Top 25 Best Films of 2022

It’s time for me to present my (as usual very late) list of my favourite films of the year.

So far I’ve watched 78 movies from 2022, and I think I’ve seen most of the movies I wanted to watch. Still, there are some I didn’t get around to before making this list. So to cover all bases, here are some of the movies I haven’t seen yet:

• Armageddon Time
• Cha Cha Real Smooth
• Emily the Criminal
• The Menu
• The Quiet Girl
• The Wonder

Honourable Mention: Barbarian

Barbarian is best experienced if you go into it blind. This new horror movie is greatly written ans does well at making you feel unsettled from the start, with the strong atmosphere, suspense and feeling of dread. There’s even some surprising humour which fits into the movie and doesn’t take away from the tension. The performances are really good, including Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard and especially Justin Long. Zach Cregger’s direction was great, with outstanding camerawork and cinematography, from the movements to the choice of lens. It’s not without some issues: the social commentary is a little muddled, the twists don’t hit as hard in the second half, some unexpected jumps in the narrative causes hiccups in pacing, and it would have benefitted from a longer runtime. Still, Barbarian is a solid, suspenseful, entertaining and well crafted horror movie, and one of the best horror movies of 2022.

My review of Barbarian

Some other Honourable Mentions:

• Kimi
• The Woman King
• Argentina, 1985
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
• Vortex
• Thirteen Lives

With the honourable mentions done, here are my favourite movies of 2022.

25. Elvis

I admit I’m one who wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the Elvis Presley biopic considering that I’m not always favourable on Baz Luhrmann’s movies, but I was surprised by his latest movie. As someone not familiar with the central subject, I liked it. It’s not a particularly complex biopic and it is very familiar and standard, but it does succeed for me because it tries to capture the spirit of Elvis and emphasizes the spectacle. The story is fairly engaging and has this consistent energy throughout, and the interesting choices (hit or miss) help to make it somewhat stand apart from other music biopics. There are also some great performances from the cast including Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson and Richard Roxburgh, while Austin Butler is fantastic as Elvis Presley, talking and singing like him but also capturing his essence incredibly well. Luhrmann’s style is in your face and while it didn’t always work for me in his other movies, it did here. It’s very chaotic and perhaps a bit overwhelming, but it was a real experience watching in the cinema, from the dazzling visuals to the sound and music. I do feel like it might not hit as hard on a rewatch, especially on a smaller screen. But from my first viewing, I really liked it.

My review of Elvis

24. Everything Everywhere All at Once

When I watched Everything Everywhere All at Once for the first time, I assumed that it would still be in my top 10 of the year. I will admit that this movie has gotten worse for me. On the second viewing, the very quirky humour felt more grating, random for the sake of being random, and it didn’t hit as hard this time. That being said, I still like the movie and it is impressive in some ways. It is sincere and heartfelt, and I even found the family drama to be more compelling than the actual multiverse part. The film is helped by the great performances, especially from Michelle Yeoh, Ke Guy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu. The Daniels (Scheinert and Kwan) directed this well, with a visually kinetic style and is energetic from beginning to end. The action is really entertaining, the editing is perfect, and the score is great. When I watched the movie, I was sure that Everything Everywhere All at Once wouldn’t be for everyone, and while there’s certainly others who understandably can’t get into this at all, it ended up being a hit and one of the most beloved movies of the year by audiences. In spite of my problems with it, I do at least like it.

My review of Everything Everywhere All at Once

23. Resurrection

One of the more overlooked movies from 2022, especially when it comes to horrors/thrillers. Resurrection is a slow building paranoia thriller about emotional abuse and trauma, which becomes more disturbing as more shocking revelations are presented. It’s effective in making you constantly anxious and stressed. For a while it’s hard to figure out what is happening, adding to the uncomfortable feeling. The sharp and unsettling tone is helped by the strong direction, striking cinematography and ominous score. It strongly benefits from some fantastic performances, including Tim Roth and Grace Kaufman. However the standout is Rebecca Hall, giving a phenomenal performance in the lead role. So much of the movie relies on her, and she conveys terror, trauma and guilt so well. Resurrection does get shaky as it approaches its third act and goes in a different direction compared to the otherwise grounded first two acts. Also, while I respect the vague and ambiguous ending, it’s still one I’m not sure about yet. Overall though, Resurrection is a tense, anxiety driven and unsettling psychological thriller that deserves more attention.

