The cinematic year of 2017 is coming to
close, and what a year it has been. However, after going over the
movies coming out, it looks like 2018 is poised to be even bigger!
With big spectacle films, thought-provoking indies, and films so
bizarre, you'll have to purchase a ticket just to see what the fuck
is going on, 2018 is going to be huge.
How huge? The list of twenty films
(and one honorable mention) was whittled down from a much longer
list, and I left off some films that, while I'm anticipating, just
didn't quite fit the “most anticipated” title (Fantastic
Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald,
for instance...holy shit, was it difficult to leave this off the
list).
Brace
yourself for the weirdness and the awesomeness, and read on!
HONORARY
MENTION: TOMB RAIDER (March
16th)
When
Square Enix rebooted the video game franchise, it was met with
skepticism. That is, until it came out and amazed everybody.
Tomb Raider,
the movie adaptation of the video game of the same name, looks to do
so as well. Alicia Vikander takes over for Angelina Jolie as the new
Academy Award-winning actress to play Lara Croft. This time around,
however, the filmmakers opted to go against over-sexualizing the lead
character and going for intense action and going with the source
material. You know, the things the fans want.
So why
only an honorary mention? Simply put, video game movies tend to
suck. Hard. And, even though this movie looks awesome, I'm quite
skeptical of its quality.
#20:
THE DARKEST MINDS (September
14th)
Some
filmmakers opt to do superhero movies, post-apocalyptic action films,
or Holocaust dramas. Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu
Panda 2) opted to take themes
from all three and make pretty interesting-sounding movie.
Based
on the novel of the same name by Alexandra Bracken (who co-wrote the
screenplay), The Darkest Minds
sounds like the potential sleeper hit of the year. Nelson's
live-action debut and a cast featuring Mandy Moore and Gwendoline
Christie makes it that much more interesting.
#19:
A QUIET PLACE (April
6th)
Horror
movies made a huge splash in 2017, thanks to interesting, unique
films like Get Out and
It Comes at Night. A
Quiet Place, what appears to be
a horror film completely devoid of dialogue, appears to fit this
bill. The fact that it comes from actor/writer/director John
Krasinski, and features Emily Blunt and Wonderstruck's
Millicent Simmonds, makes it all the more intriguing.
#18:
MARY POPPINS RETURNS (December
25th)
Speaking
of Emily blunt, she's playing the titular character in Mary
Poppins Returns, which also
features Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Angela
Landsbury, and Dick Van Dyke, among others. The film sounds so good,
it almost makes up for the fact that it comes over 50 years after the
original.
#17:
GAME NIGHT (February
23rd)
Comedies
come and go, but comedy/action/mystery hybrids are rare to say the
least. Game Night
appears to be such a unicorn. Boasting a cast featuring Jason
Bateman, Kyle Chandler, Rachel McAdams, Jesse Plemons, and Billy
Magnuson, Game Night
should easily become one of the comedy gems of 2018.
#16: A
WRINKLE IN TIME (March 9th)
Disney
is all over this list, and for good reason: they make good films. A
Wrinkle in Time finally comes to
life in this stunningly colorful adaptation which features Chris
Pine, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon, and is directed by Ava
DuVernay.
#15:
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK-IT RALPH 2 (November
21st)
While
I tend to balk at Disney's obsession with making a sequel for
everything, a Wreck-It Ralph
sequel is always welcome.
The
lengthy title aside, Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It
Ralph sounds amazing. The
original cast comes back, and features many of voice cast of other
classic Disney films, such as Idina Menzel, Mandy Moore, Kristen
Bell, and Kelly Macdonald.
#14:
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (July
6th)
Just
like last year's list, a small section is dedicated to superhero
movies.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
is the sequel to the surprisingly amazing Ant-Man.
Paul Rudd returns as the titular Ant-Man, while Evageline Lilly
comes back to take the role of The Wasp. With Michael Pena and
Michael Douglas returning, and Michelle Pfeiffer joins the cast,
Marvel's superhero heist film will certainly get an amazing sequel.
#13:
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (December
14th)
Even
though Marvel Studios has nothing to do with the film, nor anything
to do with 2017's Spider-man: Homecoming,
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
still looks incredible. With a unique animation style, a plot
focusing on Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker, and a cast
featuring the likes of Mahershala Ali, Liev Shreiber, and Shameik
Moore, Into the Spier-Verse should
be an eye-popping feast for fans.
#12:
BLACK PANTHER (February
16th)
The
Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps amazing with every entry. But Black
Panther takes things to a whole
new level. Bringing in Creed
director Ryan Coogler to helm, and newcomers Lupita Nyong'o, Michael
B. Jordan, and Forrest Whitaker to join Chadwick Boseman, Andy
Serkis, and Martin Freeman. The first primarily African American
superhero film since last year's Sleight. This
should prove to be indredible.
