A new year, and new slate. On the surface, 2017 looks like a
pretty great year in the world of movies. I will be using the word ‘excited’ a
lot here. While most Oscar contenders are hard to know at this point, the
high-profile movies I am looking forward to will not be as disappointing as
they were in 2016 (at least I hope so). It saddens me a bit to know that only 1
of the films below is not part of franchise or based on an existing property.
However, that is the world we live in today and I can’t deny that I’m still thrilled
up to see how these turn out. With that said, here are my most anticipated
movies for 2017.
20.
Kingsman: The Golden
Circle
10/6/17
Coming off the surprising
hit of its first installment, this sequel is primed to showcase more of the
same, which is not a bad thing. Well choreographed action, clever comedy and
just a fun updated espionage adventure. There is a movie higher in my list that
does a lot that and more, but I’ll get to that later. The director, Matthew
Vaughn, returns and is the main reason why this made my list. He also directed
‘Kick Ass’ and ‘X-Men: First Class’ which are well contained action movies that
actually develop intriguing characters and isn’t just a GCI-fest.
19.
Baywatch
5/26/17
The Rock. Need I say more? Hopefully this hits a ‘21 Jump
Street’ type of tone and doesn’t take itself too seriously. I think Zac Efron
can thrive in that type of environment, similar to what he did in ‘Neighbors’.
The trailers are leaning towards that, so I’m interested to find out. This
could be a surprise hit, or an absolute failure.
18.
It
9/14/17
Hide your kids, hide your wife…because it’s time to bring in the
killer clown. ‘It’ is getting a reboot and looking to scare the sh*t out of me,
bring it on! I love being scared, so hopefully this can be more intellectual than
obvious jump scares. Horror has had a strong resurgence in the past couple of
years, and I believe this will add to it. The first Stephen King property to
make my list.
17.
Power Rangers
3/24/17
Member Power Rangers? I member! I member! I was a huge Power
Rangers fan growing up, so seeing this being rebooted for a new generation is a
bit strange. Yes, this looks cheesy, but the Power Rangers were cheesy and had
a certain campiness to it. However, I like that they’re adding some type of
realism to it that’s reminiscent of ‘Chronicle’. From everything I’ve seen so
far, I can’t say I’m not excited to see this movie. It seems they are embracing
what made the original series cool but just updating it for today. I’m not
going to be crushed if it turns out bad, but there is a lot of upside here. I
was multiple Power Rangers for Halloween and had all the toys, so seeing this
on the big screen is going to be a trip.
16.
Lego Batman Movie
2/10/17
If you have not seen The LEGO Movie, stop what you’re doing and
watch it. The Lego Movie was one of my favorite movies of 2014, and not in a
sarcastic way. It is genuinely funny and uses the concepts of LEGO pieces in
very creative ways. One of the breakout side characters was Batman (of course),
who is voiced by Will Arnett. Phil Lord and Chris Miller are not returning, but
it seems to be following the same type of humor as the original. An advantage
that LEGO has is that they have the rights to all these different characters,
so it’s fun to play with that. I expect this movie to play on all the tropes of
super-hero movies today, which will be a nice breathe of fresh air.
15.
The Dark Tower
7/28/17
This the second Stephen King property I am excited to see this
year. The Dark Tower is a popular book series by King that I have not read, but
have heard very good things. It is lead by Idris Elba and takes place in an Old
West-like landscape where “the world has moved on” in pursuit of a man in black
(Matthew McConaughey). He is also searching for the Dark Tower, in hopes that
reaching it will preserve his dying world.. From what I understand, it deals
with different dimensions and obviously dark concepts. With these two actors
and that concept, sign me up.
14.
Spiderman: Homecoming
7/7/17
In case your weren’t aware, they are rebooting Spiderman again.
Yes that sounds exhausting, but there are new elements in play that still keep
me excited. Spiderman is now apart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so he is
in play with The Avengers and that whole crew. The new Spiderman (played by an
appropriately young Tom Holland) made his debut in Captain America: Civil War
this past year to raving reviews. While a small sample size, I would have to
agree that this is probably the most honest depiction of Spiderman yet. He’s
witty, infectious and just a kid. This movie will take place in high school but
is supposed to have more of John Hughes tone (Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s
Day Off, etc.). Additionally, Tony Stark will be making an appearance as himself
and as Iron Man, which will be fun to see. Spiderman is the king of Marvel and
this will be a “passing of the torch” per say for the future of the MCU. The
fact that Spiderman is even in the MCU is astounding, as many people thought
this would never happen (Spiderman is owned by SONY). Lastly, and most
importantly, he is already Spiderman so no need for another origin story.
