2024 was a rough year at the movies. With only one Marvel movie all year (Deadpool and Wolverine,) and instead a slew of Sony Spider-man-less movies (Madame Web, Venom 3, and Kraven the Hunter,) just the superhero movie situation alone was a disaster.
When two of the better movies of the summer, and even of the year, The Fall Guy and Furiosa, came out at the very start of the summer and were both giant box office bombs, you knew there was a problem. And the fact that now the Oscar movies are upon us and one looks more boring than the next (the Brutalist? Conclave?) there doesn’t seem to be any sort of silver lining to end the year.
In fact the one thing positive in all this is that that dreadful year is over, and a new year has begun. And with the new year comes new promises and new hope. This time, for example, it is Marvel that has three superhero films being released and not Sony. This year we have a Mission Impossible movie and a John Wick movie (kind of… Ballerina, a spinoff from John Wick, taking place in the same world, and most likely to feature very similar content.) I remember when it used to be Bond and Bourne and Mission Impossible. The spy movie action franchises that just kept on going. It’s nice to have that back, at least in some capacity.
So let’s get started with talking about the new year ahead and the new slate of movies…
Captain America: Brave New World (Feb 14th)
While January is pretty much a dead zone, we do get our first Marvel movie as early as February. That’s pretty smart of Marvel, spacing out the playing field for their films, so that there’s a good amount of time between each one of them. And what’s also smart is that they’ve been showing us Red Hulk in the trailers. Without that, it’s just a Falcon movie, and we’ve already seen a Disney Plus show featuring Falcon (which was not very good.) But having the Red Hulk here gives it some serious bite. Plus there’s the promise of featuring The Leader (played by Tim Blake Nelson,) which is something that has been in the works since the very earliest days of Marvel, with the Ed Norton Incredible Hulk movie. Let’s hope this Captain America movie delivers.
Mickey 17 (March 7)
Here’s the thing. This Robert Pattinson sci-fi movie looks just like another movie that came out fifteen years earlier. Moon, starring Sam Rockwell. Moon was a pretty great film where the protagonist didn’t know the secret (and neither did we,) about who or what he was. The difference here is that it seems like the Pattinson character does know. He keeps dying over and over again and coming back as a clone. It definitely sounds interesting, even if it turns out to be as simple as one version of the character decides he doesn’t want to die, and takes on the system… the company that built and hired him, as he fights to survive. What definitely adds to it is that this is from Bong Joon Ho, writer-director of Parasite. He’s also the guy that made Snowpiercer. Like him or hate him, his movies are definitely unique. So most likely this one won’t just be another Moon, but will take a turn into the unexpected.
Snow White (March 21)
Here’s why I’m interested in this one..it’s a take on the story that apparently is not a love story. At all. The song, “Some Day My Prince Will Come,” is gone. So is the Prince who who finds and rescues Snow White. So instead of that, what is it? A story about an evil Queen who tries killing the “fairest of them all,” in multiple ways, I suppose. It’s a musical, packed with new songs, which is probably not a good thing. I’m not expecting much here, so it won’t be hard to beat my expectations, considering they’re so low.
Gal Gadot, Rachel Ziegler, CGI dwarves
Thunderbolts (May 2nd)
In May we get our second Marvel movie of the year. It’s a film that sort of combines all of the forgotten characters from other Marvel films. The ones that were never good enough to have their own movies or Tv shows. But now here they are, all hurled together, working as one unit. I suppose the idea is that this team is sort of a grounded version of the Guardians of the Galaxy, a band of misfits each with very different abilities. As much as I want to like this, it’s hard to get behind this one. The actors seem more like TV stars than movie stars. But we all second guessed the first Guardians movie before it came out, and look at what ended up happening with that one. So let’s just see. It’s either a one-off strange Marvel experiment (like the Eternals,) or the start of a new series (like Guardians.)
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (May 23)
Mission Impossible might be the longest running franchise to this date, thst has stayed consistently relevant throughout the years. What that means is, sure there are sequels that go back to films that are older than Mission Impossible (the first movie was in 1996.) For example, Tom Cruise’s Top Gun. But the Mission Impossible movies never took a break. They’ve been tutjjng out a new movie, every couple of years, for nearly three decades. Regarding how good they are, each movie is fun, but they’ve also kind of been petering out. The last one (Dead Reckoning,) was certainly one of the lousier ones. And this newest film, The Final Reckoning. Is certainly being advertised like it’s the last (then again, there was Indians Jones and the Last Crusade, which was followed by two more sequels.) Hopefully this one is better than the last, and Cruise can ride off into the sunset on a high note.
