2017 Movie Preview: Be the Year We All Need

That was a pretty brutal year. We lost more celebrities in 2016 than we can even process, from David Bowie to Carrie Fisher, and we discovered our eclectic little nation is more divided - and more racist - than most of us ever imagined. And no matter your politics or personal experience, it seems everyone I talk to couldn't wait to close the book on this year - despite how sobering and uncertain 2017 is looking. My guess is we're going to need our escapes more than ever - and movies are at least one thing that we can often come together over, and find some common ground. "You liked Rogue One? Hey! So did I!" And if the world does decide to give us a little too much of a wild ride again this year, you can bet we'll be clinging to the shared experience of retreating to the movies as a life preserver to help us get through it. 2016 wasn't all that generous, film-wise. While many of the bigger awards season favorites have yet to open wide, there were really only a handful of releases this year that truly got me fired up, including Finding Dory, Doctor Strange, Arrival, Rogue One and Hell or High Water. One thing's for sure, there are lot of potentially very exciting releases coming our way this year. I've narrowed it down to the top twenty films that have me most intrigued and likely to race out to the theater. Perceptions are bound to change, but these are the ones I'm most looking forward to, listed in order of their release. 

Logan - Hugh Jackman's final outing as Wolverine, once again directed by James Mangold (The Wolverine), tackles the fan-favorite Old Man Logan storyline. Logan's likely coming at us with an R rating and promises to go out with a bang, giving fans what they want. Nice use of Johnny Cash in the trailer - so why aren't I more confident?

Kong: Skull Island - The trailers look fantastic, and this iteration of Kong is enormous, dwarfing earlier versions. It's got a definite Apocalypse Now vibe, by way of Edgar Rice Burroughs. I love this kind of thing, so I'm definitely on board and ready to see Kong go ape.

Beauty and the Beast - Disney's been on a crazy roll, reimagining their catalog of animated classics into live action films (Cinderella, The Jungle Book). This one looks terrific, and expectations are high. This should be Emma Watson's big leap to adult roles, and Dan Stevens is a terrific, edgy actor. Director Bill Condon's big challenge? Getting audiences to buy the literalness of talking clocks and candlesticks from the whimsy of their animated ancestors. I think it's gonna be huge.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - And speaking of huge, there's these guys. Director James Gunn knocked the cover off the ball with the first Guardians, and audiences have been going nuts for the trailer. Disney and Marvel have redefined what success looks like, and Gunn is a massive fanboy himself, with a whip-smart sense of humor. Prepare to be very happy.

Alien: Covenant - Man, do some people really hate Prometheus - and I do not happen to be one of them. With all the fan sniping, I was surprised Ridley Scott would go back into the lion's den again, but I don't think anything scares Ridley. So hot off The Martian, he's openly embracing the connection to his 1979 masterwork. Fox bumped this sucker from August up to May, so they're likely very high on what they've got. Me, I can't wait!

Wonder Woman - The folks shepherding DC over at Warner Bros are also all too familiar with fan-spitting bile, having taken a massive pounding over Batman v Superman. But even those who pile on the film mostly agree that the character of Wonder Woman was a bright spot, and director Patty Jenkins' film looks absolutely amazing - and funny. If Wonder Woman kicks as much ass as it looks like it does and responds to criticism that the DC movies are too solemn and joyless, Gal Gadot should have a massive hit on her hands. I'm super excited for this one!

Spider-Man: Homecoming - The old web-head's brand has become a bit of a muddle since about 2004, but now Peter Parker has been folded into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, and based on his debut in Captain America: Civil War, it's going to be a good fit. Having Michael Keaton as the villainous Vulture feels like a cool move, too. Should be a massive July hit.

