Top 20 Most Anticipated Films of 2017: Part 1 (#20-11)

Well, folks, since we’re getting closer and closer to the end of the year, I figured that it was a good enough time for me to do my annual ‘Most Anticipated Films of Next Year’ list. I’ll admit that I’m always unsure about when I should post this because some of the films that I discuss in these lists tend to get pushed back a year. Some past examples of this happening to me included my 2014 list, when Tomorrowland was apparently still intended to be released that year, and 2015 when I put Jon Favreau’s remake of The Jungle Book as an Honorable Mention… and then it was pushed back to April of this year. Thankfully no instances of rescheduling have happened with any of the films that I put in last year’s list (yet…) but anyway, now it’s time to look ahead to 2017. And let me tell you… there’s quite a lot of exciting new films coming out next year. Heck, 2017’s film lineup is even more exciting than 2016’s lineup. And with that said, yes, as I’ve gone over before, there have been quite a few people on the internet who have been expressing disappointment towards a lot of this year’s film releases… but that’s another story. It’s time to look ahead at 2017 and like last year, I’ve managed to come up with not just a Top 10 but a full Top 20 list of my most anticipated films of 2017. From the newest superhero films to some very intriguing sequels, and yes even some original films are in there, you can bet that I’m excited for many of the films that will be hitting theaters next year. So, without further ado, this is Part 1 of my 2-part list of my Top 20 most anticipated films of 2017. Today I’ll be going over #20-11 but first, here are my Honorable Mentions…

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Instead of giving each of these five films their own heading, I’m just going to rattle them off here quickly. First, there’s the new reboot of Power Rangers (March 24^th). Not being a big fan of the Power Rangers franchise, despite technically being part of the generation that grew up with it, I don’t have much personal stake in this new film but I am generally curious as to how it’ll turn out. Will it be able to appeal to both long-time fans and newcomers to the franchise? Next up is the reboot of The Mummy (June 9^th), the recently-designated ‘first’ entry in Universal’s new line of monster films. It’s unclear at the moment as to how this planned ‘Cinematic Universe’ will pan out but this new take on The Mummy does sound interesting, especially considering the talent involved, including Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, and Sofia Boutella in the title role. Another reboot that I’m quite intrigued about is Jumanji (December 22^nd). For the record, this isn’t a remake of the 1995 film starring Robin Williams but is instead a sequel. I’m genuinely curious as to how it’ll connect with the original and if you ask me, you can’t go wrong with a film that stars people like Dwayne Johnson and Karen Gillan. Going into the horror genre for a moment, we have Alien: Covenant (May 19^th). Ridley Scott returns for another installment of the franchise that he helped start back in 1979 with this sequel to 2012’s Prometheus, which in turn was a prequel to the original Alien. While it will be centering on a new cast that includes the likes of Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup, Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace will be reprising their roles from the previous film. Will this new film answer some of the unanswered questions that people had after watching Prometheus? We’ll just have to wait and see. And finally, there’s The Greatest Showman (December 25^th). Hugh Jackman will star as P.T. Barnum, who was a co-founder of what would eventually become the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus. As someone who has many fond memories of going to see this circus as a kid whenever it came to Rhode Island, I’m definitely interested in seeing its origins represented on film. The film will also star Zac Efron, Rebecca Ferguson, and Michelle Williams.

And now we move on to the Top 20 and boy do we have a rather controversial film to start things off at #20.

20. TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT (JUNE 23^RD)

Yes, folks, you’re reading this right… I’m genuinely looking forward to the fifth entry in the highly maligned live-action Transformers franchise. I’m not afraid to admit that I am a big fan of all four of the previous films in the series. I still argue that the first one is actually really good even after everything that happened with its sequels. And yes, I still like the much critically derided sequels, including the second and fourth films which were some of the worst-reviewed films of their respective years. Sure they’re really nothing more than mindless CGI-heavy action films but I still find them to be really entertaining popcorn flicks nevertheless. So with that in mind, I’m still interested in seeing this franchise continue, which it will do so next year with Transformers: The Last Knight. Michael Bay, of course, returns to direct and this will supposedly be his last Transformers film. Though with that said, he said the exact same thing after the third film and yet he ended up doing a fourth one so who knows? Mark Wahlberg will be returning as Cade Yeager along with Stanley Tucci as Joshua Joyce, both of whom made their series debuts in the fourth film, Age of Extinction. The film will also see Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson return to the franchise as Lennox and Epps, who appeared in the original trilogy but were both absent from Age of Extinction. Like I said before, I’m very much well aware that this will probably be just as mindless as the other Transformers films. But with that said, if it is anything like those films, I’m probably going to like it anyway. Plus, I’m just curious about some of the recent reveals surrounding the film, like how it’s apparently going to involve King Arthur and even Nazis. Yes, you read that right… this new Transformers film is going to include King Arthur and Nazis. I won’t lie, folks… at this point, I’m just eagerly curious to see just what the hell they’re going to do with all of this. The only question, though, is this; will those who aren’t fans of the franchise finally get the damn hint and not go see this new film if they don’t like this series that much?  

Thought #20 was controversial? Wait until you see #19.

19. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES (MAY 26^TH)

And now we move on to another franchise that hasn’t really fared well critically when it comes to its most recent installments; Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. Still, I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to the upcoming fifth installment, Dead Men Tell No Tales. Johnny Depp, of course, returns as the eccentric pirate Jack Sparrow as he tries to find the Trident of Poseidon to combat an old foe, the ghostly pirate Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem). Geoffrey Rush returns as Hector Barbossa while Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario debut as new characters named Henry and Carina. But perhaps the most interesting development of this new film in terms of its cast will be the return of Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, who was last seen as the new captain of the Flying Dutchman at the end of the third film, At World’s End. Sadly, Keira Knightley won’t be returning alongside him as Elizabeth. So, as I noted before, the recent Pirates films haven’t fared as well critically with both critics and audiences when compared to the first film back in 2003, one of the surprise critical/commercial hits of that year. Basically, the main reason why has been due to the common criticism that the series tends to get really overcomplicated at times with its plots. Will this be the case with the new film? Who knows? But, with a new screenwriter and a new pair of directors in Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, directors of 2012’s Norwegian Oscar-nominated Kon-Tiki, perhaps this one will change things up a bit. The recently released first trailer does grab your attention by way of its excellent visuals and rather a dark atmosphere. Ultimately, though, it’s unclear if this will be as big of a box-office hit as the previous Pirates films given that this is the fifth installment of the series. But, at the same time, considering that two of the four films have grossed over a billion, I have the feeling that this one will still be another sizable commercial hit for the franchise.

