With Christopher Nolan’s latest film Tenet finally out now, it’s time for me to rank all his 11 movies.
Nolan has cemented himself as one of the most distinct and visionary filmmakers of the past couple decades. His filmography ranges from low budget indies to big budget blockbusters, and he’s known for making original, ambitious and challenging movies, with creative and high concepts, while experimenting and testing the limits of what a movie can be. Popular with both audiences and critics, his name practically sells his movies at this point.
It’s incredibly difficult to rank most of his movies. Aside from one movie, his movies range from great to excellent, so some of the movies’ rankings are interchangeable.
11. Following
Following is the first film that Christopher Nolan made, and it’s by far his worst, not that it’s bad by any means however. It’s a straightforward, low budget, black and white neo noir thriller, with some twists and turns, and it’s only about an hour long. It also doesn’t contain a whole lot resembling Nolan’s work outside of some twists in the story. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, and isn’t as intriguing or interesting as you would think given his later movies.
Indeed, you do sort of need to go into it looking at it as a student film, and as that it actually does work. From that angle, Christopher Nolan directed Following really well, the black and white and 16mm film stock really added to the mystery noir feel throughout, and the plot was interesting enough to keep your interest right to the very end. It’s quite an effective debut for a first time director, and I’m glad that I saw it. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to everyone, but for those who are fans of Nolan, I’d highly recommend checking it out, even to see how far he’s come as a filmmaker since 1997.
It really says a lot about Christopher Nolan that Insomnia is his worst movie (excluding Following of course), most directors would dream to have their worst movie be the level of this one. Sure, it’s nothing special, and Nolan has made way more impressive films, but as a crime thriller and murder mystery, it really works well.
Insomnia is a pretty standard crime thriller and doesn’t do too much that’s unexpected, but you’re engaged throughout. As the movie goes on you found out that it’s a character study to a degree that only appears as just a murder mystery. Christopher Nolan’s direction was good as expected, it’s not as stylish or overtly impressive as say Inception or Interstellar, but he captured the isolated and haunting environment effectively, and the atmospheric and psychological elements are handled well. Performances were also great, with Al Pacino as a morally grey and conflicted anti hero, and Robin Williams in a rare villain role as the killer, the two of them are impressive on their own and particularly shine when they are on screen together. Insomnia is definitely worth seeking out if you haven’t seen it already, one of Nolan’s more underrated movies.
Batman Begins brought back Batman to the big screen after the last attempt at a Batman film (Batman and Robin), and it was a very fresh take that added a lot of well needed energy to the character. It had a more dark and gritty take on the character, and on the whole it was incredibly well made. With a compelling and entertaining take, Batman Begins succeeds incredibly well, and Nolan was the perfect person to helm this movie, and it made him a household name.
Batman Begins seemed to make the idea of a billionaire dressing up like a bat to fight crime actually work in a serious way. It’s an origin story, and while it doesn’t really break the mold or anything, it’s all set up really well, and I love the choices that Christopher Nolan made to create his version of Batman’s universe. While it does follow the template for superhero origin stories, it’s deeper and more thematically complex than you’d initially expect it to. The cast from Gary Oldman, Michael Caine all the way to Liam Neeson play their parts very well, and Christian Bale absolutely works in his part as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Although I like most consider The Dark Knight to be the best of Nolan’s Batman movies, there are parts of Batman Begins which do stand out among the trilogy. The biggest example of this is Gotham itself, in The Dark Knight it felt like Chicago and in The Dark Knight Rises it felt like New York City, but in Batman Begins it really felt like a realistic Gotham City that felt like no other city, and stood out quite a bit. Now the third act does fall into typical climaxes that you’d expect from some comic book movies, and some of the aspects of the action aren’t quite as polished as the two sequels, even though they are still entertaining. On the whole though, it’s still a really good comic book movie, and gets better the more I watch it.
It was honestly hard choosing between this and Batman Begins for which non Dark Knight movie in the trilogy should be higher on the list. The Dark Knight Rises edges it out just a little bit, it is by far the most divisive movie in the series, but I truly love it, and it really gets better with every subsequent viewing.
After The Dark Knight, a sequel just seemed like it would be too hard and overwhelming, especially with all the success and acclaim that the movie received. With the follow up, they don’t copy the previous movie, and instead they go in a completely different direction. First of all, it is sombre in tone right from the beginning, and is an emotionally charged epic of a movie. It is a slower paced and contemplative movie compared to the other movies in the trilogy. It is also more of a Bruce Wayne movie, he doesn’t even wear the Batman costume all that often, and the story is great, suspenseful and truly compelling. At the same time it is an epic conclusion with some impressive action set pieces. It’s a spectacle for sure, especially at the end. The cast all performed very well as expected, Christian Bale gives his best performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the whole trilogy, and the rest of the cast with the likes of Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and others as usual perform exceptionally. The new additions to the cast were also great, especially Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Tom Hardy as Bane. The latter of whom had a daunting task of following up on Heath Ledger’s Joker, but he really proved to be a memorable antagonist and a threatening presence, and at this point is almost as iconic. Honestly the only problems I had with the movie is that occasionally the stuntwork in the action scenes doesn’t always work. All in all, The Dark Knight Rises was an emotionally satisfying and great conclusion to the trilogy, and a great movie in itself.
Dunkirk was a masterpiece in visual storytelling, and one of Christopher Nolan’s most distinct movies in his filmography. A tense war movie taking place from three different perspectives, it is a pure cinematic experience that is exhilarating even upon repeat viewings.
As expected, Christopher Nolan’s direction is outstanding and is the main standout from the movie. It feels incredibly real, and Nolan’s use of practical effects played a large part in that. It is incredibly tense and suspenseful from beginning to end, and it is exhilarating and epic. Dunkirk is pretty much perfect on a technical level. The cinematography is outstanding, the editing is tight and Hans Zimmer’s score is outstanding, really raising the tension and immersing you even more into the movie. It’s not an R rated movie but it really conveys the horrors of war more than effectively. While the characters aren’t anything special and don’t really have much to them, it’s very clear that Dunkirk isn’t supposed to be a character driven movie. Not to mention that despite that, the cast are quite good, with the likes of Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh giving effective performances. Dunkirk is yet another excellent film from Nolan, and for sure ranks amongst the best movies from the war film genre, especially in recent years.
Christopher Nolan’s second feature film Memento was the movie that really showed him off to be a talent to be watched. A film that famously plays its scenes in reverse order could’ve easily fallen into just being a gimmick movie, but by the end it’s clear that it is so cleverly put together, and on the whole is an outstanding film.
This neo-noir has a very intimate and engaging story, the script is probably its strongest aspect. On the first viewing you are really trying to piece everything together before it all comes together at the end, and it’s pretty intriguing. And of course, it is even better on a second viewing when you know what’s going on, and you can really see that Nolan has put together the story excellently. Although there may be some versions of the movie placing all the scenes in chronological order, it’s pretty clear it wouldn’t work nearly as well compared to the film as it currently is. Nolan’s direction ties everything together, making it a mix between a mind-bending psychological thriller and gritty revenge flick. The acting was also great all around, especially Guy Pearce in the lead role, giving a layered and great performance. Memento is a fantastic movie, impressive on all fronts and definitely a film that is worth watching multiple times.
I’m not sure where The Prestige ranks for most people in Nolan’s filmography, but is really great. A highly original movie about magicians, it is engaging to watch from beginning to end, and even better on repeat viewings.
