2017: The Road Ahead (Musings Of a Renegade)

Happy Somewhat Belated New Year everyone! We’ve left the absolute horrorshow that was 2016 behind and moved on towards a hopefully more promising future. And with a new year comes new reasons to head out to the cinema. So, in order of release date, here are my most anticipated movies of 2017.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER TWO

I loved the first John Wick. It was a slick, bloody, neon soaked action flick that reigned supreme in what was a pretty good year for action movies. Considering the awesome trailers and the recent announcement that it’s heading to the world of comics, I’m hoping that we’ll have an awesome new franchise on our hands.

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

Everyone (including me) adored the Lego Movie and one of the most praised parts of it was Will Arnett’s Batman. While the fact that is probably going to be batter than the actual DC Comics movies is kind of saddening, I remember how good the cast is (seriously, how cool is it that Billy Dee Williams is finally playing Two-Face). Plus, Robot Chicken veteran Chris McKay is in the director’s chair; so, yeah, this should be a lot of fun.


KONG: SKULL ISLAND

There are a few reasons to get hyped for this one, folks. And they are as follows: giant monkey, promise of pulpy adventure and John C. Reilly wielding a friggin’ samurai sword. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a party to me.

THE BELKO EXPERIMENT

So, the basic premise of this movie is a mix of Battle Royale and Office Space. Okay, that's a nifty premise; but, here's where things get interesting. Cult mastermind James Gunn (AKA the guy who did Super and Guardians of the Galaxy) has the writing credit on this. Given his already grotesque repertoire, this oughta be one nasty little treat.

FREE FIRE

Just go watch the trailer (click here for that: https://youtu.be/oDD3I0uOlqY) that’ll give you all you need to know for why I’m hyped for this. Also, it's got Sharlto Copley. Nice touch!

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

Going back to James Gunn for a moment, it shouldn't be a surprise that I absolutely loved the first Guardians of the Galaxy given my affinity for retro science fiction and gleefully bizarre ideas. It was a big, exciting, colorful and overall a fun time at the multiplex. Naturally, I was hyped the minute a sequel was announced. Side note: Kurt Russel is playing Ego the Living Planet in this. Having him in a movie is always a good thing to me; but, casting him in a role that out there is especially interesting. One last thing, gotta love Baby Groot.


ALIEN: COVENANT

Recent years have not been kind to the Alien franchise. AVP: Requiem was an absolute dud and Prometheus proved to be quite polarizing. Thankfully, it seems like we might have another winner on our hands with Alien: Covenant. With the marketing thus far being simplistic yet effortlessly creepy marketing and considering the talent of the cast and crew, I'm confident in saying that this film is in good hands.

WONDER WOMAN

In many respects, this movie will be a significant turning point, hopefully for the better. Plus, hey, DC might've finally beaten Marvel to the punch on something (i.e. a good female superhero flick).

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 

Michael Keaton is in a Marvel movie. Need I say more?

DUNKIRK

Now I'll be honest when I first I heard about Dunkirk, I wasn't really all that hyped. Don't get me wrong, I was still curious about it and I wanted it to be great; but, that was about it... that is until I saw the IMAX footage. After seeing that, I absolutely can't wait to see what Christopher Nolan has in store for us this time.

BABY DRIVER

Its been almost four years since Edgar Wright flawlessly wrapped up the Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy with what might be my all-time favorite movie, The World's End. Now, he returns to the silver screen with Baby Driver. Not much is known about it at the moment (hell, there isn't even a poster or trailer out yet); but, given the cast and that its an Edgar Wright flick, this should definitely be on your radar.

BLADE RUNNER 2049

Almost 35 years after the seminal science fiction classic, Warner Brothers is finally giving us a sequel to Blade Runner in the form of Blade Runner 2049. If nothing else, this will at least look absolutely astonishing.

JUSTICE LEAGUE

Yeah, I know everyone else is putting the DCEU through the ringer ad nauseam. Even with that inescapable backlash, come on. How can I not be excited for the onscreen team-up of some of the most iconic comic book heroes in history? Plus, from the creative shake-up that's been happening recently, 2017 could be the year for DC to make a major comeback. A rebirth, if you will (obvious reference for those who can catch it).

STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII

Do I need to say much other than "It's Star Wars. Duh!" Well, I'm excited that Brick and Looper wunderkind Rian Johnson is finally getting his hands on a big (possible the biggest) cinematic franchise.

In short, this seems to be a very exciting year for moviegoing. And in case anyone's wondering, here are the movies I'm excited for that I don't have much to say about:

A CURE FOR WELLNESS
THE DARK TOWER
THOR: RAGNAROK
LOGAN
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS
GET OUT

Until next time, take care!

Catch up on Musings Of A Renegade

So, here's the skinny:

Within the past six months, I've uploaded two video editorials in a series that will now be continued within the confines of this blog. Here are the original two videos for your viewing pleasure.

Feel free to spread these around and offer your thoughts & critiques in the comments. Take care!

Welcome To Matinee Everyday!

Hello and welcome to Matinee Everyday, a blog where I talk about movies... and some other stuff (i.e. comics and TV shows), but, mostly movies. I'll try to do at least one post a day. For now, this is just me saying hello.