Happy new year Movies.ie fans! A new year means lots of new movies to look forward to, and we have taken some time to go through the releases of the year, and pick out the ones we are looking forward to the most!
LOVING
Directed by: Jeff Nichols
Starring: Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton, Chris Greene, Terri Abney
Release Date: February 3rd
When Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred (Ruth Negga) marry in secret before returning to their home in Virginia. In 1950s American however, marriage between a white man and a black woman is not accepted by local authorities, and it is not long before the newly wed Lovings are arrested and ordered to leave the State, not to return for 25 years. The Lovings accept their fate until one of their children in hurt while playing on the street; the ensuing court battle to allow the couple and their children to return home changed US law forever.
PITCH PERFECT 3
Directed by: Trish Sie
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Ruby Rose, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Miley Cyrus
Release Date: December 22nd
The Bellas are back this December! Although few details of the plot have been released just yet, we know that ‘Pitch Perfect 3’ boasts an impressive cast, including the returning actresses Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow, and newcomer Ruby Rose. There are also rumours that pop stars Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus will join the acapella proceedings.
I DON’T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANY MORE
Directed by: Macon Blair
Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, Jane Levy, David Yow, Macon Blair
Release Date: TBD
Cinema fans will know Macon Blair as the star of ‘Blue Ruin’ and collaborator with director Jeremy Saulnier. ‘I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Any More’ marks Blair’s directorial debut, and tells the story of a depressed woman who, after her home is burgled, finds new meaning in life in tracking down the thieves and handing out her own brand of justice.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ruby Rose, Ian McShane, Bridget Moynaham, Peter Stormare
Release Date: February 17th
2014’s ‘John Wick’ saw Keanu Reeves’ career relaunched with a bang, so it is no surprise that the film got a sequel, released later this year. This time out, Wick (Reeves) is forced out of retirement by a former colleague who is trying to take over an international assassin’s guild. Wick is bound by a blood oath to help his friend, so travels to Rome to take on the bad guys once more.
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
Directed by: Chris McKay
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Jenny Slate, Rosario Dawson, Zach Galiafinakis, Will Arnett
Release Date: February 10th
On the back of ‘The Lego Movie’ comes a spin off movie starring everyone’s favourite egotistical Lego superhero; Batman. In ‘The Lego Batman Movie’, Bruce Wayne (Will Arnett) struggles to raise the young boy that he has adopted, while Batman (also Will Arnett) still goes out and fights crime in Gotham City.
T2: TRAINSPOTTING
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Kelly Macdonald, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Ewen Bremner
Release Date: January 27th
20 years after the events of ‘Trainspotting’, which saw Mark Renton (EwanMcGregor) screw over his drug addict friends for the sake of a quick buck, Renton returns to Scotland to make amends with Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Sick Boy Jonny Lee Miller), while doing his best to avoid Begbie (Robert Carlyle), who has just got out of prison, and not forgotten who put him there.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Directed by: Bill Condon
Starring: Emma Watson, Ewan McGregor, Dan Stevens, Like Evans, Emma Thompson
Release Date: March 17th
Disney continues their highly successful run of live action remakes of their classic animated movies with ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Emma Watson takes on the role of Belle, a young woman who makes the choice to imprisoned in a castle with a ferocious Beast (Dan Stevens) in exchange for her father’s freedom. Despite herself, Belle finds herself curious about her surroundings and, as she gets to know him, falling in love with the Beast, whose scary exterior masks a gentle heart.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista
Release Date: April 28th
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’, the sequel to the exhilarating and charming 2014 movie, sees the Guardians team up to the soundtrack of the Awesome Mixtape 2, to solve the mystery of Star-Lord’s (Chris Pratt) true parentage.
LOGAN
Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Doris Morgado
Release Date: March 3rd
In the near future, an ageing Logan (Hugh Jackman) teams up with Professor X (Patrick Stewart) to protect a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) from a organization called Transigen. Logan’s ability to heal is failing, but to protect Laura and Professor X, he wades into battle one final time.
UNTITLED CLOVERFIELD ANTHOLOGY MOVIE
Directed by: Julius Onah
Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Daniel Bruhl, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris O’Dowd, David Oyelowo
Release Date: TBD
With a rumoured title of ‘God Particle’, the third instalment in the ‘Cloverfield’ movie franchise tells the story of a team of astronauts aboard a space station who are horrified and alone when a scientific experiment causes the Earth to disappear. The team find themselves fighting for their lives when a mysterious space shuttle appears alongside them.