A movie about a rivalry between two magicians could’ve been silly (it certainly sounds silly on paper), but Nolan really pulled it off. I really liked it the first time I saw it, but a second viewing only made me realise how exceptionally well made it was. The story and ideas I appreciated a lot more, and this made it shoot up higher on my list of favourite Nolan movies. There are so many twists and turns, and it’s intelligently written and complex. There are multiple layers to the movie that you begin to notice long after watching the movie. It’s directed masterfully too, as expected from Christopher Nolan, the visuals are outstanding and I really liked the portrayal of ‘magic’. Performances were really great, especially those from Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, some of their most underrated work. If you’ve only seen The Prestige once, I implore you to see it again, it’s a completely different experience.
Christopher Nolan’s latest film manages to position itself into the top 5 of this list. While I do need to watch it again for sure, I do feel fairly confident in it being at least number 4 or 5 slots. Tenet is another engaging and spectacular movie from Nolan, it was an incredible experience for sure, and I can’t wait to see it again.
Nolan spins a creative and twisty story that is his most complex, which is saying a lot. A time inversion espionage thriller, it’s his most ambitious film for sure, with so many big ideas and things happening. However he pulled it off. It’s entertaining to watch too, it’s an absolutely riveting movie, with barely a chance to breathe across its 2 hours and 30 minute runtime. It’s directed incredibly well as to be expected, so excellently put together. There are some spectacular set pieces too, and possibly some of the best action that Christopher Nolan has ever directed. All of this is accompanied by a flat out perfect score from Ludwig Goransson. The cast all brought their A game, especially John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh. As of this time, the only slight issue I had was with the sound mixing drowning out some important dialogue, but on the whole I loved it, and I can only see it getting better upon further viewings.
This movie definitely divided viewers upon its release, some viewers loved it, some viewers hated it. I personally really liked it when I saw it, however half a decade later with a few more viewings, and I love it now, becoming one of my all time favourite movies.
It really did require multiple viewings to get a firm grasp of what was going on, but once I knew what was happening, I loved it. A large scale and ambitious space epic, yet with an intimate and truly emotional story, it’s truly something special. Nolan’s direction was excellent too as to be expected, his handle of everything was great. On a technical level it’s pretty much perfect, the visuals are outstanding, with amazing cinematography from Hoyte van Hoytema, and Hans Zimmer’s euphoric score here is among his best work. The acting from everyone is commendable, especially from a spectacular Matthew McConaughey. It is also by far the most emotional of Nolan’s movies, I’m not really sure how some people call Nolan’s movies ‘cold’, when Interstellar is literally about the power of love. If there’s any problems I might have, it’s that most of the characters aside from Matthew McConaughey’s weren’t that developed and some of the dialogue can be a little too on the nose and heavy handed with its themes, but that wasn’t a big problem for me. Even though I have some small problems with the movie, I love pretty much every other aspect. All in all, Interstellar is a spectacular experience of a film.
These next two are interchangeable, I went back and forth on these two for a while and now even I’m not certain about my placing of these.
2. The Dark Knight
One of the all time best comic book movies ever made and known as among the most acclaimed movies of the 21st century, Christopher Nolan took what he did with Batman Begins and brought it to a new level with the sequel. I’ve seen this countless times, it gets better with every viewing and every time I’m just blown away at how fantastic it is.
Pretty much everything that can be said about The Dark Knight has been said already, it really pushed the envelope on what a comic book movie could be. A bleak crime thriller that takes influence from films like Heat, the script is so perfectly put together and constructed. It’s also a lot more complex than the previous movie, layered with so many themes about chaos, anarchy and morality, and is truly a compelling story with interesting ideas. At the same time, it really works as a Batman movie. Of course, it would be wrong not to mention Heath Ledger’s Joker when talking about this movie, which on top of surprising everyone, was just a genius character and performance in itself. Ledger and Nolan crafted a truly compelling and memorable character that instantly became iconic. As fantastic as the rest of the movie is already, he really makes the film. That’s not to say the rest of the performances from the other cast members weren’t great because they were; the likes of Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and especially Aaron Eckhart all played their parts well. Nolan’s work behind the camera is also excellent as expected, along with the entertaining set pieces starting off with one of the best opening sequences to a movie ever, it is tightly and efficiently directed. There’s a very good reason why The Dark Knight is known as one of the best comic book movies of all time.
It was incredibly difficult picking a number one movie among Nolan’s entire filmography, but in the end I had to go with Inception. Revolutionary, bold, innovative, layered, intelligent and very complex, it’s a very special movie.
Inception has a great cast, everyone fits their characters, from Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt through to Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy, and they all have great chemistry together. The story is just so great, it is such a high concept story, with some original and thought provoking ideas. All the rules about dreams are clearly written and told, and the exposition is actually handled well and not heavy handed. Inception also has an emotional backbone, especially with regards to main character Cobb (played by DiCaprio), and this character study was quite interesting to watch. It’s also got an entertaining and engaging story, with some twists. But of course it’s Christopher Nolan’s fantastic direction that stands out the most, the effects were ground-breaking and are still impressive to watch to this day, and there are some truly gripping set pieces. It’s tightly edited, absolutely stunning to watch, and Hans Zimmer’s score is iconic and pretty much perfect. This movie is working at such a high level at all fronts, every time I watch it I’m still blown away by it. 10 years later it remains a truly impressive piece of cinema.
Time: 150 minutes Age Rating: Violence & offensive language Cast:
John David Washington as the Protagonist
Robert Pattinson as Neil
Elizabeth Debicki as Kat
Dimple Kapadia as Priya
Clémence Poésy as Laura
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Ives
Michael Caine as Sir Michael Crosby
Kenneth Branagh as Andrei Sator Director: Christopher Nolan
A secret agent (John David Washington) embarks on a dangerous, time-bending mission to prevent the start of World War III.
Tenet was one of my most anticipated films of 2020. It had a cast with the likes of John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh, the trailers looked incredible, but most of all, it was Christopher Nolan’s next film. Nolan is one of my favourite directors, an incredibly creative and visionary filmmaker, all of his movies are good, and almost all of them are at least great. However there was another layer of anticipation, with this being the first movie to be released in cinemas since March ever since the pandemic started, this was actually the first time I’ve watch a movie in theatres since February. Tenet was the movie meant to bring people back to the theatre. It lived up to all the hype and was quite an incredible experience, it’s for sure one of my favourite films from Christopher Nolan, and that’s saying a lot.
For those worrying about spoilers, don’t worry, I won’t give anything critical away. At most I’ll refer to what was only in the trailers, which already do a good job at keeping a lot of the plot hidden. Tenet is probably Christopher Nolan’s most complex movie, and that is saying a lot. There’s a line from Clemence Poesy’s character to John David Washington’s character, “Don’t try to understand it, feel it”, and that idea is pretty much key to watching this movie. If you get too caught up with what you don’t understand, you won’t enjoy much of the rest of the movie, and will probably have a harder time getting what’s going on. The script by Christopher Nolan is fantastic, there’s a lot happening and really keeps you engaged from beginning to end, never letting go of your attention.
At its core, Tenet is a spy and espionage movie that happens to have a science fiction element, kind of like how Inception is a heist movie. Time has played a big part in many of Nolan’s movies, with the events in Memento being played backwards, Dunkirk taking place at different time settings and over different frames of time, and even Inception and Interstellar had time playing a big role in their plots. However time is the central theme and focus of Tenet. It’s not a spoiler to say that this movie is not about time travel but rather time inversion, and for the most part I actually got on board with that concept. At first it’s a bit hard to understand it, especially earlier on where you only get a little bit of time inversion in the plot. However as the plot progresses and more is shown and revealed, you begin to understand it more, and I thought it was well handled, especially when it came to the use of exposition. There’s a specific moment layer on where there’s a lot of time inversion and I have to say I was confused as to what was going on, but again I just went with it. It’s definitely a movie that’ll probably improve on repeat viewings. I will admit that I did need to look up some ‘Tenet explained’ articles to get a grasp of some of the things that I missed as I understand more of what’s happening. However I actually understood much more of the movie than I thought I would. One criticism I have for the movie from this first viewing is that it was hard to even hear what was happening, which I’ll get into later on, but those if anything were the things that made it occasionally hard to follow what was going on. Tenet is definitely not one of Nolan’s character driven movie, despite a big cast you only learn about a few of the characters. That wasn’t a dealbreaker for me though, I was still along with the ride. Looking back at it on a whole, the more I think about the movie, the more I love it.