Karate Kid Legends (May 30th)
As a huge fan of Cobra Kai, the Netflix series that brought life back to these characters and this franchise in a very different and creative way, I’m on board. That being said, this is not Cobra Kai. In fact, most likely Ralph Machio is the only character from that show appearing here. Instead of William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence, Machios costar here is Jackie Chan. You see, after the Machio- Mr Mayagi Karate Kid movies, Jackie Chan started in a remake. Now Chan, of course, is a legendary Chinese action star. But Karate Kid is not his series. So this movie seems like it’s really just an opportunity to put Machio and Chan together in this world. Let’s hope it has a little more up its sleeve.
Ballerina (June 6th)
The next iteration of the John Wick series. This one isn’t directed by Chad Stayelski (like all four John Wick movies are,) and that’s a big deal, because if it was directed by him, we’d be all on board in an instant, thinking it’s going to have the same flavor, energy, creativity, and stunt work. But it’s not. It’s directed byLen Wiseman (Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard,) And there is a positive note to having it directed by him. Wiseman has been out of the game for sometime and needs to prove himself again. The best way to do this, in this Wick universe, is to make a movie just like the others. Hopefully, that’s what this movie is.
Elio (June 13th)
Say what you want about Disney or Pixar movies (like that they’re just for kids,) but most of them are pretty creative. Especially the original films, that aren’t sequels. That seems to be the case with Elio, a movie about a boy who gets beamed to an alien planet, where is mistaken by the beings there as the leader of earth. It’s kind of cool that this is about all the information we have. Basically a longline. And it definitely sounds interesting.
F1 (June 27th)
It’s Brad Pitt in a formula one racing movie. Pitt is a movie star who doesn’t make a whole lot of movies these days. He had Wolfs this past year, and then nothing the year before. F1 is his only project slated for 2025. And it’s directed by Joseph Kosinski, the man who gave us Top Gun Maverick, and is still riding the high of that movie. But let’s be honest… that movie was all Tom Cruise, as it was his passion project for decades. Still Kosinski is a good director in his own right, having made movies like Tron Legacy and Oblivion. If this was a sci-fi movie, like those, I might be a little more excited, (then again, Pitt did have a sci-fi movie like those, Ad Astra, and it wasn’t very good.) Basically, this movie should be like a modern Days of Thunder (Tom Cruise movie that he made right around the same time as Top Gun,) only with an aging star. It will be okay, if you like that genre of sports movie meets drama, kind of like Pitt’s movie Moneyball.
Jurassic World: Rebirth (July 2nd)
Here’s the thing, these movies haven’t been good in a long long while. In fact, really only the original film and I suppose the relaunching film, Jurassic World, were good. Other than those, it seems like they try to do the same thing again and again with every movie. They need to find ways to get creative. This new one no longer stars Chris Pratt. Instead, its stars are Scarlet Johansson and two time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali. It is directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla, Rogue One, The Creator.) There’s enough there, on the table, to think it might be decent or at least has potential. But these movies have burned us before, time and time again, so there’s also plenty to be doubtful about.
Superman (July 11th)
On the one hand, I’m excited to see what James Gunn does with Superman. And if there’s any hope of DC getting back into the superhero movie game, it’s with this movie. This isn’t just the relaunching of Superman, it’s the relaunching of a new era of DC movies. A whole new slate. But on the other hand, I’m still kind of sad about how poorly handled the last iteration was. Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Affleck as Batman were both really good. Affleck should have got his own Batman movie. The one he wrote and was planning to direct. But there’s no point of dwelling on the past. If Affleck made that movie, maybe it would have sucked, and we definitely would not have gotten the fantastic Matt Reeves – Robert Pattinson film, The Batman. So now to get back to Gunn’s Superman for a moment, Gunn is a smart guy. He always finds a way to get his tone and humor in. Just look at what he dud with both Guardians and The Suicide Squad. And now he’s the boss of the studio, so has even more free rein. So most likely this new Superman will be a pretty good film.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (July 18th)
is there really much to talk about here? The first movie was a knock off of the Scream franchise. Not that these teens were obsessed with movie tropes, like the teens in Scream, but the genre and tone were the same. And it wasn’t even all that good. The I Know What sequel was even worse. Much worse. But this movie is going for the decades later, nostalgia element. It’s got the original two cast members back (Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddy Prince Junior.) Hey, if Neve Campbell’s still making Scream movies then why can’t these two do the same thing? Just don’t count on this movie being very good.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25th)
This is the one. This is the movie to be most excited about. Granted, director Matt Shakman doesn’t have much of a proven track record (all he has really done is Wanda-Vision,) but considering that was probably the best of the MCU shows, and they certainly had a lot of chances to top it since, he’s a fine choice to make this film. And based on the trailer alone, the movie looks pretty good. The sixties time period in an alternate reality with futuristic gizmos such as a flying car and house robot, seem like it will be a fun sandbox to play in. The realization of the Thing looks great. I’m not thrilled to hear there’s a female Silver Surfer (why couldn’t they just give us the version we all love?) But what they do have is Galactus. Maybe even Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom. So this one sure does have a lot going for it!
