There is plenty to look forward in 2017 in terms of movies..Yes, movie that are not just Star Wars VIII. Whether it’s a big blockbuster sequel you are already looking forward to or a hidden gem you may not have heard of yet, take a look at this non-ranked list of what you need to know. Did we miss something here? Tweet at us @101WKQX or hit us up on Facebook.
Star Wars Episode VIII
The Force has been awakened and after the big loss that hit the Rebellion (um,. ‘Resistance’) in last year’s smash return to the galaxy far far away. It feels like this will be another movie with astronomical expectations. The ending of the last film in the series leads us to believe we are going to get more of Luke Skywalker here, but the recent passing of Carrie Fisher may make this film a lot more emotional in an unintended way.
Thor: Ragnarok
If you really liked seeing the God of Thunder Thor battle the Incredible Hulk in the first Avengers film, well you should be looking forward to this for a possible re-match. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a pretty solid track record but the Thor solo movies need a kick in the Norse mythology pants. Also Chris Hemsworth has the character developed to a point where you can do different things with him.
Beauty and the Beast
This live action update to the classic Disney animated feature has the whimsy and wonder we are looking for. It’s all member-berries but it’s a movie worthy of an update. Yes, it may be the only movie on this list that likely does not feature a lot of explosions. Yes, I know my standards are very man-childy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvW_L8sTu5E
LOGAN
The swan song of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and maybe even the end of Patrick Stewart as Professor X in an R-rated superhero banger. If ‘Deadpool’ was better because it had less limitations with an R-rating, imagine what we can get when we get to see Jackman take those claws out in one final fight.
Wonder Woman
This was probably the best trailer to come out of Comic Con this year, with Gal Gadot delivering a period piece of a heroine who kicks all types of butt. She was one of the best parts of ‘Batman vs. Superman’. The Amazonian warrior entering the world of mortals could save the DC Cinematic Universe and help create buzz for another movie on this list.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
The first one was delightful and exceeded all types of expectations. The trailer for the sequel has all of the rag tag outer space adventure team back together for a new journey with a talking tree that is too cute for words. It just looks rad, and saying anything else besides “watch this trailer” would be silly.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Tom Holland as the new Spider-Man appearing in ‘Civil-War’ was one of the best moments from Marvel movies recently and it helps reinvigorate interest in a really beloved character after some missteps it’s good to see a fresh-take that echoes the teen-movie sentiment of John Hughes who gave us ‘The Breakfast Club’ and ‘Pretty in Pink’. This style is what Spidey needs in a new movie, a charismatic dork who gets his powers and struggles with how to handle them. With Great Power comes….you know the rest right?
Justice League
Where Marvel fans feel their movies are solid, DC fans have seen a mixed bag recently with many walking out of ‘Batman v Superman’ feeling underwhelmed. That makes this movie crucial to the DC Cinematic Universe. The comparison to ‘Avengers’ will expected but makes complete sense, which is not a bad thing. The gravitating characters in this grand all-star team-up are all there, it has the potential.
War of the Planet of the Apes
CGI ‘performance capture’ has been stellar in this underrated scifi reboot series about advanced apes taking over apocalyptic Earth. Andy Serkis playing the lead ape Ceasar, looks fierce as ever with Woody Harrelson is going to show-off his reliable chops as a villain.
Wilson
Yes, Woody Harrelson is busy in 2017. This R-rated comedy is based on graphic novel, Harrelson playing a middle-aged neurotic divorcee who can’t get anyone to love him and finds out his ex-wife gave his daughter for adoption. Oh and this is a daughter, he never knew about her. The foul-mouthed trailer below is NSFW, but it teases what looks like one of the funniest new movies in years.
OH YOU THOUGHT WE WERE DONE WITH WOODY HARRELSON, oh no…Honestly, it’s not our fault he’s so active.
Lost in London
Harrelson is going to live stream a movie, they are going to shoot the movie live to theaters. This pretty daring and exciting, almost like a live play but shot from location in London. The story is based on a real series of events that occurred to Harrelson, when a broken ashtray spiraled into a police chase. Lost In London will stream in theaters (via Fathom Events) on January 19, at 8 p.m. ET.
https://youtu.be/lRWaUKgWclg
THE CIRCLE
This scifi thriller about a young women joining a Silicon Valley tech company only to find out it’s insidious real nature that goes beyond improving everyone’s life through technology. As our lives become ingrained with tech through social media, this feels like a very inventive and real piece of drama for the modern age. Plus Tom Hanks is an evil Steve Jobs, yes please!
https://youtu.be/QCOXARv6J9k
BladeRunner 2049
This sequel to the very influential 80s adventure about a bounty hunter who goes after rogue ‘replicants’ sees Harrison Ford return with Ryan Gosling joing him in the dystopian future..yeah, we’re there again. Though there is a lot of genre domination on this list, but this a really intriguing sequel that is not going to be phoned in by director Denis Villeneuve with the original film’s director Ridley Scott.
Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan has become the director of the last ten years whose name has the pull of cinema masters like Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese whose name on a movie poster peek the interest of many. So now given Nolan takes the reigns of the brutal setting of an evacuation of Allied troops on a coastal town in World War II. The cast which includes the very underrated Cillian Murphy and Tom Hard a.k.a ‘Bane’ from ‘the Dark Knight Rises’.
Alien: Covenant
The ALIENS series has always been driven by the gritty survival of humans in the face of the twisted monster brought to life by the visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott, so it was a bummer to some that the 2012 prequel ‘Prometheus’ did not rattle that same emotion. It was just more low key suspense with less action and other world violence that some have to come to expect. Now with Scott back in the director’s chair for this sequel to the prequel (I know that is a silly sentence), we may get all that horrific tension once again. Plus Michael Fassbender is back in this film, and he has to shake off the stink of that ‘Assassin’s Creed’ movie .
GET OUT
Jordan Peele made his mark as one of half of the Comedy Central duo ‘Key & Peele’ so making his solo writing and directing debut in a Hitchcock styled movie about racial tension, hypnosis, and insidious behavior is a twist. The trailer gives a little too much away but it looks like the creepiest movie of the year.
The Baby Driver
No this is not a movie that literally about a baby driving a car, but there is for some unknown reason an animated movie about a infant playing the boss of an office coming this year. Yeah, sorry that’s a thing. Director Edgar Wright has carved a niche for interweaving dramatic larger-than-life situations with fun tangible characters and sprinkling comedy in the whole mix. Wright won a lot of us over with ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’ so we’ll trust this movie which sees an unknowing kid becoming a getaway driver in a doomed heist.
