily looks like the better of the two, and writer-director Jonathan Levine (50/50) is a great choice to bring this off-kilter love story to life (or at least un-death).

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SIDE EFFECTS

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Channing Tatum, and Catherine Zeta-Jones

Release Date: February 8

Why I’m Excited: If Sodebergh is truly retiring, then this is his penultimate film, and his last theatrically released feature (Behind the Candelabra will premiere on HBO), so it shouldn't be missed.  Even after watching the trailer, I can't fully understand the plot of Side Effects, but it looks like a tight mystery-thriller fed through Sodebergh's keen subversion of genre.  Soderbergh had a terrific 2012 with Haywire and Magic Mike, and I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that Side Effects isn't some anti-medication screed.

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STOKER

Director: Park Chan-wook

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney, Jacki Weaver, and Nicole Kidman

Release Date: March 1

Why I’m Excited: Park Chan-wook's previous feature, Thirst, fell short for me, but it looks like he'll be back at the top of his game with Stoker, his first English-language feature.  The movie looks seductive, dangerous, and twisted.  I'm particularly excited to see Mia Wasikowska work with what looks to be a killer (no pun intended) role.  Like other movies on this list, I'm not entirely sure what to expect from Stoker, and that's what makes it such an enticing flick.

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THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE

Director: Don Scardino

Cast: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini, Jim Carrey, Jay Mohr, and Michael Bully Herbig

Release Date: March 15

Why I’m Excited: Yes, Steve Carell and Jim Carrey will probably be right at home in the outsized personas they'll be playing in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, and I look forward to what they'll bring to the roles.  But after watching the trailer, I'm even more excited to see Steve Buscemi and Alan Arkin's performances.  They could easily be the scene stealers in a flick that looks like a lot of fun.

 

Adam’s Picks

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WARM BODIES

Director: Jonathan Levine

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, Dave Franco, Analeigh Tipton, and John Malkovich

Release Date: February 1

Why I’m Excited: Since seeing rejuvenated popularity a few years ago, the zombie genre has become a tad stale and predictable as of late.  There are still a few bright spots here and there (season three of The Walking Dead), but the attempt to capitalize on the "zombie craze" has resulted in a watering down of the genre.  On paper, the notion of mashing up zombies with a teen-geared romance story sounds like a pretty terrible cash-grab, but after seeing two trailers for Warm Bodies I’m inclined to believe that director Jonathan Levine has crafted a wholly unique take on the story.  It looks funny, strange, and sweet all at the same time, and if Levine can nail the same mix of humor and heart that he did with 2011’s 50/50, I think Warm Bodies could be a worthy entry to the zom-rom-com genre.

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SIDE EFFECTS

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, and Catherine Zeta-Jones

Release Date: February 8

Why I’m Excited: The simple fact that this could very well be the final theatrically-released film from Steven Soderbergh ever is enough to include this on my list, but the notion that Soderbergh looks to be going out with a bang is icing on the cake.  The cast is undeniably impressive, but it’s the trippy first trailer and the description of the film as a “psychopharmacology thriller” that make this one of my most anticipated films of the first quarter.  Weird Soderbergh is the best Soderbergh.

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STOKER

Director: Park Chan-wook

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney, and Jacki Weaver

Release Date: March 1

Why I’m Excited: If you’ve seen Chan-wook’s South Korean revenge drama Oldboy then Stoker, his English-language directorial debut, is already on your radar.  The film’s trailers and posters hint at a much more sinister and almost fairy tale-esque twist on the pic's seemingly straightforward premise, and I’m beyond eager to see what this whole thing is really about.

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CARRIE

Director: Kimberley Peirce

Cast: Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Alex Russell, Gabriella Wilde, Ansel Elgort, and Portia Doubleday

Release Date: March 15

Why I’m Excited: Director Brian De Palma’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel Carrie is an incredibly tough act to follow, but Screen Gems assembled a promisingly impressive crew to tackle this new remake.  Chloe Moretz has more than proven her talent in front of the camera and Julianne Moore is just plain incredible, but it’s the involvement of Boys Don’t Cry’s Kimberley Peirce as the film’s director that really has me hopeful.  Though Carrie is indeed a very effective horror story, there’s a great deal of subtext to be mined in King's source material, and Peirce is unlikely to leave that stone unturned.  Thus far we’ve only seen a very brief teaser trailer, but I’m really, really interested to see what kind of chemistry materializes from the contentious mother-daughter relationship between Moretz’s Carrie and Moore’s Margaret.

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THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES 

Director: Derek Cianfrance

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelsohn, and Rose Byrne

Release Date: March 29

Why I’m Excited: I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since the project was first announced, but my anticipation level rose significantly when the film premiered to rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival last September.  Comparisons to The Godfather and descriptions of the pic as an epic crime saga make for significantly high expectations, but the film’s first trailer delivered the goods and then some.  I admired Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine more than I enjoyed it, but everything about The Place Beyond the Pines promises it’ll be right up my alley.  Fingers crossed.

