Lester’s 40+ Anticipated Films
For 2018
12
Strong - Tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed
to Afghanistan after 9/11; under the leadership of a new captain, the team must
work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban.
A
Wrinkle in Time - With so few women being handed the reins of
blockbuster franchise movies, there’s reason to celebrate the faith Disney put
in director Ava DuVernay (“Selma”). and screenwriter Jennifer Lee (“Frozen”) to
adapt Madeline L’Engle’s visionary fantasy novel Starring none other than Oprah!
While the rest of Hollywood takes baby steps, Disney is making giant strides in
the right direction, having also tapped Niki Caro to helm its live-action
“Mulan” remake.
Alita:
Battle Angel - An action-packed story of one young woman's
journey to discover the truth of who she is and her fight to change the world.
Annihilation –
Director Alex Garland follows his hit debut “Ex Machina” with a brainy horror
movie about an all-female team of explorers who venture into a deadly
environmental disaster zone. Based on Jeff Vander Meer’s award-winning trilogy,
the nature thriller stars Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina
Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson and an iridescent mist that gives the air the
sinister shimmer of an oil slick.
Backseat – Director
Adam McKay (The Big Short) showcases actor Christian Bale as former VP Dick
Cheney. Also, Amy Adams, Sam Rockwell
and Bill Pullman.
Black
Klansman – Drama – A fact-based drama with the incredible story of
Ron Stallworth (played by Denzel’s son John David Washington), an
African-American police detective who managed to infiltrate a Colorado Ku Klux
Klan chapter even getting appointed its leader. Spike Lee is directing.
Black
Panther - T'Challa, after the death of his father, the King of
Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation
to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king.
Bohemian
Rhapsody - A musical drama about Queen and the tumultuous life and
reckless passion of their lead singer, Freddie Mercury. But director Bryan
Singer unleashed a rash of headlines by getting fired off the project, with
just over two weeks of shooting to go, and he was then accused of rape. The
film’s future suddenly looks murky: Will it see the light of day? And, if so,
will Singer’s name be on the project? It’s too early to tell, but the movie
could still prove to be an ecstatic rock biopic. The wild card is Rami Malek as
Freddy (from “Mr. Robot”).
Boy
Erased - Actor Joel Edgerton directs a story on the moral issue
known as “conversion therapy.” Based on Garrard Conley’s 2016 memoir, the film
stars Lucas Hedges, the great young actor from “Manchester by the Sea” and
“Lady Bird,” as the gay son of a Baptist pastor (Russell Crowe) in small-town
Arkansas. Nicole Kidman plays his mother, and Edgerton is the conversion
therapist against whom Conley gradually goes to war.
Captive
State - Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an
occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, Captive State explores the lives on
both sides of the conflict - the collaborators and dissidents. Vera Farmiga,
John Goodman, Madeline Brewer and Alan Ruck.
Cloverfield
Movie - After a scientific experiment aboard the space station
involving a particle accelerator has unexpected results, the astronauts find
themselves isolated. Following their horrible discovery, the space station crew
must fight for survival. Stars Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Brühl and Gugu
Mbatha-Raw.
Creed
2
– The Rocky Saga never dies as Creed battles the son of Ivan Drego one of Rocky’s
old nemesis.
Deadpool
2
- After surviving a near fatal knee boarding accident , a disfigured guidance
counselor (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming
Poughkeepsie's most celebrated French Bulldog breeder while also learning to
cope with an open relationship. Searching to regain his passion for life, as
well as a new stuffed unicorn, Wade must battle ninjas, tight assed metal men,
and babysit a group stereotypical side characters as he journeys around the
world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and creative outlets
for his very open-minded sex life. He manages to find a new lust for being a
do-gooder, a sparkly Hello Kitty backpack, all while earning the coveted coffee
mug title of World's Best 4th Wall Breaking Superhero.
