20 movies to watch in 2017

[Chrmd]

1. War For The Planet Of The Apes

For us, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes was the Godfather Part II of summer sequels: a visually spectacular, operatic expansion of 2011's Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes - a movie that was itself surprisingly excellent.

Director Matt Reeves has set himself a high bar with War For The Planet Of The Apes, which follows ape leader Caesar and his comrades in an intensifying conflict with an army of humans. With much of the same cast and crew from the previous film returning - writer Mark Bomback, ape actors Andy Serkis and Terry Notary - we're cautiously confident that War will be one of the smartest, most emotionally satisfying summer movies of 2017.

 

2. Valerian.

A full 20 years after he made the eye-popping sci-fi film The Fifth Element, French director Luc Besson's returning to similar territory with Valerian, based on the comic series of the same name. It stars Dane De Haan and Cara Delevingne as special agents who carry out missions through space and time, and their travels take in gigantic cities, exotic aliens and Rihanna in a bowler hat.

With a starry supporting cast (look out for John Goodman, Ethan Hawke and Rutger Hauer among all the visual effects) and a budget that's huge by European standards, Valerian could be a triumph or - lord forbid - a calamity of Jupiter Ascending proportions. It's that very sense of the unknown that leaves us so intrigued by Valerian. We can't wait.

 

***. Dunkirk

In the spring of 1940, thousands of allied troops found themselves surrounded by German forces as France fell to the Nazis. As some 400,000 allied soldiers were forced to withdraw from mainland Europe, the resulting Evacuation of Dunkirk was one of the major turning points in World War II. The evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, has been told on screen before - the 1940 version starred Richard Attenborough and John Mills, fact fans - but this new telling of the story's coming from director Christopher Nolan, which is exciting enough all by itself.

Shot on 65mm film and using largely practical effects - including real destroyers and warships, we've learned - Dunkirk promises to be the kind of Hollywood war epic we seldom see anymore. Warner's boldly releasing the movie in the balmy summer month of July, placing it alongside the likes of Spider-Man: Homecoming, War For The Planet Of The Apes and Valerian. Will the allure of Nolan, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Harry Styles out of One Direction tempt audiences away from the month's lighter, more escapist entertainment? Time will tell.

 

4. Star Wars: Episode VIII

A less bold studio might have gone with a safe pair of hands when it comes to writing and directing Star Wars: Episode VIII, so it's refreshing to see a filmmaker like Rian Johnson handed the keys to the (former) Lucas-verse. At present, we know little of where the follow-up to The Force Awakens will go, other than it stars much of the previous film's cast, including Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Mark Hamill, while various interviews with those returning actors have hinted at a darker direction for the story.

In many respects, Johnson has a tough task ahead of him with Episode VIII; The Force Awakens relied heavily on resurrecting the icons from the original trilogy - Han Solo, the Millennium Falcon and so on - but its sequel arguably needs to move things forward if this new series of movies is going to develop its own distinctive voice. Here's hoping that Johnson's indie sensibility - see Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper - will add a touch of the unexpected to this firmly re-established space opera.

 

5. Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures brings to the screen a little-heard story from the history of NASA and the space race. The film stars Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spender, Janelle Monae and Kirsten Dunst, and it tells the tale of a team of women who provided the mathematical data behind the mission to launch John Glenn into space.

Their story has – as the title of the film suggests – been tucked down the back of American history's sofa until now. It was brought to the screen by St Vincent director Theodore Melfi, who also recruited support from Kevin Costner and Jim Parsons. As well as key returnees – Gunn, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan – there’s a sizeable new signing in the form of Kurt Russell. He’s believed to be playing Star Lord’s father, and that’s part of the story that’s set to underpin the new movie.

 

6. Wonder Woman

It may have a slightly lower profile than the Justice League movie (so far), but of the pair of DC movies scheduled for 2017 (well, outside of The LEGO Batman Movie), Wonder Woman is the one that holds the most intrigue. Gal Gadot reprises the role she debuted in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, and Patty Jenkins – who was at one stage set to direct Thor: The Dark World for Marvel – has been calling the shots. She’s working from a screenplay by Allan Heinberg and Geoff Johns.

Joining Gadot in the cast as Chris Pine, Robin Wright, David Thewlis, Ewen Bremner, Lucy Davis and Danny Huston. The plot is set to fill in the origin story of Diana Prince, and explore how she became Wonder Woman in the first place. It’s set for release at the start of June.

 

7. Trainspotting 2

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose to make a belated sequel to Trainspotting, which catches up with the original cast - Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Ewen Bremner - 20 years on. Much has changed since director Danny Boyle and his cast took on the Irvine Welsh's novel, but while Renton and his friends are slightly less drug-addled than they were in the 90s, their lives are still as messy as ever - thanks in no small part to Begbie (Carlyle), who's fresh out of prison and still a complete sociopath. Anyone who's read Welsh's Porno, the basis for Trainspotting 2, would know they were in for a wild ride here.

 

8. John Wick: Chapter 2

In CG-dominated times, pure action movies on the big screen are harder to find than they should be. What a massive breath of fresh air 2014’s John Wick was, then. Keanu Reeves headlined the film, as the ex-hitman (with a dog) who comes out of retirement. But under the stewardship of co-directors Chad Stahelski (who was one of the stunt doubles who helped complete 1994’s The Crow after the death of Brandon Lee) and David Leitch, John Wick proved a physical, quality slice of action.

For the sequel, only Stahelski directed, with a cast led by Reeves - the man who never ages - once again. Also on the call sheet were Ruby Rose, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne and John Leguizamo, amongst others.

