I still feel somewhat doubtful about this, but I think the time is right to be writing my yearly film anticipation lists. Please keep in mind that there are never guarantees about what's going to make it to screens by December and what isn't. With the industry still in so much turmoil, I expect some of these titles will be delayed until 2023.
As always, I'm splitting this feature into two posts, one for the mainstream studios film with bigger budgets, that everybody hears about, and one for the foreign, indie and art house fare that may break through to the mainstream eventually, but only the cinephiles anticipate this far in advance. Netflix releases are now categorized with the studio films instead of the indies.
Here we go. Bigger releases first, in no particular order.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - Lionsgate acquired this script, which showed up on the 2019 Black List, about Nicolas Cage playing a fictionalized version of himself, who agrees to perform for a Mexican drug lord superfan in order to save his family. It sounds meta and weird enough to be interesting, and hopefully Cage is game to sell the premise the way that only he can.
Knives Out 2 - I don't want to think too hard about the wider implications of the "Knives Out" sequel ending up on Netflix, but I am definitely ready for more of Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. The cast that Rian Johnson has assembled for this latest venture is super encouraging - Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, and Kathryn Hahn! - and the marketing antics have already been hilarious. I can't wait.
Pinocchio - Here's one of Guillermo Del Toro's passion projects finally making it to screen, thanks to Netflix. This is going to be done in stop-motion animation, with an all-star cast. Del Toro has promised that this will be a much darker adaptation than what we're familiar with, and is definitely not to be confused with the live action "Pinocchio" being readied for Disney+ by Robert Zemeckis next year.
The Northman - Robert Eggers is making a Viking revenge saga. That's really all I need to know. Alexander Skarsgaard will star as Prince Amleth, one of the major inspirations for Shakespeare's Hamlet. That means you can probably figure out who Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, and Anya Taylor-Joy are playing. Oh, and Bjork's appearing as a witch. This will be her first major film since "Dancer in the Dark."
Nope - So far Jordan Peele has released a poster of a creepy looking cumulus cloud with a string of pennant flags hanging down from it, and I am so ready for this. I liked "Us" and "Candyman" better than most, and I am definitely looking forward to both of his 2022 projects, "Nope" and the stop-motion animated film "Wendell and Wild" that he and Henry Selick have in the works with Netflix.
Tár - It has been sixteen years since writer/director Todd Field's "Little Children" was released. After multiple cancelled projects, he's finally back with a film about a female orchestra conductor, Lydia Tár, to be played by Cate Blanchett. It's described as an "intellectual drama" about music, ambition, and motherhood that takes place in Germany. Hildur Guðnadóttir will be composing the score.
The Fabelmans - Steven Spielberg hasn't been too consistent recently. However, he can still deliver a great film occasionally, and "The Fabelmans" will be about subject matter near and dear to his heart - his own childhood. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano will be playing the fictionalized versions of his parents, and Seth Rogen will be playing a fictional uncle. Fingers crossed that this goes well.
The Woman King - This film promises to show me something that I have never seen onscreen before, and I can't wait. Gina Prince-Bythewood will helm a historical epic about the West African kingdom of Dahomey, and its female warriors, led by a general played by Viola Davis. Key members of the "Underground Railroad" cast, which I enjoyed greatly last year, will be making appearances.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) - The fact that it's a "Part One" should make me wary, but the first "Spider-verse" movie was one of the best films of the past decade, animated or otherwise, and I choose to see this kind of ambition as a good thing. The less I know going into this the better, so I haven't sought out any information on the new films to date, and I'll try to keep in that way.
Killers of the Flower Moon - Apple TV+ is doing its best to get into prestige film, and has Martin Scorsese's latest collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro in the works. I'm trying my best to keep my expectations reasonable, because Scorsese is very hit-or-miss from me. But as long as Scorsese takes it easy on the de-aging technology, this should be quite an event.
---
No comments:
Post a Comment