My Most Anticipated Films Of 2017

OK so I did this last year and liked the idea so much I am doing it again. I’ve produced this list showing the top 20 films of the coming year that I am most looking forward to. Like last year it will be a top 20 in alphabetical order and at the end of the year we can compare it against those that make it into my top 10 list. In case you are wondering from last year’s list Captain America: Civil War, Hail, Caesar, Star Trek: Beyond and The Nice Guys made my top 10 list. Deadpool, Doctor Strange and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot were in my 5 honourable mentions

Alien: Covenant [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: May 18^th
Although much maligned Prometheus did have some things to recommend it, mainly Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace, luckily they will be the only thing carried forward into this next instalment of the franchise which promises to be more in the spirit of the original Alien.

Blade Runner 2049 [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: October 5^th                                                                                

Blade Runner is one of the greatest Science Fiction films of all time. When I heard there was going to be a sequel I was dubious, however the news I have heard so far, has me optimistic and I really liked the first trailer.

Coco [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: November 22^nd
An original Pixar film inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations. Why am I not watching this right now! Even though I love most of what Pixar has produced so far, hopefully this will be a bit darker than their normal fare, more in line with The Nightmare before Christmas and Coraline in spirit.

Dunkirk [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: July 20^th 
Directed by Christopher Nolan, about the failed attempt at an invasion of mainland Nazi occupied Europe by the British, and the somewhat successful evacuation of those troops. With a great director, a very good cast and a story not seen much on the screen before, this is certainly something to look forward to.

Ghost in the Shell [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: March 30^th
I loved this film when it was first released as an anime in 1995. And yes I know there is a huge controversy about casting of Scarlett Johansson in the lead role. However the trailer looks gorgeous and I can’t help be excited.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: May 4^th
The first Guardians of the Galaxy was a big surprise, it showed that a well-made film even of a little know franchise as this could be successful. The trailer for the sequel looks even better, especially baby Groot!

John Wick: Chapter 2 [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: February 23^rd
JOHN FUCKING WICK 2!!!!!!!! 😃

Justice League [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: November 16^th
OK fine so far the DC films in their extended universe have been well pretty bad, like atrocious, with the only bright spot being, Ben Affleck’s brilliant portrayal of both Bruce Wayne and Batman (well apart from all the killing), and I have no idea why they keep employing Zack “I think we should just deconstruct the comic book genre, make everything dark and make Superman a douche” Snyder. Though being ever the optimist, I live in hope of DC/ Warner Bros. getting their act together finally.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle [imdb]

Release Date: October 6^th
Kingsman: The Secret Service was my favourite film of 2015, so obviously I would be looking forward to the sequel, and with rumours abound of Colin Firth’s Harry Hart returning, along with a stellar cast including the always good Julianne Moore as the villain, I’m hoping for something really good, and hope a scene approaching the church scene from the first one.

Kong: Skull Island [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: March 9^th
A bunch of 1970’s American soldiers fighting monsters and a giant, (and I mean huge) King Kong on their jungle turf. Sounds like a fun time to me. Hopefully won’t be as boring and overlong as the Peter Jackson take on Kong. Fun fact the cast is a veritable who’s who of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you have Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Rhomann Dey (John C. Reilly) and Shea Whigham who played Roger Dooley in the brilliant  Agent Carter TV Series. Also in the mix though not in the MCU is Toby Kebbell who has played Doctor Doom.

Logan [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: March 2^nd 
Considering the popularity of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, his solo cinematic outings have been lacklustre to say the least. Origins was dire and The Wolverine was OK but nothing more. When I heard that this one was going to be based on the very popular miniseries Old Man Logan, I was excited but confused, that story line relies on a lot of characters that Fox do not have the rights to. From the look of the trailer this is a different beast altogether, but interesting looking none the less.