There’s a great cast all around, and all of them perform really well. John David Washington plays the protagonist of the movie, who’s only referred to as ‘The Protagonist’, and he’s really great. Despite not much being known about his character, he brings such an on screen presence on his part and he carries much of the movie. Robert Pattinson was also good as an agent who works with The Protagonist, and Pattinson was particularly great alongside Washington, their on screen dynamic was very entertaining to watch. Elizabeth Debicki also gives a great performance as probably the most layered character of the movie, she’s the emotional core of the story. Kenneth Branagh plays the villain of the movie, it’s a scene chewing yet menacing performance, that really works for the movie. The rest of the supporting cast with the likes of Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Himesh Patel, Michael Caine, and Clemence Poesy all play their parts well too.
Christopher Nolan directs this magnificently as to be expected. Hoyte van Hoytema’s cinematography is nothing short of fantastic, it’s such a large scale movie. Nolan’s filming of action has been generally criticised (especially in the Dark Knight trilogy). I still liked them, but I can kind of see why, especially when it comes to the stunts. However, I’d say that this is by far the best action that he’s filmed (possibly even more so than Inception). The most impressive aspect of the film on a purely technical and visual level was the time inversion, with everything going in reverse, and it is much more than just reversing the film. Like every other movie he has made, his movies are filmed practically, which made so many of the sequences even more impressive. One of such moments as teased in the trailers was when a real plane was crashed, and while that certainly is a big moment, there’s far more to come which I won’t reveal. There’s so many moments that I just wondered how Nolan pulled off. The time inversion was especially impressive, and the cinematography mixed with the practical effects and stunts come together to form some unforgettable moments. This is the first time since The Dark Knight that Hans Zimmer doesn’t score a Christopher Nolan movie, instead it is Ludwig Goransson composing, and he does a fantastic job. It’s extraordinary and fits perfectly with the movie. This brings me to the sound mixing, it is a very loud movie and it can be a bit overwhelming, but it only bothers me in one particular way. As previously mentioned, I don’t have an issue with the amount of exposition in the film, it’s just that the music and a lot of the other sounds can drown out a lot of the dialogue during these moments and because of that you are sometimes left in the dark about what’s going on (and sometimes it’s simple plot points). Let’s just say that if you watched it with subtitles, you would probably understand a lot more about what is going on.
With Tenet, Christopher Nolan has made another fresh, engaging, complex and spectacle of a film. The cast are great, I loved the plot and ideas presented, and the filmmaking is just on a whole other level. I can only see this improving upon further viewings. It’s an overwhelming and fantastic experience that is best seen in the cinema. At the same time, it’s only worth seeing this in cinemas if you feel safe and comfortable doing so right now in this moment, so if that is the case and the movie is in your area, I highly recommend seeing it.
2019 was a great year for film, and a good way of ending the decade. 2020 also looks to offer even more fantastic films, especially with the likes of Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, and many more talented filmmakers releasing their new movies. Indeed, there’s plenty of movies here that I have my attention on, and hoping that they will deliver.
I should be noting that with films like Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, I’m going off the assumption that they are going to be released in 2021, so if that film somehow gets released this year, its exclusion from this list isn’t because I’m not interested in it, far from it in fact. Also, some of these movies don’t have a release date yet, and I had to make an assumption that they’re actually releasing in 2020. Lastly, some of these movies could be pushed back (a couple of entries on this list actually have been pushed back from last year), there’s just no way of telling.
40. Mainstream
Honestly there’s really not much to say about Mainstream, I’m interested in it mainly because of some of the cast involved, and I’m hoping that the movie is pretty good in itself.
Three lovers struggle to preserve their identities as they form an eccentric love triangle within the fast-moving modern world.
I like Andrew Garfield, Maya Hawke, and Jason Schwartzman, and they’re the reason I’m somewhat paying attention to the movie. There’s really nothing more I can say about this movie thus far, I’m not familiar with director Gia Coppola, but with the cast and the premise, at the very least it has potential.
Mainstream hasn’t been given a release date yet.
39. Bad Boys for Life
I’m not a massive fan of the Bad Boys movies, I liked the first one fine enough for what it is, but the second I just really couldn’t get into. People had been talking about a 3rd instalment for quite a while, and it seems like now we’re getting it. I’m still not completely sold on it just yet, but I’m nonetheless paying attention to it.
The once inseparable duo of Marcus Burnett and Michael “Mike” Lowery is coming apart: an aging Burnett has become a police inspector while Lowery, suffering a midlife crisis, is assigned to head up AMMO, a “young guns” group of millennial cops with whom he has nothing in common. Both of them reunite once again when a fierce cartel mob boss, whose brother they defeated years earlier, makes a retaliation effort on Mike just as both he and Marcus are about to officially retire.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles, and their dynamic is the highlight of these movies, I’m looking forward to seeing them again. Outside of that, don’t know what to expect from the rest of the movie. I’m not familiar with the director, this time its not Michael Bay directing the movie, and I can’t tell whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Chances are the story is going to be pretty familiar to the past movies and I’m not expecting much from that front. I’m just hoping for a reasonably fun and entertaining 2 hours in the cinema.
Bad Boys for Life is scheduled to be released on January 17, 2020.
38. The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It
It does feel weird this movie not being higher on my list. I liked James Wan’s The Conjuring, and The Conjuring 2 even more, so I’ve been looking forward to a 3rd movie. However there are some things that I’m legitimately concerned about, they aren’t enough to make me not want to watch this movie.
One of the most sensational cases form the files of real life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), where a young boy is murdered and the murder suspect claims demonic possession as a defense for the first time in the history of the United States.
First of all the obvious must be addressed, this title is terrible. The Devil Made Me Do It is a silly title, not to mention with the previous movie being just titled The Conjuring 2, it makes you wonder why they made that decision. It’s not enough to justify prematurely declaring that the movie will be terrible, but it does give you pause. The main concern I have however is that it isn’t James Wan who’ll be directing this, that job falls to Michael Chaves. The problem is Chaves directed The Curse of La Llorana, which was a spin off in this Conjuring universe, and from what I’ve heard it’s not that good. I’m not entirely confident that he’ll deliver on a good movie with this. However with a premise that has potential, and Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga returning to reprise their roles, I can’t say I’m at least somewhat interested in checking it out.
The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It is scheduled to be released on September 11, 2020.
37. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Although I liked the first two movies, I’m not a massive fan of Ghostbusters. Maybe I might need to give them a rewatch, but I generally regard them as fun 80s movies that are pretty decent but that’s it. I wasn’t even expecting another Ghostbusters movie after Sony’s reboot really didn’t work out so well. Normally I wouldn’t be interested, but the fact that this is actually Ghostbusters 3 at least compels me to pay some attention to this movie.
After being evicted from their home, two children and their single mother move to a farm in Summerville, Oklaholma inherited from their late grandfather. When the town experiences a series of unexplained earthquakes, the children discover their family’s link to the original Ghostbusters, who have become something of a myth as many have long-since forgotten the events of the “Manhattan Crossrip of 1984”, and the secret legacy that their grandfather left behind.