WONDER WOMAN
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Robin Wright, Chris Pine, Connie Neilsen, David Thewlis
Release Date: June 2nd
Before the events of ‘Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice’ Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), an Amazon princess, leaves her home of Themyscira after meeting American military pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) to bring about an early end to World War I.
FREE FIRE
Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Jack Reynor, Michael Smiley, Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley
Release Date: March 31st
In 1970s Boston, a group of arms dealers – led by Vernon (Sharlto Copley) – and a group of Irish potential buyers for said arms – led by Frank (Michael Smiley – meet in an abandoned factory to negotiate a deal. This tense powder keg of a meet is set alight when Harry (Jack Reynor) realises that Stevo (Sam Riley), the man he beat up the night before for assaulting his cousin, is working for Frank. The resulting shootout becomes a game of loyalty and survival.
BAYWATCH
Directed by: Seth Gordon
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Pamela Anderson, Alexandra Daddario, Charlotte McKinney
Release Date: May 12th
In this big screen remake of the classic 90s TV series, Dwayne Johnson stars as Mitch Buchannon, the no-nonsense leader of an elite team of lifeguards. When two unlikely people decide to join the lifeguard team, they have to vie for jobs alongside the buff beach bodies who are also in the running.
DUNKIRK
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Harry Styles, Kenneth Brannagh
Release Date: July 21st
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France in the early stages of World War II, are surrounded by German soldiers on the French beach of Dunkirk and take part in a fierce battle, before being evacuated in Operation Dynamo.
HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES
Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Matt Lucas, Stephen Campbell Moore
Release Date: TBD
Based on the short story of the same name by Neil Gaiman, ‘How to Talk to Girls at Parties’ is the story of an alien who, while touring the galaxy, gets separated from her group and ends up in the most dangerous place in the universe; the London suburb of Croydon. Elle Fanning follows her sister Dakota into the world of Neil Gaiman’s stories on the big screen; Dakota voiced the title character in the animated ‘Coraline’.
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
Directed by: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Donald Glover, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr, Michael Keaton
Release Date: July 7th
Tom Holland’s second big screen outing as Spider-Man, but his first in the lead role as the famed web slinger, sees Peter Parker trying to balance his life as a high school student and his new alter ego with the help of his mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr). Of course things don’t go smoothly, and a new threat emerges in the form of The Vulture.
TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT
Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman, John Turturro, Laura Haddock
Release Date: June 23rd
Although we have already had a teaser trailer for ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’, plot details are still sketchy at the moment. What we do know so far is that the film is not only setting up the Bumblebee spinoff film that is in the works, but it will cover many periods throughout history, from King Arthur’s legendary reign to World War II and – presumably – everything in between. We also know that Optimus Prime has apparently gone bad, and the film is due to open up the ‘Transformers’ franchise to a broader mythology. Even though we don’t know much more than this, we can be sure that ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ will be loud, bonkers and tons of fun.
THOR: RAGNAROK
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Tessa Thompson
Release Date: October 27th
The third Thor-centric film was confirmed in January 2014, and brings director Taika Waititi – of ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ and ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ – into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Once again, not much is known about ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ at the moment, but we do know that new heroes and villains will appear in the film, played by Cate Blanchett, Karl Urband and Tessa Thompson, and there are rumours that Jamie Alexander will not reprise her role as Lady Sif due to conflicts with her NBC TC series ‘Blindspot’. All of the ‘Thor’ films so far have been tons of fun, and with Hiddleston, Blanchett and Cumberbatch joining Hemsworth in this outing, we are definitely guaranteed a cinematic treat.
THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Chrlize Theron, Dwayne Johnson, Scott Eastwood, Jason Statham, Vin Diesel
Release Date: April 14th
The first ‘Fast & Furious’ film to be shot since the untimely death of Paul Walker in 2013, sees the crew completely divided after Dom (Vin Diesel) is drawn into a world of crime by the mysterious Cipher (Charlize Theron).
STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Billie Lourd
Release Date: December 15th
Unsurprisingly, since ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ is one of the most highly anticipated films of 2017, Lucas Film and Disney are keeping story details very close to their chests at the moment, but we do know that ‘Episode VIII’ sees Rey (Daisy Ridley) delve further into the new world that she encountered in ‘Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens’, taking her pals Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) along with her for the adventure of a lifetime with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).
Words: Brogen Hayes
There are tons more great films coming up in 2017 – including ‘Survival Family’, ‘Toni Erdmann’ and ‘The Handmaiden’ – which ones are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below…