With the next two films on this list, we have the one-two punch that is Pixar’s next two animated features. The first is the one that’ll be released later in the year but it is still shaping up to be an excellent entry in the studio’s filmography.

18. COCO (NOVEMBER 22^ND)

Of the two Pixar films that are coming out in 2017, I have the feeling that the one that most fans are looking forward to more is the one with an original story. That film is Coco, a story that takes inspiration from Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration. Not much is known about this one yet other than the fact that it’ll revolve around a young boy named Miguel who uncovers a mystery involving his family that’s been unsolved for a century. In the director’s chair is Lee Unkrich, who’s been involved with Pixar since the original Toy Story. He helped co-direct Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo before he was promoted to the position of primary director for 2010’s Toy Story 3, and we all know how that turned out for him. The film grossed over a billion at the box-office, won another Best Animated Feature Oscar for the studio, and was also the third animated film after Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Pixar’s own Up to be nominated for Best Picture. So clearly Pixar’s got one heck of a talented team working on this film, one that is 100% certain to produce some absolutely gorgeous visuals based around Day of the Dead. So, with all of that said, why then is it only at number 18 on this list? Well like I said before, it’s only because we haven’t seen any form of ‘footage’ yet and don’t know much else about it aside from the aforementioned synopsis. After all, we are still more than a year away from its release. Trust me though when I say that I am super excited to see this film, as I’ve always been for Pixar films. It’s just that I’m not one of those folks on the internet who is constantly pressuring the studio to do more original films after they did a few sequels. Speaking of Pixar sequels…

Oh boy, I’m going to get so much flak for putting this above Coco…

17. CARS 3 (JUNE 16^TH)

So why is this film, a Pixar sequel, ranked above an original story Pixar film, you ask? Well, like I said before, it’s only because we haven’t seen much from Coco yet. Granted, we haven’t seen much from Cars 3 either (aside from a recently released teaser that I’ll talk about in a bit) but being that it’s the third entry of that franchise and it’s coming out earlier in the year, we do know a bit more about it than we do with Coco at this moment. Anyway, the Cars franchise has been more of a commercial success for Pixar than it has been a critical one. It’s definitely been one of Disney’s biggest franchises in terms of merchandising, having amassed over $10 billion in sales. As for the films, though, critical reception has been a bit more mixed. The first Cars film, at the very least, did fine with critics. Granted it wasn’t as critically acclaimed as the studio’s other films but it still did fairly well at around a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The second film, however… was the company’s first negatively received film. It got to the point where some people treated it like it was a criminal offense. How dare Pixar make an animated film that wasn’t a complete 15/10 masterpiece? I’m not kidding, people actually made that analogy online. And now as a result, whenever a Pixar film doesn’t get at least a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (e.g. Brave, Monsters University, The Good Dinosaur), it’s immediately seen as a disappointment. But in Pixar’s defense, from what I’ve heard the second Cars film was a bit rushed because of the pressure to be finished by its planned release date. And while I’ve only seen it once, I remember liking it okay.

So, with that said, I do believe that Cars 3 does have the potential to redeem the film franchise. After Cars 2 took a major detour story-wise by going on a world tour and having a rather random subplot involving secret agents, Cars 3 is set to return to the series’ roots of celebrating small-town Americana. The film is being directed by Brian Fee and while this is his first film as a director, he’s been involved with Pixar, and most importantly the Cars franchise, for quite a long time as a storyboard artist. Many of the main characters of the franchise will no doubt be returning in this film, including main protagonist Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson). Per the film’s currently released premise, at this point, McQueen is now a racing veteran who must now contend with a new generation of racers to prove that he’s still one of the best. You can most certainly sense that from the film’s first teaser, which strikes an effective emotional chord by showcasing what will surely be a devastating crash that Lightning is involved in. So, in short, as I stated earlier, the Cars franchise isn’t as well-liked as some of Pixar’s other franchises, especially after Cars 2 was so critically derided. But, also like I said before, I think that this new Cars film does have the potential to at least be an improvement over the previous film, especially since, from a story perspective, it’s going to be more like the first film, which I do think is underrated. And while I do have the feeling that Coco will probably be the better-received of Pixar’s two 2017 releases, I’m still very much looking forward to the continuing adventures of Lightning McQueen and company.

Ride or die…

16. FAST 8 (APRIL 14^TH)

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that the Fast and Furious franchise will soon be releasing its eighth (!) installment. Who’d thought that a franchise that originally started all the way back in 2001 would still be going strong today more than one and a half decades later? Not only that, but this is one of the rare cases in which the sequels increasingly got better and better, namely the ones directed by Justin Lin. Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6 were the first installments of the franchise to perform solidly with critics and both films were huge hits at the box-office. And then there was Furious 7. James Wan took over as director and the film managed to become the first of the franchise to gross over a billion. Though of course, part of that was no doubt due to the film being the send-off of star Paul Walker, who tragically passed away in a car accident before filming was complete. But this series isn’t over yet and now we’ve got Fast 8, which will take Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and his crew to New York. Once again they’ll contend with Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw as well as a new villain played by Charlize Theron. Once again there’s a change in director but the new director is quite promising; F. Gary Gray, who’s coming off of 2015’s hit biopic Straight Outta Compton. And from what I hear, this new film is going to shift focus in terms of ‘genre’. While the first few Fast and Furious films were simple street-racing stories, Fast Five shifted gears (no pun intended) and became a heist film. But as for this new film, it will apparently be more along the lines of a spy caper. And for the record, yes, you never go into these films for the plot but still, it’s going to be interesting to see what they’re going to do next in terms of action. Pair that with the always excellent camaraderie of the main cast and you’ve got what is sure to be another big hit for the franchise.

The one and only Edgar Wright will have a new film out next year. And it lands the #15 spot on this list.

