50. “Halloween”
Director: David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express”)
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer
Synopsis: Laurie Strode takes on masked killer Michael Myers one last time.
What You Need To Know: It’s basically impossible to know what David Gordon Green’s next move will be: the helmer has covered everything from Malickian indie to minotaur-dick-aided stoner comedy to, most recently, Oscar-touted drama with “Stronger,” in the course of his prolific career. His next move sees him finally scratch a horror itch he’s clearly wanted to do ever since he came close to making the “Suspiria” reboot, by taking on one of the most famous franchises in the genre, “Halloween.” Co-written with pal Danny McBride, and produced by genre hit factory Blumhouse, it’s basically ignoring every sequel since the first, with Jamie Lee Curtis returning to her iconic role, and with a blessing from creator John Carpenter (who may actually score the film). Green can be inconsistent, but this has the makings of being something special.
Release Date: October 19th, just in time for… well, you know.
49. “Bad Times At The El Royale”
Director: Drew Goddard (“Cabin In The Woods”)
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Eviro, Cailee Spaeny
Synopsis: A group of characters clash with violent consequences in a rundown Lake Tahoe hotel in the 1960s.
What You Need To Know: Drew Goddard made a hugely impressive directorial debut with “Cabin In The Woods” five years ago, but the Joss Whedon pal hasn’t directed (beyond the pilot of the excellent “The Good Place”) in the six years since. Not for that he hasn’t busy: he spent much of that time developing a “Sinister Six” movie that ended up being scrapped, helped shepherd “Daredevil” to Netflix screens, played a big part in saving “World War Z” and won an Oscar nomination for his screenplay “The Martian.” He’llhelm Deadpool-centric team-up movie “X-Force” soon, but first he’s getting back on the horse with this 20th Century Fox project, a retro crime picture that’s building an impressive cast — Bridges will play a down-on-his-luck priest, Tony winner Eviro a singer, fast-rising “Pacific Rim: Uprising star Spaeny an impressionable Southern girl, and Hemsworth an unknown part. It sounds like the exact kind of grown-up crime pic we wish we had more of: let’s hope it’s a little more “Reservoir Dogs” than “Smokin’ Aces,” though.
Release Date: October 5th, 2018
48. “Solo: A Star Wars Story”
Director: Good fucking question.
Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton
Synopsis: The early adventures of smuggler Han Solo and his pals Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian.
What You Need To Know: In an alternate world, this movie’s sitting comfortably in the Top 10 of the list. I mean, a “Star Wars” movie about its most loved character, with this cast, directed by the seemingly bulletproof Lord & Miller, who’ve made greatness out of children’s books, 80s TV series and literally Lego? But then, in a virtually unprecedented move, Lucasfilm fired the pair when production was virtually complete, and reshot almost the whole thing with safe-pair-of-hands Ron Howard after clashing creatively with Lord & Miller. As such, despite the serious collection of talent involved (also including “Fleabag” star Phoebe Waller-Bridge in a motion-capture role), it’s hard not to feel your enthusiasm dampened somewhat for the project. It’ll probably be fine? The Star Wars factory wouldn’t allow it to be otherwise. But, like with Marvel, it’s also hard to feel that they’re aiming for anything higher than fine from here on out.
Release Date: Despite the behind-the-scenes tumult, this is still currently set to hit less than six months from now, on May 25th, 2018.
47. “I Think We’re Alone Now”
Director: Reed Morano (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning
Synopsis: A misanthrope is delighted to be the last man left alive after the apocalypse… until another survivor turns up.
What You Need To Know: We’ve been avowed fans of Reed Morano since she was the cinematographer of films like “Frozen River,” “Kill Your Darlings” and “The Skeleton Twins,” but her shift to directing has seen her positively explode: promising debut “Meadowland” was one thing, but her Emmy-winning direction of the pilot episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale” saw her launched onto the A-list. Her studio debut, Blake Lively-starring spy thriller “The Rhythm Section,” is already filming, but before the Handmaids hit Hulu, she was already filming this indie, something of a change of pace for her in being a more comedic spin on the end of Western civilization. And if you’re going to have two people left alive, Peter Dinklage (who also produces) and Elle Fanning are a pretty great duo to have.
Release Date: Sundance.
46. “The Kid Who Would Be King”
Director: Joe Cornish (“Attack The Block”)
Cast: Louis Serkis, Dean Chaumoo, Rhianna Doris, Patrick Stewart, Rebecca Ferguson
Synopsis: A young schoolboy discovers the mythical sword Excalibur, and has to save the world from the villainess Morgana.
What You Need To Know: Finally! We’ve been waiting for Joe Cornish’s second feature since about five seconds after credits started rolling on his first, the glorious alien adventure “Attack The Block,”but seven years have passed with mooted projects like period spy actioner “Section 6” and cyberpunk adaptation “Snow Crash” never coming to pass (though the latter may now become an Amazon series). But filming finally got underway on his second feature late last year, and we’re very excited. Again working with Working Title Films and Big Talk, this appears to be a mix of “The Goonies” and “Lord Of The Rings,” given a conteporary, kid-centric spin on “The Sword & The Stone,” with Louis ‘son of Andy’ Serkis in the lead role, Patrick Stewart as Merlin, and Rebecca Ferguson sure to chew some scenery as the villain. In the wrong hands, this might be unpromising, but it’s Cornish, so it’s sure to be something special.
