2017 is looking like a great year for movies. From a bunch of your favorite characters returning to brand new concepts to catch you eye, the year’s films have something for everyone. Here are some films we are looking forward to.
February 10 – The LEGO Batman Movie
The LEGO Movie was a surprise hit for Warner Brothers and its goofy take on Batman was one of the most memorable parts of it. But is a silly, plastic Batman something the public really needs to have a full film made out of? We’ll have to see but a goofy Batman has to be a refreshing change from the dour one we get in Warners’ live action universe. — William Gatevackes
March 3 – Logan
This film being perhaps the last time we’ll see Hugh Jackman playing the character that made him famous makes it worth seeing. Add to that Jackman reuniting with his The Wolverine director James Mangold in a film partly inspired by Mark Millar’s “Old Man Logan” arc, and you have the potential of a really good movie. — WG
March 10 – Kong: Skull Island
As the first of the giant monsters to grace the silver screen, King Kong opened a whole new world of possibilities to audiences in 1933, showing the wonder of what special effects can achieve in service to storytelling. Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake took a cue from the original when it explored Kong as a character, something of a victim torn from his home and brought to civilization, where his treatment is anything but civilized. But Jordan Vogt-Roberts’s upcoming retelling looks as if it is setting up to portray Kong as a force of nature. As this is going to be a part of Legendary’s Giant Monsters cinematic universe and crossover with the 2014 Hollywood Godzilla reboot in 2020, i don’t think we are going to see Kong brought back to civilization, which will allow a story to establish Kong as the king of an island full of monsters, with humans Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Toby Kebbell, Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman scurrying along underfoot, trying not to get squashed. — Rich Drees
March 17 – Beauty And The Beast
With Disney making live-action remaked of their classic animated films, you knew they’d get to remaking this one sooner rather than later. the 1991 original was the first animated feature to earn a Best Picture Oscar nomination, a feat that has only been repeated twice in 25 years and only after the Academy expanded to up to 10 nominees. The animated Beauty of the Beast is arguably the best animated film of all time, and all the remake has to do is be a shot for shot redo of that film and it will be a success. However, from the trailers there seem to be some changes and they make the story even better. — WG
April 14 – The Fate Of The Furious
The Fast and the Furious franchise appears to be immortal. It has survived lead actors coming and going, changes in plot directions and additions and subtractions in its supporting cast and keeps on earning money hand over fist. However, this installment is the first full film without Paul Walker and the first for new director F. Gary Gray. It adds Oscar-winners Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren, which should counteract that a bit. But it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. — WG
April 21 – The Lost City of Z
An explorer delving deep into the Amazonian jungle in search of a mythical lost city may sound like the stuff of an early turn of the last century pulp novel. But director James Gray’s The Lost City Of Z is based on the very real exploits of Col. Percival Fawcett, who was convinced by some rather flimsy evidence that there was indeed the ruins of a lost civilization somewhere up the Amazon. Of course, Fawcett and his son disappeared into the jungle in the 1920s, never to be seen again, so it is to be assumed that there will be some fictionalization of his story. But word out last fall’s New York Film Festival was very positive, making it one of the first possible awards contenders of the year. — Rich Drees
May 5 – Guardians of the Galaxy 2
If you asked me ten years ago that Guardians of the Galaxy would be getting a film, let alone a sequel, I would have thought that you were crazy. But it did, and I can’t wait for the sequel. When you laugh out loud at a teaser trailer, that’s a film you want to see. When you laugh more than once, that’s a film worth camping out for. — WG
May 12 – King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
If you think this will be just another King Arthur movie, well, think again. Guy Ritchie is the director and he’s done well in bringing legendary, oft-filmed characters to life (Sherlock Holmes). And there is a reason why the story of King Arthur has been around so long and went through so many adaptations–its a good story. And for those of you upset because American Charlie Hunnam (in what’s becoming a busy year for him) is playing the legendary British king, well, even though his American accent was spot on in Sons of Anarchy and Pacific Rim, Hunnam was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. — WG
June 2 – Wonder Woman
If there was a comic book icon most overdue for the big screen treatment, it would be Wonder Woman. The most well-known female comic book superhero in the world, one that transitioned to becoming a symbol of everything from equality to feminism, Wonder Woman should have had a film decades ago. So I am overjoyed that she is getting one now. Hopefully, Warners has learned their legend from Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and will be giving us a film that is fun and inspirational. — WG
June 9 – The Mummy
When Universal announced that it was rebooting its monster franchise into a shared universe, the world let out a collective groan. However, it appears that the studio is not messing around with the reboot and definitely not skimping on the star power. Tom Cruise is still a big get for this type of project, and the film also has Russell Crowe in a role that has the look of being the connective tissue between the films. That’s enough to get me interested in the franchise. Whether or not there’s enough to keep me around, well, we’ll just have to see. — WG
June 23 – The Beguiled
A new Sophia Coppola film is always a noteworthy thing and it should be interesting to see what it is about this project, based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan, that made her drop out of a live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid for this. Colin Farrell stars as a wounded Union soldier imprisoned at a Confederate girl’s boarding school who charms his way into the hearts of Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman, turning then against each other. Under almost any other director it would be easy to dismiss the story as pure soap opera, but Coppola has always managed to find an interesting angle to her stories and I expect this one to be no exception. — RD
June 30 – Despicable Me 3
