Most Anticipated Movies of 2017: 10 – 1
Continuing to look at my list of my most anticipated movies of 2017, I am now going to countdown my ten most anticipated movies of the year. These films are made by some of the best directors working today and star some of the best actors and actresses in the world. Like the first ten, this is a culmination of blockbusters, indies, and awards contenders. So, without further ado, here are my ten most anticipated movies of 2017.
10 – WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (Matt Reeves, July 14)
This Planet of the Apes prequel trilogy has quietly been the best trilogy of the decade. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) was a pleasant surprise and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) proved this was not your father’s Planet of the Apes. War is going to bring all the drama and tension to ahead, as the apes, led by their ferocious leader Caesar (once again played by Andy Serkis), goes up against a deranged military leader, played by the always great Woody Harrelson. The trailer looks intense as hell and I cannot wait to see how this trilogy ends.
9 – ANNIHILATION (Alex Garland, TBA)
Anybody who saw Alex Garland’s 2015 directorial debut Ex-Machina knows his talent. Ex-Machina was a small, simple, yet creative twist on the artificial intelligence sci-fi film. Annihilation sounds like a new twist on The Most Dangerous Game, as a biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don’t apply. The cast of Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason-Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, and the always wonderful Oscar Isaac is one of the most impressive of the year. This will be the movie that will prove if Garland is the real deal.
Darren Aronofsky is back and thank God, because I missed him. Aronofsky had a prolific 2000’s and kicked off the 2010’s with his only Oscar nomination for Black Swan. After the heavily studio-influenced Noah, Aronofsky’s latest sounds more in the vein of his older work, which will be beautifully directed, shocking, and filled with great performances. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence (yes!), Javier Bardem (yes!), Michelle Pfeiffer (YESSSSS!!), and Domnhall Gleason (yeahh!) and centers around a couple whose relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. I cannot wait to see what Aronofsky has in store for us.
7 – BATTLE OF THE SEXES (Jonathon Dayton & Valerie Ferris, TBA)
Back-to-back Oscars for Emma Stone? It’s definitely possible, seeing as she’s playing sports icon Billie Jean King in this biopic about King’s historic tennis match against known hustler and sexist Bobby Riggs in 1973. Steve Carell plays Riggs and this could also be another nomination for him as well. Directed by the dynamic duo who brought us Little Miss Sunshine (2006), this is sure to be a smart, funny, deep sports dramedy with great performances and social messages that will resonate today.
6 – LOGAN LUCKY (Steven Soderbergh, August 18)
Steven Soderbergh is out of retirement and back in the directing game, and that is the best news I’ve heard in all of 2017. Logan Lucky sounds like hillbilly Ocean’s 11 (2001), as two brothers try to pull of a massive heist during a NASCAR event. Channing Tatum and Adam Driver play the two brothers attempting the heist, which delights me to no end, as I love both Tatum and Driver. Soderbergh is a master at these tricky, twisty capers, like the Ocean’s series, and I imagine he will try and pull a couple fast ones on us here. It may not be Traffic (2000) Soderbergh, but, like with Aronofsky, it is always great seeing one of the best back at work.
5 – SUBURBICON (George Clooney, TBA)
George Clooney is back behind the camera for this one, directing and writing this film with the Coen Brothers, in a film that sounds like something the Coen’s would have excelled at. Suburbicon is a comedy, murder mystery about a pitch-perfect family in the 1950’s that turns to blackmail, revenge, and betrayal, after a home invasion turns deadly. Starring Coen favorites Josh Brolin and Julianne Moore, alongside Oscar Isaac and Matt Damon, it will be interesting to see if this is truly a George Clooney film or if it leans more on the Coen side. Since I am a fan of both directors, I can’t wait to see the movie either way.
4 – UNTITLED DETROIT PROJECT (Kathryn Bigelow, August 4)
Kathryn Bigelow hasn’t made a film since her tension-fueled masterpiece Zero Dark Thirty (2012). Re-teaming with her Oscar winning screenwriter and producer, Mark Boal, their latest project looks at a police raid in Detroit in 1967 that results in one of the largest citizen uprisings in the United States’ history. This cast is filled with up-and-comers, like Will Poulter, Jason Mitchell, and Jack Raynor, as well as familiar faces in John Krazinski, John Boyega, and Anthony Mackie. This is the perfect project for Bigelow, who gets down and dirty in her films, giving them a real authenticity and enormous grit and power. This could add another statue to Bigelow and Boal’s trophy case.
3 – UNTITLED PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON FASHION PROJECT (Paul Thomas Anderson, TBA)
It could be argued that Daniel Day-Lewis is the best working actor today. Every single performance he puts out is something totally different, yet just as brilliant. The last time Lewis worked with director Paul Thomas Anderson, he gave one of the very best performances I have ever seen on film and easily one of the best of this millennium in There Will Be Blood (2007), Here, Lewis will be playing a dressmaker in 1950’s London where he is commissioned to design for members of high society and the royal family. Anderson is a master of the craft, with a distinct vision and passion for the art of film. This may not be typical Anderson fare in terms of story, but any film by Paul Thomas Anderson is something that should be cherished.
2 – DUNKIRK (Christopher Nolan, July 21)
Whether a comic book movie or an original film, everything Christopher Nolan does is treated as an event and rightly so. Similar to that of Steven Spielberg, Nolan makes films on the biggest scale possible for the biggest audience possible and hits it on both levels every time. Dunkirk might be his biggest film yet. This is a war epic about the evacuation of Allied solders from Belgium, the British Empire, Canada, and France, who were cut off and surrounded by the German army from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk during Battle of France in World War II. The trailer looks haunting, yet stunning in Nolan’s direction and visuals. Could this be Christopher Nolan Oscar-baiting? Perhaps. But, like I said above, anything Christopher Nolan is an event and this will be one of the year’s biggest.
1 – STAR WARS – EPISODE VIII: THE LAST JEDI (Rian Johnson, December 15)
I mean, obviously, right? The Force Awakens was my most anticipated movie of 2015, so of course The Last Jedi is going to be my most anticipated movie of 2017. The Force Awakens was a smooth, perfect movie for Star Wars fans and a perfect intro movie for new fans of the series. The Last Jedi is where things are going to get really dark and really weird. Similar to The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the plot is going to get darker, the characters are going to get deeper, and more layers will be peeled away. I love Rian Johnson as a writer and director and think that he is going to add a unique visual style and darker, violent tone unlike any Star Wars film before it. There are so many stories to be told and I cannot wait to see what happens with Rey, Luke, Kylo Ren, and Snoke and what is going to happen between the Rebellion and the New Order . December needs to get here immediately so I can see my most anticipated movie of 2017.
What movies are your most anticipated movies of 2017? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.
And make sure to check out the first half of my most anticipated movies of 2017 by clicking right here!