There had been talks about a Ghostbusters 3 for the longest time, and after the recent reboot, it seemed like people had given up on it. After the longest time however, they are actually making it. The cast for the new Ghostbusters are great, with McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd, that group of actors have quite the talent, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they work out. Additionally Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver return to reprise their roles, and the fact that they aren’t just being used for cheap cameos but instead passing the torch onto new actors and characters played a large part in me being sort of interested in this movie. I haven’t seen much from writer and director Jason Reitman, but I liked Juno and Tully, which I’ve seen from him. That’s not to guarantee that because he’s involved, the movie will be fantastic, I liked Paul Feig and his Ghostbusters movie was kind of middle of the road. Nonetheless there’s a lot of talent involved, and I really hope it pays off well.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is scheduled to be released on July 10, 2020.
36. The Way Back
I heard about this movie for a little while, after working on The Accountant (a movie that I thought was rather good), Ben Affleck and director Gavin O’Connor were going to work on another movie together. From the brief glances I’ve had at the movie, and of the trailer, it certainly has some potential.
A former HS basketball phenom (Ben Affleck), struggling with alcoholism, is offered a coaching job at his alma mater. As the team starts to win, he may have a reason to confront his old demons. But will it be enough to set him on the road to redemption?
From director Gavin O’Connor I’ve only seen The Accountant and Warrior, but they were quite good, and so this movie is being handled by someone who is more than capable at carrying this story. Ben Affleck can generally give some good performances, but this almost feels like the role was tailor made for him. From the looks at the trailer, he seems to be playing the role rather well. The two of them are the reason I’m interested in the movie, I’m really not sure how it’s going to turn out beyond that.
The Way Back is scheduled to be released on March 6, 2020.
35. Promising Young Woman
I only heard of the movie more recently, with a new trailer that captured my attention. With a good cast and premise, I’m definitely keeping my eye on Promising Young Woman.
Everyone said Cassie (Carey Mulligan) was a promising young woman, until a mysterious event abruptly derailed her future. But nothing in Cassie’s life is what it appears to be: she’s wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she’s living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs of the past.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Carey Mulligan in a movie, and this seems to be a fantastic role for her. From the trailer, it looks like she’s handling her part quite well. Additionally this movie has Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Adam Brody, and Clancy Brown in supporting roles. Beyond that and the premise, I really don’t know what to expect from it at all. I’m mainly going in for Carey Mulligan, but hopefully the film on the whole is great too.
Promising Young Woman is scheduled to be released on April 17, 2020.
34. Guns Akimbo
I’ve heard about Guns Akimbo for the longest time, ever since the set pictures came out with Daniel Radcliffe in a bathrobe with guns stuck to his hands. I have no idea what’s taking this movie so long to actually come out, but I’m really looking forward to seeing whatever this is supposed to be.
A guy (Daniel Radcliffe) relies on his newly-acquired gladiator skills to save his ex-girlfriend from kidnappers.
I really liked Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving, and the trend of Radcliffe starring in some weird indie films graciously doesn’t seem to be ceasing anytime soon. I don’t know much about the movie beyond the premise and actors, but it seems like it’ll be at the very least something over the top and fun.
Guns Akimbo will probably be released sometime in 2020.
33. The Invisible Man
Leigh Whannell’s last film with Upgrade was one of the biggest surprises of 2018. Naturally I was interested in seeing what his next film would be, and it so happened to be a remake/adaptation of The Invisible Man.
When Cecilia’s (Elisabeth Moss) abusive ex (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) takes his own life and leaves her fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.
Leigh Whannell with Upgrade showed himself to be a very impressive filmmaker, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he’ll do with this concept. I’m not familiar with most of the actors, but I do know of Elisabeth Moss, and from what little I’ve seen her in, I know she’s very talented and will no doubt give another good lead performance here. The Invisible Man is a very loose adaptation of the original book, as well as a loose remake of the 1933 movie, so at least it’s trying something new. However it seems to be a stalker/slasher film, but just the antagonist being invisible. It does then feel like this movie might’ve been better not connected to a source material, however it is worth noting that this movie was going to be the Dark Universe Invisible Man movie (connected to 2017’s The Mummy) originally before it was cancelled. If you haven’t seen the trailer, I wouldn’t recommend watching it, as it seems to show most of the movie. There’s a part of me that thinks that this could just be a generic slasher movie. Still, it’s got me curious about it.
The Invisible Man is scheduled to be released on February 28, 2020.
32. Morbius
Morbius is a new entry in Sony’s Spider-Man Villain Universe, the Spider-Man cinematic universe that doesn’t actually have Spider-Man in it (at least for the time being). This time it’ll focus on a character lesser known to the public, Morbius, a vampire who happens to be a Spider-Man villain. I have no idea what to really expect, but I’m at least interested in it.
Biochemist Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) tries to cure himself of a rare blood disease, but inadvertently infects himself with a form a vampirism instead.
Jared Leto is in the lead role as Morbius, and Leto certainly has the potential to give some great performances. I don’t know much about the character of Morbius, but if he’s given the right writing and direction, he could be great in this role. Additionally, you have a supporting cast consisting of Matt Smith, Jared Harris, and Tyrese Gibson, so there’s a lot of talented people involved. The director is Daniel Espinosa, who made Life, which I personally liked. I also know he made Safe House and Child 44, which I’ve heard mixed things about. I honestly don’t know what sort of movie Morbius will be really, but good or bad, it seems like it’ll be something at least somewhat different from a comic book movie, and that’s always good to see.
Morbius is scheduled to be released on July 31, 2020.
31. Candyman
I watched the original Candyman last year, I was really surprised in how much I liked it, it was really well made. The new Candyman movie is something I’m curious about but I’m also unsure about it, mostly because I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be.
A “spiritual sequel” to the 1992 horror film ‘Candyman’ that returns to the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began.
Apparently this new Candyman movie will be a spiritual sequel to the original, which is at least a step above being a remake. Nonetheless, not sure what the movie will be about just yet. The lead will be played by Yahya Abudul-Mateen II, and we also have Tony Todd returning, and I assume that he’s reprising his role as the Candyman. If he is, then that’s great, because he’s fantastic in that role. I’m somewhat curious about this movie, I’m not sure what to expect from it, and I’ll be keeping an eye on it for sure.
Candyman is scheduled to be released on June 12, 2020.
30. Venom 2
2018’s Venom wasn’t the movie I was expecting it to be. It was very over the top and goofy, and in that it was entertaining for what it is. However it also didn’t fully work as that, as it feels like a mash of ideas and tones, that works enough to be fun, but not enough to be that good. With the sequel introducing the character of Carnage to the big screen, I have no idea what kind of movie we’ll be getting this time. However I’m still on board to see what it is.
This time we have Andy Serkis on board to direct the sequel, who is a very interesting pick for this movie. Given his work with motion capture, I’m sure he’ll do something great on that front at least. Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams also reprise their roles from the first movie, and Hardy seems to have committed completely to whatever was written for this character (for better or for worse), so I look forward to seeing him again. Woody Harrelson was revealed to be Cletus Kasady at the end of Venom, the villain who would go on to become Carnage. I do wonder how they’re going to handle him, given that the character is a serial killer and the last movie was a PG-13/M, I’m not sure whether or not they’ll go all the way with this character. As unintentionally funny as his appearance was in the first movie, Harrelson is a talented actor and could actually be great in this role if his character is handled well. Additionally there’s Naomie Harris and Stephen Graham who will also play parts in the movie. I’d be disappointed if it’s another messy yet funny and somewhat entertaining superhero flick, but I got a feeling that Venom 2 will at least be slightly better than that.
Venom 2 is scheduled to be released on October 2, 2020.
