Most Anticipated Movies

[gunswordfist]

Hopefully we won't get 3 disappointing Thor movies in a row.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Also, for those wondering, Alien: Covenant is on my radar, and I like the trailer, but I'm still a bit skeptical until I see the finished product. I'm still excited for it, though, and really hope that it's good.

[Avaitor]

I knocked that one off of my list when I learned that it's a direct sequel to Prometheus, which added the Alien title as a cash grab.

I don't even hate Prometheus- I still need to see it, so I won't get to this until then.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

For all of its flaws, I actually quite liked Prometheus. I don't believe that it deserves near as much hate as it gets. But I'm still skeptical about this movie because of the hit or miss nature of the Alien franchise. I genuinely hope that it's great. But this is also a franchise that allowed movies like Alien 3 and Resurrection to happen.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm not interested in anything Alien unless they take the hint and retcon everything after Aliens already. I'm guessing that's the reason everything they've made are prequels recently. It could be worse. Honestly though, I'm just not interested in the prequels at all.

As for next year, there re only a few films I'm interested in. John Wick Chapter 2, GOTG Vol. 2, and Coco, are my top 3. Other ones I'm keeping an eye on are Spider-Man and Kong.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I guess somebody wanted another Big Fat Liar movie? A movie I've heard nobody talk about in the past 15 years?

[Dr. Insomniac]

So in light of Ridley Scott's confusing plan to make six more Alien movies, I'm thinking "Why doesn't he just make an Alien show if he supposedly has enough ideas to fill 12 hours?" The average SF television budget means they can afford a bunch of Xenomorph costumes. Why doesn't he go that route?

[Avaitor]

I'm kind of interested in getting to Covenant soon. I do want to see Prometheus first, but the next chance I get to go home, where we have $6.50 movie tickets, I might just take that chance anyway. I'm not really dying to see it, though, but the reviews make me curious.

But there's a lot coming up that really excites me. Baby Driver most of all. Edgar Wright's track record is enough to stoke me, but everything else I've seen about the film, including the soundtrack (Danger Mouse AND Run the Jewels on a track together??) has me extremely excited.

I'm also interested in checking out Free Fire, even if it looks pretty superficial. But I've heard it described as Tarantino writing an episode of Archer, which is too much of a me thing to pass on. And there's nothing wrong with being a little superficial.

Then It Comes at Night also looks pretty cool. The concept just seems great, and I'm always up for a good horror film. Not that we've been lacking for good horror, since I feel that this decade has been pretty on-point. At least with independent studios. The big ones don't seem to know what to do- torture porn's hey day went almost as quickly as it came, audiences aren't interested in slasher remakes, and while some of the new tentpoles they've been trying have been bringing in crowds, diehard horror fans aren't keeping stuff like The Purge or Paranormal Activity anywhere near icon status, at least compared to Freddy, Jason, or even Jigsaw. There seems to be a disconnect between the big studios and horror fans, while the indies have been coming up with great ideas, a lot of them using social commentary to its best possible usage to create memorable works.

And I also want to check out The Big Sick. I can't recall the last time I've been interested in an Apatow production, but the early reviews have my interest, and I feel like a good rom com is something we can all use every now and then. My one worry is that this seems to continue Apatow's biggest problem- his movies always run a bit too long. They usually hit the 2 hour mark, and this is no exception, but that's just a bit too long to be in his character's world. Usually a good amount of fat comes from the last third, which spends a little too much time trying to wrap everything up, but no matter how funny some of the actors' improv can be, there's always just a little more than needs to exist.

That's about it, but I will say that I'm surprised by how decent Wonder Woman and Cars 3 have looked from what I've seen. I might end up going to either of those as well.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

In terms of horror from big studios, I'd say that directors like James Wan and Scott Derrickson have a pretty good handle on the genre, but yeah, most others are pretty standard and uninspired. The Babadook is still probably my favorite horror movie of the decade so far, and that was made for a fraction of the budget of any big studio film in the genre.

That said, I am cautiously interested in seeing the It remake. On the one hand if I hadn't read the book a couple of years ago I probably wouldn't care, but I'd be interested to see a more faithful adaptation of the source material, which is admittedly pretty difficult to translate from the page to the screen, so obviously some liberties HAVE to be taken. Obviously I'm not happy about Cary Fukunaga walking out of the project, and turning down the Duffer brothers as directors may have been a bad decision in hindsight (though to be fair, that was before they had made Stranger Things). That said, I've heard that they are still retaining most of Fukunaga's original script, and while I'm not a fan of Mama, I found that the director's visual style and editing was pretty on point, with the writing and acting in that film being what weakened it for me. The previews that we've gotten for this movie so far have actually been surprisingly good, which is why I'm cautiously optimistic but still somewhat skeptical that the film might actually be good.

Also, yeah, Baby Driver. Definitely seeing that on day one.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, this weekend will be pretty interesting for me since I have a bit of a tough decision to make. Two movies that I really want to watch will both be coming out on the same day at my theater, The Disaster Artist and The Shape of Water. The thing is I can only really make time for one movie this weekend, and then I won't really have a chance to see the other for quite some time due to scheduling issues with both work and life obligations. I will be on vacation visiting my family back in New Jersey later and already have plans to see Star Wars with my older brother, but aside from that I won't get another chance to go to the movies until January when my daily routine returns to normal.