15. BABY DRIVER (AUGUST 11^TH)

Edgar Wright is a filmmaker who needs no introduction. He’s given us some of the funniest comedies of the past few years, namely his Cornetto Trilogy; 2004’s Shaun of the Dead, 2007’s Hot Fuzz, and 2013’s The World’s End. While all three films are different in terms of genre, with the only real ‘connection’ between them being the appearance of Cornetto ice cream in one way or another, they’re all excellent send-ups of their respective genres; zombie films, buddy cop action films, and sci-fi films. Of course, as we all know he almost directed Ant-Man for Marvel Studios last year but he ended up dropping out due to creative differences. And you know what? I think that it’s actually a good thing that this happened. It allows Wright to have full creative control over his work instead of having to deal with a ‘creative committee’, which was still in effect at Marvel Studios at the time. And this will certainly be the case with his new film, Baby Driver. Described as a crime drama that was apparently inspired by an old music video that Wright made back in 2003 for the band Mint Royale, the film will center around a young, silent getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) as he ends up partaking in a heist gone wrong. The film will also star Lily James as the driver’s girlfriend, Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm as members of a gang of bank robbers, and Kevin Spacey as a crime boss. Music will also no doubt play a huge part in the film as the main character Baby is being described as ‘music-obsessed’ and I’m excited to see what kind of soundtrack Wright comes up with for the film. But of course, at the end of the day, the main selling point of the film is the fact that it’ll be another film from the master of ‘visual’ comedy, Edgar Wright.

As Harry Hart once said, “Manners. Maketh. Man”.

14. KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (OCTOBER 6^TH)

Matthew Vaughn gave us one of the most entertaining films of 2015 in the form of Kingsman: The Secret Service. Based on the comic series of the same name by Mark Millar about a young delinquent who is recruited into a spy organization, the film was a stylish ode to the classic spy films of the 60’s (e.g. the Bond films) complete with awesome action and a great cast. And next year will see the release of a sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Matthew Vaughn returns to direct and the major players of the first film will return to reprise their roles, including Taron Egerton as ‘Eggsy’, Mark Strong as ‘Merlin’, and… Colin Firth as Harry Hart? Yes, despite being (SPOILERS!) killed off by Samuel L. Jackson’s Valentine in the previous film, Firth will be back for this film in some as-of-yet unknown form. Did he fake his death? After all, one of the teaser posters (featured above) is an image of a pair of glasses that Hart wore in the first film (with one of the lenses taken out) that are positioned in front of a quote saying that “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” At this point, who knows? Anyway, the film will see Eggsy and co. heading to America, where they’ll be teaming up with their US counterparts, the Statesmen. New additions to the cast include Halle Berry and Channing Tatum as Statesman agents, Jeff Bridges as the head of Statesman, and Julianne Moore as the new main villain. I absolutely loved Kingsman: The Secret Service so you can bet that I’m excited to see another installment of this stylish spy thriller franchise.

My #13 pick is one of the biggest question marks of 2017’s film lineup. However, I’m still rooting for it to succeed despite the odds that are currently against it.

13. JUSTICE LEAGUE (NOVEMBER 17^TH)

I still have hope, folks, which I know is something that’s rather questionable at the moment for many people after DC’s two 2016 releases, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, both performed horribly with critics and were generally polarizing amongst audiences as well. However, I’m confident that their 2017 output will fare much better, especially now that Geoff Johns has taken over control of the franchise. In other words, he’s become DC’s ‘Kevin Feige’ and that will no doubt help the DC Extended Universe moving forward. And sure, Zack Snyder is still back as the director but I have faith in him to succeed with this long-awaited adaptation of DC’s iconic superhero team, the Justice League. The first ‘trailer’ that was released during Comic-Con showed off a different kind of film compared to Batman v Superman. Instead of being a generally serious/dark superhero flick, this new film looks much more light-hearted in tone as primarily seen in some of the interactions between characters, like when Batman and Wonder Woman discuss the former’s rather failed attempt to recruit Aquaman and with Bruce Wayne’s first encounter with Barry Allen AKA The Flash. Newcomers Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller (though I use the term ‘newcomers’ loosely because they both cameoed in BvS) are also shaping up to be excellent new additions to the cast as Aquaman and the Flash, respectively. Granted this change in tone doesn’t mean that this new film is trying to be exactly like the films of Marvel Studios but it certainly looks like the filmmakers are, at the very least, aware of the problems that people had with BvS (the theatrical cut, at least). It may be unclear at the moment if DC will be able to turn their luck around with both this and their other 2017 film (which, spoilers, will be appearing in Part 2 of this list) but I’m still confident that they’ll be able to make it work with Justice League. I may be a bigger fan of the MCU but I genuinely want Justice League to succeed just as much as everyone else.   

One of the most iconic castings of the superhero film genre will be back for one last go in this, my #12 pick.

12. LOGAN (MARCH 3^RD)

Hugh Jackman is Wolverine; no doubt about it. Ever since he was first cast in the original X-Men film back in 2000, he’s become one of the most successful superhero casting choices of all-time. He quickly became the most popular character in the franchise, even if it did come at the occasional expense of other characters’ development, and has appeared in every X-Men film to date, even if it was just for an awesome cameo like in First Class and Apocalypse. But with his next X-Men film and the third Wolverine spin-off, Logan, this will be Jackman’s final turn in the title role. James Mangold returns to direct this film after helming the second spin-off, 2013’s The Wolverine. And just like how that film was based on an iconic Wolverine storyline of the same name from the comics, this one will also be inspired by another big Wolverine-centered storyline, one that I bet a lot of fans have been waiting to see done on the big-screen; Old Man Logan. For those unfamiliar with this storyline from 2008 written by Mark Millar, it’s basically Wolverine’s Dark Knight Returns as it centers on him years into the future. Plus, while the last Wolverine film grappled with going all-out as an R-rated Wolverine film, though ultimately it only did so in the form of the Extended Cut which was released when the film hit home video, by all accounts it appears that this will be the R-rated Wolverine film that fans have been waiting for.

They recently released the first trailer for the film and I must say that it looks fantastic. One of the best things about director James Mangold’s superhero films is that they’re more than just ‘superhero films’. The Wolverine, being set primarily in Japan, featured a lot of great Japanese elements in it. In the case of Logan, it’s clear that he’s going for something out of a western. And you can totally see that in the trailer, especially with the use of a Johnny Cash song, ‘Hurt’, a fitting choice seeing how Mangold directed the Johnny Cash Biopic Walk the Line in 2005. The story, set years in the future where it’s established that something happened to most of the mutant population (possibly because of Wolverine as deduced by the line “Logan, what did you do?”), sees Wolverine and Professor X (again played by Patrick Stewart in what will no doubt be his final turn in the role as well) having to protect a young girl named Laura (known in the comics as Wolverine’s clone, X-23) from a group known as the Reavers. Now despite what I said earlier, it’s becoming clear that this isn’t a direct adaptation of Old Man Logan. But, to be fair, it’s hard to do an adaptation of that now given the appearances of characters who are currently over in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, as someone who isn’t a big comic reader, I’m not bothered by this. Really, it’s the overall execution of the film itself that matters the most. And thanks to an international red-band trailer, we can now rest easy knowing that the film will indeed be R-rated and that the filmmakers are truly going ‘all-out’ with this one. But at the end of the day, I must say that this first trailer really delivers in terms of hitting you on an emotional level. And that’s a feeling that I bet a lot of people will have when we go to see this; the last go for one of the greatest leads in the history of the superhero film genre. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster.

