Tuesday, December 31, 2019

10 Most Anticipated Movies of Winter/Spring 2020

As the 2010's enter their final hours, it's time to start looking ahead to the next decade. For movie fans, this means looking forward to the next 10 years of new voices, faces and favorites emerging while reflecting on all the good and bad that the previous 10 have delivered.

So what does Hollywood have in store for the opening act of the 2020's? Unfortunately, not a whole hell of a lot. However, this doesn't mean that there isn't a fair amount of titles that I'm highly anticipating during this period. There's a swan song for arguably the greatest James Bond of all time (No Time to Die), a potentially game-changing entry in the filmography of a massive brand (Birds of Prey) and of course, Vin Diesel trying to keep himself busy (Bloodshot) in between Fast and Furious sequels. Here are the 10 movies I'm most excited to see from January through April.

10.Bloodshot (3/13):
A sleepy section of the release calendar wouldn't be complete without another shameless attempt by Vin Diesel to launch a new franchise for himself. The trailer doesn't exactly inspire a ton of confidence that this will be anything more than a passable ride that's only remembered for using a shitload of red lighting during its fight scenes, but Diesel's magnetism paired with a supporting cast that's full of welcome presences (Lamorne Morris, Eiza Gonzalez, Guy Pearce) gives me just enough hope that this could be a nice early year surprise.

9.The Rhythm Section (1/31):
Blake Lively has improved significantly as an actor over the past few years and I'm curious to see how she approaches a big action vehicle.

8.Antebellum (4/24):
While the bulk of the details surrounding this horror thriller from newcomers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz are still under wraps, the creepy teaser that was released last month was very effective and I'm thrilled that Janelle Monae is finally getting a chance to be the sole lead in a film.

7.Bad Trip (4/24):
Considering the multiple delays Bad Trip has received since the trailer dropped in June, there's no guarantee that this date will stick or it won't suffer the same Hulu dump fate as fellow MGM/Orion/Annapurna title Wounds did earlier this year. Regardless of when or where its released, a loosely-scripted, Jackass-esque hidden camera comedy starring Eric Andre, Lil Rel Howrey and Tiffany Haddish is the type of silly niche project that couldn't possibly be more in my wheelhouse.  

6.No Time to Die (4/10):
The presence of Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation, Season 1 of True Detective) in the director's chair and Rami Malek as the villain along with an impressive debut trailer is making me feel pretty good about the odds of Daniel Craig receiving the triumphant James Bond sendoff he deserves.

5.The Way Back (3/6): 
Inspirational sports dramas are becoming increasingly scarce as the years goes on, so I'll treat every time one surfaces as some kind of special event. The fact that Ben Affleck is playing the burnout athlete turned reluctant coach looking for redemption in his hometown and Gavin O'Connor, who was responsible for the masterpiece Warrior back in 2011, is directing has me thinking that this might turn out to be The Avengers of the genre.

4.A Quiet Place Part II (3/20):
The ending of A Quiet Place was pretty lame and seemingly provided no room for a sequel. That being said, the vast majority of the film was so great from a suspense/acting/general entertainment standpoint that I'm very intrigued to see if this attempt to build a franchise works out.

3.Bad Boys for Life (1/17):
A third Bad Boys movie had been teased for so long without any real tangible results that it felt like an elaborate, mean-spirited hoax being perpetuated by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. After almost 17 years of false starts and broken promises, it's finally here!!! If the trailer is indicative of the quality of the finished product, Bad Boys for Life is going to be the vulgar, over-the-top action comedy extravaganza fans of the franchise deserve.

2.Birds of Prey (And The Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2/7):
Following the success of Aquaman and Shazam!, DC's film division looks like they could be on the verge of turning a corner by focusing on standalone films instead of the Marvel-esque shared universe approach that yielded them very mixed results during their first five years of operation. A hard R actioner led by Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn from the writer of Bumblebee and the stunt team/fight choreographer behind the John Wick trilogy has the potential to be the type of distinct, standout superhero offering that could help elevate the DC brand to the next level.

1.The Gentlemen (1/24):
England's king of grimeball crime comedies is finally coming home!!! After spending the past decade directing blockbusters, Guy Ritchie is returning to his roots and he brought a ridiculous all-star cast (Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Hugh Grant, Eddie Marsan) with him to celebrate this unexpected comeback. As long as this doesn't sink to the levels of convoluted mediocrity achieved by Ritchie's lone non-Madonna vanity project dud Revolver, I'll be delighted.

Also Interested In:
Like a Boss (1/10)
Underwater (1/10)
Color Out of Space (1/24)
The Turning (1/24)
The Assistant (1/31)
Buffaloed (2/14)
Downhill (2/14)
Ordinary Love (2/14)
The Photograph (2/14)
Sonic the Hedgehog (2/14)
Greed (2/21)
Burden (2/28)
The Invisible Man (2/28)
Onward (3/6)
Spenser Confidential (3/6) 
My Spy (3/13)
Deerskin (3/20)
Saint Maud (3/27)
Fatherhood (4/3)
The Lovebirds (4/3)
Charm City Kings (4/10)
Antlers (4/17)
Monster Problems (4/17)
Promising Young Woman (4/17)

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