Back in July, I took an early look at the movies of 2017. Now that the list is somewhat more cemented, I'm taking a bit of a closer look. I'm also dropping Wonder Woman, Uncharted, and Justice League from the list because honestly, who cares?
- February 3 - The Space Between Us - This movie sounds very interesting, but I'm not sure I want to see it in the theater. I might have to wait and rent the film once it's out on video.
A group of astronauts go on a mission to colonize Mars. After they land on Mars, one of the astronauts discovers she's pregnant. She gives birth to a boy, but dies from complications. Sixteen years later, her son, Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield), is now a teenager who has lived his entire life on Mars, raised by the remaining astronauts. He wants to find his father, whom his mother never named, so he uses the Internet to communicate with Tulsa (Britt Robertson), a teenage girl who lives in Colorado. When Gardner and the astronauts return to Earth, he begins exploring in order to find his father, but discovers his organs aren't used to the Earth's atmosphere. He's placed in a medical facility but breaks out, finds Tulsa and they go on the run.
- March 3rd - Logan - Another Wolverine movie, but this one has Patrick Stewart, which is a big plus. Blah blah blah save the little girl. Yeah, I'll rent it.
- March 10th - Kong: Skull Island - Strikes me as a bit of a cash-in on the King Kong license. But it's got Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman, John C Reilly, and Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson. I probably wouldn't have even rented it if not for the good cast.
- March 31 - Ghost in the Shell - It seems like everyone and their nerdy uncle has been waiting forever for a live-action adaptation of this movie. And having Scarlett Johannsen play the lead is no doubt making anime fans everywhere very happy. I think I saw the cartoon once a loong time ago, but it obviously didn't impress me. I'll likely rent it nonetheless.
- April 28 - The Circle - After reading the synopsys of the novel this movie is based on, I think I may have to read the book before the movie even comes out. It sounds awesome. It's essentially speculative fiction about the disappearance of privacy. And the cast is also excellent: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Patton Oswalt, and Bill Paxton!
- May 5th - Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 - Yes, please.
- May 19th - Alien: Covenant - I'll have to rent this one. Prometheus was underwhelming.
- July 7 - Spiderman: Homecoming - Although I'm excited for what will likely be the best Spider-man movie we've seen, the trailer is making me feel that perhaps it won't be quite as good as what we've come to expect from Marvel movies. Expectations: lowered.
- July 14 - War For the Planet of the Apes - The first movie in this trilogy was promising, and the second one a bit boring. I'm not expecting much from the third. I suppose I'll rent it... eventually.
- July 21 - Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - I've got no idea whether this film will be any good. But it certainly looks interesting. According to Wikipedia,
the core theme of the stories is an optimistic liberal humanism: the adventures are not about defeating enemies but about exploring, facing challenges, and celebrating diversity.
Sounds very Star Trek. I'm on board.
- July 28 - The Dark Tower - I've never been a huge fan of this series, but I know some people who are. As such, I'll likely only rent it if I hear really good reviews.
- September 8 - It - It will be hard to match Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise, but I'm guessing this film will go all-out horror and thus have a slightly different (less campy) vibe than the original.
- October 6 - Blade Runner 2049 - I know lots of people are stoked for this, but I was never the biggest fan of the original Blade Runner. I'll probably rent it.
- October 10 - Geostorm - This film looks terrible. But my wife and I have somehow become big fans of disaster movies. We almost certainly won't see it in the theater. But we'll see it.
- October 27 - The God Particle - First Cloverfield. Then 10 Cloverfield Lane. Then this.
A team of astronauts aboard a space station find themselves alone after a scientific experiment causes Earth to disappear. When a space shuttle appears, the space station crew must fight for survival following their horrible discovery.
I think I'm going to have to see this one. I'll do the theater if I can.
- November 3 - Thor: Ragnarok - I'm all-in for this Thor/Hulk buddy movie.
- December 15 - Star Wars 8 - It's Star Wars, of course I'll see it. As much as the first in this trilogy followed the general arc of New Hope, this one should hopefully be the best of this new trilogy, and probably hold some huge revelation at the end.