2017 Films I’m Looking Forward To

I saw The Big Sick the day before yesterday! It was pretty good but not as excellent as I was hoping it would be. It’s hard to get a romcom right- I mean it’s hard to make an intelligent romcom.  Without spoilers, a few of the things I found lacking: a number of the best jokes were used in the trailer, and I found myself wishing I hadn’t seen the trailer so I could appreciate the film more.  Kind of says something negative re: rewatchability.
Also, the movie, despite being a romantic comedy, is too much about the male main character, Kumail Nanjiani. Given that the female protagonist is in a coma for the majority of the film (not a spoiler; that’s the premise), it’s an easy hole to fall into. But even when Emily’s parents (Holly Hunter!) show up to stand in for her, the film still leans into being a coming of age story for Kumail Nanjiani (which, he did do a lot to make this film happen, so I can see how it focuses on his experience).  The romantic plot line and family merging took a backseat to his personal development, to the extent that Emily’s coma feels more like a plot device to trigger Kumail’s transformation, rather than the premise of the film.  And even though she’s based on a real person, Zoe Kazan’s Emily  (through no fault of Zoe Kazan’s, who had to spend most of the film being  coma patient) comes across as more manic-pixie-dreamgirl. Probably as a result of the script more than anything else.
But it was a good movie. It was funny and quick, even if it was not as insightful or deep as I was hoping it would be.

So clearly I’m trying to keep up better with new film releases this year, so I can avoid my mad rush last year to watch everything before the Oscars.

Here are the other things I’m watching out for:

• A Ghost Story, July 7: Not horror, just Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck (in more white people sadness porn) and a sheet. Looks ‘v artsy’. I still want to see it. Probably not theater-worthy, for me.
• Lady Macbeth, July 14: I’m always up for a female-centric reinterpretation of a classic story. Plus period costumes!
• Dunkirk, July 21: AHHH I’m so EXCITED! (No, not because of Harry Styles). Because Christopher Nolan.
• Atomic Blonde, July 28: Charlize Theron kicking ass is always a positive. Some blurb or other talked this up as the “female 007”.
• Brigsby Bear, July 28: This plot is so weird.
• The Dark Tower, August 4: Okay, sure fine. You win, Idris Elba.
• Wind River, August 4: Another one I’m super excited for. I love a good crime mystery.
• Annabelle: Creation, August 11: Even if the original Annabelle film wasn’t great (I don’t know, I didn’t see it) The Conjuring people generally do some pretty good work and the trailer for this looks like classic edge of your seat horror.
• Ingrid Goes West, August 11: I’m unsure about this one, largely because when I first heard about it I was hoping for a social media-driven dark suspense thriller rather than the comedy-drama it seems to be. Still, might be good.
• The Only Living Boy in New York, August 11: I saw a preview for this recently and it looked promising. Also, as mentioned before in relation to Baby Driver: you have to love films named after Simon & Garfunkel songs.
• The Hitman’s Bodyguard, August 18: This looks like it could be stupid, but if they pull it off it will be funny. It appears to be an odd couple movie in which Ryan Reynolds plays Samuel L. Jackson’s bodyguard.
• Logan Lucky, August 18: Here’s one I’m VERY excited for. A heist-comedy with Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, and Channing Tatum? Oh yes. Channing Tatum always surprises me with his on point comedic timing.
• Tulip Fever, August 25: I like Alicia Vikander, Cara Delevingne (though not as an actress), and tulips- so maybe I’ll like this? It’s a drama romance so it will probably not be great but I’ll probably love it. betting that this will be my guilty pleasure film this year.
• Crown Heights, August 25: This is one I don’t know much about- apparently a man trying to prove his friend’s innocence when said friend is accused of a crime.
• I Do… Until I Don’t, September 1: Okay, this may not be very good, but let’s give it a chance.  A faux-documentary/comedy suggesting that marriage should be a contract of only seven years. Highlights three couples at different stages of their relationships.
• It, September 8: Killer clown! I never saw the original, but I’m excited to experience Pennywise for the first time.
• Kingsman: The Golden Circle, September 22: I saw Kingsman: The Secret Service for the first time only this year and was blown away by it. I have high hopes for the sequel.
• Battle of the Sexes, September 22: A sport film is on my list?
• Flatliners, September 29: You may have seen trailers for this, with the people stopping there hearts so they can experience the afterlife and then boom horror ensues because there must ~be a trade~. Sounds like potentially good bad horror.
• Breathe, October 13: Another romantic period piece, with Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, and my celebrity hero Diana Rigg.
• The Foreigner, October 13: Jackie Chan fucks shit up!
• Happy Death Day, October 13: I’ve already mentioned this one. More potentially good bad horror.
• Wonderstruck, October 20: I refuse to read the book but I will begrudgingly admit that the movie looks cool.
• Murder on the Orient Express, November 10: I’ve talked about this before I think because I have many thoughts. In short, I’m interested dot see how it goes. (But I do love the poster- see heading image).
• Coco, November 22: Pixar in time for Thanksgiving. This looks like it might be similar to The Book of Life,w which isn’t a bad thing in my book.
• Call Me By Your Name, November 24: This is one that got a lot of positive buzz at Sundance.
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi, December 15: Duh.
• Jumanji, December 20: The trailer looks quite cute and interesting. I don’t know that it will be good or that I will watch it, but I’m looking forward to it’s release.

You’ll notice that they get thinner toward the end of the year, mostly because those are films I’ve heard less about and can’t be as easily excited for or say that I’m checking up on. Most of these I undoubtedly won’t see- it largely depends for me on what I hear about the film- I get very impatient and hate being stuck in a theater with a film that feels like a waste of time.

I still need to catch up on It Comes at Night, The Beguiled, My Life as a Zucchini, Personal Shopper, Logan, Raw, The BlackCoat’s Daughter, The Zookeeper’s Wife, and Maudie.

And no, I’m not interested in the new Blade Runner.