2016 has come to a
close, and, instead of dwelling on the past, let's look to the
future. And what brings more joy than movies?
Here are the top
fifteen that have me waiting eagerly to throw money at tickets. If
you don't see a movie you're eager to see on here, keep in mind that:
A. Out of the
multitude of movies coming out this year, I only selected the top
fifteen.
B. You and I could
be anticipating vastly different movies.
That being said,
here we go!
#15: WONDER
WOMAN
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
was polarizing at best. Suicide Squad
was such a disaster, FEMA should have been offering support at the
theaters for those who saw it, and Justice League isn't
looking too hot either.
So why is Wonder Woman on
this list? To put it bluntly, history is about to be made. Wonder
Woman is the first female-led
solo superhero adventure film and the first superhero film from a
major motion picture studio to be led to directed by a woman. If the
movie is a success, it could be the much needed stone to break the
glass ceiling in Hollywood. If it fails, it could be the first step
in destroying the DC Extended Universe forever.
So either way, it's a win.
#14: SLEIGHT
Sundance films come and go. Films
produced by Jason Blum are a dime-a-dozen these days. So what makes
Sleight so special?
Well, first of all, we're not getting Now You See Me 3 this
year, so I need an outlet for magic with attitude. Also, it's the
first major project for Dule Hill since the tragic cancellation of
Psych.
In reality though? This film just
looks cool, and it's obnoxious that, after it debuted at Sundance in
2016, we're not getting it until this year.
#13: THE
LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
The Lego Movie was a
cash-grab film done right. It was an absolute visual delight, it had
one of the best voice casts of any animated film, and, just when you
think you're head is going to explode from the overwhelming
awesomeness, it packs a hell of a punch once you realize its
unexpected depths.
Do I expect The Lego
Batman Movie to equal these
depths? Not even close. Lightning rarely ever strikes twice.
However, this does look like one hell of a fun time at the box
office, and it looks like Warner Bros is going for the jugular and
attacking the overly serious comic book films it helped to create.
It may not be amazing, but it will
certainly have balls.
#12: LIFE
Action films are starting earlier
and earlier every year, making Spring the new Summer. Life
looks to be capitalizing on this
in 2017, opening up in late March.
What makes Life stand
apart is that has Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds in their first
movies after the biggest films of their recent careers (Nocturnal
Animals and Deadpool,
respectively), and that first trailer looks haunting and intense –
kind of the way that Ridley Scott's Alien
must have looked to audiences in the 70s. I'm excited.
#11: THE
MUMMY
Usually I try to keep reboots off
these sort of lists because, well, they're often shitty ideas. That
being said, The Mummy has
a lot going for it.
Like him or not, Tom Cruise has been
in a career renaissance as of late, and this looks like it could be
another notch in his box office belt. Adding in Russell Crowe as
Henry Jekyll, Sofia Boutella as the titular antagonist, and Alex
Kurtzman in his big action film debut, and this film could be the
exception to the anti-reboot rule.
#10: STAR
WARS EPISODE VIII
By now, it's clear what my opinion
of Rogue One was. So
why would Star Wars Episode VIII
make this list at all? The better question should be “Why wouldn't
it make this list?”.
While it's the sequel to The
Force Awakens, the first Star
Wars film to make me feel and
see what all the fuss has been about this franchise for over 30
years, it's also the first film to be a shining example of the Marvel
model: take a star in the indie film community, give them a budget,
and make a movie that will please fans and make shit-load of money in
the process.
This time, it's Rian Johnson's turn.
After writing and directing Brick,
The Brothers Bloom,
and Looper, Johnson is
writing and directing Episode VIII.
What's the story going to be ? What's going to happen to Princess
Leia now that Carrie Fisher has passed away? Will Joseph Gordon
Leavitt show up like Johnson's previous three films? The wait is
palpable.
#9: DUNKIRK
It's never too early to start
thinking about Oscar season, and Dunkirk
has Oscar bait written all over it.
Writer/director Christopher Nolan
returns after a disappointing turn in Interstellar
with this WWII film that is a departure from the dark noir and Batman
films he's mostly known for. While the trailers of the film have
been light on plot details and action, the cast alone – featuring
Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Kenneth Branagh – is
more than enough to be optimistic about.
Also, the last time Nolan wrote and
directed without his brother Jonathan was Inception.
Enough said.
#8: GUARDIANS
OF THE GALAXY VOL 2
Spoiler alert: the next three films
are Marvel movies. The fact that we're getting three Marvel Studios
films this year is enough to be excited about.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
is the epitome of inevitable sequels. Hell, its tagline is “Of
course”, which is almost as arrogant as its predecessor's tagline
“You're welcome”. Already Vol 2
is making waves, showing more action and laughs in the trailer than
the first film had in its first half – possibly even the entire
movie.
Add in new cast members Sylvester
Stallone, Kurt Russell, and Nathan Fillion, and it's easy to be
excited about this movie.