My review of Resurrection

22. Ambulance

Michael Bay’s latest film is one of his best, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. The story is straightforward, focussing on a heist and hostage situation taking place in an ambulance. It’s really over the top and implausible, and comparable to the action movies from the 90s. It comes with the sense of self awareness, yet remains one of Bay’s more emotional movies, mainly with the central three characters. It also benefits from the performances: the main trio with Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abduel-Mateen II and Eiza Gonzalez are all really good, especially Gyllenhaal in a wonderfully unhinged and energetic performance. While it’s comparatively restrained for Bay, it was still refreshing watching a modern action movie and being able to feel the director’s style throughout. The action is spectacular with wonderful destruction, and was excellently captured on screen, especially with the use of drones. This made it an action movie like none of the others from 2022. Ambulance was one of Michael Bay’s best movies and a highly satisfying cinema experience.

My review of Ambulance

21. All Quiet on the Western Front

There’s usually at least one or two war movies released every year. However of those, I think this most recent All Quiet on the Western Front definitely deserves all the acclaim. It’s a bleak and moving anti-war film from the perspective of German soldiers in World War 1. It humanizes soldiers on all fronts while capturing the worst of humanity. It’s really one of the only recent war movies I’ve seen which successfully conveys that there are no winners in war. The story isn’t particularly complex but it’s handled so well and the emotional beats hit hard. The acting is all excellent (especially from Felix Kammerer in the lead role), who all deliver devastating and raw performances. It’s also a film so carefully and immaculately crafted, it’s fantastic on a technical level and help to form an accurate picture of WW1 from the production design and environment to the brutal war sequences. All Quiet on the Western Front was a lengthy but impactful, brutally realistic and unsettling portrait of war. Not an enjoyable movie to watch, but one well worth watching.

My review of All Quiet on the Western Front

20. White Noise

From brief glances, White Noise looked a little weird and I didn’t pay attention to it much. Yet it’s one of the most interesting movies to come from 2022. It’s an ambitious film which takes a lot of risks and is firmly not for everyone. It initially starts out simple with an initial plot focussing on a family’s lives being disrupted by an airborne toxic event. However, that’s just the start, and the plot isn’t really consistent. I found it to be strange and perplexing initially, especially with the very strange and unnatural dialogue. However there was something intriguing and exciting about it that had me curious to see where it would go, and I quickly found myself wrapped up in this off kilter and multi genre movie. The film benefits from a strong cast who deliver in their roles, with Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig and Don Cheadle all being great. Even Noah Baumbach gives it a distinct style that adds a lot to the movie and gives the right tone through visuals alone. White Noise is a darkly humorous, absurdist, satirical, and wonderfully weird dramedy. I admit that there’s a lot that I didn’t understand and much of my liking of it comes from its boldness and uniqueness. I’m not quite sure I understood everything that it was going for, but I’m sure things will be clarified upon rewatch. Still, the end result just seemed to work for me.

My review of White Noise

19. Women Talking

A very late entry on this list, Women Talking is fantastic and lived up to all its acclaim. It’s a self contained and dialogue heavy movie, but is handled in such a way that its not too stagey. It touches on heavy topics like rape and sexual assault, but handles them well. It’s very layered, has depth, and handles the subject matter with a lot of empathy and sensitivity. It’s a hard movie to watch, but in spite of the bleakness, it is hopeful by the end. There is an outstanding ensemble of performances, especially with Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, and Ben Whishaw. It’s further helped by Sarah Polley’s strong direction, it is top notch on a technical front with great editing and cinematography, and has one of the best scores of the year from Hildur Guðnadóttir. It’s a riveting, sensitive and powerful movie, and well worth watching.

My review of Women Talking

18. RRR

My first venture into Indian and Tollywood cinema paid off. RRR is a well constructed movie which is a lot of things: part action, part romantic comedy, part historical drama. As a result it’s tonally all over the place, yet the combination works quite well. It’s an unabashedly wild movie with spectacular and over the top action and exhilarating musical numbers, yet has genuine heart and emotional stakes, especially with the central relationship between the characters played by N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan. It is a long movie at 3 hours, but I never once felt bored. RRR is an entertaining and visually gorgeous spectacle, and it’s not a surprise that it ended up being such a hit.

My review of RRR

17. Three Thousand Years of Longing

I admit I was skeptical from the looks of the movie despite George Miller directing and Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton starring. Yet it ended up being one of the most distinct and surprising movies of the year. The best way I can describe the movie is that it’s a subdued, endearing and existential fairy tale love story for adults, and a sincere character study about stories and the importance of them. Much of it is just one character recounting the many stories from his past and I found it all riveting. Helping this are the strong performances from Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, and George Miller’s direction, with stunning visuals and plenty of spectacular and creative sequences. Three Thousand Years of Longing is rough in parts from the CGI and some pacing issues towards the second half, however it’s great on the whole. It’s visually beautiful, director driven, sincere, and not afraid to be creative, weird or different. Definitely worth checking out if you missed it.