Murder on the Orient Express [imdb]

Release Date: November 22^nd
What can I say? I love adaptations of Agatha Christie’s stories, especially this one story. With Kenneth Branagh directing and leading a great cast as Poirot, I hope this one lives up the others I have seen. Also I’m really curious how Branagh will look with that moustache.

Spider-Man: Homecoming [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: July 6^th
With the exception of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, the rest of the Spider –Man films have not been great. I enjoyed the Andrew Garfield led Amazing Spider-Man series, but still they were not good enough for such an iconic character like Spider-Man. With Spider-Man somewhat back in the MCU fold, and Marvel Studios being involved in the production, hopefully we will finally get a great Spider Man Film. Also Robert Downey Jnr’s Tony Stark seems to have great chemistry with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.

Star Wars: Episode VIII [imdb]

Release Date: December 14^th
I enjoyed Episode VII; it was a fun return to the Galaxy Far Far Away, especially after the ghastly prequels. It did however leave me with a ton of questions. Hopefully at least some of them will be answered. Also it has to be remarked on that this could be the last appearance of Carrie Fisher’s Leia, in this universe following her passing last year.

T2: Trainspotting [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: February 16^th
The first Trainspotting was a touchstone film of my youth, (yes I’m that old), and though the actors involved have all moved on, I am really looking forward to seeing the gang back together to see what the characters have been up to in the last 20 years.

The Lego Batman Movie [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: February 9^th
The Lego movie from 2014 was a pleasant and funny surprise, and Will Arnett’s Batman was the funniest and best thing in the film. With a fantastic voice cast, and Zack Snyder not seeming to understand how comic book characters work, this could be the best film featuring Batman this year

Thor: Ragnarok [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: November 3^rd
Though Chris Hemsworth’s depiction of Thor has been pretty great; the two films in the series have been some of the weaker entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thor: Ragnarok should hopefully change that. Director Taika Waititi is a unique talent and will hopefully bring something unique to the big screen with this world.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: July 20^th
This new film from the mercurial Luc Besson looks like The Fifth Element on Super Acid, so definitely worth a watch.

War for the Planet of the Apes [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: July 13^th
The previous two entries in this rebooted franchise so far have been excellent, With Andy Serkis’ portrayal of Caesar definitely being the highlight (are you listening Academy Awards), and with Woody Harrelson seemingly playing a Colonel Kurtz like antagonist, this could be the best of the series so far.

Wonder Woman [imdb] [trailer]

Release Date: June 1^st

Wonder Woman (along with Batman and Superman) is one of the Holy Trinity of DC comics, so it is ridiculous that until last year’s awful Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice we had not seen a live action version of her on the big screen (we did see an animated version of her in the Lego Movie). Hopefully this first solo outing will be worthy of this truly great comic book character.

Hopefully I will get to see all of these (of course I will) and you can too. Let me know if you disagree with any of my picks, or have something you think I should definitely have on my list, you will be wrong of course but I’ll still read you response and chuckle.

My Top Ten Films of 2016

Hello again you lovely, lovely, gorgeous lot. It is the beginning of the New Year (again) so I again bring you a list of my top films of the past year (again). You are again most welcome. See how good I am to you. Please remember these are my personal Top Ten films from those I have seen. So if you think I have missed a great film out, then either I haven't had a chance to see it, or you are wrong. Message me and I will let you know which of the two it is. Also please be aware that this post will probably contain minor spoilers

Notable mentions

These are the films which I really enjoyed and were the closest to being in my Top Ten:

Captain Fantastic – A lovely film that follows Viggo Mortensen’s Ben and his children as they deal with a tragic loss. Ben and his wife Leslie have decided to raise their six children away from the evil of modern life, teaching them to be freethinking, imaginative, artistic and self-reliant.  Their little piece of paradise is rocked when Leslie commits suicide at a mental health facility she has been staying at. The family have to venture out into modern society to attend her funeral and Ben has to face some uncomfortable home truths. Really good performances from everyone involved, with Mortensen on top form.