13.
Blade Runner 2049
10/6/17
The original Blade Runner has become a cult classic throughout
the years as it was originally panned by critics upon it’s release. Taking the
helm of this new iteration is director Denis Villeneuve, who has put out great
films these past few years. Villeneuve is the main reason I am excited for this
movie as I really enjoy the darkness and thriller aspects he injects into his
movies. I’m a fan of Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford is returning, so why not.
Hopefully it builds on what made the first great, but also be it’s own separate
story.
12.
Kong: Skull Island
3/10/17
Taking place within the same universe as Godzilla (2014), we now
get introduced to King Kong before the two meet up in a cross-over movie
planned for 2020. I thought Godzilla had a lot of strong elements to it,
specifically anything that showed Godzilla. Unfortunately that pretty much only
took place in the last act of the movie, so I hope this film fixes that. There
is a great cast attached to this film, so I think they can keep me intrigued in
between the big monster moments. That was the major downfall of Godzilla, as
the whole second act with Aaron Taylor Johnson almost made me fall asleep of
boredom. I am also concerned that this will turn into a giant CGI-fest at the
end, as the trailer has revealed other monsters on the island. Overall, I think
King Kong himself looks great and this can be a really exciting movie if it
focuses on King Kong, and provides an interesting perspective from the humans.
11.
Beauty and the Beast
3/17/17
Disney has received financial (and more recently critical)
success for their live action remakes of their animated classics. So…the train
moves on with the first animated film to be nominated for best picture at the
Academy Awards. Taking on arguably one of the most beloved animated movies of
all time, an all-star cast was ensemble for this version of Beauty and the
Beast. Emma Watson as Bell is a stroke of genius, and this movie will be raking
in the money as it appeals to fans of the original, kids today and just Emma
Watson fans. The trailers suggest that this is a cover-to-cover remake, which
I’m fine with. Don’t need to fix something that isn’t broken. I’m interested to
see how the animation fairs with all the characters, but undoubtedly this will
be fun.
10.
Alien: Covenant
5/19/17
Horror is space! The Alien franchise saw a resurgence of sorts
with 2012’s Prometheus, an Alien prequel. I was a fan of Prometheus, even
though it had mixed reviews among critics. Ridley Scott returns to direct this
prequel/sequel and promises to bring back the horror elements of the original
Alien franchise. The trailer has convinced me of me that, and I just can’t wait
to see these Aliens have a strong presence.
9.
Justice League
11/17/17
…ok, this was the hardest film to rank on my list. I have so
many mixed feelings about the potential of this movie, so it’s hard to pin down
where my excitement level is at. In general, I am big fan of (well done) comic
book movies and a Justice League movie would normally be at very the top of my
list. The main Justice League characters are by far better than the heroes that
make up The Avengers. Marvel may rule the comic book world right now,
deservingly, but their character’s potential for story telling is nowhere near
DC’s characters in my eyes. Before the MCU was built, not a lot of people knew
about Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, etc. These are now household names due
to the MCU’s success, but if you traveled the world, everybody knows who
Batman, Superman, Wonder Women and even The Flash are. These are GODS with such
rich back stories and putting them together in a Justice League movie should
have me jumping with excitement. Unfortunately, I have now seen Batman V.
Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad and to be kind…I don’t appreciate
the way Zack Snyder and Warner Brothers are treating these characters. It’s
very frustrating because there’s so much potential here and that’s what gives
me hope. Also, Jason Momoa as Aquaman is pretty amazing casting, Wonder Women
looks good (see below) and The Flash can definitely add some exciting elements.
I said similar things about Batman v. Superman too though, so we’ll see.
8.
Thor: Ragnarok
11/3/17
Not only should 2017 be a strong year for all movies, I think
this may be one of the best for comic book movies as well. Thor has not been
the strongest franchise of the MCU, but as we inch closer to the “final”
Avengers movie, this film will be very important. Thor will be dealing with
issues that will directly influence the third Avengers movie and that’s
exciting to get another piece of the puzzle. Fan favorite Loki will obviously
be involved, and Hulk and Doctor Strange will be making appearances to help
fill out Team Thor. He felt left out in Captain America: Civil War (see video
below). That video also points to humor that Thor can inject into a movie. He
was the funniest part of ‘Age of Ultron’ and I assume that same type of humor
will continue. Chris Hemsworth has a real lock on this character and I’m
excited to see the next adventure.
7.