My review of Three Thousand Years of Longing

16. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

While I didn’t watch the other two Pinocchio movies released in 2022, it seems Guillermo del Toro’s version is easily the best of them. It is also one of the best films of the year. It tells its captivating story incredibly well, and it is more complicated and complex than expected, with it being childlike, sweet and uplifting, yet heavy, emotional and unafraid to get dark (as expected for a movie set in Mussolini’s Italy). The voice performances are excellent and convey the characters incredibly well, especially David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Cate Blanchett, Ewan McGregor and Christoph Waltz. The stop motion animation is gorgeous and stellar, everything looks like a work of art, and the movements are flawless. The designs are great and the production designs are wonderful with so much detail. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is a mature, charming, magical and wonderfully crafted film, with so much passion on display. I highly recommend it, it’s very likely the best animated film from 2022.

My review of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

15. After Yang

After Yang released earlier this year but seemed to have been forgotten, which is a shame because it is incredible. Despite its futuristic setting, at its core, it is about coming to terms with a potential death in the family. It’s a very contemplative and meditative movie with an intimate story about memory, losing time and what it means to be alive and in a family. The conversations are thought provoking and meaningful, and the film sticks with you long after watching. It certainly helps that the committed cast all give tremendous and powerful performances, especially Colin Farrell. Koganada unsurprisingly delivers with his direction, given his work on Columbus. It has this calming and dreamlike atmosphere as well as visually stunning, from the cinematography to the production design. After Yang is fantastic, an intimate, existential yet beautiful reflection on life, loss and humanity. It definitely deserves a lot more attention than it’s been receiving.

My review of After Yang

14. Aftersun

I admit that I was cautious going into Aftersun. Every time a slice of life or coming of age movie releases and reaches critical acclaim, I end up just liking it but finding it underwhelming and not being able to get into it, Aftersun was an exception. The plot is simple with a girl spending her last holiday with her father and not much happens. However, characters and details reveal themselves over time and I was invested. I found the subtle approach to be very effective, no dramatic outbursts or monologues to be seen here, it feels like we are right there with the characters in real life. It captures the feeling of childlike innocence but with an undercurrent of profound sadness. Charlotte Wells was amazing with her directorial debut. So much is conveyed from the story with visuals alone and the way things are filmed and portrayed. And of course, Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio are key to making the film work as well as it did, delivering some of the most believable and best performances of the year. Aftersun is a contemplative, quiet and moving film that snuck up on me. It only gets much better the more I think about it.

My review of Aftersun

13. Crimes of the Future

Crimes of the Future is a welcome return for David Cronenberg, delivering yet another bizarre film with great worldbuilding, a strange and interesting futuristic setting, and a unique vision of the future of human revolution. If anything, I wished that I could’ve seen more or even get a sequel. There’s also a lot happening thematically, including the fascination with the human body and how it evolves over time. The cast including Viggo Mortensen, Lea Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart all deliver in their roles, and help to sell the strangeness of these characters, their actions and the world they live in. Cronenberg’s direction is stellar and on a technical level it’s fantastic on all fronts, the cinematography and production design help to convey this vision of the future. The effects are outstanding with all the CGI and makeup effects, mainly for the body horror, and said body horror is used to serve it’s concept and story instead of trying to provoke a reaction. Finally it has a fantastic score from Howard Shore that is among his very best work. Crimes of the Future was a welcome return to form for David Cronenberg; a thought-provoking dystopian horror neo noir.

My review of Crimes of the Future

12. Decision to Leave

Park Chan–wook’s latest movie was predictably great. It initially presents itself as a police procedural (relatively standard compared to his other films), but over time reveals itself as a romantic thriller, almost like a Wong Kar-wai film if it was made by Park instead. The first half of the story is engrossing and intriguing, filled with details, clues, and is layered with important subtleties. It all came down to the central relationship which is unconventional yet compelling and I was wrapped up in it. This is certainly helped by the performances from Tang Wei and Park Hae-il, who excellently portray the central compelling on screen relationship. Park’s direction is phenomenal, the cinematography is spectacular, the visuals are alluring, and the camerawork is incredibly inventive. It’s certainly one of the best films of the year on a technical level. The only reason this movie is not higher on the list is mainly because of a somewhat disappointing second half which I wasn’t as invested in outside of the ending. Beyond that, Decision to Leave is a phenomenal movie that deserved a lot more attention.