29. Black Widow
After Avengers: Endgame, people are starting to drop off out of interest of the MCU, and I’ll admit myself as being one of these people. There have been talks for under a decade of a Black Widow movie ever since her on screen debut in 2010 with Iron Man 2. However, despite appearing frequently in the MCU movies, she’s never gotten her movie, until now that is.
A film about Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) in her quests between the films Civil War and Infinity War.
There’s an undercurrent of feeling that this movie feels too late, and it’s particularly frustrating that it takes place after Civil War, because this just means that it should’ve been made 3/4 years ago (however I suppose it’s better than yet another origin story). What makes matters worse is the fact that Black Widow in the MCU is now dead, so it almost feels in vain. The trailer looked pretty good, rather standard Marvel, but has enough intriguing bits to make me interested. I generally like Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, but I really do feel like she hadn’t been used to her fullest potential in her previous apperarances. While I still don’t feel like the character would be used to her fullest potential, at least this time she’ll be front and center, and not just a co-lead at best. Additionally, you have a supporting cast with Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz and Ray Winstone. I don’t necessarily know if it’ll be much more than the standard MCU level quality (the trailer certainly makes it look like it’s not much better than that), I can’t deny that I’m interested in it.
Black Widow is scheduled to be released on May 1, 2020.
28. A Quiet Place Part 2
A Quiet Place was one of the biggest surprises of 2018, a very effective horror movie, and it worked well for what it was. Because it was so successful, a sequel was greenlit with the same crew. While a sequel doesn’t seem unnecessary, I’m open to seeing what ideas they have in store for the follow up.
The Abbott family must now face the terrors of the outside world as they fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realise that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.
John Krasinski retursn to direct the sequel, he did such a good job with the first movie. Along with the returning main characters with Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe as the family at the centre, you have the additions of Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou, both are very talented actors and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do in the movie. I don’t think A Quiet Place needed a sequel, it was fine as it is, but I’m hoping Part 2 proves me wrong and does something special.
A Quiet Place: Part 2 is scheduled to be released on March 20, 2020.
27. Godzilla vs. Kong
I liked the MonsterVerse movies, with the two Godzilla movies and Kong: Skull Island. Now their incarnations of Godzilla and King Kong will be clashing after years of build up. There are some concerns that I have, but no doubt it’s something that I’m really looking forward to seeing on the big screen.
In a new world where man and monster now coexist, Monarch must lead the way to a prosperous future alongside the Titans, keeping humanity in check. However, rival factions that want to manipulate the Titans for war begin to rise under the guise of a nefarious conspiracy, threatening to wipe out all life on the planet. Meanwhile on Skull Island, strange seismic activity draws the attention of Godzilla and Kong alike.
I’ve not seen any of the older King Kong and Godzilla movies (outside of Peter Jackson’s King Kong), nor have I seen any versions where the two have fought each other, but to see these modern incarnations of these titans clashing with fantastic visuals, I can’t wait. In addition to Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler returning from Godzilla: King of the Monsters, you have Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Eiza Gonzalez, Jessica Henwick and Demian Bichir being added to the cast list. I’m aware that the human characters aren’t particularly anything special, but that’s nonetheless a pretty good cast. This movie is directed by Adam Wingard, who made You’re Next, The Guest, and Death Note (the latter of which wasn’t all that good), and I’m interested in seeing what he has planned for this movie. One thing that is a little concerning to me was the amount of release date delays it has, from March 13, to May 22, to May 29, and now November 20. Now at least it’s being kept in the same year, but it’s still a little concerning that they kept pushing it back. Nonetheless, I’m sure it will at least be something spectacular to see on the big screen at the very least.
Godzilla vs. Kong is scheduled to be released on November 20, 2020.
26. The French Dispatch
I will admit I’m not a massive fan of Wes Anderson. While I haven’t seen a lot of his movies, of the few that I have seen, the only one I really loved was The Grand Budapest Hotel. Nonetheless, I definitely appreciate him as a filmmaker, and I’ll for sure check out any future movies he puts out. I’m not exactly sure what The French Dispatch is supposed to be at this time, but I’m getting the feeling that it’ll really surprise me.
A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in “The French Dispatch” magazine.
Whether you love, hate or are indifferent to Wes Anderson, you can’t deny that he makes movies like no other person. So even if his style isn’t exactly my favourite, I’m kind of interested to see what he does. As per typical of Anderson, he has a phenomenal cast, and it’s actually overwhelming how large it is. Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Timothee Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Benicio del Toro, Lea Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Saoirse Ronan, Kate Winslet, Elisabeth Moss, Willem Dafoe, Christoph Waltz, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and so many more. With that cast and director, I can’t deny I’m somewhat curious about how The French Dispatch will turn out.
The French Dispatch is scheduled to be released sometime in 2020.
25. Top Gun: Maverick
I’ll openly admit that I’m not a big fan of Top Gun. There’s a lot of good in it and it’s certainly an 80s classic, it just wasn’t anything more than that to me. Still, I’m somewhat interested in seeing what the sequel, Maverick, has to offer us.
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.
Joseph Kosinski directs this, his work on Tron: Legacy and Oblicion was relatively decent. The trailer for this movie looks impressive, with a lot of stunts, and you know that all of them are practical (with Tom Cruise of course performing all of his own himself). Outside of Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer returning, you have Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, and Ed Harris as part of the new cast. I’m not really sure what to expect from this movie outside of an updated and improved version of the first movie, but I’m sure it’ll be entertaining at the very least.
Top Gun: Maverick is scheduled to be released on June 26, 2020.
24. Eternals
As I said when talking about Black Widow, I’ve been growing less interested in the MCU. While I’m going to watch all of their upcoming movies, it will take some new places and characters to make me particularly interested in their newer instalments. Thankfully, it looks like The Eternals will be just that.
In a story spanning over 7000 years, the Eternals, an immortal alien race created by the Celestials, protect humanity from their evil counterparts the Deviants.
I don’t really know anything about the Eternals, what little I know is that they are a powerful race of cosmic beings who’ve been around for millions of years. Most of the MCU protagonists are human, or at least start as such, so to immediately start off and take place in this kind of world, it sounds exciting. You also have a great cast, with the likes of Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan and Kit Harington. The director is Chloe Zhao, and while I haven’t seen her previous movie The Rider, I’ve heard a lot of great things about it. Most MCU movies are decent at least, and I’m sure that the Eternals will be good too, but I also think it has the opportunity to be one of the most unique entries in the series.
Eternals is scheduled to be released on November 6, 2020.
23. Emma
I’ve never watched a movie based on a Jane Austen novel, and I hadn’t even known about this book until this movie was announced. However actually looking at the trailer and the people, for some reason I’m just really interested to see it when it comes out.
Jane Austen’s beloved comedy about finding your equal and earning your happy ending, is reimagined in this. Handsome, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a restless queen bee without rivals in her sleepy little town. In this glittering satire of social class and the pain of growing up, Emma must adventure through misguided matches and romantic missteps to find the love has been there all along.
The reason why I started being interested in this movie was Anya Taylor-Joy’s involvement, she’s one of my favourite recent actresses. She also particularly seems perfect for this role, from how little I know about it. There’s also the addition of the likes of Bill Nighy, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart, Callum Turner and Gemma Whelan in supporting roles. I don’t really know what to expect from the movie, I’m not familiar with the story at all. However based off the trailer, I think it’ll be pretty good at least.
Emma is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2020.
22. Green Knight
I’ve liked the movies I’ve seen from director David Lowery, with Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Pete’s Dragon and especially A Ghost Story. So I’m open to seeing any new movies from him, and indeed Green Knight at least seems like it could be quite good.
A fantasy re-telling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) and the Green Knight.