 

9. Kong: Skull Island

A team of explorers start sniffing around King Kong's back garden in this spin-off from (and reboot of) the classic monster series. Anyone who's seen the other King Kong films will know that Skull Island isn't the friendliest of places: there are angry locals, giant spiders and dinosaurs as well as a big, libidinous ape. Kong: Skull Island is directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who sports an extraordinary foot-long beard and previously directed the superb coming-of-age drama Kings Of Summer.

 

10. Wonder

 

The focus is on a boy called Auggie, whose life is heavily affected by a facial deformity. The book managed to explore this from his perspective, as well as those around him, and how that structure translates to film remains to be seen.

 

11. Beauty And The Beast

The core story is the same. Belle, played by Emma Watson, is a headstrong girl, living on the fringes of a small French village, where she doesn’t quite fit in. She lives with her father, played by Kevin Kline, and is the object of affection for Luke Evans’ Gaston. Meanwhile, in a castle just a camera zoom and a bit away lives a young prince – Dan Stevens – who refuses to help an old beggar woman when she comes to his door. She reveals herself to be an enchantress, who puts a spell on him and the castle’s inhabitants. He’s turned into a beast, they’re turned into pieces of furniture, and the Beast needs to find love – and be loved by another – before the petals from a magical rose have all dropped.

 

12. A Cure For Wellness

The movie stars Dane DeHaan, who heads to a remote clinic in the Swiss Alps to find the whereabouts of his company's missing boss. That sounded not unlike Bram Stoker's Dracula to us, albeit with a modern, medical twist: everyone at the clinic has some kind of illness, and it's discovered that DeHaan's Mr Lockhart also has the same mysterious affliction. Jason Isaacs (hello) and the brilliantly-named Mia Goth also starred.

 

13. The Book Of Henry.

Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow is moving from dinosaur theme parks to more personal territory with The Book Of Henry, a drama about a young boy (Henry, played by Jaeden Lieberher) who plots to rescue his neighbour (Maddie Ziegler) from her abusive cop father (Dean Norris). Even if you weren't entirely convinced by Jurassic World, Trevorrow's debut, Safety Not Guaranteed, was a great demonstration of his dramatic skill. If you haven't seen that film yet, do seek it out - it'll give you a good idea of why we're so looking forward to The Book Of Henry.

 

14. Ghost In The Shell

Overshadowed though it was by the controversy surrounding its casting, Ghost In The Shell had some rich storytelling to draw from. Based on Masamune Shirow's manga series and leaning heavily on the 1995 anime classic by director Mamoru Oshii, it's a cyberpunk fable about the migration of souls to machines, and what that might mean for the future of humanity. Director Rupert Sanders said there'd be more action in his movie than the more philosophical anime movies and series. Scarlett Johansson, Takeshi Kitano and Juliette Binoche made up a sterling international cast.

 

15. The Dark Tower

This one's been a long time coming. Based on Stephen King's formidable collection of eight novels, it promises to be the sci-fi horror fantasy western we've all been waiting for. Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey will star as the gun-toting Roland Deschain and the evil wizard Walter Padick respectively, and they're both on a quest to reach the magical Dark Tower of the title - a place that could decide the fate of their reality. Think The Neverending Story but with more guns and fewer luck dragons, and you're somewhere close to The Dark Tower. If the movie's a success, expect further movies and a TV series to continue King's epic saga.

 

16. The Justice League

Following the middling responses to DC’s two big movies of 2016 – Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Suicide Squad – this is a movie where director Zack Snyder really needs to deliver. It’s the one that brings together Batman, Superman, Aquaman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and more, and Snyder has already been making noises that lessons have been learned from the relentless darkness of his Batman V Superman movie.

Originally set up as the first of two movies, Justice League Part 2 has disappeared off the schedules, leaving this one to pick up the threads left behind from the DC movies to date, and provide a springboard for what’s being called the DC Extended Universe. Warner Bros needs this one to work, and it’d be fair to say there’s plenty riding on it.

 

17. Alien: Covenant

At the time of writing, a first trailer has yet to emerge, but we've got a half-decent handle on the plot: a new crew of explorers - including Katherine Waterston and Danny McBride - head to a distant planet, where the erstwhile android David (Michael Fassbender) has been up to no good. The place looks like a lush paradise, but there are nasty, Giger-esque creatures waiting in the wings. Yeah, we can all guess what happens next, but we've also heard that Covenant will answer some of the questions left over from Prometheus, so we're intrigued to see how this new Alien will mesh with everything that came before.

 

18. Logan

It’s the final hurrah for Hugh Jackman in the role of Wolverine, as he retires his character in Logan. An adaptation of the Old Man Logan comic book story, the film sees him reunited with Patrick Stewart as Professor X. The Wolverine director James Mangold returned for this one, too.

 

19. Boss Baby

The set-up is a 7-year old boy, who is hardly bursting with happiness at the thought of his new baby brother. And before you can say Look Who's Talking boxset, we learn that the new baby can talk. And in this case, he has the voice of Donald Trump's current best chum, Alec Baldwin. See, we're doing politics and everything now.

 

20. Underworld: Blood Wars

The franchise's lead character Selene - played by the consistently watchable Kate Beckinsale - will be back with a vengeance in the fifth film, which is directed this time by Anna Foerster (who has been behind some absolutely cracking epsiodes of Ronald D. Moore's epic time-traveling series Outlander.

 

source; denofgeek.com

[Txunamy]

Boss Baby😍 cracks me up everytime. 

[Michelle]

3 hours ago, Txunamy said:

Boss Baby😍 cracks me up everytime. 

You crack me up 😘

[Txunamy]

36 minutes ago, Michelle said:

You crack me up 😘

😁😘