Early
Man
- Set at the dawn of time, when prehistoric creatures and woolly mammoths
roamed the earth, Early Man tells the story of Dug, along with sidekick Hognob
as they unite his tribe against a mighty enemy Lord Nooth and his Bronze Age
City to save their home.
First
Man
- Damien Chazelle’s first feature after “La Land” is an epic docudrama,
starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong that chronicles the entire history of
the space race, starting in 1961 and culminating in Armstrong’s July 21, 1969,
walk on the lunar surface. Timed to anticipate the 50th anniversary of that
globe-altering event, the movie has the chance to be a stirring and visionary
reminder of what America could once do.
Galveston - After
escaping a set-up, a dying hitman returns to his hometown of Galveston where he
plans his revenge. Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges.
Game
Night - A comedy about a group of friends who meet regularly for
game nights find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery.
Halloween – Laurie
Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure
who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween
night four decades ago. Jamie Lee Curtis.
High
Life - The irresistible combination of director Claire Denis and
sci-fi in a story about a group of convicts on a no-return exploration into
space is already exciting enough. Add an intriguing cast headed by Robert
Pattinson and Juliette Binoche, plus Icelandic-Danish sculptor Olafur
Eliasson’s designs for the black hole, and cinephile’s expectations for Denis’
first English-language film are literally sky-high.
Hotel
Mumbai - Bringing the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai to the
screen would be a huge challenge for any first-time director, though Aussie
Anthony Maras (recently named one of Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch”)
enlisted a starry cast that includes Dev Patel, Armie Hammer and Jason Isaacs
for the project.
Isle
of Dogs - Following a relatively mediocre year for big-studio
animation, 2018 brings cause for hope: Aardman’s “Early Man,” Pixar’s “The
Incredibles 2” and China’s beyond-gorgeous “Big Fish and Begonia” (already a
record-setting phenomenon back home). The most eccentric of the lot will
undoubtedly be Wes Anderson’s return to the world of stop-motion (following
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”), in which talking canines are banished to their own
island.
Jurassic
World: Fallen Kingdom - When the island's dormant volcano begins
roaring to life, Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining
dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.
M:
I 6 - Mission Impossible – Tom Cruise (again) in unknown and
secretive plot.
Mary
Queen of Scots - Mary Stuart's attempt to overthrow her
cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of
imprisonment before facing execution. Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie,
Joe Alwyn and David Tennant
Ready
Player One - Until now, “Wreck-It Ralph” is the closest Hollywood has
come to making a great video game movie. When the creator of a virtual reality
world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all
OASIS users to find his Easter egg, which will give the finder his fortune.
Wade Watts finds the first clue and starts a race for the Egg – Steven Spielberg
directs.
Red
Sparrow - We’re entering the “try everything” phase of Jennifer
Lawrence’s career, and it’s quite a ride. She’s flexing her artsy muscles with
Darren Aronofsky and Luca Guadagnino, but is also expanding her multiplex range
in this sleek, classily cast espionage thriller from her “Hunger Games”
director (and expert hokum merchant) Francis Lawrence. Jude Law as a Russian
ballerina turned undercover intelligence agent?
Roma
-
In his first film since “Gravity” (yes, four years ago), director Alfonso
Cuarón tells the multi-stranded story of a middle-class family in Mexico City
during the early 1970s. It’s the first film the director has set in his country
of origin since “Y Tu Mamá También” (2001), and it promises to be a portrait at
once intimate and teeming.
Scarface – Diego
Luna stars in cult remake of an immigrant who rises to the top of the criminal
underworld in the United States.
Shadow - Zhang
Yimou’s upcoming costume epic depicts the relationship between an exiled king
and his general, as they plot to take back their realm. Starring actor-director
Deng Chao (“The Mermaid”), one of the most bankable actors in China, “Shadow”
supposedly boasts an aesthetic inspired by Chinese ink wash painting, promising
a return to more lyrical form after “The Great Wall.”
