2017 is lookin’ to be quite the year for some big movies, so what better way to kick it off with my annual list of movies I’m bent on seeing, as well as the movies that I’m excited for but not that excited for. You know what I mean.
I’ll be rifling them off in order of release date, not in order of how excited I am for them. So, no, The LEGO Batman Movie is not the movie looking forward to most this year. And yes, that is the first movie on the list.
1. The LEGO Batman Movie
Release Date: February 10
Directed by: Chris McKay
Starring: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes
The LEGO Movie is a fantastic movie, and one of the best parts about it was its narcissistic, immature version of Batman, voiced by Will Arnett. And now he’s getting his own movie. Truthfully, I’d take an actual sequel to The LEGO Movie any other day, but the trailers for The LEGO Batman Movie have pretty much assured me we’ll be getting a film just as hilarious and creative as its cousin. Will it have the same, surprising depth? Most likely not, but if I laugh as much as I did while watching The LEGO Movie Back in 2014, I’ll consider it a success.
Scale of Anticipation: 7/10
2. Logan
Release Date: March 3
Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook
Hugh Jackman’s final outing as Wolverine (*tear*) might just be his best. From the first trailer alone, it looks like we’ll be getting a gritty, emotional send-off to this version of Logan. Emphasis on emotional. Honestly, I love Jackman’s Wolverine so much I could watch movies featuring his Wolverine for the next decade still. But if this film can be as great as it looks, plus end Logan’s story on a satisfying note, I’ll be pleased as punch.
Scale of Anticipation: 8.5/10
3. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
Release Date: May 5
Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Kurt Russel, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Glenn Close
What can I say about this that I haven’t already said? It’s the sequel to my favourite Marvel film (and one of my favourite films, period), all the Guardians are back along with Yondu and Nebula, James Gunn is back in the director’s chair, and it looks like a sequel whose main priority is to push the development of the story and characters forward rather than making things bigger (Not saying those are necessarily bad, just all too frequent). Vol. 2 has all the ingredients to help it be just as good as the original, maybe better.
Scale of Anticipation: 10/10
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Release Date: May 26
Directed by: Joachim Ronning, Espen Sandberg
Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kevin McNally, Stephen Graham, Kaya Scodelario, Keira Knightley (probably)
Look, I know the Pirates of the Caribbean films, at least the last three, get a bad rap sometimes. I personally really enjoy the first three, while I wasn’t the biggest fan of the fourth. But Dead Men Tell No Tales might just be the one to set the franchise back on course (heh, sailing puns). Jack Sparrow’s back along with Barbossa and Will Turner with Javier Bardem playing the villain; Captain Salazar. I think I need to see a bit more before I get really pumped, but This still deserves a spot on my list of must-sees.
Scale of Anticipation: 7/10
5. Wonder Woman
Release Date: June 2
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, Connie Nielson, Lucy Davis, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Ewen Bremner
Can Wonder Woman restore everyone’s faith in the DCEU? Potentially. Things certainly look promising. It was a great decision to get a female director at the helm for Wonder Woman, I love the World War I setting, and Diana’s role was one of the highlights of Batman v. Superman, so my hopes are at a safe level right now. I’m a bit cautious, but, again, looking very promising.
Scale of Anticipation: 7.5/10
6. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Release Date: July 7
Directed by: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Donald Glover, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori
Ok, so, I’m not as completely pumped for Homecoming like others. Frankly, I’m more excited for both Guardians and Thor: Ragnarok (more on that in a bit), but still…it’s Spider-Man. After the horrible misfire that was The Amazing Spider-Man 2, I’m looking forward to a hopefully good Spider-Man movie.I loved the first trailer, with its teenage, coming of age tone, so things are looking bright so far.
Scale of Anticipation: 8/10
7. Dunkirk
Release Date: July 21
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, James D’Arcy, Harry Styles
This is a must-see for me mostly because of Christopher Nolan. I know it’s somehow frowned upon for being a fan of his, but I genuinely enjoy his stuff. I’m not the biggest war film fan (I enjoy them, I just don’t watch very many), but I’m interested in how he applies his unique vision to one.
