Most Anticipated Movies of 2017

Overall 2016 was shit. Thankfully there were plenty of good movies and while 2017 could be another shit year there looks to be plenty of movies that again give us that escapism that we go to the movies for.

Below are 15 movies that I look forward to but there are more than just 15 so here are some honorable mentions.

T2 Trainspotting, John Wick Chapter 2, The Lego Batman Movie, Logan, Kingsman 2, Dunkirk, Blade Runner 2049, Coco, Murder on the Orient Express, Woody Allen's new movie, 'Visages, Visages', War Machine, The Book of Henry, The Circle, You Were Never Really Here, Wind River, Call Me by Your Name, Mektoub is Mektoub, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Under the Silver Lake, Wonderstruck, The Bad Batch, and The Siege.

1. Okja (Bong-Joon Ho)

"A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend - a massive animal named Okja."

From the director of The Host, Mother, Memories of Murder and most recently Snowpiecer this South Korean is quickly becoming one of the most prolific directors working today. This time he's teaming up Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton, Lilly Collins and Paul Dano. While the IMDb plot synopsis doesn't reveal much it does tell us that a massive animal (okja) is involved and Ho isn't a stranger to using large animals/monsters in his movies.

2. Untitled Asghar Farhadi Project (Asghar Farhadi)

Plot Unknown

This decade Farhadi has released three movies this decade so far (A Separation, The Past, and The Salesman) and all have won major festival prizes, A Separation won an Oscar, and The Salesman will probably be nominated for a one as well. While the plot has yet to be released we do know that Javier Bardem and Penlope Cruz are starring in it. That's three Oscar winners who have also won a major prize at Cannes. I doubt any of this trio won't bring there A game, making this one to look forward to.

3. Annihilation (Alex Garland)

"A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply."

Ex Machina was one the least forgettable directorial debuts of the last couple of years. Garland's new film looks to be another sci-fi movie that get us to ask some questions once the credits start to roll. Garland teams up with Oscar Isaac again along with Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh for the first time. Annihilation isn't an original script but an adapted one, so you can read the book of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer before you see this one in cinemas.

4. Happy-End (Michael Haneke)

"A drama about a family set in Calais with the European refugee crisis as the backdrop".

It's taken me two years to watch just five of Haneke's films and I still have more on DVD waiting to be watched. Everyone of his films I've seen I would easily give 10/10. So I am obviously looking forward to watching this one. However I know that the time to process this movie after will be a tough one. That's the reason I've only seen five of his movies in two years but at least we will get to see the great Jean-Louis Trintignant on screen again along with one of the best actresses working today Isabelle Huppert.

Haneke on the right and Aronofksy on the left

5. Mother (Darren Aronofsky)

"Centers on a couple whose relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence".

While the idea of the movie seems familiar, I have no doubt that Arronofsky will put his own psychological twist on it the way he has for maths, drugs, what ever the fountain was about, wrestling and ballet. Aronofsky teams up with most of his regular crew with the exception of Clint Mansell who is being replaced with the equally great Jóhann Jóhannsson. The cast however is much more interesting. Domhnall Gleeson, Ed Harris, Javier Bardem and Michelle Pfeiffer are all great but none are box office draws. So Aronofsky got Jennifer Lawrence.

6. Weightless (Terrence Malick)

"Two intersecting love triangles. Obsession and betrayal set against the music scene in Austin, Texas".

I talked about Weightless when I still thought it might come out in 2016 (here) so I'll just like to express my views on contemporary Malick and why I like still like his movies even if they are full of allegories, metaphors, and plenty of philosophy references. Dear people who think Malick's latest films are arty, exaggerated, pompous affairs - Malick hasn't fallen into pretentiousness but rather he has been developing as a film maker with every film. It's ok to not like his films but I think everyone needs to respect his craft.

7. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos)

"A teenager's attempts to bring a brilliant surgeon into his dysfunctional family takes an unexpected turn".

It doesn't surprise me that when I read this logline that I didn't know what to make of it. If you've seen The Lobster, Dogtooth or Alps you might be able to guess what's coming but it's still only a guess. We do know that Colin Farrell, Alica Silverstone and Nicole Kidman are in it. But now that I think about it doesn't help reveal anything about it. Both Farrell and Kidman are able to disappear into the roles that they play so who knows what kind of character's they are playing (Farrell is the surgeon and Kidman is the surgeon's wife). This is the kind of movie you look forward to because you don't know what to expect.