And closing out the lower half of the Top 20 is the latest film from Ben Affleck. Director Ben Affleck, to be more precise…

11. LIVE BY NIGHT (JANUARY 13^TH)

While Ben Affleck is currently pre-occupied with being the DCEU’s Batman, 2017 will see the release of his latest directorial effort, his first since he won Best Picture for his 2012 film, Argo. Despite having only directed three films to date, Affleck’s proven himself to be one of the top directors in the industry thanks to 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, 2010’s The Town, and Argo. For his newest film, Affleck takes on his second adaptation of a story by author Dennis Lehane after Gone Baby Gone; Live by Night. Affleck stars as Joe Coughlin, the son of a Boston police captain who moves to Florida and ends up becoming a gangster. The film also stars Zoe Saldana as Coughlin’s girlfriend, Sienna Miller as his mistress, and Brendan Gleeson as his father along with Elle Fanning, Chris Cooper, and Chris Messina. I should probably note, though, that even though this film’s current wide release date is January 13^th, 2017, it will see a limited release this Christmas, effectively qualifying it for this year’s awards circuit. So, technically, that would mean that this is a 2016 film… so why then is it in this ‘Most Anticipated of 2017’ list? Well, simply put, I had first made this list before this film got its limited release date. Plus, I don’t know just yet if I’m going to be able to see this film before the year’s through so for now, it stays on this list. But, regardless of when I see it, it’s safe to say that I am really excited to see Affleck’s next directorial effort.

And that concludes Part 1 of my Top 20 Most Anticipated Films of 2017 list. Thanks for following along and be sure to come back tomorrow when I post Part 2 and list my Top 10.

2015 Midyear Recap

Well we’re halfway through the year of 2015 and overall I must say that this is shaping up to be one of the absolute best years ever in terms of the films that have come out so far this year. Sure there have obviously been quite a few stinkers, as there are every year, but overall I’d say that so far the good has definitely outweighed the bad. In just half a year, we’ve seen three films deservedly join the billion dollar club; ‘Furious 7’, ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’, and ‘Jurassic World’. Compare that to last year when only one film, ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’, reached that milestone. And while I’ve seen some people say that the Summer Movie Season has been rather disappointing so far, I’d argue that it’s the other way around. This has been one of the better summers of recent memory with a wide variety of great films for audiences to enjoy. Again, that’s better than what we got last year when there was actually a rather lacking amount of family-friendly films. So now it’s time for my annual Midyear Recap where I look back upon every film that I’ve seen so far this year. And for the record, that doesn’t count films that were technically from 2014 but weren’t released until 2015 like ‘Selma’ or ‘American Sniper’. Finally, I just want to note that, aside from my Top 5, I’m not ranking any of these films. Instead I’m just dividing them up into five main categories based on their overall quality. So now, here’s what the 2015 year in film has been like for me so far, from the absolute worst to my current Top 5 favorite films of the year.

WORST OF THE YEAR SO FAR:

50 SHADES OF GREY

Well are you really surprised at this one being my current #1 worst? I mean, who was seriously expecting anything good from this ‘Twilight’ fan-fiction? And really, ‘50 Shades of Grey’ ends up being even worse because as bad as ‘Twilight’ was, there was at least some kind of cool monster-related action from time to time to hold over the non-fans. All this film has is… a whole lot of talking and a bunch of sex scenes. And on that note, for a film based off of a book that became highly controversial for its sex-related content, it is such a toned-down affair and the sex scenes are so flat and dull that the film doesn’t really have any sexual edge. And of course, being a ‘Twilight’ fan-fic, the writing is laughably bad with hilariously awful dialogue and we constantly have put up with the frustrating indecisiveness of the main characters. To her credit, lead actress Dakota Johnson at least tries here and at the end of the day is one of the few bright spots of the film. But as for Jamie Dorman, he isn’t so lucky in the role of, to put it simply, a sociopath. Seriously, what is it about characters like Christian Grey and Edward Cullen that a whole lot of women are attracted to? I don’t know and quite frankly I don’t want to know. ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ is just as bad as you think. At the end of the day, though, it didn’t really piss me off like some of my most hated films of all time like ‘Sucker Punch’ and ‘A Haunted House 2’. Though to be clear, that’s really not saying much.  

  

OTHER STINKERS:

JUPITER ASCENDING

It’s really sad how poorly the Wachowski siblings, the duo behind the groundbreaking ‘Matrix’ trilogy, have fared in recent years in terms of their filmography. Every film that they’ve done since ‘Matrix Revolutions’ has flopped at the box office and that trend continued with ‘Jupiter Ascending’, their first original film since ‘The Matrix’. But while ‘Jupiter Ascending’ has some truly beautiful visuals, the story is a really, really huge mess. As many have already pointed out, the film is mostly just discussions and there’s not as much action compared to other sci-fi films. In my original review, I referred to it as the 2015 equivalent of ‘Attack of the Clones’ and that’s a pretty darn good analogy because that’s pretty much exactly what it is. The main character of Jupiter is a completely useless protagonist who ends up being nothing more than a damsel in distress, despite Mila Kunis’ best efforts with the limited material that she has to work with. Channing Tatum and Sean Bean, the latter of whom doesn’t die for once in a film, fare a little better as the two soldiers who protect her. And then you have Eddie Redmayne as the main villain, who thankfully won an Academy Award this year for his turn in ‘The Theory of Everything’, which will hopefully for the most part offset his potentially Razzie-award winning performance here, where he whispers most of his lines sounding like Voldemort and then randomly yells at certain points. Simply put, ‘Jupiter Ascending’ is a mess; a beautiful-looking mess but a mess nonetheless (and yes, that just rhymed).