My review of Decision to Leave

11. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

As a fan of the first Knives Out, I consider its sequel to be at the very least on the same level of quality, while trying enough different stuff that it’s a distinct enough film. Rian Johnson has delivered another snappy and sharp screenplay which doubles down on the twists, humour, social satire and more. While initially hard to follow where it was going, it was overall well plotted and not easy to predict, and the third act and conclusion was satisfying. Again a talented ensemble cast is assembled, including Janelle Monae, Edward Norton, and Kate Hudson. Also, Daniel Craig once again returns as Benoit Blanc in more of a lead role, and is delightful and entertaining to watch as ever. Glass Onion is thoroughly entertaining and was one of the most fun experiences I had with a movie in 2022.

My review of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

10. Tár

Tár is a great character study focusing on the rise and fall of a (fictional) esteemed conductor and composer, and is one of the best crafted films of the year. It’s riveting from beginning to end, the long stretches of dialogue are excellently written, and Todd Field’s direction is outstanding with a great and distinct visual style. It’s the performances which tie everything together, particularly with a career best Cate Blanchett. The lead character of Lydia Tár is already compelling, excellently crafted and put together, and Blanchett portrays her wonderfully. One of the year’s best films for sure.

My review of Tár

9. Bones and All

Bones and All is many things, a horror film, a romance, a roadtrip movie, and a coming of age story, and it succeeds at all of them. It’s certainly deranged and disturbing given that it’s a movie about cannibals, yet remains sincere, tender, and beautiful. The relaxed approach to the story pays off well and helps us get emotionally invested in the troubled central characters. Luca Guadagnino’s direction is amazing, capturing the 1980s Middle America time period and setting especially with the gorgeous cinematography and the great use of the different locations. The performances are all great with a strong cast including Mark Rylance, but it’s particularly Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet who stand out. Those two share believable chemistry and their endearing relationship is the heart and soul of the movie; the movie just wouldn’t have worked nearly as well if that didn’t succeed. Bones and All is a riveting, brutal, unique and beautifully made romantic horror film that I was very invested in from beginning to end.

My review of Bones and All

8. The Fabelmans

Steven Spielberg’s latest film is his most personal, and one of his best. A semi autobiography and coming of age story, it’s a heartfelt reflection on his own life that’s cleverly written and excellently directed (as to be expected). It showcases the passion of films and the pursuit of one’s dreams, and while it is a love letter to movies, it still highlights the cost and sacrifice that comes with pursuing said dream. It’s also a love letter to Spielberg’s family, as he recreates his childhood memories and personal struggles within his family life. The movie could’ve easily been self indulgent, but it’s authentic, genuine and compelling to watch. Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams and Paul Dano are fantastic and believable here but really everyone plays their parts well, including Seth Rogen and a memorable David Lynch appearance. The Fabelmans is an intimate, personal and earnest love letter to cinema and family, and its definitely one of the most ‘complete’ movies released in 2022.

My review of The Fabelmans

7. The Banshees of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin is one of the most layered and complex films of the year. It’s initially simple as it focuses on a friendship fading away, but reveals itself as something more. It’s a tragicomedy with lots of levity, humour and witty dialogue, yet is a melancholic, existential and bittersweet movie at the heart of it, with a darker undercurrent. It’s Martin McDonagh’s most emotional, mature and layered film yet, focussing on loneliness, despair and inner turmoil. It exceeds greatly particularly because of its outstanding performances: Colin Farrell (potentially career best here), Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan are all amazing. The Banshees of Inisherin is a beautiful, layered, darkly funny and emotional tragicomedy. McDonagh’s latest film just might be his best yet.

My review of The Banshees of Inisherin

6. Nope

Nope is Jordan Peele’s most ambitious film yet, and it just might be my favourite of his. He has delivered a suspenseful horror spectacle which also works as a genre picture and love letter to sci-fi. While it’s his least scary movie, there’s a real sense of unnerving dread, eerie tension and atmosphere, and it even contains his most disturbing scene yet. At the same time, there’s effective comedy, whimsical moments that are reminiscent of Steven Spielberg’s movies, and is entertaining throughout. As expected it’s thematically dense and layered with social commentary about exploitation, and turning tragedy and trauma into spectacle, making Nope a spectacle about a spectacle. The small but effective cast give great performances, with Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Kalmer, Steven Yeun and more bringing across their characters wonderfully. Jordan Peele delivers in his direction of his biggest movie yet. The cinematography is stunning, capturing the sky at different times of the day, the sound design is immersive, and the scenes of tension are effective, even the shots of clouds are unnerving. Nope is a spectacular and memorable sci-fi horror movie, and I’m looking forward to what Jordan Peele makes yet.