8. Yeh Din Ka Kissa (Noah Baumbach)

"An estranged family gathers together in New York for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father".

Noah Baumbach probably has the title of 'king of America independent cinema' at the moment. With his previous works taking a good hard look at American life. This time however he's playing a special card. I don't know if it's a trump card, a joker or an ace of spades but it comes in the shape of Adam Sandler. The prospect of Adam Sandler being in a second movie that is good (after Punch Drunk Love) has a good chance here. Many directors have tried to copy Paul Thomas Anderson's use of Sandler but no one else has succeeded (just google the other movie Spotlight director Tom McCarthy did in 2015). Fortunately Baumbach has some other names to back up on in the shape of Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson and Ben Stiller.

9. Baby Driver (Edgar Wright)

"After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail".

I could just say that his man directed Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, and The World's End and you would probably be excited as me. However you'll get excited after hearing what kind of movie and who is in it. The film looks like it will be the heist movie that he was going to do with Ant-Man before he left that. The cast includes Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Jon Bernthal and Jamie Foxx. Now you should be very excited.

10. Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Project (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Plot unknown

Paul Thomas Anderson + Daniel Day Lewis. Need I say more? I'll add a bit more since there is no plot. The last time these two men worked together they made one of the best movies of the last decade and Lewis got his second Oscar. It will also mark the first time that the movie isn't set completely (or in part) in California and will see the director use 1950s London as a backdrop to tell a story set in the fashion world. We could also expect Robert Elswit back behind the camera which is just another reason to get excited.

11. The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro)

"An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963".

People say how much they love it when directors like Tarantino reference or homage other films in their work. Well I would like to say that I think Guillermo del Toro is best at doing that and his references go beyond cinema. The way del Toro does is to do it without calling attention to itself. If you've seen any of his films you will know that his works are rich in world building (and production design) but never distracting from the plot. I have no doubt this will be a twisty and fun film filled to the brink with great visuals.

12. The Lost City of Z (James Gray)

"True-life drama which centers on British explorer Col. Percival Fawcett, who disappeared while searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s".

Director James Gray wrote to Francis Ford Coppola about shooting this film and Coppola only replied "don't". Well Gray went ahead anyways and has returned. While I'm not sure how much of a hard time he had or even if it compares to what Coppola went through with Apocalypse Now or Werner Herzog with Fitzcarraldo. This film has already had its festival release and it looks to be a successor to the aforementioned while being it's own film in the category of films based and shot in the jungle.

13. Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino)

"A young ballet dancer travels to a prestigious dance academy in Berlin in 1977, only to discover it is a front for something far more sinister and supernatural amidst a series of increasingly grisly murders".

A Bigger Splash was an underrated movie from 2016 and I hope Luca Guadagnino doesn't make an under rated movie in 2017. I hope he makes one that people will actually talk about, the way people should've talked about A Bigger Splash. Guadagnino has two films coming out in 2017 but I choose this one because it's a horror film and I really like it when regular directors branch into horror. They often surprise in terms of how they decide to use their voice in a different manner. If you've seen the title of this movie before it's because this film is a remake of the same name which was the last to be shot on technicolor's three strip process machines.

14. Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh)

"A young boy embarks on a perilous journey in search of his long-lost aunt and a possible home, his only companion the stolen racehorse Lean on Pete".

45 Years was a quite film in terms of the story and box office but with an Oscar nomination for it's female lead Charlotte Rampling, I'm hoping that it help Haigh gain more recognition as a talented film maker. This is Haigh's third film and will be the third that concentrate's on a relationship between two people. Haigh's characters are real and his dramatic arcs represent that. They're slower than most English language movies but they're driven by the subtle details.

15. Free Fire (Ben Wheatley)

"Set in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shootout and a game of survival".

I know that most people didn't like High Rise and that's a disappointment because it was a chance for people to get to know the name Ben Wheatley. I however loved High Rise and Ben Wheatley is a director that is near the center of my radar and Free Fire is no exception. Free Fire looks to be another distinct film in Wheatley's career but also film in general. Each of his films defy genre conventions in some way or another and this time it's the action comedy genre.

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So those are my picks what are your??? Let me know in the comments.