 

Brendan’s Picks

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WARM BODIES

Director: Jonathan Levine

Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, Dave Franco, Analeigh Tipton, and John Malkovich

Release Date: February 1

Why I’m Excited: Jonathan Levine made one of my favorite films of 2011 in 50/50, so I would be eager to check out any follow-up he made.  Warm Bodies gets extra points for a clever premise---zombie boy falls in love and recharges his soul---and casting the charming Nicholas Hoult as the lead.

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SIDE EFFECTS

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Channing Tatum, and Catherine Zeta-Jones

Release Date: February 8

Why I’m Excited: Recall that the Year of Channing Tatum began with his role in Soderbergh's  Haywire in January 2012.  Let's extend his hot streak into the 2013.  The trailer suggests Side Effects will be a brutal watch, but as always, Soderbergh secured a great cast to make the medicine go down.

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STOKER

Director: Park Chan-wook

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney, Jacki Weaver, and Nicole Kidman

Release Date: March 1

Why I’m Excited: Did I call Side Effects brutal?  I think Stoker might actually mess me up psychologically.  But such is the specialty of Oldboy director Park Chan-wook.  I can't wait to see if his work is as effectively disturbing in English as it is in Korean.

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ADMISSION

Director: Paul Weitz

Cast: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Michael Sheen, Wallace Shawn, Gloria Reuben, Nat Wolff, and Lily Tomlin

Release Date: March 8

Why I’m Excited: I am no different than the rest of the internet.  I love Paul Rudd and I love Tina Fey.  Of course they should team up.  Think of all the GIFs!  But even outside the internet, there is always a need for a solid adult dramedy---I hope Admission can deliver.

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THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

Director: Derek Cianfrance

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne, Dane DeHaan and Bruce Greenwood

Release Date: March 29

Why I’m Excited: The devastating impact of Cianfrance's debut feature, Blue Valentine, stays with me.  I don't really know what Place Beyond the Pines is about, and I want to keep it that way.  The reteaming of Cianfrance and Gosling plus good reviews from the festival circuit is good enough for me.  Now I get to go in fresh.

Dave’s Picks

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GANGSTER SQUAD

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Cast: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Peña, Sullivan Stapleton and Robert Patrick.

Release Date: January 11

Why I’m Excited:  I was excited to see this film before some asshole shot up a movie theater in Colorado which forced a delayed release date and time-consuming editing process to remove objectionable material (ie a scene in which a theater is shot up).  The last few gangster movies (Lawless and Public Enemies come to mind) didn't quite land with me, so I'm hoping the fantastic cast of Gangster Squad will right that ship.  It will also be interesting to see if Fleischer's directorial talents will transcend his current resume of comedies.

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CARRIE

Director: Kimberly Peirce

Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Gabriella Wilde and Portia Doubleday

Release Date: March 15

Why I’m Excited: I normally wouldn't put a reboot in a most anticipated list, but Peirce and Moretz promise to bring enough originality to the Stephen King tale to make it worthwhile.  This first teaser trailer suggests that Peirce's version might stick a bit closer to King's book and include some more scenes of devastation that weren't seen in the 1976 original film from director Brian De Palma.  That picture landed Academy Award nominations for Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie, which is a great testament to the source material and a measuring stick of sorts for Moretz and Moore.

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THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

Director: Derek Cianfrance

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne, Dane DeHaan and Bruce Greenwood

Release Date: March 29

Why I’m Excited: I know next to nothing about the film beyond this fantastic trailer and Matt Goldberg's review, but when a film draws comparisons to The Godfather, that's more than enough to put it on my most anticipated list.  I'm anxious to see the inevitable collision course that Gosling and Cooper's characters happen to be on as two well-intentioned fathers on opposite sides of the law.  The Place Beyond the Pines could easily end up as a predictable crime drama but all indications suggest it is anything but.

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JOHN DIES AT THE END

Director: Don Coscarelli

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Clancy Brown, Daniel Roebuck and Doug Jones

Release Date: January 25

Why I’m Excited: The first film in ten years from the man behind Phantasm, The Beastmaster and Bubba Ho-Tep, John Dies at the End comes with built-in "cult classic" potential.  The trailers have been even more insane than expected, even when a movie features a psychotropic drug named "soy sauce" and a walking monstrosity made entirely of meat.  Honestly, I would have watched the movie already if its current VOD release had a more reasonable price point, but I'm happy to fork over the dough for its theatrical debut. Besides, I'm dying to see how it ends!

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DEAD MAN DOWN

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

Cast: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, Terrence Howard and Armand Assante

Release Date: March 8

Why I’m Excited: Though this film wasn't even on the radar as of a week ago, the recent trailer changed all that.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's Oplev and Rapace reteam for this revenge picture that hopes to jump start what will be a busy year for Farrell.  I'm looking forward to seeing more from this picture as the release date approaches, especially since it's a return to feature writing for screenwriter J.H. Wyman (Fringe, The Mexican).