My review of Nope

5. Top Gun: Maverick

I have watched Top Gun: Maverick more times than any other 2022 movie: twice in cinemas and on the third viewing at home, it was just as thrilling as the first two times. Maverick remains one of the biggest surprises of 2022 for me, considering I mildly enjoyed the first movie as a cheesy 80s classic. However, the sequel is a genuinely great blockbuster. Joseph Kosinski directs this excellently, it’s an incredibly well put together action film, from the cinematography to the editing and sound, and the aerial sequences are intense and fantastically done. The cast all deliver including Miles Teller and Val Kilmer, and Tom Cruise sells his role of Maverick, still the same character from the 80s but with an added emotional weight I wasn’t expecting. In fact, the most surprising aspect was the genuine and meaningful drama and an actually solid story. While it’s similar to the original in some ways, it’s executed better here, whether it be with more fleshed out character dynamics, or the sense of gravitas. Unlike the original it builds up to the climax and you feel the stakes leading up to it, giving each action sequence added weight and tension. It even does justice to the original with a mix of old and new; honouring the original while moving forward to do its own thing. It felt like there was a genuine reason for this sequel to be made, and is definitely up there as one of the best legacy sequels. It surpasses the first movie in every regard and is one of the best action movies of recent years. It is really worth watching even if you’re not a big fan of the original.

My review of Top Gun: Maverick

4. The Batman

The latest take on Batman by Matt Reeves was immensely satisfying. A murder mystery detective action thriller inspired by Se7en, it’s dark, bleak and grungy and I was invested throughout. It embraces the goofiness of the comics, while taking itself seriously. It also benefits from being self contained, not feeling that it needs to set up the next film or tie in any other characters. The cast are all wonderful in their roles, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, John Turturro and Paul Dano deliver great portrayals of their already iconic characters. Robert Pattinson as Batman is however the standout, who is thankfully another unique take on the Caped Crusader. As a reclusive Bruce who spends most of his life as Batman, Pattinson’s performance is mostly minimalist, but very fitting for this version of the character, and he conveys a lot physically and emotionally. The direction from Matt Reeves was excellent; the noir ambience and atmosphere from the stellar cinematography, to the lived in Gotham City (which may well be the best representation of that setting). I can say with certainty that The Batman is at least one of my favourite versions and portrayals of the character, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Reeves delivers next.

My review of The Batman

3. The Northman

The latest film from Robert Eggers may be his most accessible, but is still a dark, brutally and wonderfully weird film, and remains one of the best cinema experiences I’ve had. It may be a fairly straightforward simplistic revenge story, but it is riveting and immersive, and does well at depicting vengeance and the endless cycle of violence. As expected with this being an Eggers movie, it’s authentic to the time period, from the dialogue to all the other little details surrounding the movie. A large and impressive cast including Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Nicole Kidman all deliver. The direction from Eggers was exceptional, more than delivering on the larger scale. The cinematography and visuals are outstanding, and the battle sequences are brutal and gnarly. It really helped you feel like he took you back to that time and place. Apparently Eggers had to make some compromises for this movie, but you wouldn’t know it from the fantastic end result. The Northman is a creative, ambitious and uncompromising hard R epics that we don’t get much of nowadays.

My review of The Northman

These next two are so close together, they could practically be tied for first place.

2. Avatar: The Way of Water

I used to be in the group of people that just wasn’t that into the first Avatar, but in rewatching it, I gained a greater appreciation. It held up very well over the years, and is crafted on such a high level compared to most of the blockbusters released today. That certainly enhanced my experience for the sequel, which improved upon the original in just about every way. James Cameron continues to build this world further and expand into new territory; with the level of detail in this world, you can really feel his passion for these films. Despite the larger scale, The Way of Water still feels intimate with the focus on characters. There is so much heart and sincerity throughout, even allowing for the middle hour of the film to be quiet and lacking with conflict so that we can just spend time with these characters. While the first movie felt a little trapped within a familiar plot structure, The Way of Water feels freer to follow its characters. And of course, it ends with a satisfying climax which is a blast to watch, especially in the cinema. James Cameron’s direction is on another level, and he delivers yet another amazing technical achievement, with the technology not only serving as a visual spectacle, but also helping to tell its story. The visual effects are outstanding, everything from the characters, the water, the creatures and more look so real, and the action is entertaining and well captured. Avatar: The Way of Water is spectacular, epic and beautiful. I would love to see more modern day blockbusters to have as much passion and craft put into it. With the expected success at the Box Office, it seems that we are definitely getting all of James Cameron’s planned sequels, and I am thoroughly looking forward to them.