UNFRIENDED

Looking back upon ‘Unfriended’, I realize that I admire it more for its execution than as a horror film. The whole film is shot to look like it all takes place on the main character’s computer screen with the main characters interacting through Skype. Execution-wise the film definitely captures the overall feel of being online pretty well, even down to the Skype lag. But as a horror film, it really doesn’t do much that would be considered ‘scary’. All of the main characters are cardboard stereotypes, which in the case of this story is more evident by the fact that they are all basically horrible people who had a hand in the bullying that led to the suicide of one of their classmates. So that would mean that we would root for the killer, right? Well sure, but even then we never really learn who this ‘killer’ is, even though we presume it’s the ‘spirit’ of their dead classmate. There’s some rather enjoyable moments where the ‘killer’ messes with the victims but we never once get a concrete answer as to what’s causing all of this. So overall, as someone who’s not a fan of the horror genre, ‘Unfriended’ is sort of the 2015 equivalent of last year’s ‘Oculus’. Though at the end of the day, if I haven’t already stated this before, I’m willing to give ‘Oculus’ another shot in the future. ‘Unfriended’, on the other hand… not so much.

MEH-FLIX

Basically these are the films that I didn’t necessarily hate but at the same time I wasn’t ‘too big’ on them either. In other words, these are basically the films that I thought were ‘okay’.

PROJECT ALMANAC

Not being a huge fan of ‘found-footage films’ save for 2012’s ‘Chronicle’, mainly because most of them are horror films, I actually was looking forward to ‘Project Almanac’, which instead opted for a time-travel story. It was the first ‘2015’ film that I saw this year and for the most part, I enjoyed it. With that said though, this film is by no means a ‘ground-breaking’ entry in the time-travel genre. And if you start to analyze the film’s story, I have the feeling that you’re bound to find numerous plot-holes. But at the end of the day, I did still enjoy the film quite a bit because it wasn’t trying to be something it’s not. It was just a fun little teen-centered time-travel film with a cast of leads that had excellent camaraderie with one another. Overall, ‘Project Almanac’ is, at the very least, a decently entertaining ‘popcorn’ flick. Just keep that in mind when you’re watching it because, as noted earlier, this has nothing on films like ‘Back to the Future’.

THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER

As someone who grew up with the ‘SpongeBob’ franchise, I was hoping that the new film would at least improve upon some of the show’s recent shortcomings (e.g. the post-‘first film’ era). And for the most part, this film does succeed in doing just that. With that said, though, occasionally there are instances where it does do some of the things that have made the show mediocre in recent years, mostly by way of shockingly heartless actions of some of the main characters. And overall the film’s story is fairly scatter-brained. The whole concept of SpongeBob and the gang going up to the surface and becoming superheroes, which was the primary selling point of the advertising, doesn’t occur until the finale. While that does mean that the film maintains the show’s classic 2-D style for most of the run-time, which is a nice little alternative to the computer-animated films of today, if you watched the trailers for the film, you’ve pretty much already watched all of the ‘superhero’-related sequences. And while it’s clear that Antonio Banderas is at least having fun in the role of the main villain Burger-Beard, at the end of the day he’s not really that much of a threat. So in short, I don’t ‘hate’ the new ‘SpongeBob’ film and I think that at the very least it’s definitely better than anything we’ve seen from the show since 2004. But at the end of the day, I’d recommend you stick with the first ‘SpongeBob’ film, which is by far the better film… so good that it surprisingly led to what is currently my most popular review of all time with over 500 views in about just four months.

WORTHWHILES

Now we’re finally starting to get into the good stuff…

CHAPPIE

Contrary to the critical reception of the film, I surprisingly actually enjoyed director Neill Blomkamp’s third feature film, ‘Chappie’. I actually liked it more the first time around than I did with his last film ‘Elysium’. Sharlto Copley shines in the role of Chappie, a robot who’s basically like Johnny 5 from ‘Short Circuit’ if Johnny 5 was raised by the wrong people and became a gangsta. Action sequences are solid and the motion-capture visual work for the character of Chappie is pretty darn solid as well. With that said, though, Chappie is basically the only major character in the film who gets any major character development. Everyone else, especially the ‘villains’ played by Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver, both of whom are generally wasted here, isn’t as lucky. And to be honest, there’s not really any major ‘likable’ characters in this film. Then you have the South African rap-rave group Die Antwoord, who play the roles of Chappie’s surrogate parents. I don’t think they’re ‘terrible’ here, as Yolandi Visser at the very least makes up for it with her character’s motherly attitude towards Chappie. Ninja, on the other hand, is a bit of an asshole. Admittedly my positive thoughts on this film are definitely subject to change upon re-watch, but I actually kind of liked ‘Chappie’ and I do hope that this and the generally polarizing reaction towards ‘Elysium’ doesn’t turn Blomkamp into a ‘one-hit wonder’ in the eyes of the film industry.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

Oh boy… I realize that I’m going to get some major flack for this from quite a lot of film films but please hear me out on this first. ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ has pretty much been the most critically acclaimed film of the year so far, not just in regards to this year’s summer movie season. But as for me… I never bought into the hype and I hate to say it… but I feel that the film itself is a tad bit overrated. It may just be because I never saw any of the other ‘Mad Max’ films before but I just didn’t get why this film was being treated by most film fans as the equivalent of the second coming of Christ. Now let me be clear, I don’t hate the film. The action sequences, which were pre-dominantly done practically and not just done with CGI, were impressive. That and the film is pure eye candy which is mainly due to its production design. Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult both shine in the roles of Furiosa and Nux… and that’s about as positive as I can be towards this film because at the end of the day, it’s really just one big chase scene and nothing else, with little to no character development for any character that is not Furiosa or Nux. Also, for a film called ‘Mad Max’, Tom Hardy is severely underused in the title role. He’s just dragged into the whole situation, one which he had nothing to do with in the first place. At the end of the day, Furiosa is the main character whereas Max is kind of irrelevant to the overall story.