#11:
THE INCREDIBLES 2 (June
15th)
It's a
sequel to The Incredibles, featuring
the original cast. Do I really need to continue? Didn't think so.
#10:
ROBIN HOOD (September
21st)
As
abysmal as Ridley Scott's film was in 2010, it doesn't change the
fact Hollywood keeps trying. But this Robin Hood
brings in Taron Egerton in the titular role, Jamie Foxx as Little
John, Jaime Dornan as Will Scarlett, and Tim Minchin as Friar Tuck.
Yes,
my expectations may be high for this, but I don't care. This looks
fun.
#9:
THE PREDATOR (August
3rd)
While
I don't always condone reboots, The Predator
is a unique exception. The cast includes Jacon Tremblay (yes, you
are reading that right), Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Jake Busey,
and Thomas Jane, and is written and directed by Shane Black.
If a
stellar reboot could save Planet of the Apes, it
could work for this.
#8:
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (December
25th)
Biopics
are a dime a dozen. I know, I say this every year, but it's true.
But Bohemian Rhapsody is
the biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. With Rami Malek (Mr.
Robot) as Mercury, and Bryan
Singer out as director, Rhapsody
could prove to be the biopic everyone wants.
#7:
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (2018)
(November 9th)
An
animated version of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole
Christmas with Benedict
Cumberbatch as The Grinch.
Yes,
enough said.
#6:
ANNIHILATION (February
23rd)
While
not a lot of details are swirling around about this bizarre sci-fi
film, Annihilation marks
writer/director Alex Garland's follow up to Ex Machina,
and stars Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, and Oscar Isaac. With a
trailer that is both intriguing and beguiling, and the talent backing
it, this should be quite the thrill ride.
#5:
READY PLAYER ONE (March
30th)
Ready Player One was
supposed to be released in 2017, and was delayed three months to
ensure the film was excellent. Judging by the trailers, it was a
good call.
Based
on the book by Ernest Cline (who also co-wrote the film with Zak
Penn), director Steven Spielberg returns to sci-fi in a big way.
Video game references, 80's nostalgia, and featuring performances by
Olivia Cooke, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance, Ben Mendelsohn, and T.J
Miller, what more could a movie fan want?
#4:
DEADPOOL 2 (June 1st)
Sequels
come and go. Comic book movies are common place. Comic book movie
sequels more predictable than the weather. But Deadpool 2?
This is the sequel fans have been waiting for since the moment this
first film opened.
Ryan
Reynolds, of course, comes back as the Merc with the Mouth, as does
Morean Bacarin, TJ Miller, and Briana Hildebrand. The newcomers
include Josh Brolin as Cable and Zazie Beetz as Domino, as well as
John Wick director
David Leitch. If this movie is even half as good as the original,
this will be incredible.
#3:
OCEAN'S 8 (June 8th)
2017's
Logan Lucky gave us
two things we didn't even know we were missing: Steven Soderbergh
and comedic heist films. Thanks to Ocean's 8,
we get both in 2018 as well.
Produced
by Soderbergh and from writer/director Gary Ross, this female-led(!)
companion piece to Ocean's Eleven
features Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean, Danny Ocean's sister, as
well as Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Dakota Fanning,
Olivia Munn, Mindy Kaling, and Helena Bonham Carter. The male cast
includes Richard Armitage, James Corden, and a cameo from Matt Damon.
John
Mulaney made a joke about how there could never be a female-led heist
movie. It will be fun to see how wrong he is.
#2:
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
(May 4th)
Justice League
may have soured the idea of superhero team-ups, but Avengers:
Infinity War is clearly making
it up to the fans.
The
first of the planned Avengers films in two years, Infinity
War brings Captain America, Iron
Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, The Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, and the whole
Guardians of the Galaxy all together in a giant epic team up ten
years in the making.
With
team-ups fans have been dreaming up for years, and the promise of
shaking things up for years to come (including some deaths of
prominent characters), Avengers: Infinity Wars is
almost guaranteed to be Marvel's next billion-dollar film.
#1:
THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS (August
17th)
Just
like last year, the top spot goes to a murder mystery. Unlike last
year, however, this murder mystery is about puppets. Yes, puppets.
Imagine
if L.A.Confidential
and Sesame Street had
an ass-backwards love child, you would get The Happytime
Murders, a murder mystery comedy
that is told almost entirely with puppets. Boasting a cast featuring
Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph, and Joel McHale,
with a script from Parks and Recreation's
Todd Berger and directed by Brian Henson (yes, Jim Henson's son).
With
dark humor, a stellar cast, a Who Framed Roger Rabbit-like
plot, and puppet murder (seriously, folks...puppet murder), The
Happytime Murders is such a
screwed up movie it could be the movie we didn't know we both wanted
and needed.