My review of Avatar: The Way of Water

1. Babylon

When I first watched Avatar: The Way of Water, I thought that my favourite film of 2022 was locked in, yet a month later, a little movie called Babylon changed that. Damien Chazelle’s most ambitious work yet takes massive swings and is one of the more polarising movies of 2022. An epic covering the rise and fall of multiple characters involved in Hollywood in the 1920s, it’s chaotic yet coherent and I was enthralled throughout. It’s funny and entertaining with outrageous moments, while also being a sad and tragic story. It explores eras of cinema and how much film has changed, celebrating cinema while also serving as a hate letter to Hollywood. It helps that there’s a great and talented cast behind it, especially with Diego Calva and Margot Robbie delivering excellent performances. It’s phenomenally directed, bombastic and stylish, with stunning cinematography, frenetic energy from beginning to end, and the best score of the year. Babylon is ambitious and an enthralling and exhilarating experience. It isn’t for everyone but it worked perfectly for me.

My review of Babylon

What are your favourite movies from 2022?

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Ranking the 2023 Best Picture Nominees

It’s time for my yearly ranking of the latest Best Picture nominees. 

Overall, I’d say that it’s a pretty a good lineup. There are definitely some movies I wish were here and my Best Picture picks would certainly be different. However, for me there isn’t anything too objectionable compared to other years, and 9 of these films are in my top 25 favourites of 2022. 

Once again, the ranking of the nominees is all based on my personal preferences and has nothing to do with how much they “deserve” to win. 

10. Triangle of Sadness

While I still like it, Triangle of Sadness is pretty easily my least favourite of the nominees. It does border on “wish they didn’t nominate it”, but as far as least favourite nominees of each year go, it’s not that bad. It’s yet another satire on the rich, to some mixed results. On one hand, the first two acts are pretty strong, it has some great moments, and it is really helped by the great performances, including Dolly de Leon, Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean and Zlatko Burić. On the other hand, some of the satire is a mixed bag (not helped by the self satisfied attitude), and the entire last third was a slog to sit through, and paled compared to what came before. Overall though, I’m okay with it being among the nominees in spite of its many issues. That being said, I don’t see it winning Best Picture or any other awards it was nominated for. 

My review of Triangle of Sadness

9. Elvis

As time goes on, I wonder if my initial love for Elvis came from watching in the cinema. It was certainly an experience, from the music to Baz Luhrmann’s overt direction. At its core though, it is a standard music biopic. It does however benefit from the style and approach that Luhrmann gave to it, making it very entertaining to watch throughout. On the whole, the performances are solid (questionable Tom Hanks aside) with Austin Butler really delivering as Elvis Presley. Elvis has potential in the technical categories and Butler is definitely one of the Best Actor frontrunners, but I don’t see it winning Best Picture. 

My review of Elvis

8. Everything Everywhere All at Once

Admittedly, I loved Everything Everywhere All at Once when I first watched it. Then after a repeat viewing and further thought, for me it got worse over time. There are some great parts to it. I like the genuine and emotional moments, I enjoy the creativity and energy, and the performances are fantastic, mainly from Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu. I just think it’s a case of it not holding up as well on a rewatch, and I found the quirkiness and humour to be more grating that time. Still, I can’t be too mad at it. I appreciate that a movie this weird and different is being celebrated and even making it to the Oscars. It’s currently one of the frontrunners for Best Picture, and while it’s clearly not my pick for that award, if it does end up winning, EEAAO will be certainly different from all the past winners at the very least. 

My review of Everything Everywhere All at Once

7. All Quiet on the Western Front

I remember watching All Quiet on the Western Front and assuming that it would be nominated for Best International Feature, but I wasn’t expecting it to be a major awards player. I know that some people might be annoyed that yet another war movie has been nominated for Best Picture (following movies like 1917 and Dunkirk), but it’s a really good movie. It is a great anti war film which actually delivers on being anti war, and has the right effect on you. It’s directed incredibly well, portraying the horrors of World War 1 with a sense of dread throughout, and it’s helped by the fantastic performances, especially from Felix Kammerer and Albrecht Schuch. I don’t see it winning Best Picture but I do see it potentially winning in the technical categories. I’m happy to see this among the Best Picture nominees. 