Again, let me be clear: I don’t hate this film. I recognize its biggest strengths, namely the action sequences and Charlize Theron’s stand-out performance in what is clearly the lead role of the entire film. This is by no means a ‘bad’ film; far from it, in fact. It’s just that I’m not a part of the ‘bandwagon’ that is constantly showering this film with praise 24/7. Maybe it’s just that I went into this film rather unprepared, having not seen any ‘Mad Max’ films prior to this. But according to a lot of people online, you don’t have to have seen any of the previous films. At the end of the day, though, this film just didn’t blow me away as it did for, let’s be honest, the majority of film fans on the internet. I’m sorry if I pissed off anyone who is a big fan of the film as that wasn’t my intention. It’s just that I just don’t see why this is the absolute ‘best film of the year’ or ‘best film of the summer’ for that matter. If it is your favorite film of the year so far, then the more power to you. Just remember that film is subjective and not everyone is going to love the same thing… okay, in this case, almost everyone loves ‘Mad Max’. But as for me, this is not a film that I’ll be going ‘to Valhalla’ over.   

TED 2

Everyone’s favorite ‘Thunder Buddies’ return for what is surprisingly a pretty solid comedy sequel. I say ‘surprisingly’ because as we all know, most comedy sequels do not live up to the original film and the first ‘Ted’ was definitely a fairly tough act to follow. But ‘Ted 2’ actually does manage to be almost as funny as the first ‘Ted’ and ultimately that is due to the great comedy duo of John and Ted. Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane’s camaraderie shines just as much as it did in the first film and it’s just fun to see these two, one of whom is a talking teddy bear, go on all sorts of misadventures. Like its predecessor and MacFarlane’s famous show ‘Family Guy’, obviously ‘Ted 2’ is not for everyone. If you’re not a fan of MacFarlane’s style of humor (e.g. hard-hitting, crude, potentially offensive for certain people), then you’d be much better off with a different film. But as someone who did like the first ‘Ted’ and was a fan of the first few seasons of ‘Family Guy’, I had a really fun time watching ‘Ted 2’ and following along with these two knuckleheads on their quest to prove that Ted is as much of a person as everyone else. Does it have some of the problems of last year’s misfire ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’? Yes, namely some ‘dead air’ moments and for being a bit too overlong. But thanks to the duo of John and Ted, ‘Ted 2’ actually manages to be much more consistent with its humor hence why it’s ultimately one of the better comedy sequels to have come out over the years.

SPY

Director Paul Feig and star Melissa McCarthy went into this with a bit of a chip on both of their shoulders as both have been receiving a lot of negative attention for some of their recent career moves, namely an upcoming female-led ‘Ghostbusters’ film that the two of them are working on. But if this film proves anything, it’s that this new ‘Ghostbusters’ couldn’t be in better hands. Definitely the funniest comedy so far this summer, ‘Spy’ surprisingly also works fairly well as a spy film, namely through its actually pretty well shot action sequences. I’d seriously would love to see Paul Feig do a Bond film in the future based on his work on this film alone. Anyway, McCarthy definitely shines in the lead role with her charm and likability, and the character is also a really solid female lead that defies all expectations to become a pretty badass spy. The film also benefits from some other standouts in the cast, including Jason Statham as a fellow FBI agent who constantly talks about how awesome he is, Rose Byrne as one of the main villains who once again shows that she’s at her best in comedic roles, and Miranda Hart in a breakout turn as the best friend of McCarthy’s character. The film takes a little bit to get going in terms of its humor but once it does, it’s definitely one of the best comedies so far this year and shows that Feig and McCarthy are at their best when working together.

FURIOUS 7

I’ll admit it… I cried at the end of ‘Furious 7’, the final film for one of the series’ mainstays, the late Paul Walker. The tribute to Walker at the end is well-done and preserves the legacy of the actor’s involvement with the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise. As for the film itself, ‘Furious 7’ continues the franchise’s surprising resurgence even now at seven films in, a point where most film franchises would face an incredibly severe drop in quality. Justin Lin did not direct this entry and while he did a better job as far as the action is concerned, newcomer James Wan does a solid-enough job in his place. Sure the plot is jumbled as hell and the main villain (played by Jason Statham) is a bit underused (his frequent appearances actually make the MacGuffin of the film irrelevant), but at this point who goes into a ‘Fast and Furious’ film expecting Oscar-worthy writing? This film delivers exactly what you’d expect from the series; insane stunts that defy all physics and logic and the strong camaraderie of the series’ ensemble cast. It’ll be interesting to see how this series will continue in the wake of Paul Walker’s death but at the moment, ‘Furious 7’ continues the series’ solid post-2011 run, something that I’m for certain that no one expected from a franchise that was originally just about street racing.

ENTOURAGE

I think it’s safe to say that ‘Entourage’ was one of HBO’s biggest shows during its run in the 2000s. But when the film was coming out, I found that there was a lot of surprisingly heavy vitriol against it by a lot of people on the internet. Maybe it’s because it, like the series, can be a little misogynistic at times through the fact that it mainly revolves around a group of guys and most of the women in the film are mostly ‘sex objects’. But despite that, I’m just going to say it… I had a blast watching this film, hell more so than ‘Mad Max’ (yeah, I said it). This was a film that I was actually really looking forward to when the first trailer came out, so much so that when I got a free 1-month subscription for the new HBO streaming service HBO Now, I binge-watched about 2 and a quarter seasons of the show in preparation for the film. And while that does mean that I haven’t watched the entire show, that doesn’t mean that the film is completely inaccessible to general newcomers of the series. Still, I would recommend at least watching a few episodes first before seeing the film just so that you can be familiar with the world and the characters. All in all, ‘Entourage’ was a really fun, and pretty funny, film that is meant to be seen with a crowd and, more importantly, your own ‘Entourage’.

JURASSIC WORLD

‘Jurassic World’ is by no means the smartest sci-fi film ever written. But really, what do you expect from a series that is all about scientists recreating dinosaurs through animal DNA? ‘Jurassic World’ is just a super fun and entertaining summer blockbuster and those are exactly the kind of films that I love to watch. It may not be the absolute best film of the year but it does its job in delivering exactly what we want; awesome dinosaur-related action with quite frankly some of the most epic deaths in franchise history. ‘Jurassic World’ also succeeds through its subtle homages to the original ‘Jurassic Park’, and while it may not be ‘as good’ as the original film, it at least manages to recapture a good enough amount of the awe and wonder of that film and repackage it for a new generation. Like with every entry in the series, yes even the first in some cases, there are quite a few underdeveloped characters, including a so-called ‘human’ villain played by Vincent D’Onofrio that doesn’t actually do anything ‘villainous’, which is a bit disappointing given D’Onofrio’s recent turn as Wilson Fisk in ‘Daredevil’. But despite that, the four main leads are pretty darn solid. That includes Chris Pratt, who once again proves himself to be one of the best new leading men in Hollywood, Bryce Dallas Howard, whose character ends up being a pretty badass female lead despite her initial seemingly stiff demeanor and the strange backlash towards the decision to have her wear heels the whole time (one of the most trivial film complaints of all time, which given the internet is saying something), and Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson as a pair of brothers who end up in the midst of all of the chaos. I’m happy to see that this film is doing so well at the box office, more so than anyone expected. This truly is an ‘event’ movie in the veins of films like ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Harry Potter’.