Sicario
2 – Soldado - The drug war on the US-Mexico border has
escalated as the cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the US
border. To fight the war, federal agent Matt Graver re-teams with the mercurial
Alejandro.
Solo:
A Star Wars Story - Action, Sci-Fi - Han Solo and Chewbacca's
adventures before joining the Rebellion, including their early encounters with
Lando Calrissian. Director: Ron Howard - Stars: Emilia Clarke, Alden
Ehrenreich, Paul Bettany, Joonas Suotamo.
Sunset
-
After galvanizing Cannes and going on to win the foreign language Oscar with
his debut “Son Of Saul,” Hungarian director Laszló Nemes set a high bar for his
second feature. Although not much is known about “Sunset,” the portents look
promising. It’s another period piece, set in pre-WWI Budapest. And important
“Saul” collaborators such as co-writer Clara Royer, DP Mátyás Erdély and
producers Gábor Rajna and Gábor Sipos are on board.
The
Black Hand - Police officer, Joe Petrosino, seeks justice against a
ruthless Italian-American gang in New York. A feature adaptation of Stephan
Talty's book 'The Black Hand' – Leonardo DiCaprio.
The
Equalizer 2 – Denzel Washington sequel which is based on
the TV series about a retired agent who's a hired gun for vengeance.
The
House That Jack Built - The story follows Jack, a highly intelligent
serial killer over the course of 12 years and depicts the murders that truly
develop Jack as a serial killer. Starring Riley Keough, Uma Thurman, Matt
Dillon and Ed Speleers.
The
Irishman – Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro star in true story of a mob
hitman who recalls his possible involvement with the slaying of Jimmy Hoffa.
The
Man Who Killed Don Quixote - The setbacks that “Time Bandits”
director Terry Gilliam has faced on this project are so epic, they spawned a
feature-length documentary, “Lost in La Mancha.” Enter Amazon Studios, which
saw the potential of applying cinema’s preeminent magical realist to this
imaginative retelling of Cervantes’ novel. Barring any unforeseen
complications, Gilliam’s fans will finally have a chance to see what promises
to be the director’s magnum opus.
The
Nutcracker and the Four Realms - A young girl is transported
into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice - Keira Knightley, Morgan Freeman,
Mackenzie Foy and Helen Mirren.
The
Outsider - Jared Leto is an epic set in post-WWII Japan and
centered on an American former G.I. who joins the yakuza.
The
Predator - A re-make of the 1987 sci-fi film "Predator".
The
Sisters Brothers - For his first English-language feature, French
director Jacques Audiard (Oscar nominated for “A Prophet”) attempts a darkly
comical take on that most American of movie genres, the Western, in his
adaptation of the novel by Canadian author Patrick deWitt. Joaquin Phoenix and
John C. Reilly star as gunmen ordered by their fearsome boss (Rutger Hauer) to
kill a troublesome prospector (Jake Gyllenhaal) in 1850s San Francisco. Nothing
goes according to plan.
Three
Christs - Three Christs follows Dr. Alan Stone who is treating
three paranoid schizophrenic patients at the Ypsilanti State Hospital in
Michigan, each of whom believed they were Jesus Christ. What transpires is both
comic and deeply moving. Richard Gere, Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins
and Bradley Whitford.
White
Boy Rick – Matthew McConaughey stars in the true story of teenager
Richard Wershe Jr., who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the
1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in
prison.
Widows - Ocean’s
8 isn’t the only female-led heist movie to look forward to. Boasting an equally
impressive cast — plus an Oscar-winning director in Steve McQueen (“12 Years a
Slave”), who co-wrote with “Gone Girl” scribe Gillian Flynn — this update of
the 1983 British TV miniseries about four women who choose to finish the heist
that killed their husbands unites Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle
Rodriguez and Cynthia Erivo.
Winchester - The true story of the eccentric heiress to the Winchester fire arms company who believes she is haunted by the souls of people killed by the Winchester
repeating rifle. Helen Mirren stars.