Deadpool – After the utterly awful depiction of the character of Wade Wilson (never referred to as Deadpool), in the utterly awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and the long development hell that this film meandered around in afterwards, it was a miracle that we got this film at all, let alone a film this good and as faithful to the source material. All credit to the annoyingly handsome Ryan Reynolds and his team for working so hard to get this made. A funny, original and over the top comic book film, that shows that even without a huge budget, (the film was made for $58 million), and with the right attitude and people behind it, a comic book film can be successful.

Doctor Strange – This was one of the films I was most looking forward to this year. Being a comic book fan I was interested to see how Marvel would finally bring the concept of magic (real magic not that Thor science so advance that it looks like magic rubbish), into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how it would fit in. Also Doctor Strange though a very important character in the comics, doesn’t instantly come to mind when thinking about comic book characters to head a major motion picture. The film though not perfect did the job of bring this new concept into an established film universe well. Great performances all around though Rachel McAdams was seriously under used. Filled with really great special effects, that bought to mind the trippy comic book art of Steve Ditko.

The Jungle Book – This Live Action/CGI remake of the 1967 animated Disney classic was a nice surprise for me, I only went to see it as I had nothing else to do and had seen everything else out at the cinema already. I really enjoyed the film; it was funny, heart-warming and thrilling. The voice performances were mostly great especially Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley and Idris Elba. The newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli was also very good, especially considering he was a lot of his acting was done against CG characters. Well worth a watch, though it may not be as suitable for younger children as the animated original as there seems to be a lot more menace.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot – OK let us get this out of the way in the beginning, I have a huge crush on Tina Fey, I just can’t help it smart , Intelligent women are just very attractive to me. That is not the reason this film is in my notable mentions though. The film tells the story of real life journalist Kim Barker, and her experience moving from her comfortable desk job in the states, to becoming a rookie war journalist in Afghanistan. Though the film is essentially a comedy and has its fair share of funny moments, it still has a lot to say about the state of things in Afghanistan and the dangers faced by the journalists that risk their lives to report from there.

The Top Ten

10) Sing Street
A wonderful film from the writer and director of 2007’s Once. Set in 1985 Dublin, this film follows young Conor Lawlor, (newcomer Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), as he is forced due to financial problems, to move from his expensive private school to a state run school in the inner city. Where amidst the bullying from both fellow students and an overzealous priest who teaches at his school, Conor discovers the girl of his dreams, the enigmatic Raphina (played by Lucy Boyton), and in order to impress her, asks her to be in a music video for his band, the only problem being Conor is not in a band. What follows is a story of Conor trying to finding his own sound, through trying to emulate many different artists introduced to him by his older brother, from Duran Duran to David Bowie to the Cure. A great supporting cast throughout the film and a truly brilliant 1980’s soundtrack.

9) Eddie the Eagle
This film follows the real life exploits of British Ski Jumper Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards as he fights against discrimination and the odds to become an Olympian. Mocked throughout for his lack of athleticism and the fact that Britain is not known for its ski jumping tradition, Eddie never the less preserves. This comedy-drama is directed by Dexter Fletcher and stars Taron Egerton in the title role and Hugh Jackman as his reluctant coach Bronson Peary (a fictional character added for the film); this film has a lot of heart and tells the underdog story very well. Interestingly the event of this film took place at the same Olympic Games, where the Jamaican Bob sledge team first competed, as shown in Cool Runnings, a film that this one, shares more than a slight passing resemblance to.

8) Star Trek Beyond
On the 50^th anniversary of Star Trek and after the slight mess that was Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond had to be something special, and it was a good return to form for the crew of the USS Enterprise. This was Star Trek in the best possible sense. We of course had the huge action set pieces that are now somewhat necessary in the modern blockbuster, but they were built on the solid foundation of story and character. We start off with Captain Kirk full of self-doubt, as is so with all good Star Trek Original Series  films, though when the chips are down we have him in full Kirk mode, (well without the romancing of the ladies part). We get extended team ups of Spock and McCoy, which is a joy to watch, and we get an excellent menacing villain (though they could have explained his transformations better). If I have one issue it would be that Zoe Saldana’s Uhura and John Cho’s Sulu are slightly left out in the cold. There are a lot of good nods to Star Trek history as well as tributes to the passing of both Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin.

7) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
OK Firstly I just want to say, I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan. I don’t have anything against the franchise; I just think I was a little too old when the books came out so never read them. I have seen all of the films though, and enjoyed most of them. I can see it’s a brilliantly created and filled out world and all credit to J. K. Rowling’s imagination. I’m just more of a Comic Book/Star Trek/Star Wars guy, and as there were films for all of the aforementioned coming out this year, I wasn’t even completely sure that I was going to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Luckily for me I did. As I mentioned I have seen all the films in the series before, so was familiar enough with the world not to need a lot of exposition, but the setting and story were different enough to keep me interested. It also didn’t hurt that Eddie Redmayne, played Newt Scamander like an introverted 11^th Doctor, (come to think of it, he even had box which was bigger on the inside). There are great performances throughout, especially from Redmayne as the aforementioned Newt, and Dan Fogler as an unsuspecting muggle/no-maj who gets caught up with Newt (somewhat like a companion).

6) Captain America: Civil War
On paper this film could have been very problematic, the last Marvel team up in Avengers: Age of Ultron was not as well received as it could have been, basically accused of repeating the same formula as the first Avengers film, but with killer robots instead of killer aliens. Civil War not only had to bring back most of the Avengers (The Hulk and Nick Fury the only real absentees), it also had to bring the Winter Soldier and Ant-Man into the fold as well as Introducing a brand new Spiderman and Black Panther. I was also interested to see how they would bring this popular comic book arc to the big screen, in the comics the big contentious issue that causes the divide was the unmasking of superheroes and revealing of their secret identities for registration, and so far the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t have many masked heroes or secret identities (Ant-Man who is not really known, and Dare Devil on TV excluded). The film did deliver though, the story was compelling and interwove with the previous films well, it even made Age of Ultron essential, and with the exception of a few issues, the story made sense. It also introduced us to an interesting new villain in Zemo, who was changed a lot from his comic book counterpart; he was ruthless, smart and in the end ultimately successful, he even made you feel sympathy for him.

5) The Nice Guys
If there is one thing that Shane Black is really good at, it is writing great buddy cop films, even when the buddies involved are not actually cops, like in his 2005 masterpiece Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or like in his latest offering The Nice Guys, which follows Russell Crowe’s professional enforcer Jackson Healy and Ryan Gosling’s shifty private eye Holland March as they uncover a vast conspiracy involving the porn industry, the automotive industry and the Government in 1977 Los Angeles. Crowe and Gosling make a brilliant team, occasionally joined by then 14 year old Angourie Rice, playing March’s young daughter. Fantastic performances (who knew Ryan Gosling could be this funny, actually who thought that Russell Crowe could be this funny as well) throughout, all punctuated by a great script written by Black, filled with fleshed out characters and witty dialogue. An old fashioned noir set amongst the gaudy colours of the 70’s. It is a true shame that this didn’t do as well as it should have at the box office.

4) Hail, Caesar!

This is the Coen Brothers at their very best; they have produced a film full of wit and of delicious dark humour, and filled it full of the sort of quirky and interesting characters that have become their trademark. The film follows Josh Brolin’s Studio fixer Eddie Mannix in 1950’s Hollywood, as he spends his time between sorting out the mayhem created by the spoiled and half-witted celebrities of his studio, be it dealing with the unwanted pregnancy of a starlet (played by Scarlett Johansson at her sassy best) to the kidnapping of the leading man of his studio’s latest blockbuster by communists, and trying to decide if wants to give up on all this madness, for a more stress free and stable life. Filled with brilliant dialogue, delivered at breakneck speed and, with a fantastic supporting cast all the way through, the stand outs of which have to be George Clooney’s man-child actor Baird Whitlock and newcomer Alden Ehrenreich’s simple but sweet western film idol Hobie Doyle. Yet another example of why the Coen brothers are masters of their trade.