David Lowery is a very talented director as shown in his previous movies, so he’s definitely got a good handle of it. It also has a pretty good cast, with Dev Patel, Barry Keoghan, Ralph Ineson, Alicia Vikander, Kate Dickie, and Sean Harris involved. The story is apparently based of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which is apparently a classic tale, but I’m not familiar with that. I’m just interested in the movie because of the talent involved. I’m really not sure at this stage what kind of fantasy movie Lowery is intending Green Knight to be, but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless.
Green Knight has no release date at this time.
21. The Woman in the Window
I was looking forward to The Woman in the Window last year, it was certainly meant to come out in 2019. There’s a lot of talent involved, from the director, to the cast, especially Amy Adams. However some of my anticipation was decreased a little, with my biggest concern being the fact that the movie was pushed back an entire year.
An agoraphobic woman (Amy Adams) living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors, only to witness a disturbing act of violence.
I’m aware that Joe Wright isn’t always consistent as a director. Pan is by far his worst movie and was really messy (even though I don’t dislike it), and Darkest Hour was a pretty by the numbers biopic. But he’s still a good director, he made Atonement after all. The cast is also good, with Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Julianne Moore making up the supporting cast. However it’s Amy Adams in the lead role that has me most excited, she seems to have much to work with in this role, and could very well end up being one of her best performances. Now as I said, the movie was pushed back from 2019 to 2020. This is because Disney (who now owns Fox of course, who originally produced the movie) ‘retoooled’ the movie due to negative test audience response towards the third act. That doesn’t bold well, as either this is a knee jerk reaction to a single reaction and as a result drastically changing the movie, or the movie actually has some significant problems to begin with. This is why the movie isn’t as high up on this list as I would’ve like it to be, I’m not 100% certain that it’ll be good just yet, even though the trailer looks good. However, I’m still very much interested in seeing the movie.
The Woman in the Window is scheduled to be released on May 15, 2020.
20. The New Mutants
This is the third and hopefully last time I put this movie on a most anticipated film of a year list. With plenty of delays, changes and the like abound, there’s definitely reason to be concerned about this movie. I really can’t comment on how the movie is now at this stage. Even if the movie ends up being a little messy, I can’t deny that I’m still very interested in seeing it.
Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.
The cast is pretty great, with Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, and Charlie Heaton being part of it. Allegedly, the movie was not filmed to be horror despite director Josh Boone wanting that, and after the positive reaction to the horror movie trailer, they decided to get closer to his vision. I’m not going to commit to believing a behind the scenes story just yet but the things that I’ve heard have me just a little concerned. However I’m still hoping that the end product will be something that is fairly decent at least.
The New Mutants is scheduled to be released on April 3, 2020 (unless it gets pushed back yet again).
19. Death on the Nile
Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express was pretty good, it was nothing great and could’ve been better, but it was somewhat fun, it’s well directed, and the ensemble cast mostly delivered. Although I didn’t know much about them, I was aware that there were more Hercule Poirot stories that could be told, and I was interested in seeing a sequel based off them. We are finally getting that with Death on the Nile, which I’m expecting to be at the very least just as good as the first movie.
Detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) investigates the murder of a young heiress aboard a cruise ship on the Nile River.
Death on the Nile will be in a very different environment compared to Murder on the Orient Express, and I can tell that Branagh will do a great job with it, like how he did with the previous movie. The main issues of that movie for me was some of the pacing and parts of the writing and plot, and I hope the sequel has noticeably improved upon those issues. Along with Kenneth Branagh returning as Hercule Poirot (having done a good job in the previous movie), we have a great new ensemble cast with Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie and Letitia Wright involved. I’m a sucker for whodunits, and it seems like Death on the Nile will be a solid movie at the very least.
Death on the Nile is scheduled to be released on October 9, 2020.
18. Halloween Kills
I liked 2018’s Halloween, it was a good follow up to the original movie. I also thought it was a good conclusion for the series and characters. Unfortunately, they decided that this movie would be the first in a trilogy, with Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends acting as the second and third movies. Even though they should’ve stopped the series at this point, I can’t deny that I’m at least somewhat interested in seeing what they have in store for the next instalments.
The saga of Michael Myers (Nick Castle) and Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) continues in the next thrilling chapter of the Halloween series.
David Gordon Green did a really good job at directing the last movie, it wasn’t that scary to me, but it was handled so well on the whole, so I’m glad that he’s returning for this movie. Additionally you have the main cast from the previous movie returning, with Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak and Nick Castle reprising their roles. Despite my disappointment that the last movie didn’t conclude the whole series after all, there is one thing I’m confident about, and that’s the fact that they actually planned out 2 movies, with the last literally being titled Halloween Ends. This means they actually have a plan for the story arc, it’s much more contained, and aren’t going to just release more sequels (until they inevitably reboot yet again in the future). While I can certainly see how things could go wrong, but I have enough confidence in the people involved to deliver another solid movie.
Halloween Kills is scheduled to be released on October 16, 2020.
17. Deep Water
I’m always interested in a good thriller, and based off the premise and the people involved, Deep Water looks like it could be that.
A well-to-do husband (Ben Affleck) who allows his wife (Ana de Armas) to have affairs in order to avoid a divorce becomes a prime suspect in the disappearance of her lovers.
I’ve only seen Jacob’s Ladder from director Adrian Lyne, but I recognise some of the other movies that he’s worked on, such as Fatal Attraction and Unfaithful. Looking at the premise and some of the details of the book it’s based on, I can see this being right up his alley. Additionally with the duo of Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck, Deep Water certainly has a lot of promise.
Deep Water is scheduled to be released on November 13, 2020.
16. The King’s Man
I’m a big fan of Kingsman: The Secret Service, it was something fresh and entertaining. I even liked The Golden Circle, even though it has its issues and wasn’t as good as I hoped it was. Now director Matthew Vaughn isn’t going straight into the third movie in that series, but instead directing a prequel about how the Kingsman came to be, and that’s actually something I’m willing to see.
As a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, one man (Ralph Fiennes) and his protégé (Harris Dickinson) must race against time to stop them.
After some mixed reactions to The Golden Circle (even from those who liked the first movie), the idea of making a prequel was probably the best next move for the series. It’s definitely embracing the time period and seems different from the first two movies, yet you can clearly tell that it’s a Kingsman movie and directed by Matthew Vaughn. The cast is large and great, with Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arteton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Daniel Bruhl, Djimon Hounsou, Charles Dance, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Stanley Tucci involved. I am actually more confident in this movie than The Golden Circle, and I’d be surprised if it didn’t end up being fun at the very least.
The King’s Man is scheduled to be released on September 18, 2020.
15. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
I may not know a whole lot about I’m Thinking of Ending Things, but with Charlie Kaufman writing and directing, along with a great cast involved, I’m definitely interested in how it’ll turn out.
A man (Jesse Plemons) takes his girlfriend (Jessie Buckley) to meet with his parents, but they find themselves going in a terrifying detour.
I will admit that I’m not too familiar with Charlie Kaufman’s work. I’ve seen a couple of the movies that he wrote, which was Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but that was it. Nor have I seen some of his directed movies like Synecdoche, New York. However his involvement definitely has my interest. The cast is quite talented with the likes of Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette and David Thewlis. As for the story, I know its based off a book I haven’t read, and looking at brief parts of the plot, it seems like a very twisty plot, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Kaufman does with it both in directing and writing.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things is to be released by Netflix, with no date set as of this time.
14. The Last Thing He Wanted
I heard of this movie more recently, mostly because of the talent involved. While I don’t know too much about the movie’s plot, with the cast and director, as well as the little bits I know about the story, it looks quite interesting.
A veteran D.C. journalist (Anne Hathaway) loses the thread of her own narrative when a guilt-propelled errand for her father (Willem Dafoe) thrusts her from byline to unwitting subject in the very story she’s trying to break. Adapted from Joan Didion’s namesake novel.
