100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2020 - Page 3 of 11

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80. “Emma”
Director: Autumn de Wilde
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy
Synopsis: Emma Woodhouse thinks herself a matchmaker for everyone but herself. But as she grows closer to George Knightley, she realizes that she isn’t as great at courtship as she initially believed.
What You Need To Know: While Austen’s “Emma” has been filmed at least twelve previous times, counting TV, de Wilde’s feature debut features a stacked cast, including Taylor-Joy and Flynn, two rising stars. The filmmaker started her career as a photographer, shooting indie-rockers like Beck and Elliott Smith for the likes of Rolling Stone and SPIN and eventually moving up to directing music videos for many of these same subjects. Now she’s graduated to features and at the very least she’s always possessed a very keen eye. Further, judging from the trailer, this adaptation appears to be playing up the screwball comedy aspects inherent to the novel, making this more in line with “Clueless” then the more stuffy 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version.
Release Date: February 21, via Focus Features. – Christian Gallichio

79. “All Day And A Night”
Director: Joe Robert Cole (“Black Panther”)
Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Ashton Sanders, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Regina Taylor
Synopsis: A young criminal arrives in prison as he looks back on the days before his arrest and the circumstances of his childhood to find clues to his way forward in life and his survival.
What You Need To Know: Joe Robert Cole may be hot off the huge success of his script for “Black Panther,” but now he’s moving off to a project closer to his work on “The People v. O.J. Simpson.” Working with Netflix, the project has an impressive cast that includes not only Jeffrey Wright but a post-‘Aquaman’ and post-‘Watchmen’ Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Plus none other than Michael Abels (“Get Out,” “Us”) is providing the score, so you know we’re getting some very creepy and disturbing sounds.
Release Date: Netflix will release “All Day And A Night,” no release date has been announced yet.

78. “Minari”
Director: Lee Isaac Chung (“Munyurangabo”)
Cast: Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Youn Yuh-Jung, Will Patton, Scott Haze
Synopsis: A Korean father uproots his family to move to an Arkansas farm in the 1980s.
What You Need To Know: Just the pedigree on this film alone should be enough to put “Minari” on everyone’s radar. Lee Isaac Chung made a splash with his debut feature, the Rwanda drama “Munyurangabo” which won a Grand Jury Prize at AFI Fest back in 2007, Steven Yeun is coming hot off a phenomenal and haunting performance in last year’s “Burning,” and the project is being produced by Plan B, which produces maybe the best A24 films. The film promises to be a very personal film for both Yeun and Chung, as Yeun’s family moved to Michigan when he was five, and Chung is himself a first-generation Korean-American who grew up on a small farm in Arkansas. Based on how Yeun managed to turn his first Korean-language role into such a powerhouse in “Burning,” we might be in for quite a ride.
Release Date: TBD, but this sounds like it could be a Sundance picture.

77. “Bad Hair”
Director: Justin Simien
Cast: Vanessa Williams, Michelle Hurd, Laverne Cox, Corinne Massiah
Synopsis: An aspiring young VJ gets a wave that refuses to just lie still and look pretty.
What You Need to Know: Justin Simien is directing a movie about a killer weave. Case closed. Go home. That’s all folks. Seriously, if that sentence does not encourage you to buy a ticket as soon as possible, you might be due for a doctor’s appointment, but if you are searching for substance to accompany this comedic-horror premise, Simien has you covered. In addition to comparing the film to “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Stepford Wives,” the “Dear White People” creator described “Bad Hair” as a tribute to the black women in his life—the movie is a response to the political and cultural tribulations of black women in the United States—during his appearance on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast where he also name-dropped Stanley Kubrick and Ingmar Bergman as stylistic influences. Still not sold? Take two Tylenol, drink lots of water and get some sleep, because “Bad Hair” oozes originality, wit and zany terror that will presumably get plenty of people talking in 2020.
Release Date: TBD – Jonathan Christian

76. “The Mitchells vs. The Machines”
Director: Michael Rianda (co-director, Jeff Rowe)
Cast: TBA
Synopsis: The Mitchell family, which is said to include a “chubby pug,” must put their vacation to the side when robots attack.
What You Need to Know: The last time the deliriously talented tandem of Phil Lord and Chris Miller produced an animated film for Sony Pictures Animation, we got “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.” It turned out pretty well. That’s not to say this newest film is at all that, one we don’t know a ton about past the logline and the people behind it (including Rianda, a “Gravity Falls” veteran). But anything bandying Lord and Miller’s guidance deserves attention, and SPA has had some nice animated efforts over the years when Lord and Miller have gotten involved. We’re awfully curious about what this is going to be and will be keeping a watchful eye once we know what the voice cast is and what the visual style is going for. Though we have a hunch our reliance on and obsession with technology is going to get a good Lord and Miller skewering.
Release Date: September 18, via Sony – CW