My review of All Quiet on the Western Front

6. Women Talking

Women Talking had a lot of momentum going into awards season but the push for it seemed to have decreased over time. Thankfully, it still managed to get one of the Best Picture nominations, because it deserved to be recognised. The script is fantastic with riveting conversations, and handles with care, empathy and nuance the very heavy subject matters. The ensemble of performances are fantastic, especially from Rooney Mara, Ben Whishaw, Jessie Buckley and Claire Foy. Sarah Polley’s direction is all around strong, from the fittingly moody cinematography, solid editing, and another phenomenal score from Hildur Guðnadóttir which ranks among the best of the year. Women Talking is well worth checking out if you haven’t already, it is one of the best movies of the year. With two nominations, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, it’s unlikely to win the former, but I hope it wins the latter because it deserves that at least. 

My review of Women Talking

5. Tár

Tár is of the best crafted films of the year, and well deserving of its Best Picture nomination. The writing is immaculate with fantastic dialogue, Todd Field’s direction is careful and precise, and the performances are really good, with a strong supporting cast backing up an outstanding and career best performance from Cate Blanchett. I’m not sure if it’s winning Best Picture but it has a better shot than most of the other nominees. I’d certainly be more than okay with it winning. 

My review of Tár

4. The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg’s best film in a very long time. While it’s somewhat a love letter to movies, it also highlights the sacrifices that one would have to make on the journey to that type of career, and it serves as a tribute to his family. Even that aside, it’s a very compelling and complete coming of age story. It’s only furthered by some great performances from everyone, especially from Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams and Paul Dano, and Spielberg’s typically top notch direction. The Fabelmans is one of the Best Picture frontrunners and I would be more than satisfied if it won. 

My review of The Fabelmans

3. The Banshees of Inisherin

Martin McDonagh’s latest and best film is also one of the frontrunners. As expected from McDonagh, Banshees is incredibly well made and layered; it is a dark comedy and has its funny moments, but is melancholic, felt very real and resonated. This is only further helped by the excellent performances, which were rightfully recognised by the Oscars (with the main 4 actors in Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon receiving nominations). Out of the three BP front runners which have a chance at winning, Banshees would be my pick. 

My review of The Banshees of Inisherin

2. Top Gun: Maverick

People had been predicting Top Gun: Maverick would be making it to the Oscars, but I didn’t think that it would actually happen. Maverick isn’t what you’d expect from a Best Picture nominee, it’s an action movie and a legacy sequel to a classic 80s movie, but then again, it is a very well made movie and one of the most popular films from the past year. Yes, the action and direction is incredibly impressive and is what most people expect going in. However, the simple yet effective and emotional story elevates it above just being another action movie with just good action. I have now watched it three times and I’m just as invested and entertained with every viewing. It is one of my favourite movies of 2022 and one of my favourite action movies of recent years. I don’t expect it to win Best Picture at all but it definitely has a shot at winning some of the technical categories. 

My review of Top Gun: Maverick

1. Avatar: The Way of Water

To put it plainly, Avatar: The Way of Water is my favourite film out of the 10 nominees: a great sequel which builds upon the original and made for an even better movie. James Cameron has created yet another technical achievement, with outstanding visuals and effects which manage to top the first film (which itself has held up really well over the past 13 years). The performances from everyone are strong (with Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang being the standouts), and the story manages to be on a larger scale, while primarily being a family drama that I was invested in. All the elements just really came together for me, making my two viewings of The Way of Water in the cinema unforgettable. It has a good chance at sweeping a lot of the technical awards, though I don’t expect it to win Best Picture. 

My review of Avatar: The Way of Water

How would you rank the Best Picture nominees? What do you think of them?

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) Review

Time: 131 Minutes
Age Rating: Violence & offensive language
Cast:
Tom Cruise as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell
Miles Teller as Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw
Jennifer Connelly as Penelope “Penny” Benjamin
Jon Hamm as Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson
Glen Powell as Lieutenant Jake “Hangman” Seresin
Lewis Pullman as Lieutenant Robert “Bob” Floyd
Ed Harris as Rear Admiral Chester “Hammer” Cain
Val Kilmer as four-star Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky
Monica Barbaro as Lieutenant Natasha “Phoenix” Trace
Director: Joseph Kosinski

After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

Top Gun: Maverick was a movie I was a little curious about; a sequel to the original over 3 decades in the making. There certainly was a talented crew involved, Tom Cruise of course returns, Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion, Tron: Legacy) is directing, and it has a cast that includes Miles Teller, Jon Hamm and more. However, I wasn’t admittedly super hyped for it. I liked the original Top Gun but to me it was just pretty good, a lot of 80s cheese and some good action sequences, not much beyond that. Yet the new film seemed to be receiving overwhelmingly positive praise, akin to the level of praise that Mission Impossible: Fallout had. So I checked it out, and I can confirm that Maverick is more than deserving of all the acclaim.