Although I haven’t seen Mudbound yet, I heard it was good and director Dees Rees’s next film will be this one. As for The Last Thing He Wanted, you have a great cast, with the likes of Anne Hathaway, Willem Dafoe, Ben Affleck, Toby Jones and Rosie Perez. This movie is based off a book of the same name, and from the brief glances I had at the plot of the novel, it actually sounds like it could be something great.
The Last Thing He Wanted is to be released on Netflix, with no date set as of this time.
13. The Gentlemen
Guy Ritchie’s return to crime movies is of course something I’ve been anticipating for quite some time. Add an excellent cast on top of it, and it seems to be a comeback for Ritchie, at least based off the trailers.
The film follows American expat Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) who has created a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he is looking to cash out his business, it triggers plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.
There’s a great cast involved, with Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, and Hugh Grant. However of course the reason I’m so excited is that it’s Guy Ritchie’s return to crime movies in a while. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and RocknRolla are among his best movies, he excels at this genre. His most recent movies have been disappointing, so this might be just what he needs. There is one thing I’m a little worried about, and that’s the release date. There’s a reason why I’m uploading this review so early on, the movie comes out for me on the first day of the year. January is where a lot of bad or average new releases are dumped, and for The Gentlemen to be released that month, I’m a little worried about it. Nonetheless, I get that feeling that I’ll like some parts of it at least.
The Gentlemen is scheduled to be released on January 1, 2020.
12. Blonde
While biopics can be very typical and usually end up being just a display of some good acting at best (at worst its failed Oscar bait), the upcoming film about Marilyn Monroe sounds like it’ll be very interesting. The talent involved is difficult to ignore, and the story and movie on the whole seems like it’ll be anything but conventional.
A fictionalized take on the life of Marilyn Monroe (Ana de Armas).
Andrew Dominick is quite a talented filmmaker, Killing Them Softly I remember having a lot of good things to it, but of course he’s known for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which was masterful. For him to take on this story, I’m definitely intrigued. Ana de Armas has been a rising star these past years, with the likes of War Dogs, Blade Runner 2049 and more recently Knives Out. Now she’s in the lead role as Marilyn Monroe, and just from the set pictures, she at least looks the part, and I have no doubt that she’ll also bring it on the acting side too. You also have Adrien Brody, and Bobby Cannavale in supporting roles. Now a great director and cast are all fine and good, but it still could just end up a typical biopic. However, the source material its based off is quite unique. Blonde is based off the historical novel of the same name, and according to the author, it’s a work of fiction that shouldn’t be regarded as a direct biography of Monroe’s life. I haven’t read the book myself, but it does sound like there’s potential there for an interesting movie. Also, according to Dominik (who wrote the script in addition to directing) “the script contains little dialogue and he has described the film as being an avalanche of images and events”. I’m all for unconventional biopics, and Blonde could end up being a complete surprise.
Blonde has no release date set at this time.
11. Those Who Wish Me Dead
Taylor Sheridan showed himself to be a good writer, and then director with Wind River, so I’m generally interested in what he has next. His next film certainly sounds like it could be another solid film from Sheridan, and there’s a lot of talented people involved.
A female-driven neo-Western set against a wildfire in the Montana wilderness. A teenage murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert (Angelina Jolie) tasked with protecting him — and a forest fire threatening to consume them all.
Again, Taylor Sheridan is a big reason why I’m so interested in this movie. This is not the only neo-Western that Sheridan has written with Hell or High Water and Wind River, the latter of which he directed. He’s great at this and so I’m pretty confident that the writing and directing side will be top notch. On top of that it has a talented cast with Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Hoult, Tyler Perry, Jon Bernthal, and Aiden Gillen. My excitement is all just based off the talent involved, and I hope it all pays off well.
Those Who Wish Me Dead is (allegedly) set for release on October 23, 2020.
10. The Trial of the Chicago 7
Aaron Sorkin is a fantastic writer, with his scripts for The Social Network and Steve Jobs being excellent. His directorial debut was pretty solid with Molly’s Game, but he still had some room to grow on the directing side of things, although the script was good as expected. Sorkin’s next film would be taking on a real life event, and everything about the movie and the premise sounds like it’ll be something great.
Based on the story of the Chicago Seven, a group of seven defendants charged by the federal government with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to anti-Vietnam and countercultural protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois, on the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
First and foremost, you of course have Sorkin at the helm. While his directing is decent, of course what’s most exciting is his writing. This is actually a script that he wrote back in 2007, and now it finally gets to be turned into a movie. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with this real life event. There’s also an all star cast, with the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Frank Langella, Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Michael Keaton, and William Hurt involved. Everything about The Trial of the Chicago 7 sounds excellent, and will no doubt be a massive stand out film in 2020.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is scheduled to be released on September 25, 2020.
9. Army of the Dead
I know not everyone is a fan of him, but I like Zack Snyder, and I really like his movies. After his absolute hectic experience with Justice League (with the final product not even being his movie at all), it’ll be nice seeing him work on a non comic book movie. Zombie movies don’t excite me immensely, but the prospect of Snyder directing another zombie movie (and with even more experience since 2004), has me greatly excited.
Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries takes the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.
People (rather unfairly I might add) heavily dunk on Zack Snyder and his movies, usually over his adaptations of source material or characters. This time it’s not based off anything, no it’s not a sequel to Snyder’s own Dawn of the Dead remake. So it doesn’t have all the in built criticisms that would come with him adapting something. Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead really stood out among modern zombie movies, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he’ll bring to this movie. I’m not expecting it to be groundbreaking, but I get the feeling that it’ll be something fun.
Army of the Dead will be released on Netflix (presumably in 2020).
8. The Devil All the Time
Not a lot of people know about this movie, I really only know about it because of particular actors who signed up for it. Based off that and the premise though, I so hope that this works out because it sounds outstanding.
Set in rural southern Ohio and West Virginia, The Devil All the Time follows a cast of compelling and bizarre characters from the end of World War II to the 1960s. There’s Willard Russell (Bill Skarsgård) , tormented veteran of the carnage in the South Pacific, who can’t save his beautiful wife, Charlotte (Haley Bennett), from an agonizing death by cancer no matter how much sacrificial blood he pours on his “prayer log.” There’s Carl (Jason Clarke) and Sandy Henderson (Riley Keough), a husband-and-wife team of serial killers, who troll America’s highways searching for suitable models to photograph and exterminate. There’s the spider-handling preacher Roy (Harry Melling) and his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick, Theodore, running from the law. And caught in the middle of all this is Arvin Eugene Russell (Tom Holland), Willard and Charlotte’s orphaned son, who grows up to be a good but also violent man in his own right.
The cast was a big reason why I’m so interested. Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgard, Sebastian Stan, Robert Pattinson, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Mia Wasikowska, Eliza Scanlen and Haley Bennett, this is actually one of the most stacked casts of the year and that’s saying a lot. It’s based off a well praised book, and the premise sounds like it could be something special. Nothing has been released about this movie, no pictures, no trailer, and I’m not familiar with the director’s work, but from the cast and the premise, it’s something that I’ll be keeping my eye on in the lead up to its release.
The Devil All the Time is set to be released by Netflix in 2020.
7. Birds of Prey
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Birds of Prey, especially given that it has Harley Quinn as a large part of it. However the things that I’ve seen and heard of it sound like it could be something special in the comic book movie genre at least.
A twisted tale told by Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) herself, when Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass (Ella Jay Basco), the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya’s (Rosie Perez) paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.
