There are so many films that are promising this year, action, horror, sci fi, all sorts of genres and filmmakers. So let’s boil them down to the top ten films that are must see movies! #10 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, to be released on April 12th, seems to follow the absudity with the previous Monsterverse film; Hollow Earth, reverse gravity, and Godzilla’s atomic breath blasting thousands of miles (all without aliens). Now adding a family of Kongs, lil’ Kong, and evil Kong. Still, even with pink Godzilla and grey-haired Kong, the Kaiju are still compelling especially with Godzilla Minus One. I hope the human characters are more developed.
#9, A Quiet Place: Day One, out in theaters June 28th. This thriller series has been satisfying in drawing in audiences with its silence premise. Very much like the Weeping Angels in Doctor Who, who approach when you turn away or Birdbox (2018) which requires blindness to stop the creatures. There is a new director, Michael Sarnoski, who directed Pig (2021) with a new set of characters though Djimon Honsou returns from the sequel. The first day of the invasion was also in A Quiet Place Part II (2020), but hopefully we get more into the nature of the beasts.
Deadpool 3 is #8 and it hits theaters on July 26th. The Deadpool films are fun. I trust Shawn Levy in turning in an entertaining movie. He worked with Ryan Reynolds on Free Guy (2021). Plus, it is the long promised team up with Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine. Levy may balance the sensibility of the Deadpool movies, the R rating, and may have a twist on bringing mutants into the MCU. #7 Megalopolis, this is Francis Ford Coppolla’s passion project that he wrote, directed, and produced. Adam Driver plays Caesar an architect who wants to rebuild New York into an utopia after a disaster. I like visions of the future and apocalypses, see #2, so this is so promising.
I have been interested in the music of Bob Marley for some time. Legend is on my playlist. I saw the documentary, Marley (2012), so it is exciting to see the bio-film, Bob Marley: One Love. It is #6 on the most expected list and will be released on February 14th. The film is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green who also directed King Richard (2021). Kingsley Ben-Adir plays Marley. He has been on my radar with Gravik in Secret Invasion and then one of the Kens in Barbie (2023)! Lashana Lynch plays Rita Marley. She was Binary in The Marvels (2023) and Izogie in The Woman King (2022). I think the point of biographies and historical dramas is to offer a perspective to interest you on finding more out in books and documentaries.
Matthew Vaughn doesn’t need to direct a Bond film when he has fun riffs on the spy genre with King’s Man and now Argylle! February 2 is the release date for the #5 movie so I plan on making it my first new movie of 2024! Henry Cavill as a secret agent and Dua Lipa as the femme fatale assassin is perfect casting! Not as spies, but also poking fun at the genre. Then, we have the Romancing the Stone angle with Bryce Dallas Howard’s author caught up in the adventure with Sam Rockwell's agent. Spy comedies are funny, but Vaughn also brings incredible action! I love the cast of Ballerina with Ana de Armas in the lead role as Eve. The film at #4 drops on June 7th. It is directed by Len Wiseman who brought a stylish edge to the Underworld movies. This is an official entry in the John Wick series with Keanu Reeves reprising an earlier appearance of Wick along with Ian McShane as Winston and Lance Reddick as Charon! We also have Anjelica Huston as The Director of the ballet. Plus, Anne Parillaud, from the original Nikita (1990)!
The #3 Expected Film is Madame Web! I was impressed by the trailer with the movie set to open on February 14th. My second 2024 film and then Bob Marley: One Love! It felt more like a supernatural thriller than superhero film. The recent trailers lean more into the super angle, but still keep the Spider-Man connection loose. The director is S.J. Clarkson who also directed episodes of Jessica Jones. The trailer really called on my knowledge of the comics and then into obscure parts! Dakota Johnson has ventured into horror with Suspiria (2018) so this touches on the precognition of Madame Web. Add in Sydney Sweeney who was funny in Anyone But You (2023) as Spider-Woman and Isabela Merced who will be Hawkgirl in Superman: Legacy and now Dina in The Last of Us! Also, Celeste O’Connor who was in the horror comedy, Freaky (2020) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife! Then, the villain, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) who hunts the Spider-Totems in the comics! Can’t wait!
Now we are moving to the top expected movies going next to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga opening on May 24th! It has been nine years since Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), but I have absolute trust in George Miller as a filmmaker. At the time of the movie, Miller wrote a one-shot comic, Mad Max: Fury Road: Furiosa #1, so the character interests the director. Anya Taylor-Joy telling the story of Furiosa before Fury Road is incredible. Stunning was seeing Chris Hemsworth as the perfectly named and oddly looking Dementus. I know what ever Miller puts on film will be a cinematic experience. The top expected film is of course Dune: Part Two hitting theaters on March 1st. Denis Villeneuve’s movies are visually beautiful, a painter’s approach to world building Frank Herbert’s novel. The first film was embraced by audiences even though complex in themes and world. This one may hit it out of the park with Timothée Chalamet, straight from Wonka (2023), returning to play Paul Artreides. Now he is embracing his destiny with Zendaya’s Chani. Austin Butler looks menacing as Feyd-Rautha, nephew to Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard). “Kull wahad.” The 2024 movies have potential to be some of the best in cinema!
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