While I expected great things from the cast and the direction, the most surprising aspect is that of the story, which was actually really good. It improves in every single way over the first movie. Even when certain story beats are similar to the first movie, it’s executed much better here. It loses the 80s cheese of the original and instead instils the movie with a real sense of gravitas. It also helps that it actually feels like the story has a structure rather instead of feeling like a compilation of highlight scenes strung together. There are real drama here with a lot more emotion and heart, and the characters are given more depth and are fleshed out. The emotional core of the movie involves Maverick and Rooster (Tom Cruise and Miles Teller), and it pays off wonderfully by the end. It’s also a fun movie to watch, with a lot of entertaining scenes and comedy throughout.  You also feel the stakes a lot more here. In contrast to the first movie where the pilots are just training before suddenly needing to complete a mission in the last act, the training in Maverick is for a near impossible task, giving the aerial training sequences a lot more weight. So, by the time it reaches the third act, we really feel the stakes and tension. Some could say that the movie drags in the second act, and I can see that even though there was never a dull moment for me. However all the build up towards the final act is completely worth it, as it ends with one of the most exciting climaxes in recent memory. As for how it works as a sequel, Maverick does the original justice. It really is a mix of old and new, honouring the original while moving forward to do its own thing. It actually felt like there was a genuine reason for this sequel to be made, especially considering that the first movie was made all the way back in 1986. Most of the fan service moments are handled well and don’t get too distracting, and makes sure it doesn’t spend too much time dwelling on the past. Top Gun: Maverick is very much a legacy sequel, not only by being a sequel to an original classic from decades back, but also being itself an examination of legacy, specifically for Maverick/Tom Cruise. It is a surprisingly introspective movie. As for whether you need to know the original film in order to watch the sequel, it does certainly help know about the characters and story from the first, Even then, Maverick does touch upon the main points well enough that you’ll be able to pick up what happened in the past even if you hadn’t watched the first movie.

The cast are all great in their parts. Tom Cruise reprises his role of Maverick. Cruise is really sells his role incredibly well, while he was fun enough in the first movie, here he delivers potentially one of his best performances. He brings such an emotional weight to his scenes. Jennifer Connelly plays Maverick’s love interest in a romantic subplot and while it its perhaps unneeded and shoved not the movie, I thought it was believable and well-handled enough with enough subtlety, especially when compared to the romantic subplot in the original movie. Val Kilmer is the only other returning cast member from the original film aside from Cruise, reprising his role as Iceman. Without giving too much away, his role in this sequel is a small, yet memorable part of the film, and is effectively emotional and hard hitting. The rest of the cast including Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Monica Barbaro, Jon Hamm and more all play their parts well. However the standout in the cast aside from Cruise is Miles Teller who plays Rooster, Goose’s son. This is probably Teller’s best performance since Whiplash, he is great here. The relationship between Maverick and Rooster are the emotional centre of this movie and that is handled fantastically, helped by the believable chemistry between the two actors.

Joseph Kosinski directed this, his work here is phenomenal and probably his best yet. I highly recommend watching it on the big screen, it truly is an experience and it just wouldn’t be the same if you watched it on a smaller screen. Kosinski gives the movie so much energy throughout. The visuals are truly amazing, and the cinematography is stunning, particularly when it comes to the scenes filmed in the air. The movie is worth watching for the intense aerial sequences alone, they’re all fantastic. You actually feel right there with the actors in the air. What makes these scenes work so well is that these flight sequences are all practical, with the actors even having to do actual training to learn how to fly. None of it looks fake at all and the cinematography, editing, sound and everything else all come together to make for scenes that are absolutely exhilarating to watch. The soundtrack is also great, of course the original movie utilised plenty of iconic 80s songs, and some of those songs make appearances here (including Danger Zone). However, it doesn’t overuse or over-rely on them and also allowed for more uses of the composed score from Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, and Hans Zimmer. The score itself was great, taking tunes from the score of the previous movie and revamping it. They particularly complement the action sequences and make them feel even more thrilling.

Top Gun: Maverick is so many things. It surpasses the first movie in every aspect, its one of the best legacy sequels, and its up there with Mad Max: Fury Road and Mission Impossible: Fallout as some of the best action films of recent years. The story and characters are given enough depth and heart, the cast are great in their parts (especially Cruise and Teller), and the excellent direction and phenomenal action sequences are incredible to watch. Even if you’re not a fan of the original movie or haven’t even watched it, I highly recommend watching it on the big screen, it is truly an exhilarating experience. One of the best films of 2022 thus far.

Top 40 Anticipated Movies of 2020

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.

What’s your most anticipated movies of 2020?