Logan
3/3/17
I’m a bit burned out on the X-Men, but this movie is promising
something different. Now-a-days comic book movies need to differentiate
themselves, and Fox is doing this by putting out an R-rated thriller for Hugh
Jackman’s final bow as Wolverine. They found success with this type of strategy
with Deadpool, while a different type of character, they gave us an R-rated
isolated story that isn’t a typical superhero tale. Logan (his real name) is a
lot older, and his regenerative powers are running out. Almost all the mutants
are gone, but him and Professor X come across a little girl (X23) which is a
character that has a certain type of connection with Wolverine (I won’t spoil
it). The trailer barely lets you know that this is a comic book movie, and
that’s what I like about it.
6.
John Wick: Chapter 2
2/10/17
Now it’s time to have some fun. As I mentioned for Kingsmen 2,
it’s hard to beat well choreographed action that takes you on a roller coaster
ride. John Wick does that, and more. The world that was built in the first
movie is so intriguing, and this is a character Keanu Reeves was born to play.
It’s hard to describe this movie without having it sounds like another action
movie, but I will try. It perfectly encompasses what made 80’s action movies
great, but then just updated it with unbelievable action sequences. If you are
fan of revenge style thrillers, I implore you to see this movie and the first.
This film gained a strong following after it hit theatres and fans demanded a
sequel. I am so glad the studio listened, because I cannot wait to follow John
Wick on his next mission. The stunt coordinators on the first film have now
been employed across multiple other films, so even Hollywood is paying
attention.
5.
Wonder Women
6/2/17
No matter what feelings I have towards the DC Extended Universe right
now, it’s hard not to be excited for the first female lead superhero movie.
Additionally, it’s the most popular female superhero of all time. Once again,
the trailers promise something different as this takes place during WWI and
shows Diana Prince kicking ass. Patty Jenkins directed this movie, and I am
hoping she can breathe new life into this universe. Gal Gadot as Wonder Women
has been somewhat controversial, but for the small part she had in Batman v.
Superman, she did well. If this succeeds both financial and critically, Justice
League is looking a lot better.
4.
Dunkirk
7/21/17
Christopher Nolan is back to direct an untold WWII epic. Done.
3.
War for the Planet of the Apes
7/14/17
The third film in maybe one of the best trilogies in recent
history. These movies have been sneaky good over the past few years, with the
common thread of an amazing motion capture performance by Andy Serkis. This is
coming off the second film, ‘Dawn of the Planer of Apes’, which was a top 5
favorite movie of mine that year. They are able to juggle so many moving parts
as a prequel but also tell a compelling story on their own. The way they have
humanized these apes is great and they have allowed the audience to empathize
with these CGI characters (that look amazing by the way). This should be the
final showdown, so I’m excited to see where this ends up.
2.
Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2
5/5/17
The gang is back and I can’t wait to follow them on their next
adventure. The first Guardians of Galaxy was lightning in a bottle as it struck
such a strong chord with a lot of people, including myself. The characters, style
of comedy and music was a breath of fresh air in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
and comic book movies in general. It’s amazing to know that these characters
will meet up with The Avengers at some point, as it can definitely stand as its
own franchise. Chris Pratt was born to play this role and the rest of the
Guardians are so likeable, it’s hard not to enjoy. As I said before, GOTG just
bleeds fun and I’m expecting the sequel do the same. The scale is promised to
be ramped up, and that is clear from the trailer, but that doesn’t seem to take
away from the heart of this movie. I hope this next chapter delves more into
the characters we don’t know so well, and provides a more interesting task for
them to handle. By no way is the first movie perfect, but it stood out in such
a positive way that I can’t wait to see how crazy fun the next one will be.
1.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
12/15/17
With the episodes of this saga being released every two years,
and anthology films filling in those gaps, we are now in full swing of the new Star
Wars era. Episode 7 – The Force Awakens did a lot of great things and achieved
what it needed to. It satisfied a majority of the original fans, got rid of the
bad taste from the prequels, brought in new fans and rebooted the franchise by
introducing new compelling characters. With all that needing to be done, I do
feel the story took a hit and was watered down. Ultimately, it is the same
story Star Wars fans have already seen before but just with new characters. I
am fine with it, as I said, there are so many other things they needed to get
right. However, now a lot of my love for Episode XII is riding on this upcoming
sequel. I want to see a different kind of chapter in this story and an evolution
of the characters we fell in love with from Episode XII. I do trust the team
behind this, and Rian Johnson who wrote and directed the film, so that is why
it is #1 on my list. If this film can deliver on what it set up, it can blow
The Force Awakens out of the water. Oh yeah, and we’ll actually get Luke
Skywalker in this movie!
