It's that time again! I write these posts every year in March, a little later than everyone else, in order to get a better sense of what the film landscape is going to look like. Still, keep in mind that there are never guarantees about what's going to make it to screens by December and what isn't.
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 indie and art house fare that may break through to the mainstream eventually, but only the cinephiles anticipate this far in advance. Due to unorthodox distribution, Netflix releases are currently categorized as indies. Big releases go first. Films are ordered below by release date.
No Time To Die - After a five year gap and seemingly endless production troubles, Bond is back. He's got Cary Joji Fukunaga in the director's chair, Rami Malek playing the villain, and the wacky combination of Scott Z. Burns and Phoebe Waller-Bridge on the script. I have no idea what this movie is going to look like, but I'm glad that the franchise is taking some risks. The biggest risk, however, may be moving Bond from his usual November berth to the summer kickoff slot of mid-April.
The Woman in the Window - Boy is Joe Wright's work inconsistent. However, I liked "The Darkest Hour" better than most, and I'm curious to see how his style is going to work with a psychological thriller. Amy Adams is also a very dependable leading lady. The one thing that worries me is that this is a Fox title that was delayed from last year, and I don't know what Disney's thinking, sticking it in May as counterprogramming. Still, it looks like my kind of counterprogramming.
Soul - Of all the animated films coming next year, and the two original PIXAR ones, "Soul" is far and away the most promising. I've heard grumbles that it looks too derivative of "Inside Out" and there are some apt criticisms about having yet another black cartoon protagonist transmogrified into a different form for much of the running time, but I trust director Pete Doctor and PIXAR to get it right. And any break from the parade of sequels has my full support - though "Trolls World Tour" looks kinda awesome.
Free Guy - This one might be terrible. Shawn Levy has directed a lot of terrible movies, and his last one was the third "Night at the Museum" movie way back in 2014. On the other hand, the cast featuring Ryan Reynolds, Jodi Comer, Taika Waititi, Lil Rel Howery, and Joe Keery is pretty irresistible. I also really like the premise of a video game NPC becoming self-aware and running amok. Even if this is a trainwreck, I suspect it's going to be the kind of trainwreck that I'm going to enjoy watching anyway.
Tenet - Do I really need to say more than that "Tenet" is the new action movie directed and written by Christopher Nolan? And really, aside from the promising cast and crew announcements (John David Washington! Ludwig Göransson!), that's about all that's confirmed about the movie at this time. It's not even clear if there are science-fiction elements, or if this is strictly a spy movie. Oh, there are plenty of rumors about the plot, but as with "Inception," I suspect the less I know going in, the better.
Bill and Ted Face the Music - You can have your "Ghostbusters." This is the '80s franchise sequel that I've been waiting for. The original writers are back. Dean Parisot is directing. Stephen Soderbergh, somehow, has a producing credit. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are aboard, of course, but so is William Sadler as the Grim Reaper. Yes, I know that '80s nostalgia is getting a little long in the tooth, but it was such a hard road to get this one made, and everyone involved seems so pumped, why not?
The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Hey, it's a new Aaron Sorkin joint! Starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman! And Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in one of the supporting roles. Where has that guy been? This is one of those historical events that I don't know much about, but which is infamous enough that I'll be happy to get Sorkin's take on it. Another interesting wrinkle is that this started out as a Steven Spileberg picture ten years ago, with Will Smith being eyed to star. I think this version looks more promising.
BIOS - So what has Miguel Sapochnik been up to since "Game of Thrones" ended? Post-apocalyptic buddy picture with Tom Hanks and a robot and a dog? And Caleb Landry Jones is playing the robot? I'm there. This is a rare spec script that made it to screen after bouncing around town for a bit, and finally found a home. It will be a co-production between Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and Robert Zemeckis's ImageMovers Digital. Let's hope it's the start of a trend toward more original sci-fi.
The Witches - Speaking of Robert Zemeckis, he's finally making another fantasy film. Initially I thought "The Witches" was an unlikely choice for a remake, but now I really want to see Anne Hathaway as the Grand High Witch and and Octavia Spencer as the grandmother. The action is being moved from Europe to 1960s Alabama, and Stanley Tucci and Chris Rock have undisclosed roles. Plus, Guillermo Del Toro co-wrote the script with Kenya Barris and Zemeckis, and Alfonso Cuaron is one of the producers.
Dune - Denis Villeneuve directs, Timothee Chalamet stars, and anticipation couldn't be any higher. I never much liked the David Lynch version, campy Sting performance notwithstanding, but I respect it. Frank Hebert's "Dune" is one of those books that is insanely difficult to adapt, but if there's anyone who could do it, it's probably Villeneuve. I'm a little worried about the release date shift and WB's plans for an HBO Now spinoff, but I'm trying to stay optimistic. I really, really want this one to kick ass.
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