Margot Robbie has already shown herself to be a star as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, and this time she’s front and centre as the star, despite Quinn not being part of the Birds of Prey really. The cast that surround her are also great. You have Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, and Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, making up the cast of the Birds of Prey, and I can’t wait for them and Harley to interact. You also have Ewan McGregor as Black Mask, a DC villain I’ve been waiting to see on the big screen for some time, and the new take on him based off the glimpses I’ve seen of him interests me greatly. From the glimpses we get of the movie, Birds of Prey seemed to have embraced the insanity of it all, and that also goes for the R rating. We know that it’s going to be a hard R movie, and that just interests me even more. I’ve not seen anything from director Cathy Yun, but it looks very well directed and perfect for the film they are going for (it also on a visual level just looks fantastic). I’m still not really sure what to expect from Birds of Prey, but it has the potential to be one of the standout blockbusters from 2020.
Birds of Prey is scheduled to be released on February 7, 2020.
6. Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman was quite the hit when it came out back in 2017, and a sequel had been anticipated for quite some time. I’ll admit that not knowing what the movie will be like, my anticipation for it has been slowly decreasing over time. The trailer however brought back my absolute excitement for this movie.
Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) squares off against the Cheetah (Kristen Wiig), a villainess who possesses superhuman strength and agility.
The time period jumped from World War 1 all the way to the 80s, and from the trailers it looks like it’s completely embracing that time period. Before watching the trailer I wasn’t really sure what the tone of this movie would be, and thankfully the trailer did seem to give some hints towards it. Whether it’ll be going in a darker or lighter direction compared to the first movie, I have 100% faith in director Patty Jenkins, she knows what she’s doing with the character. There’s also glimpses at some exciting sequences (such as Diana in a gold plated suit with wings, and her literally riding the lightning using the lasso), yet seems to hide enough to keep you intrigued and excited for more. Gal Gadot shines as Wonder Woman, and so I’ll know she’ll bring it once again in this movie. Chris Pine is also returning as Steve Trevor, he was fantastic in the first movie, and it’ll be interesting to see how Trevor comes back in this movie. Additionally you have Kristen Wiig as Cheetah and Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord as the villains of the movie, both very talented actors and important characters, and I’m looking forward to see what parts they plan in the movie. From everything I’ve seen and heard, Wonder Woman 1984 will be yet another hit.
Wonder Woman 1984 is scheduled to be released on June 5, 2020.
5. No Time to Die
Normally a James Bond movie wouldn’t be this high on my most anticipated films list, but there’s something about this one. This is the final film with Daniel Craig in the role of James Bond (who is by far my favourite version of the character), so it’s quite a big movie. Add on top of that the talent involved, and it seems like it could be something special.
James Bond (Daniel Craig) has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain (Rami Malek) armed with dangerous new technology.
There is a lot of talent involved with this movie. Along with Daniel Craig, you have returning Bond actors with Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Rory Kinnear and even Christoph Waltz reprising their roles from the past movies. The new cast are also good, with Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Billy Magnussen and Rami Malek, the latter of whom will be playing the main villain. However that’s not all that excites me, the director of this is Cary Fukunaga, I have seen his work on Maniac. While I haven’t seen his work on True Detective Season 1, Beasts of No Nation or Jane Eyre, I’m aware that he’s a very talented filmmaker. For him to take on a James Bond film, I can imagine how incredible it’ll be. The trailer itself certainly indicates that the movie has a lot of promise. I remember having some issues with Spectre, mainly for the mix of old and new Bond. However it seems like No Time to Die has the right level, having the right amount of Bondisms, as well as having a dark, character driven and genuinely great story. From the talent involved to the looks that we had of the movie, it looks great and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
No Time to Die is scheduled to be released on 2 April 2020.
4. Last Night in Soho
I generally like Edgar Wright, I love his Cornetto trilogy and I liked Scott Pilgrim and Baby Driver a fair bit. However there’s something about the brief descriptions about Last Night in Soho which has me particularly excited for it. From the talent involved and the premise, it looks like it could be something truly special.
A young girl (Thomasin McKenzie), passionate in fashion design, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer (Anya Taylor-Joy). But 1960s London is not what it seems, and time seems to fall apart with shady consequences.
First of all you have a great cast involved. I’m always interested in anything Anya Taylor-Joy is in, her involvement in a movie is enough to get me thoroughly interested in it (in fact this is the third time a movie of hers is on this list). You also have Thomasin McKenzie, who is becoming a rising star with recently Leave No Trace and Jojo Rabbit. The supporting cast including Matt Smith, Terrence Stamp and Diana Riggs are also good. Edgar Wright has proven to be a very talented filmmaker. Last Night in Soho is something new from him, a psychological horror, and it’s said to be inspired by other British horror films like Don’t Look Now and Repulsion. That excites and intrigues me immensely, and I can’t wait to see it.
Last Night in Soho is scheduled to be released on 25 September 2020.
3. Mank
It’s been 6 years since David Fincher made a film with 2014’s Gone Girl. While I get that he was involved with Mindhunter, I really wanted to see another movie by him, and it seems that with 2020 we’ll finally be getting that. I’m unsure about the premise that he went with, but the talent involved with this movie is undeniable.
Follows screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz’s (Gary Oldman) Tumultuous development of Orson Welles’ iconic 1941 Citizen Kane.
Admittedly, the plot doesn’t sound very interesting. I haven’t seen Citizen Kane, but even if I had I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be that much more interested in it even if I did. It sounds like a standard biopic about the making of a movie, and I’m not sure what you could do with that to make it special. However you have to remember that Fincher made a movie about Facebook one of his all time best films. While I’m not sure what he’d be able to do with this material, I’m sure it’ll be great. You also have a solid cast in the movie, with Gary Oldman as Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Mank), and the likes of Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Charles Dance and more in the supporting cast. I’m not really sure how the movie will turn out on the whole, but I’m sure it’ll be something excellent.
Mank hasn’t been given a release date yet but it’s assumed it’ll be released in 2020.
2. Tenet
I’m always going to be incredibly excited for anything that Christopher Nolan puts out, and Tenet is no exception. Despite the details being kept vague, from the cast, the small things we know about the movie, and Nolan himself, I am excited.
A secret agent (John David Washington) is apparently brought back to life to prevent World War III.
Christopher Nolan’s films are ambitious and large scale, and also rather secretive leading up to its release. I’m not exactly sure what the movie is about, the trailer didn’t give away a lot, but I’m very intrigued. You’ve also got a large and great cast, with the likes of John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clemence Posey, Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh. However the trailer establishes Washington as the clear cut protagonist, and more than happy to see that, he’s shown with BlacKKKlansman that he’s an immensely talented actor. I have no doubt that Tenet will be one of the most best films of the year.
Tenet is scheduled to be released on July 17, 2020.
1. Dune
I’m not familiar with the source material, nor have I seen David Lynch’s own attempt at adapting the source material. But from the vague details I know about it, combined with the fact that Denis Villeneuve is directing it, I couldn’t be more excited for it.
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Hal Chalamet), a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
You’ve got a truly excellent cast involved, with the likes of Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Stellen Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, David Dastmalchian and more involved. And let’s not forget that Villeneuve is directing this, he’s one of the best filmmakers working today. Let’s not forget he took on the daunting task of directing a sequel to Blade Runner, one of the most iconic sci-fi movies of all time. Now he is taking on adapting a highly significant and influential sci-fi novel. This movie will cover roughly the first half of the Dune story, which is good as this means that the story gets to be spread across two movies, but will be a problem if this movie doesn’t do well enough to get a follow up. I do sincerely fear that this movie won’t do well with audiences, as most people don’t even know what Dune is. But that’s just a concern about the success of the movie. The prospect of a Denis Villeneuve directed Dune just sounds overwhelmingly amazing, and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us.
Dune is scheduled to be released on December 18, 2020.
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The Cinema Critic 