- All the Money in the World
- Coco
- Darkest Hour
- I, Tonya
- Lady Bird
- The Breadwinner
- The Post
- The Shape of Water
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
That being said, on we go!
Honourable Mention: Ocean's 8
Look, say what you will about the recent onslaught of female-driven remakes such as Ghostbusters, but giving women the power is something that the film industry has been desperately been needing to do for years, and as proven by the massive success of Wonder Woman (regardless of what you actually made of the film) there's clearly a calling for more of these films. This is where Ocean's 8 comes in, with a change to the usual formula for this series by shrinking the group down from 11 to 8 (is this a commentary on the female page wage being less than men's or because they can do more with less? We can only wait and see) and with a solid looking first trailer a few weeks back. Why honourable? Because while it looks solid, I'm not too excited about it yet. Yet.
#10: Early Man
Last year this slot went to the brilliant Paddington 2, and this year it's another British children's staple with Aardman Animations and Nick Park, the brains behind Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit. You don't get many Stone Age-based movies, but this children's comedy about cavemen going against a new age is a solid premise, and with Eddie Redmayne and a strange-sounding Tom Hiddleston in lead roles, this could be a big hit and yet another win for the little stop-motion company that could.
#9: A Wrinkle in Time
Ava DuVernay has proven herself to be one of the most aspirational directors out there, with both Selma and Netflix documentary 13th garnering massive critical reviews and growing in importance consistently, so Disney giving not only one of the more complex-looking movies but also one of the inventive makes this adaptation all the more stimulating. Plus she seems to have full control over what's going on, and from a mega-corporation like Disney, that's excellent.
#8: First Man
Every year I've done this look ahead of the next year, a Damien Chazelle film has made the cut. Largely because I've only done this twice before and La La Land was pushed back to 2017 in the UK, but I digress: the guy's clearly a talent, as between that and Whiplash he's made a name for himself that few have managed to do before so quickly. And with this Neil Armstrong biopic, he may finally shut people up who complain that he only makes films about jazz. Plus it's Ryan Gosling, who is really at a career high right now between La La Land, Blade Runner 2049, and The Nice Guys.
#7: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Surely we should be suffering from Spider-Man fatigue by this point? I mean, this will be his ninth cinematic venture after Avengers: Infinity War, which puts in right on par for when Batman got his own animated mov- ohhhhh, I see you Sony! Following in the footsteps of LEGO Batman and releasing an animated movie that takes the character in a new way, and even bringing in LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller to helm this new iteration. Luckily for the often terrible Sony Animation division (*cough* The Emoji Movie *cough*), this does look to be a genuinely good movie, with the recent teaser looking gorgeous and presenting an interesting aesthetic to it all. Plus, we're finally getting Miles Morales in a movie, and that's taken far too long.
#6: Ready Player One
Ignoring the hilarity that is Tye Sheridan's abnormally long leg in the recent poster, this Spielberg-helmed nerdfest is set to be a massive deal, and the trailers have been really honing it in with all the pop culture references that this adaptation is filled with. But overlooking the exciting thoughts of the Iron Giant and Freddy Krueger being in the same movie, this is nonetheless looking to be a solid blockbuster. Plus Olivia Cooke is in, so bonus points there.
#5: Black Panther
Black Panther is Marvel Studios' first non-white male-led movie and they're truly going all out with it. Already cementing the titular character's popularity with an origin within Captain America: Civil War and clearly set to be an important aspect of Infinity War, Marvel is basing a lot of the attention of this new-looking movie in their rich and somewhat formulaic universe and giving it some true diversity. February can't come soon enough.
#4: Isle of Dogs
In recent years, it appears that Wes Anderson can do no wrong. Between his massive awards success with The Grand Budapest Hotel and the charming Moonrise Kingdom (plus that one H&M advert with Adrien Brody), he's only growing in popularity. But here he returns to a previously successful venture (Fantastic Mr Fox) and bringing in an original story with yet another all-star cast of prestige actors. The story is intriguing, the animation beautiful, and the very idea of sitting down to a new Anderson film is enough to get me excited.
#3: Deadpool 2
Deadpool was somehow one of the biggest hits of 2016, something that could never have been expected back when that first little bit of test footage leaked online. And here we are, highly anticipating the next entry in an unlikely franchise. And with John Wick director David Leitch taking over this film does look a lot better, not to mention really going in with the jokes (that Bob Ross teaser was utter hilarity), this looks to be an improvement on the last one. Let's just hope it delivers.
#2: Incredibles 2
The Incredibles is my second favourite Pixar movie and possibly second favourite movie period, beaten only by Pixar's previous entry Finding Nemo. Everyone has been wanting a sequel from the original for the past decade and I'm glad Brad Bird waited until he had an actual story in mind before he pulled the trigger and started production, and I'm beyond excited to see what's next for the best superhero family out there. My only gripe is the change in character designs, but considering the large gap between movies and the growth of the medium (hell, I've praised how much better belated sequels Finding Dory. Cars 3 and Monsters University look against their predecessors) it's natural that they'll look a bit weird to start with. It's showtime.
#1: Avengers: Infinity War
This is a film 10 years and 18 movies in the making, and what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building up to. Of course it was going to be number one. Amidst fears of overcrowding and Scarlett Johansson's new blonde look, this is set to be one of the biggest films in years, and the fact that this may still be only part one of a massive arc conclusion is all the more tantalising.
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