2020 Most Anticipated
Lots to look forward to in 2020! Let's take a look at the movies I'm most interested in. (Sorry in advance for the Marvel bias, but I'm not really excited for their offerings this year so don't expect to find them on this list!)
15. A QUIET PLACE II
I really loved 2018's The Quiet Place. It was like a golden age Shyamalan film. I don't think a sequel was necessary at all as the film was tied up perfectly already, but I'm open to seeing what Krasinski has up his sleeve a second time around.
14. SOUL
Over the last several years Pixar, the studio that once churned out animated masterpiece after animated masterpiece has become quite a bit more hit or miss. One of their best films of the last decade was Inside Out and this new movie coming out this summer called Soul, looks to be a spiritual sibling of it (pun probably intended.) Instead of tackling with our inner feelings, this time Pixar takes on what makes a soul. Let's see if they strike gold twice.
13. JUNGLE CRUISE
So again, Disney's track record with rides adapted to movies is definitely a mixed bag. On the one hand you've got the excellent Pirates of the Caribbean (though only the first one was anything to write home about,) to the terrifyingly bad Haunted Mansion. Or you've got a movie based on a whole theme park land: Tomorrowland, which was the definition of all over the place. So Jungle Cruise could certainly go either way. But it looks like a lot of fun and boasts two of the most charismatic people working today as its leads.
12. NO TIME TO DIE
I've never been a huge Bond fan, though Casino Royale finally made me interested in the franchise. What has followed ever since then has varied from instantly forgettable to entertaining but ultimately forgettable. Will Daniel Craig finally recapture the magic of his first Bond film in time for his sendoff? Only time will tell!
11. GODZILLA V KONG
While Godzilla movies are currently 0-2 for me and the recent Kong movie was entertaining but ridiculous why does this movie get a spot on my list? Well it's a big event to see these two epic cinema monsters battle and let's just see what they got. Expectations are currently very low.
10. GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE
I wasn't a huge fan (or necessarily hater) of 2016's Ghostbuster's reboot, and found it hugely unnecessary. I also don't think this film is necessary either, nor do I think this movie matches the tone of what Ghostbusters is. In fact, I think it'd be better if filmmakers stepped away from this franchise and realized that "You know what? Sometimes you can't catch lightning in a bottle twice." As a sequel, Afterlife looks to be almost a totally different genre than the Ghosbusters films. It's majorly channeling the likes of Stranger Things in its reverential reference to nostalgia. It might pay off. I'm not sure if the answer to 2016's film was to do a take with as straight a face as possible, but I'm willing to try to keep an open mind.
9. BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC
Am I so sick of unnecessary cash grab sequels that bank on our nostalgia? Yes. Will I miss the latest entry in the Keanussaince because of this? No. Look Bill & Ted is one of my definite '80s guilty pleasures so I'll be checking it out. How good it will be remains to be seen, but it's clear Reeves and Winter love these roles so at the very least we'll see the two having some fun again.
8. HALLOWEEN KILLS
I enjoyed 2018's Halloween sequel redux and while I don't think a sequel was needed as the last film concluded just fine (geez I'm starting to see a pattern here with this list...) I'm excited to see where these next movies go.
7. MULAN
Few of the Disney live action remakes have actually been worthy enough to have a live action re-telling, and from the get-go it seemed pretty clear that Mulan was one of the rare exceptions that could have a really great live action story told. From the trailers it looks like that assumption was right on the money as this looks poised to be one of the best live action remakes Disney has done.
6. THE CONJURING III
Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga are back for a third installment of The Conjuring. I liked the second film, though it pales a bit to the first. I'm sad James Wan isn't returning for this one so my expectations are a little down, but I'm always good to spend some cinematic quality time with Ed & Lorraine Warren.
5. MALIGNANT
Instead of helming the third Conjuring film, James Wan is making this movie instead. I'm all for original horror films so I can't wait to see what he's cooking up.
4. LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
With Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Baby Driver, Edgar Wright is one of my favorite directors working today. And now he's assembled a fantastic cast to do a horror film? Count me in!!
3. WONDER WOMAN 1984
Gal Gadot was utterly charming in the first Wonder Woman and it was one of the funnest blockbusters in years, just hope the sequel can be nearly as good as the first if not better.
2. DUNE
Denis Villeneuve is one of the best directors working today and he's assembled an all-star cast for his adaptation of Dune. This big screen epic will no doubt be one of the most ambitious films of the year and I can't wait to see him pull it off (after all, if he can make Arrival work I think he can make anything work.)
1.TENET
While I wasn't overly wowed by Dunkirk, I've loved every other Nolan film to this point and his movies are simply not to be missed. This looks to be the most ambitious film he's done since Interstellar or Inception and the bigger Nolan goes, the more excited I get. This is the can't miss film of 2020!