TOP 5

5. KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE

Starting with ‘Casino Royale’, the James Bond franchise has moved away from its more campy and over-the-top past installments. Director Matthew Vaughn’s ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ is basically the modern-day old-school Bond film with its incredibly over-the-top and insane action sequences and its self-aware tone. And the end result is one of the slickest action films of the year, with stand-out sequences including the all-out brawl in a church and one of the most epic explosion sequences of all-time. Sure the violence get a bit brutal at times and the final shot of the film, though I do understand the homage Vaughn went for, goes just a bit too far but overall the film still succeeds in capturing the feel of the old-school Bond films of the pre-‘Casino Royale’ era pretty damn well. And to top it all off, the film has a dynamite ensemble cast with the biggest standouts being Colin Firth, in his first major leading role in an action film, and Taron Egerton, one of 2015’s biggest newcomers who manages to hold his own against not just Firth but other acting heavyweights like Michael Caine and Samuel L. Jackson. ‘Kingsman’ is just straight-up fun, once again showcasing Vaughn’s talents as a director, hence why he’s easily one of the best directors working today.

4. THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Marvel Studios’ fantastic run with the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues with the second ‘Avengers’ film, ‘Age of Ultron’. Now is it as good as the first film? Well, to be honest, not really but I don’t hold that against the film. Instead, ‘Age of Ultron’ succeeds at being another truly epic superhero flick from Marvel Studios featuring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The stakes may be higher than they were in the first ‘Avengers’ but director Joss Whedon still gives the film the same style of humor and fun that the entire MCU has been known for, which is why I heavily prefer Marvel films over the ‘way too f***ing dark’ DC films. Ultron, played by the badass James Spader, is another excellent MCU villain, primarily due to the fact that he’s actually a much funnier villain than I think we all were expecting. The new additions to the cast (Scarlet Witch, the second major on-screen iteration of Quicksilver in two years, and of course Vision) are great and, yes, I liked the whole ‘Black Widow-Hulk’ romance that has been a major source of controversy amongst feminists to the point where many people online even sent Whedon death threats (sigh). Now I’ve seen many people say that the film is a bit overcrowded given all of the characters that are in it. And while it’s true that there are quite a lot of characters in this film to keep track of, I don’t think it’s as big of an issue as people say because A.) like the first ‘Avengers’, Whedon manages to balance out these roles pretty well and B.) as we all know, the MCU has already established many of these characters, which is a much smarter move than just cramming them all into one film without previously introducing them first in other films (I’m looking at you, ‘Batman v. Superman’). So in short, while I can’t say that ‘Age of Ultron’ is the absolutely ‘best’ installment of the MCU, it’s still a top-tier entry in this great franchise.

3. INSIDE OUT

As I stated in my original review for this film, I’m not one of those people who feel that Pixar went downhill after ‘Toy Story 3’. Sure, their next three films were nowhere near their best work but they had their own unique good qualities to them that at least made them enjoyable for kids (though I’d argue ‘Monsters University’ is actually quite underrated). But of course, when it comes to Pixar, many expect their films to appeal to both kids and adults, in the case of the latter due to their strong writing and great characters. And that is why ‘Inside Out’ is the best Pixar film since ‘Toy Story 3’. Of course like with any Pixar film, the animation is superb and it produces lots of colorful and imaginative imagery. The film’s voice cast is perfect and there’s definitely a lot of funny moments/dialogue throughout. But the film also succeeds with its execution of its creative premise, effectively capturing life experiences that all of us can relate to in some way, like moving to a new city and being the new kid at school. And let me tell you, if you don’t get teary-eyed at least once during this film, then there may be something wrong with you. ‘Inside Out’ is easily not only the best animated film of the year so far, but also one of the best films so far this year period. After some arguable missteps, Pixar finally delivers another home run to go alongside their many other animated classics.

2. TOMORROWLAND

Nothing saddens me more this year than the fact that this film has been a serious under-performer at the box office, having just recently only making its budget back. It probably has something to do with the fact that critics weren’t as kind towards it either. But this is one case where I seriously disagree with the critical reception for a film. Under the excellent direction of Brad Bird, ‘Tomorrowland’ is a bold, imaginative, and most of all inspiring original story that above all else promotes the one thing that I feel that has been severely lacking in today’s society; hope. This film is for those who ‘dare to dream’, who ‘never give up’. And it does this all without being preachy. Sure, some critics have accused the film of being just that, preachy, but if you ask me that just makes the message even stronger by showcasing how cynical our society has gotten in the last few years. Now the big point of controversy about this film is in regards to this ending and, without giving anything major away, while I’m not saying that it is a ‘great’ ending, at the same time I really don’t see why it’s ‘as bad’ as some people are putting it out to be. With amazing visuals (made even more impressive on IMAX screens), a terrific cast highlighted by Britt Robertson and Raffey Cassidy as two of the absolute best on-screen heroines of the year (even better than everyone's favorite's, Furiosa), and above all else a good old-fashioned sense of fun and adventure, ‘Tomorrowland’ seriously deserves much greater attention than what it’s currently getting. Hopefully it ends up the same way as Bird’s first film, ‘The Iron Giant’, in that it ends up getting the acclaim it deserves down the road despite its less-than-stellar debut.  

1. CINDERELLA

Yes folks, my Top 4 films of the year so far were all released by Disney (that includes ‘Age of Ultron’ due to Disney owning Marvel). And I don’t care if that makes me look like a big Disney fan boy. Disney’s just been having a phenomenal year… well, considering the box-office performance of ‘Tomorrowland’, I say that more in regards to the quality of their films to be precise. And right now, my favorite film of 2015 so far is Kenneth Branagh’s new take on the classic story of ‘Cinderella’, previously brought to the big screen by Disney in 1950. This is one of the most beautiful films that I’ve seen in my entire life, both inside and out. The film’s visual look and production/costume design are superb and will hopefully attract some awards attention later this year. But the film, like ‘Tomorrowland’, also succeeds because of its heart and strong messages, which in this case are to ‘have courage and be kind’ and that true beauty is on the inside. Just like how ‘Tomorrowland’s message rings true about today’s society, the messages in ‘Cinderella’ are damn good life lessons to live by in the cynical world that we live in today.

