As heard on The Shift with Drex, I gave a little rundown of the films you can look out for between now and March.
Thriller
Glass (January 18) – Who knew that after the phenomenal Unbreakable in 2000 we’d have to wait almost two decades for the real follow up, during which M. Night Shyamalan entered a dark period of awful filmmaking. Well, he’s back in a big way, entering this film on a string of two great films, the last one Split totally threw us for a swerve when it was connected to the Unbreakable universe.
Cold Pursuit (February 8) – When Liam Neeson said he was retired from the action game it certainly didn’t mean that he was done taking revenge, which is evident with this new icy thriller. This film is a remake of the Stellan Skarsgard Norwegian movie In Order Of Disappearance, one I really enjoyed that plays a little like a Coen brothers movie. This could be a big sleeper hit for Neeson.
Family
The Kid Who Would Be King (January 25) – If you aren’t familiar with the name Joe Cornish then you should be educated because he’s one of the most inventive writer/directors right now. Previously he wrote Ant-Man and The Adventures Of Tin-Tin but the directing is the interesting part, with him being responsible for the incredible sci-fi action Attack The Block, a must see. This time he wades further into the family genre with this modern telling of the King Arthur and the Round Table when a bullied kid finds Excaliber embedded in stone at a construction site. This movie looks fun and totally charming.
The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (February 8) – Following up on the massive success of the first LEGO Movie and the subsequent hits of the spinoffs LEGO Batman and LEGO Ninjago, it feels like we’ve been waiting patiently for this one. Directors Chris Lord and Phil Miller have stepped aside but still provide the screenplay so you know the same comedic timing will be there along with a great returning cast including Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett and Alison Brie. Adding to that excitement is Tiffany Haddish, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz and yes, Aquaman is voiced by Jason Momoa. That’s a win.
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (February 22) – It felt like we weren’t ever going to get the third and final installment of this wildly popular Dreamworks animation franchise that even spawned at Netflix series. Just from the trailer alone, I can tell that we are going to get some closure as Toothless and Hiccup discovers a “Lightfury”, the opposite to the “Nightfury” and a possible soulmate for our hero dragon. It also appears emotions will be on high with Hiccup’s father passing on, leaving him to take his rightful leader mantle. Yes, prepare for so many emotions.
Dumbo (March 29) – Speaking of emotions on high, the simple story of this circus elephant has made the world weepy since 1941 so, in the continuing effort of Disney’s live actioning of their animation library, Tim Burton takes a crack at this classic. Now, I’m definitely not a fan of his work over the last fifteen years or so but Burton’s inclusion of his classic mainstays like Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito has me very intrigued and everything I’m seeing in the trailers look like he has put his usual tropes aside to pay homage to everything we remember and love about the original film.
Sci-Fi
Alita: Battle Angel (February 14) – With the right to the graphic novel belonging to James Cameron for a long time, it’s about time we finally got this movie, now produced by the Terminator filmmaker with Robert Rodriguez directing. Delayed from the fourth quarter of 2018 to now to fix up some CGI issues, the trailer has me really excited and the effects look brilliant, especially the ethereal huge eyes given to Rosa Salazar’s Alita. Add a villain played by Mahershala Ali and Christoph Waltz as her discoverer and mentor and I think you get a really fascinating sci-fi action adventure. It’s also really great to see Rodriguez back it the director’s chair.
Captive State (March 29) – This is definitely a sci-fi thriller that is benefiting from the notion that in a trailer less is more. After the first teaser trailer, I was incredibly interested because they hit me with that sort of “what’s going on?” appeal like the Cloverfield movies did. It depicts a world that is under some sort of one government, a sort of Orwellian Big Brother utopia with crime and disobedience eradicated but why? It appears that we are all operating under a shadowy alien takeover and the new updated trailer depicts it as such but no real info is given beyond that. The film comes from Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes director Rupert Wyatt, looking to make up for the stumble he took remaking The Gambler.
Comedy
Fighting With My Family (February 14) – Now this one may just be for me but The Rock produced and co-stars in this biopic about British WWE wrestler Paige and her emergence into the massive wrestling promotion and the adversity that pushed her to get there. Coming from a real wrestling family, I’m really excited to see how this story will be told and one of my favorite breakthrough actresses of last year, Lady MacBeth’s Florence Pugh, stars in the lead. Also being the American feature directing debut of Stephen Merchant, I feel like the comedy aspect will be on point.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? (March 22) – I always have been and always will be interested in what director and writer Richard Linklater is up to and this one is no different, featuring two actresses that haven’t worked with him before, Cate Blanchett and Kristen Wiig. Blanchett plays a troubled mother who goes missing, forcing her fifteen-year-old daughter to go on a search for her and uncovering all her secrets along the way. Based on a novel by Maria Semple, this screenplay reteams him with his co-writers on Me And Orson Welles, a well done but largely forgotten about film in his filmography.
The Beach Bum (March 22) – For a long time we’ve been waiting for most times controversial filmmaker Harmony Korine’s next film after the fantastic Spring Breakers and now we have it. Continuing his trend of depicting characters who are really on the fringe of society, this film has Matthew McConaughey diving back into that deep method work playing a rebel stoner named Moondog. I highly recommend people Google this one for a look at McConaughey’s wardrobe for this one as well as his co-star Zac Efron, who is rocking some great hair along with some sweet razored sideburns. It should also be known that Snoop Dogg stars in this as a character named Lingerie and Martin Lawrence who is listed as “Captain Wack”. I love oddball stuff like this so it’s high on my list, no pun intended.
Superhero
Captain Marvel (March 8) – Looking for your Marvel fix, seeing as it’s been a long time since Ant-Man and The Wasp and even longer since Avengers: Infinity War? Well, it hasn’t been THAT long but you get my point, the whole MCU is in crazy disarray and we need closure. It’s great that the next and hugely pivotal piece arrives soon in the form of Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel. Being a huge fan of the comic character, I don’t think any of the uninitiated are ready for how powerful of a hero this is and just how important she is to the battle against Thanos. This ladies and gentleman will be a total gamechanger. Get excited immediately.
Horror
Us (March 15) – When it comes to the most anticipated of 2019 the conversation cannot be finished without talking about the next film from Academy Award winner Jordan Peele’s mind, his follow up to the massive phenomenon Get Out. The trailer for this, given on Christmas Day, is terrifying on it own, showing a vacationing family who has to battle the scariest thing any of us would ever think of, an evil replica of themselves. Starring Oscar winner Lupita N’Yongo, even the first trailer for this shows just how effective Peele is as a filmmaker and is proof that he is now a mainstay in this genre. I can’t wait for this movie and I’m sure it will be in my top ten for 2019.
Steve Stebbing 