I’m sorry, but I really like the Despicable Me franchise. The voice acting is spot on, the gags are funny and plots seem natural and unforced and it is entertaining for kids as well as adults. So needless to say I welcome a third installment. Gru is back and has to deal with his twin brother while fighting a 80’s child star turned villain. — WG
July 7 – Spider-Man: Homecoming
If a film franchise receives two reboots in ten years, typically there is no cause for excitement. However, this is Spider-Man and with this reboot, he’s joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man is arguably Marvel’s most popular character. How can you not be excited to see him done by the studio that always does right by its characters? — WG
July 14 – War of the Planet of the Apes
The science-fiction franchise’s reinvention starting with 2011’s Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes through 2014’s Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes has far exceeded any expectations lingering from Tim Burton’s failed 2001 reboot attempt. And while the solid and smart writing is the first half of the franchise’s strength, the other half is the acting from Andy Serkis and the others who use motion capture to bring to the screen the numerous intelligent apes of the story. When the history of motion capture performance is written, these films will certainly be the starting point. Toss in the always good Woody Harrelson as this installment’s antagonist and you’ve got something that will surely rescue moviegoers from any mid-summer doldrums that might set in. — RD
July 21 – Dunkirk
What do you think of when you think of Christopher Nolan? Crime dramas with a twist? Yes. Thoughtful comic book films? Check. Intelligent science fiction tales? Yep. War movies? No way. Or, at least, not until now. Nolan is helming this film based on the famous early World War II battle. He has his typical star-studded cast, which will help him translate into this new genre. I can’t wait to see how he approaches it. — WG
July 21 – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Although I find some of the storytelling in Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element, there is no denying that the director’s skill at world building. And setting Besson loose at adapting Jean-Claude Mézières highly imaginative French comic Valerian and Laureline sounds like we should be in for a visual treat, ifnot hing else.Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne star as Valerian and Laureline, two time-traveling agents assigned to investigate a corrupt galactic empire. The only real worry I have about the film is that DeHaan and Delevingne could get lost in all of the spectacle. — RD
July 28 – The Dark Tower
Adapting The Dark Tower series would be a daunting task for anybody. So they didn’t. This film is a sequel to the books. Of course that didn’t stop the project from undergoing a long and arduous path to the screen, passing through J.J, Abrams’ and Ron Howard’s hands before landing in Nikolaj Arcel’s. But, regardless, Stephen King appear to have given his seal of approval and Idris Elba is playing Roland Deschain, so it should be great. — WG
August 11 – Baby Driver
After toiling away at setting up Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man only to walk away before production began, Baby Driver marks Edgar Wright’s first film since 2013 The World’s End. Not much is known about the film outside of the fact that Ansel Elgort plays a getaway driver assigned by his boss to an obviously doomed heist. For someone primarily known for his comedies, Wright has shown that he knows how to stylistically shoot action and that is enough to whet our appetites for what he will do with the film’s inevitable car chases sequences. Also, a supporting cast with the likes of Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx help amp up the anticipation. — RD
September 8 – It
It’s turning out to be a big year for Stephen King at the box office, this being the second adaptation of his books to hit the big screen. However, the film already was adapted as a TV miniseries back in 1990. While the miniseries covered the entire book, this film will cover only the parts of the narrative when the protagonists were children. The idea is to have a second film with the cast as adults, but that probably will depend on whether or not this film does well. But I’m interested enough to take a look. — WG
October 6 – Blade Runner 2049
In Hollywood, there can never be too many years between sequels nor films too sacrosanct to be left alone. This is why we are getting a Blade Runner sequel. This film takes place 30 years after the first one, as new Blade Runner Ryan Gosling needs the old model Harrison Ford to help with a case. This could be a trainwreck, but if it keeps only a small amount of the original’s grace and style, it might be worth a look. — WG
October 13 – Logan Lucky
Whenever Steven Soderburgh makes a film, I take interest. When it is a crime caper comedy, everyone should take an interest. And that’s what this film is. It’s about two brothers who conspire to rob a NASCAR race. It might not be Ocean’s 14, but if it is at least close, this will be a film to watch. — WG
November 3 – Thor: Ragnarok
If there is a weak link in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would be the Thor films. I think Marvel Studios knows this. Adding Jeff Goldblum and Cate Blanchett to the cast is a way to rectify this. Promising a knock down, drag out fight between Thor and Hulk is another. But what I am really looking forward to is to see some advancement in the discovery of the Infinity Gems. I want to see the set up to Avengers: Infinity War here. — WG
November 17 – Justice League
This is going to be the pivotal film in the future of Warner’s DC Extended Universe. To say that there is a lot riding on this one would be an understatement. After a choppy beginning, they need this to score big–both at the box office and with the critics. The teaser trailer looks promising, if a bit joke heavy. Hopefully, the film will deliver and make us want to see a Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman film. — WG
November 22 – Murder on the Orient Express
I’m a big fan of Kenneth Branagh as a director and as an actor. We get both Branaghs here, as he is directing the latest edition of the Agatha Christie classic and is playing the lead role of Hercule Poirot. The film, as expected, has an all-star cast which includes Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Michele Pfeiffer and Willem Dafoe. And the timeless story almost guarantees that the film will be well worth your movie going dollar. — WG
December 15 – Star Wars: Episode VIII
Oh, you kids these days! You don’t know how easy you have it. Back in my day, you has to wait 16 years for a new Star Wars movie! And all we got was Episode I! And we liked it! Nothing like this film a year horse puckey!
So, yeah, I am looking forward to the new Star Wars film, like every good American should. Can’t wait to see how things escalate in this one. — WG