And despite what some feminists on the internet may claim (which, if you haven’t already noticed from some of the things I pointed out earlier in this post, is becoming quite a running trend this year given the backlash towards other films like ‘Age of Ultron’ and ‘Jurassic World’), this version of Cinderella (portrayed perfectly by Lily James) is a phenomenal female lead. Her courage, her control over her own destiny, and her sweet persona shine through against the arguments that she’s just a ‘passive’ protagonist who just gets rescued at the end by the Prince. And on that note, the other great thing about this film is that while it may primarily be a re-telling of the original Disney animated film, it does just enough to feel different while also improving on many of the now dated elements of that film. Whereas I was incredibly saddened by the box-office failure and middling critical reception of ‘Tomorrowland’, I was so happy to see this film do well with both critics and audiences. This new ‘Cinderella’ truly is one of the best films that I’ve seen in quite a long time and while I’ve seen quite a few cynics complain about Disney’s upcoming lineup of live-action adaptations of their classic animated films, this film, if anything, proves that they can be good.

So that’s what 2015 has been like for me so far. We still got plenty more films on the way so stay tuned to see if any of these current Top 5 films will end up in my end-of-the-year Top 12 list.

2015 Preview: February

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s year-long preview of the films that are set to come out in 2015. This is Part 2 of 12 and today we’ll be looking at the films that will be hitting theaters this February. Now that we’ve gotten out of the ‘dead month’ of Hollywood known as January, I believe that we’ll have plenty more noteworthy films to talk about this month than we did last month. We’re still a few months away from the Summer Blockbusters but hey, who knows? There may be some gems amongst this month’s lineup. So let’s get started as we look into the films of February.

FEBRUARY 6- The month starts off with three new releases the first weekend, two of which finally see a release after both were pushed back from previous release dates.

*After being pushed back from its original July 2014 release date in order for there to be more time for post-production work, the Wachowskis’ latest film, ‘Jupiter Ascending’, finally comes out. Mila Kunis stars as the titular Jupiter, a young woman from Earth who learns that she has the same genetic signature of a powerful alien dynasty that controls the planet and that she is an heir to the throne. But when one of the other potential heirs, Balem (Eddie Redmayne), puts out a bounty for her, a genetically engineered hunter by the name of Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) comes to her aid to protect her. The film also stars Sean Bean and Douglas Booth.

*The other major ‘finally getting released’ film this weekend is ‘Seventh Son’, which got pushed back multiple times mainly due to the film’s production company Legendary Pictures signing a new contract with Universal last year after having worked with Warner Bros. since 2005. Based on the book ‘The Spook’s Apprentice’ by Joseph Delaney (the first book in the ‘Wardstone Chronicles’ series), the film centers on a young man Tom Ward (Ben Barnes) who learns that he is the ‘seventh son of a seventh son’ which grants him special powers as he becomes the apprentice of a Spook (Jeff Bridges), who trains him in the art of fighting supernatural evil. The film also stars Julianne Moore, Kit Harington, and Djimon Hounsou.

*More than a decade after the release of its previous film, the hit Nick TV show ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ returns to the big screen with ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water’. In this film, SpongeBob and his friends find themselves having to travel to the surface, where they acquire superpowers, when a pirate by the name of Burger-Beard (Antonio Banderas) steals the Krabby Patty formula.

FEBRUARY 13- One of the most talked about films of the year comes out around a ‘fitting’ time (Valentine’s Day Weekend, though I use the term fitting loosely) along with the latest from director Matthew Vaughn.

*Based off of the first entry in the best-selling erotic romance book series, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, centers on a young literature student named Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) who falls in love with wealthy business magnate Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) after first meeting him during an interview. As they grow closer, Anastasia soon learns of Christian’s ‘tastes’ (BDSM, for the record, in case any of you haven’t heard of the book).

*Director Matthew Vaughn takes on his second major adaptation of a Mark Millar comic (following 2010’s ‘Kick-Ass’) with ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’. Colin Firth stars as a veteran secret agent who recruits a young juvenile delinquent (Taron Egerton) into the Secret Service. The film also stars Michael Caine, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mark Strong.

FEBRUARY 20- Two comedies and a sports drama come out this weekend.

*In ‘The DUFF’, based on the book of the same name by Kody Keplinger, a high-school senior initiates a new social pecking order after learning that she has been deemed ‘fat’ and ‘ugly’ by her more popular friends. The film’s cast includes Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell (Firestorm from ‘Flash’), and Mae Whitman.

*The sequel to the 2010 comedy ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’, the main cast (save for John Cusack, who is replaced here by Adam Scott) returns for ‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’, in which friends Nick and Jacob (Craig Robinson and Clark Duke, respectively) use the same hot tub time-traveling machine that previously sent them and their friends back in time to the 80’s to go back in time when their friend Lou (Rob Corddry) gets shot. However, they end up going a decade into the future instead.

*Disney’s newest true story sports drama, ‘McFarland, USA’, is based on the true story of a Latino cross-country team from McFarland, California who overcame numerous social issues in the 1980’s to achieve championship glory. Kevin Costner stars as the team’s coach.

FEBRUARY 27- Finally we have a Will Smith comedy and a new horror film from Blumhouse Productions coming out to close the month.

*Will Smith and Margot Robbie star in ‘Focus’, directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. Smith stars as a seasoned con-man who recruits, and becomes romantically involved with, a young woman (Robbie) into the business. But soon they start to come into conflict with each other when the woman becomes involved with a billionaire (Rodrigo Santoro (‘300’)) who Smith’s character is planning to steal from.

*Finally we have the newest film from producer Jason Blum, ‘The Lazarus Effect’, which centers on a team of medical professionals who discover a way to bring the deceased back to life via a serum known as ‘Lazarus’. They first use it on a human when one of their own (played by Olivia Wilde) dies in a lab accident but soon they start to experience some trouble once she starts acting strange. 

    

And those are the films that will be hitting theaters this February. Check back next month for Part 3 of this Year-Long preview as we’ll be looking at the films coming out this March.