Scale of Anticipation: 7/10
8. Baby Driver
Release Date: August 11
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Jamie Foxx, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Kevin Spacey, Eisa Gonzalez, Jon Bernthal
Here’s another movie I’m looking forward to mostly because of its director. Edgar Wright’s one of my favourite directors. I love everything he’s done, from Spaced to the Cornetto Trilogy to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World to whatever contributions he made to Ant-Man before he left. He’s a smart storyteller and a master of foreshadowing and visual humour. This is his first non-comedy venture, a crime thriller about a getaway driver who has to rescue his girlfriend after a job goes south, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he adapts his style of filmmaking to this genre and story. Apparently there’s action sequences that are cut and choreographed to songs. Uh, heck yes.
Scale of Anticipation: 9/10
A trailer hasn’t been released yet, so here’s a great video essay on Wright’s visual comedy. It should give you a taste of what to expect from those action sequences I talked about.
9. Blade Runner 2049
Release Date: October 6
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista
Confession time: I haven’t seen the original Blade Runner. Now, it’s not that I don’t want to,it’s really because I just haven’t got around to it yet. Like Harry Potter. It’s basically at the top of my watchlist now, for a few reasons. We’ve discussed the film a few times in my film class, and the teaser for 2049 just blew me away. It’s Denis Villeneuve, the director of Arrival, at the helm, so instantly my interest is piqued. But I’m sure after I get around to watching the original, hopefully this weekend, my interest will become full-blown excitement.
Scale of Anticipation: 8.5/10
10. God Particle
Release Date: October 27
Directed by: Julius Onah
Starring: Daniel Bruhl, Chris O’Dowd, Elizabeth Debecki, David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Surprise! This is actually the third Cloverfield movie. Well, the third in this anthology series set in the Cloverfield universe. And it’s set in space. Yep. But seriously, I loved 10 Cloverfield Lane, and I love me some space-set science-fiction too, so I’m totes in.
Scale of Anticipation: 7.5/10
No trailer yet. We’ll get there.
11. Thor: Ragnarok
Release Date: November 3
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Benedict Cumberbatch
I almost feel like this is the Marvel movie I’ve been waiting for. It’s a Thor movie, and Thor’s my favourite Avenger. It’s got Hulk. It’s got Doctor Strange. It’s got Loki, Odin and Heimdall back. Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum and Karl Urban are all in it. And it’s directed by Taika Waititi. I’ve gushed enough about him and his movies already, but with him at the helm and all these returning and new characters and locations at his disposal, we are in for a magnificent treat, my friends.
Scale of Anticipation: 10/10
Again, no proper trailer yet, but there is this piece of Marvel marketing gold that will never get old.
12. Justice League
Release Date: November 17
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ciaran Hinds, Amy Adams, Amber Heard, JK Simmons, Jeremy Irons, Willem Dafoe
My hesitancy to get too excited for this is the same is for the same reason as Wonder Woman, but I still have a lot of faith in Justice League. I really liked what we saw in the Comic-Con trailer, and hopefully Zack Snyder and WB have learned from their mistakes with BvS and Suicide Squad. So, again, excited and hopeful, but precautious. But, holy cow, we’re finally getting a Justice League movie!
Scale of Anticipation: 8/10
13. Star Wars: Episode VIII
Release Date: December 15
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Lupita Nyong’o, Domnhall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, Kelly Marie Tran
Save the best for last, huh? I think you know just how excited I am for this, judging by how excited I’ve been for The Force Awakens and Rogue One. I’m excited to see where the stories of Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo Ren go, and what director Rian Johnson can bring to the table. Have you seen Looper? You should see Looper. This is the movie I’m looking forward to the most this year, and it, again, happens to be at the very end of the year. Typical.
Scale of Anticipation: 10/10
Again, no trailer yet (Celebration in April, baby) but here’s the brief, non-revealing teaser that announced the start of production.
Finally, in order of release, here are all the other films I want to see, but won’t lose any sleep over if I miss them in theaters…
The Great Wall (January 17)
Kong: Skull Island (March 10)
Beauty and the Beast (March 17)
Ghost in the Shell (March 31)
The Circle (April 28)
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (May 12)
Cars 3 (June 16)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (October 6)
Coco (November 22)
Murder on the Orient Express (November 22)
Phew. That’s it. That…that took a while.
Have a great and safe 2017!
Noah
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