3) Arrival
A serious science fiction film that deals with the problems that may be faced when making first contact with an off world alien civilisation, without all the blowing up that tends to be associated with such films, (well OK some blowing up involved). This is a quiet film that looks at the issue through the eyes of Amy Adams’ linguist Louise Banks, as she is called up to help translate and communicate with the newly arrived aliens, who have turned up at 12 different locations around the world. Aliens who I may add are like nothing we have seen on the big screen before. The majority of the film is concerned with trying to teach the new arrivals the basics of our language so that we can learn there, just to find out why they have come to earth, while the wider world grows impatient waiting for answers and the governments of the other countries with the arrivals grow suspicious of each other and start to make plans on their own. Any mistake could have catastrophic results for entire planet. Atmospheric and moody, this film shows off Amy Adams’ talents to their fullest.

2) Hunt For The Wilderpeople

This film was going to be my number one until a few days ago and it would have been a worthy winner. Sam Neill is brilliant as a grumpy old man called Hec, who lives in a remote farm in the New Zealand wilderness with his lovely wife Bella, (the very good Rima Te Wiata). Bella (much to Hec’s chagrin) decides to foster a young delinquent Ricky Baker, played by relative newcomer Julian Dennison. Just as Ricky becomes close to Bella, she dies and faced with having to go back into the system, Ricky decides to fake his own death (in the most inept way possible) and runaway to the forest. Hec goes after him, and due to unforeseen circumstances (caused by Ricky), everyone assumes Hec has gone mad and kidnapped Ricky, a huge manhunt ensues with Hec and Ricky on the run. This is a very funny film that gets more and more ridiculous (in a good way) as it goes on. Neill and Dennison make a great duo, with Ricky constantly getting on Hec’s nerves, but Hec not able to abandon the naive Ricky. Taika Waititi brings his brand of offbeat humour and masterfully produces a true classic. I can’t wait to see what he will do with Thor next year. Watch out for a totally bonkers cameo by Rhys Darby.

1) Kubo and the Two Strings
I saw this film quite late in the year and was totally blown away by it. I had to watch it again and watch the Hunt for the Wilderpeople (up until then my then number one film of the year) again as well, to make sure that putting at it number one was not just  a knee-jerk reaction. From the studio that bought us the excellent Coraline in 2009, this stop-motion animated film, is not only beautiful to watch, but also provides us with a wonderful story filled with wonder, thrills and scares. Set in ancient Japan the story follows our young hero Kubo, who upon losing his mother has to go on a adventure to seeks out three pieces of mystical armour, so he can protect himself from the supernatural powers of his grandfather the Moon King and his two aunts, who want to take away his humanity and make him one of them. With two unusual companions by his side and his own growing powers (magic based on playing his shamisen which are a joy to watch), Kubo must go a classic heroes journey. There are some great action sequences, though what is at the heart of this story isn’t the great fights scenes (though those don’t disappoint), or even the tale of adventure itself, it is the story Kubo’s growth and his coming to terms with losing his parents. Filled with moment to make you laugh and to make you tear up, this film is a true delight.

 And my worst film of the year for 2016 is.........

Grimsby (AKA The Brothers Grimsby)
OK I owe this film my thanks, if it didn’t exist then Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice would have been my worst film of the year, and it would truly be a personal tragedy for me if a Batman film was to be the worst film of the year, I mean I’m lucky I wasn’t doing this when the cinematic toy commercial that was Batman and Robin came out. Any way Grimsby (AKA, The Brothers Grimsby) is truly awful in ways I don’t even want to think about. I’m a huge admirer of the work a lot of the actors in this have done before, so have no idea why they would agree to be in this dreadful piece of crap. Avoid at all costs