#7: SPIDER-MAN:
HOMECOMING
Like I said, reboots are bad ideas.
Reboots after only three years since the last attempt isn't just a
bad idea – it's usually a fucking death sentence.
However, every rule has its
exception, and Spider-Man Homecoming embodies
this exception. Fans finally get what they've been asking for since
Tobey Maguire hung up the Spidey suit: Marvel Studios is at the helm
now. Tom Holland's Peter Parker was road-tested in last year's
incredible Captain America: Civil War
to satisfyingly giddy results, and Michael Keaton as The Vulture
seems like an amazing decision (and not just because he previously
starred in a movie called Birdman).
#6: THOR
RAGNORAK
As I've always been a fan of the MCU
since the first Iron Man
film, the solo films which usually have been the weakest links in the
franchise have been Thor
films.
What makes Thor: Ragnorak
more anticipated than the other
two MCU films we're getting this year is simple mathematics.
1. We haven't heard from Thor since
Avengers: Age of Ultron,
and another romp with the Asgardian demigod is something that fans
have been wanting eagerly since his absence in Civil War
was painfully noticed.
2. More Avengers in a solo film?
Yes, yes, and yes! Mark Ruffalo shows up as Bruce Banner/Hulk, who
has also been absent since Ultron,
and brings a taste of Planet Hulk
(which fans have been begging Marvel for for ages). Also, Benedict
Cumberbatch is slated to show up as Doctor Strange, who had easily
the best solo debut of any Marvel Studios character.
3. Remember Thor's sinister, dark
visions in Ultron?
How about an entire movie of that?
Seriously, Marvel. Just take my
fucking money now.
#5: BEAUTY
AND THE BEAST
Ready to feel old? Disney's
animated masterpiece (and I do not use this term lightly) was 26
years ago.
Riding the immense success of
adapting their animated films into live-action masterpieces with
Cinderella, Pete's Dragon
and, most importantly, The Jungle Book,
Disney is rolling one hell of a dice with Beauty and the
Beast.
Adding new songs as well as the
classic ones we've all grown up with, and touting a glorious cast
with the likes of Emma Watson, Josh Gad, Ewan Macgreggor, Ian
McKellan, Emma Thompson, Luke Evans, and Kevin Kline, Beauty
and the Beast has an insane
amount of potential.
#4: THE
DARK TOWER
Given the fact that fantasy fans and
Stephen King fans alike have been yearning for this film to come to
the big screen for nearly 20 years now, you would think The
Dark Tower would have been at
the top spot of my list.
With
Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey headlining the film, why is not?
Well, I'm still not convinced it
will actually come out this year.
Yes, it finally has a firm cast and
release date, but yeah. Still not convinced.
If it does, though, it will be
AMAZING!
#3: KINGSMAN:
THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
The final comic book-related film on
the list, Kingsman: The Golden Circle may
not be the sequel everyone has been waiting on (since The
Secret Service just came out in
2014), but it is proving to be quite an anomalous sequel.
While overnight sensation Taron
Egerton returns as the film's star, and director Matthew Vaughn
returns to helm the first sequel of his career, it's the rest of the
cast that has clamoring for this sequel harder than any other.
Channing Tatum, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Vinny
Jones, Colin Firth (yes, you read that right), and Elton John (yes, I
assure you, you read that right) fill out this already impressive
cast as the Kingsman crew come to America.
Whether or not the film will hold up
to its predecessor, The Golden Circle will
almost definitely be worth the ticket price.
#2: GET
OUT
Horror films have never really been
my forte as of late, mostly because, well, most of the new horror
films have sucked. Hard.
But Get Out seems
to be taking the horror genre back to its roots as a vehicle for
social commentary, and that has me more excited than I have been for
a horror film in over fifteen years. It shouldn't be any surprise
that this one comes from horror producer juggernaut Jason Blum.
Writer/director Jordan Peele, the
lesser-seen half of Key and Peele, steps out from in front of the
camera and into the director's chair for this film about a young
African American man who goes to visit the family of his white
girlfriend, and the bizarre horrors that follow.
When a director has something to say
about race relations in modern America, it's always exciting. So
it's time to get excited about Get Out.
#1: MURDER
ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
As much as I love comic book films,
comedy, and other examples of popcorn flicks, one genre that always
excites me is mystery. I've always loved good mystery and murder
films from the likes of Hitchcock and film noir giants, and no one
did stories like these better than Agatha Christie.
Murder on the Orient Express,
directed by Kenneth Branagh (who also stars as the famous detective
Hercule Peroit), brings one of the most famous Christie novels to
life with one of the most stellar casts I've ever seen in a film.
Daisy Ridely, Michelle Pfeiffer, Josh Gad, Johnny Depp, Penelope
Cruz, Dame Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Michael Pena, and Leslie Odom Jr
star in this ever-growing cast.
This film is easily the most
promising film of the year, and could possibly be one of th ebest
movies of the 2017.
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