Release Date: September 28th, 2018
45. “Luxembourg”
Director: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy (“The Tribe”)
Cast: Unknown
Synopsis: Drama about a jealous policeman working as a watchmen in the area sealed off after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
What You Need To Know: Most filmmakers are advised to keep their ambitions in check for their first feature, but Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy didn’t appear to be in class that day — his brutal, stunning debut “The Tribe” was an austere, horrifying film told entirely in Ukranian sign language. Despite both the lack of spoken dialogue and the hard-to-watch elements, it proved an international arthouse success, winning a shelf full of awards, and three years on, he’s back with his follow up. It’s likely to follow a similar aesthetic (producers describe it, hilariously, as a “stone cold drama”) mixing Ukranian actors with non-professionals who actually work in the Chernobyl exclusion zone (an area the size of Luxembourg, hence the title). It’s a fascinating setting, and the the film apparently has neo-noir overtones to it, which is intriguing.
Release Date: After “The Tribe” stormed Directors’ Fortnight, expect a main competition debut at Cannes for this one.
44. “The Predator”
Director: Shane Black (“Iron Man 3”)
Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, Jacob Tremblay
Synopsis: A group of ex-Marines in a small town take on the legendary alien hunter known as the Predator.
What You Need To Know: Despite, or because of, the greatness of John McTiernan’s original, “Predator” has resisted attempts to franchise it: the Danny Glover-centric sequel was pretty bad, Nimrod Antal’s “Predators” not much better, and the less said about the “Alien Vs. Predator” movies the better. Nevertheless, if anyone can make us interested in the property again it’s “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” mastermind Shane Black, who actually began his career by being the creature’s first victim in McTiernan’s film. Black’s promised a film that restores a sense of awe and wonder to the summer blockbuster, so we’re expecting something closer to “Stranger Things” than a horror-actioner, with an intriguing cast (also including Sterling K. Brown, Yvonne Strahovski, Alfie Allen and Thomas Jane) no doubt delivering plenty of Black’s ever-quotable dialogue.
Release Date: August 3rd, 2018
43. “Ocean’s 8”
Director: Gary Ross (“The Hunger Games”)
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling
Synopsis: The estranged sister of thief Danny Ocean puts together her own perfect crew of crims to pull off a heist at the Met Gala.
What You Need To Know: Though plans for the project have been known for a while, so far, fortunately, the mouth-breathers who threw their toys out of the cot about female Ghostbusters haven’t had the same kind of reaction to this all-female spin-off of Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven” trilogy, which comes from Soderbergh pal Gary Ross, and screenwriter Olivia Milch. But then, who could object to a movie that involves Bullock, Blanchett, Hathaway, Rihanna, Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson and rapper/comic Awkwafina teaming up for an old-fashioned heist. Damian Lewis is the Andy Garcia-style target, and expect a ton of fashion-world cameos and, also, we regret to inform you, James Corden.
Release Date: June 8th, 2018
42. “Ready Player One”
Director: Steven Spielberg (“The Post”)
Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance
Synopsis: In a future where people are obsessed with a pop-culture-aping virtual reality world called OASIS, a teenager embarks on a treasure hunt for the fortune of the world’s creator.
What You Need To Know: It’s an odd thing to contemplate, given that he’s the most successful commercial filmmaker in American history, but Steven Spielberg hasn’t had an escapist box office hit in a decade: his prestige-y films have mostly been hits, but “The BFG” and “The Adventures Of Tintin” both underperformed to varying degrees, leaving “Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull” his last true summer blockbuster smash. Could “Ready Player One” change that? We have our concerns, mostly about Ernest Cline’s book, which is a lousy, pandering piece of box-ticking. But bad books have been great films before, and if anyone can make this work as a movie, it’s Spielberg. Plus, frankly, we kind of cheered when The Iron Giant turned up in the trailer.
Release Date: March 30th, 2018
41. “Where’d You Go Bernadette?”
Director: Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”)
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer, Laurence Fishburne
Synopsis: When her mother disappears on the eve of a family vacation, 15-year-old Bee attempts to travel to Antarctica to find her.
What You Need To Know: With “Last Flag Flying” dying at the box office, Richard Linklater could probably use another hit: fortunately, “Where’d You Go Bernadette” might have the greatest crossover appeal of anything the “Boyhood” helmer has done since “School Of Rock.” Adapted from Maria Semple’s terrific, funny, inventive novel by the ever-reliable “Disaster Artist” scribes Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, it has a doozy of a title role for Cate Blanchett, and should play into Linklater’s sweet spot in a way that has real potential to connect with good-sized audience. It’s admittedly not the easiest of sells — it’s hard premise to get into a single sentence — but we’re getting some really good vibes from it already.
Release Date: May 11th, 2018, via Annapurna