75. “Passing”
Director: Rebecca Hall
Cast: Tessa Thompson, Alexander Skarsgård, Ruth Negga
Synopsis: The unexpected reunion of two high school friends ignites a mutual obsession that threatens both of their carefully constructed realities.
What You Need to Know: Years from now, 2018 and 2019 will be regarded as the Age of Tessa Thompson, a moment in time where every movie that was released featured—you guessed it—Tessa Thompson. Thankfully, unlike other actors who the public seemingly cannot escape, Thompson is deservedly becoming an A-list talent due to her unmistakable talent, and what better way to kick off the decade than by continuing the Tessa Thompson legacy with an adaptation of Nella Larsen’s classic novel “Passing?” Set in Harlem in the 1920s, “Passing” tells the story of two childhood friends whose lives disintegrate after they reunite amidst the racial turmoil of the era. Regarded as a scholarly classic, the work’s progressive sexual ambiguity and social commentary continue to speak to audiences nearly a century after its initial publication, which means that the time has come to butcher Larsen’s beautifully constructed prose into a heavy-handed movie. Luckily, this pessimistic scenario will likely not be the case since first-time director, and long-time actress, Rebecca Hall will helm the film; additionally, Thompson will play Irene Redfield alongside Ruth Negga as Claire Kendry and Alexander Skarsgård as Claire’s husband John. The project’s potential for greatness is admittedly high, but so are the expectations from bookworms and cinephiles alike.
Release Date: TBD – JC

74. “The World To Come”
Director: Mona Fastvold
Cast: Katherine Waterston, Vanessa Kirby, Casey Affleck, Jesse Plemons
Synopsis: Two women forge an unexpected romantic connection despite their isolation in the mid-19th-century American frontier.
What You Need To Know: Mona Fastvold, isn’t a household name yet, but perhaps there’s potential for that to change. The romantic and creative partner of filmmaker Brady Corbet (“Vox Lux”), Fastvold has seemingly been overlooked by her more famous half. But she’s no slouch. The co-writer of Corbet’s “The Childhood Of A Leader,” and 2019’s Sundance hit “Mustang” (including a “story by” credit on “Vox Lux”), Fastvold also wrote and directed “The Sleepwalker” from Sundance 2014. Shaped with the same creepy psychological bent of Corbet’s idiosyncratic dramas, that indie is deeply underrated and sadly forgotten. Fastvold hasn’t directed a film in five years (having a child will do that to you), but we’re greatly anticipating her return; especially with this stellar cast. Novelist Ron Hansen (“The Assassination of Jesse James“) co-wrote the script.
Release Date: TBD, but it shot early 2019, so perhaps a Sundance bow? – RP

73. “Tigertail”
Director: Alan Yang (“Master of None”)
Cast: John Cho, Christine Ko, Joan Chen, Hayden Szeto
Synopsis: A multi-generational tale of one family from 1950’s Taiwan to present-day New York.
What You Need To Know: Alan Yang’s directorial chops are not a secret to anyone who has watched his terrific episodes of Netflix’s “Master of None,” or the slept-on, ruminative Amazon comedy “Forever.” Yang’s directorial voice is understated and rueful, and those of us who marveled at his television output were hoping that we would eventually direct a feature. Alas, it looks as though our prayers have been answered. “Tigertail” will be Yang’s official film debut: an immigrant story, a comedy about family, and a chance for Yang to work with John Cho. Yang has proven himself to be an adroit and perceptive chronicler of the Asian-American experience, and we’re thrilled to see him bring his wry, kindhearted sense of humor and his cutting insights about life and love to the big screen (well, sort of the big screen – the movie is a Netflix original). Either way, this is one to be excited about.
Release Date: Unknown, but if we had to guess – maybe early summer or fall? – NL

72. “The Grudge”
Director: Nicolas Pesce
Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Demian Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin
Synopsis: A house is cursed by a vengeful ghost that dooms those who enter it with a violent death.
What You Need To Know: Nicolas Pesce has been making waves in the underground horror film scene these last few years: he directed 2016’s incredibly messed-up “The Eyes of My Mother,” and also 2019’s memorably psychotic “Piercing.” Pesce has displayed that he knows how to elicit big reactions with small budgets, and for his next gig, he’s graduating to the major leagues of modern horror. The director’s next undertaking is “The Grudge,” a remake of the seminal J-horror property, and if the recent trailer is any indication, this might actually be one franchise re-imagining that successfully rejuvenates a now-staid piece of IP. The ingredients here are familiar – a savage murder, a tortured detective, and an implacable spirit – but Pesce’s execution looks more stylish and sophisticated than what we’re used to with these types of movies. He’s also promised that the film will be more “fucked up” than its predecessor, which will no doubt please his growing legion of fans.
Release Date: January 3, via Sony Pictures. – NL

71. “The Organ Donor”
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman (“Saw II, “III,” and “IV”)
Cast: Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols
Synopsis: A re-imagining of the “Saw” horror franchise.
What You Need To Know: Anyone who follows Chris Rock on Instagram knows he’s a bit of a cinephile (recently, he was particularly fond of “Parasite” and “Marriage Story”). And yet, we’re all quite curious as to why the revered comedian felt compelled to re-envision the grisly “Saw” franchise. As it turns out, Rock is a fan of the James Wan-directed original and has explicitly shown interest in taking the property in a new, presumably warped direction. He must be a fan of the sequels too since he’s hired the director of three separate “Saw” installments to return for this new chapter. Plot details are being kept under lock and key as of now, but Samuel L. Jackson has joined the project, and director Darren Lynn Bousman has teased that the film will contain one scene so gruesome that, while editing it, he claimed it made him want to take a shower. We suppose that means it’s good?
Release Date: TBD, but a Halloween release would be very on-brand – NL