Of course I will end up seeing both movies, but the question is which one do I watch now and witch can wait until next month? Right now I'm kind of leaning towards The Shape of Water for two primary reasons: one being that hearing so many people claim that it's Del Toro's best film since Pan's Labyrinth has me incredibly excited given how much I admire that film, and the other being that it is clearly geared at a more niche audience and may have a limited theatrical run at my local theater,  whereas TDA is sure to last for much longer being driven by much bigger names with more star power.

But I'm still not completely sure yet.

[Peanutbutter]

Dude, see Disaster Artist. It shouldn't be a debate even in your own mind to see it first.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It kind of is for the reason mentioned above, being that I'm not sure how long my theater will keep The Shape of Water running (and in general it's being played at far less theaters in my area). I do want to see The Disaster Artist as well, but hearing all of the positive buzz for Del Toro's newest picture has me incredibly tempted as well since I fucking love Pan's Labyrinth and this may possibly be that return to his former style that I (and many others) have been waiting for a long time to see again.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I'm sure the movie will be good, but I'm disappointed Franco didn't go for Sestero's dream cast for a Disaster Artist movie. All the footage I've seen so far of himself as Tommy don't feel on the mark.

[Avaitor]

I noticed that Franco doesn't even attempt for the accent, which isn't that bad of a thing. It's easy to copy, but not as easy to successfully nail, so it might be for the best.

[Avaitor]

Now's as good of a time as ever to do a top 10 most anticipated for 2018.

10- A Wrinkle in Time- I remember reading and enjoying the book way back when, but I'm mainly excited because I think Ava DuVernay is an insanely talented director, and I like seeing Disney make a live-action movie that isn't a remake of their animated classics or a standard sports picture. It's worth supporting for that alone, but it also earns a slot since the trailer's pretty good.
9- Incredibles 2- I'm a little worried about this one. Pixar has yet to impress with a non-toy related sequel, and the teaser was only so-so imo. But I have faith in Brad Bird finding the right story, and I like the idea of Helen being in the lead this time. Unlike Finding Dory and the Cars sequels, I'll be there opening day.
8- Wreck-It Ralph 2- I ranked this one a little higher since it's a little less removed from time than Incredibles, and honestly, it has just as much if not more feel for a sequel than that one. But I am a little worried too. I want more of Ralph and Vanellope, not just princess in-jokes, y'no?
7- Ant-Man & the Wasp- The first Ant-Man frankly worked better than it should have, despite the higher-ups altering what could have been a fun romp through the MCU, Wright style. It definitely felt a little corporate, and there was no reason that Hope shouldn't have had the suit. But it made up for that with a game Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, a heist story that helped to make the MCU formula not feel as tired, and Michael Pena. I'm hoping that this fixes what was wrong with the last one, and doesn't run what did work into the ground. We'll see, but there's a reason that this is the lowest ranking of the three MCU flicks.
6- Deadpool 2- We also have 3 Xverse movies this year, which is a first. After the blahness of Apocalypse, I don't have much faith in Phoenix, especially since the writer of The Last Stand is back on board. The first Deadpool was a sign that for the X-Men franchise to stay alive and be relevant, it needs to venture away from the PG-13 comic book movie cliches it's been adhering to for almost 2 decades. But it also wasn't the perfect Deadpool venture imo- it felt too much like a routine origin story, even as much as the film was mocking said routine. Hopefully this will continue into the sharp madness that the character at his best is capable of. Or it'll become another problematic bore that a depressing amount of comedic sequels have been falling into lately.
5- New Mutants- That said, this is the Xverse movie I'm most excited for. A horror movie for this particular set of characters could work wonders, and prove that Deadpool and Logan were no flukes. My only reservation is that I'm tired of the 80's Spielberg/Stranger Things aesthetic, which, while this isn't miming 100%, isn't too far off from.
4- Avengers: Infinity War- This one is a no-brainer. I'm not the hugest Russo brothers fan, but they have the writers behind the Cap movies behind them, who I fully support. Bring it on.
3- Black Panther- The MCU film I'm most excited for, possibly ever? Ryan Cooglar wowed me twice over with Fruitvale Station and Creed, and I'd be down for whatever he did next. There is not one frame I have not loved of this from what I've seen. Frankly, I'm surprised that this is only third for me, but I'll get to the other two.
2- Isle of Dogs- What can I say, I love Wes Anderson, and I especially loved his last attempt at animation. It's surprising that he went back to stop-motion after gaining the nominations he's deserved for years with his last film, but I'm not complaining. This looks to be equally as enjoyable, if not moreso, than Fantastic Mr. Fox, so bring it on.
1- Mary Poppins Returns- This is my most cautious release of next year. Mary Poppins isn't just any regular old movie to me. It's the spirit of Walt Disney encompassed in one feature. Only the two American Magic Kingdoms are able to compare in how much of his passion and ability to bring magic out of everyone he meets are in this film. Making a sequel is a daunting task, especially with a new cast, primarily a new Mary Poppins. And what if Emily Blunt is the new face of her, taking Julie Andrews away from the minds of younger audiences? But I can't not see it. And not be heavily critical of it. Possibly over and over again. Maybe I'll eventually get to love it nearly as much as the original, if it's possible.

I dread it, but no other film will match it for me in terms of importance for next year.