War for the Planet of the Apes - Director Matt Reeves is back (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), and the first two outings of this franchise have been excellent. Now we've got all-out war between Caesar and a military zealot played by Woody Harrelson, who seems like a rural militia Colonel Kurtz. Will we turn the corner into a new trilogy, in a future more like that of Dr. Zaius? Fingers tightly crossed.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - Luc Besson returns to his Fifth Element mode, and while this could very well be another John Carter or Jupiter Ascending, I'm betting Besson blows our minds. It's a must-see visually, regardless. Dane DeHaan is a terrific actor, but we've also got Rutger Hauer and Clive Owen in this thing, too. Besson has made some visionary films and I'd love to be stunned by him here.

Dunkirk - Christopher Nolan does World War II. This is going to be insane. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance - this picture screams Oscar nominations, and there's every chance this is going to be Nolan's masterpiece. Chew on that.

The Dark Tower - This one's been a long time coming, daring to depict Stephen King's massive opus of the gunslinger and the man in black. I so, so want this to be the start of something major, to fulfill the surreal amazement that lives in these books. I want Idris Elba to make Roland his own character. But Matthew McConaughey worries me a bit. As awesome as he was in that first season of True Detective, he's become that ethereal Oldsmobile guy now. And to me, that guy ain't the Man in Black. But wild horses couldn't keep me from checking things out to see where they went with it.

Baby Driver - Are you kidding me?!?!? It's Edgar Wright, man!!! I'm all the hell over anything Edgar makes, and this is a crime thriller about a novice getaway driver. Mandatory.

IT - More Stephen King, daring to "reimagine" the iconic Pennywise the Clown. It's risky, but this is a phenomenally great story - if you've never actually read the book, oh, baby. Terror incarnate. I'm very open-minded and hope this one dares to go the distance and truly disturb.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle - The original Kingsman was wonderfully deranged, and director Matthew Vaughn is back, so expect gleefully stylish depravity. The biggest concern is how much of a role Colin Firth has, because he made that film. 

Blade Runner 2049 - Have we met? Then you know that Blade Runner is one of the Holiest of Holies, and I consider director Denis Villeneuve to be one of The Great living directors. Plus, they've got ROGER EFFING DEAKINS as cinematographer, the most visionary DP of all, along with original screenwriter Hampton Fancher. October can't get here soon enough. 

Thor: Ragnarok - There's that whole Fun Marvel thing again, and this one's going to be fantastic. Personally, I'm more excited about this than Spider-Man: Homecoming. It sounds like we're going to be diving into the legendary Planet Hulk storyline, which just screams mayhem. Plus the amazing Karl Urban has joined the show, and Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange is back, too. This is going to be a knockout, and I can't wait. 

Justice League - Like I said, Batman v Superman got a lot of hate. It also got $872 million, so consider that. I think Warner Bros wants to make good films here, and the early trailer they showed at Comic-Con sure seemed to signal that they'd heard fan's issues and were taking steps to address them, adding more humor. I'm definitely excited to see DC's version of The Avengers, and hope we get a story worthy of this massive team-up.

Murder on the Orient Express - I'm a great admirer of Kenneth Branagh, both as an actor and a director. He brings both talents to bear here, and an incredible cast including Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Judy Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer and Derek Jacobi. I'm drooling for this. 

Star Wars: Episode VIII - I mean, come on...the word on director Rian Johnson's screenplay is whispered awe, and I'm dying to spend a movie getting to know old man Luke. We know that Benicio Del Toro has joined the cast, as well as (rumored) Tom Hardy, so this is going to just floor us all. I don't know if my heart can stand it. 

The Six Billion Dollar Man - Now this has a December 22nd release date, but if I had to pick one of these films to get bumped to 2018, this is the one. Peter Berg is directing Mark Wahlberg as Steve Austin, but that's about all we know, and there' very little info about this picture yet. But I'm listing it here out of a combination of my affection for the old series, and the completely ludicrous shot this movie has of even vaguely resembling what inspired it. 


PHEW! I think I need a cold one, after that. Looking back at last year's preview, things didn't shake out too badly. There are always disappointments, and until that first wave of reviews hits, all you can do is keep your glass half full, and stay cautiously optimistic. So here's a half-full glass raised in your direction - may most of these films fulfill their promise and give us the escape, wonder, and insight that we all truly need and depend on from our time hunkered together in the dark.