The Naked Gun (Aug 1st)
It’s Liam Neeson taking on the role of Frank Drebin (the character’s name is Frank Drebin Jr., so I suppose he’s probably playing the son of the classic Leslie Nielsen character.) The original three movies in this series were a lot of fun. Especially the very first film. And considering this movie is directed by Akiva Shaffer of The Lonely Island (he directed Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and Chip N Dale: Rescue Rangers, both very funny movies,) it’s got a good chance of bringing funny. Aside from Neeson in the cast, we’ve also got Paul Walter Hauser, (Richard Jewel, Cobra Kai,) who is always a nice addition to any project. I expect this one to be a lot of fun.
Nobody 2 (Aug 15th)
The first Nobody may have been a lesser version of the John Wick films, (retired former agent or assassin regretfully being brought back into the game, when criminals come after his suburban life and target his family,) but it was still pretty cool. Bob Odenkirk is an enjoyable actor to follow, and the action was a blast. It felt like the type of movie we used to get, about two decades ago, ( with movies like Clive Owen’s Shoot Em Up,) but tiny really get anymore. Hopefully the sequel can give us more of the same.
Tron:Ares (Oct 10th)
I’m still waiting for a great Tron movie. The potential is definitely there. Set in a very cool, fantastic-looking futuristic world, there’s no reason these movie can’t be great. And while the first movie was pretty lousy (it was made in the eighties, when the effects just weren’t there,) the second movie took things to the next level. Tron: Legacy was great for a while… until it wasn’t. At some point it just couldn’t get over the hump and deliver on the second half like it did on the first. That being said, it was still kind of cool and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with the next installment.
Mortal Kombat 2 (Oct 24th)
Most people look down on the first movie and criticize it for what it wasn’t. I like to look at it for what it was. The things people don’t like weren’t mistakes. They were intentional setups for the next film . People complained because the movie didn’t actually feature the tournament. Instead, it was about the path leading up to the tournament. But there was also plenty of action to go around. And there was plenty of story. The fact that that movie left so much out, for the next movie to take on, just makes us psyched for the next movie. The other big complaint was that Johnny Cage, a fan favorite character, wasn’t in the first movie, and instead a new character, named Cole, was featured. The good news… they were saving Cage for this next movie. And he’s up front and center (played by Karl Urban from the Boys,) headlining the new film. So there’s plenty of potential here, and this is one I’m definitely looking forward to.
The Running Man (Nov 7th)
The Arnold Schwarzenegger first version of the movie was pretty good. It was about a sadistic gameshow where characters hashi fight to the death in order to try to survive against larger than life, wrestling-like opponents. Think of it like Escape From New York meets The Hunger Games. Well, now this reboot version is directed by the great Edgar Wright. As a filmmaker, he proved himself with the Cornetto trilogy (especially Hot Fuzz,) and then proved it wasn’t a fluke when he made Baby Driver. Wright clearly has talent. And the action-comedy genre is where he excels. This movie will star man of the hour, Glen Powell, and it should be pretty great.
Wicked: For Good (Nov 21st)
The first Wicked movie was good, but not great. The atmosphere and artistry were sensational, but the story itself was just okay. The best parts were the connections to the Wizard if Oz… the way you could see the foundation being laid for that classic film. With the sequel, we will mist Lin we it see a lot more of that. By the end of the first movie, a whole lot has been put into place as far as Elfaba, the Wicked Witch, and what dude she’s on. This next movie is poised perfectly in place to take the reins from where things were left off and run with them. Should be pretty cool.
Zootopia 2 (Nov 26th)
Zootopia was pretty great. The two leads, a rabbit and a fox, were perfectly voice cast, with Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin. The mystery story angle really delivered. So if this sequel does any of the same things, and just continues with the momentum of the first movie, then I’m on board. Sequels generally aren’t easy to pull off, and recapturing the magic in the bottle is pretty tough, so I’m definitely holding my breath, and at least the pieces are already there, the blueprint is in place, and it all looks good.,
Avatar: Fire and Ash (Dec 19th)
I may be the only one who severely disliked Avatar: The Way of Water. And yet I’m still interested in this next movie. Slightly. James Cameron is a master storyteller, there’s no question about that. And as much as I disliked the second movie, I did enjoy the first film quite a bit. The world was cool, rye ideas were cool, and the action was fantastic. Now let’s see what this third movie is all about. Instead of water and the oceans, seems like we’re trading them in for volcanoes, fire, and lava. That’s about all we can tell so far, but it’s enough to get us intrigued.