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Hello and Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all had a wonderful time last night doing whatever you do. Anyways, welcome to my annual most anticipated films of the year list. This is one of my favorite things to do, despite it driving me insane. The 2017 list is incredibly special cause for the first time in this column’s history, there are 50 films on the list. If at least half of these movies deliver, we are in for a real treat. Because the list is so massive, I’ve decided to forgo the usual numerical rankings in favor of an alphabetical list. You’ll still get my empircal equations however telling you why you should be excited.

Top 50 Most Anticipated Films of 2017

American Assassin
Dir: Michael Cuesta
Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Michael Keaton, Sanaa Lathan, Shiva Negar, Taylor Kitsch
Logline: A CIA black ops recruit, Mitch Rapp (O’Brien), is devastated by the loss of his girlfriend to a terrorist attack. CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Lathan) assigns Stan Hurley (Keaton) to train a grief-stricken but highly motivated Rapp how to thwart terrorist operations and hunt the perpetrators. Together they investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on military and civilian targets and discover a pattern in the violence that leads them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Kitsch) intent on starting a world war in the Middle East.
Why: Dylan O’Brien’s rising star + Sanaa Lathan’s solid ability + new spy movie franchise?
Release Date: TBD

Annihilation
Dir: Alex Garland
Starring: Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Oscar Isaac
Logline: A biologist’s (Natalie Portman) husband disappears. She thus puts her name forward for an expedition into an environmental disaster zone, but does not quite find what she’s expecting.
Why: Fascinating and weird book + the director of Ex Machina + some of my fave actresses working
Release Date: TBD

Battle of the Sexes
Dir: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Starring: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Elisabeth Shue, Austin Stowell, Sarah Silverman
Logline: The true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.
Why: Famous moment in sports history + Emma Stone and Steve Carell’s perfect casting
Release Date: TBD

The Book of Henry
Dir: Collin Trevorrow
Starring: Naomi Watts, Lee Pace, Jacob Tremblay, Maddie Ziegler, Dean Norris, Sarah Silverman
Logline: THE BOOK OF HENRY is the story of a single mother raising two boys, one of whom is a genius. After she discovers a book written by her son containing a plan to right a terrible wrong happening next door, she attempts to execute the plan, and in the process discovers new strength as a parent.
Why: Pretty interesting script + Jacob Tremblay + how does Trevorrow follow up Jurassic World?
Release Date: June 16

The Circle
Dir: James Pondsoldt
Starring: Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Patton Oswalt, Bill Paxton
Logline: The Circle follows burgeoning social media executive Mae (Watson) who is encouraged by the tech company founder Eamon Bailey (Hanks) she works for to live her life with complete transparency.
Why: the book was amazing and scary as hell + Watson, Boyega, and Hanks? Yes please
Release Date: April 28

Coco
Dir: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina
Starring: Benjamin Bratt, Gael Garcia Bernal
Longline: The story of Miguel, a 12-year old who has musical ambitions but is deterred by his family. The plot will delve deeper into the reasons why his family frowns upon music, which dates back to his great-great-grandmother Imelda, and the journey he takes to change their minds in the Land of the Dead.
Why: An original Pixar film! + Gael! + Day of the Dead is such a great holiday
Release Date: November 22

Colossal
Dir: Nacho Vigalondo
Starring: Dan Stevens, Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis
Logline: A woman discovers that severe catastrophic events are somehow connected to the mental breakdown from which she’s suffering.
Why: Hathaway is a great actress + unique story (we’re the monsters?)
Release Date: TBD

Come Sunday
Dir: James Marston
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Condola Rashad, Keith Stanfield
Logline: Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why: Juicy church drama meets existential crisis + Chiwetel and Stanfield
Release Date: TBD

A Cure for Wellness
Dir: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth
Logline: An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious “wellness center” at a remote location in the Swiss Alps but soon suspects that the spa’s miraculous treatments are not what they seem.
Why: Gore Verbinski’s incredible track record + looks creepy as fuck + the shot below
Release Date: Feb 17

Darkest Hour
Dir: Joe Wright
Starring: Lily James, Gary Oldman, Ben Mendelsohn, John Hurt, Kristen Scott Thomas
Logline: Winston Churchill leads a charge against Adolf Hitler’s army in the early days of World War II.
Why: Joe Wright is an appointment filmmaker + Oldman as Churchill should be fascinating + leftover love from The Crown
Release Date: November 24

The Death of Stalin
Dir: Armando Iannucci
Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Rupert Friend, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Isaacs, Simon Russell Beale
Logline: Follows the Soviet dictator’s last days and depicts the chaos of the regime after his death.
Why: Iannucci’s acidic sense of humor + a really interesting cast
Release Date: TBD

The Dinner
Dir: Oren Moverman
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Laura Linney, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Coogan, Richard Gere, Adepero Oduye
Logline: A look at how far parents will go to protect their children.
Why: How far will parents go to protect their kids? + I want to see Laura and Rebecca chew that scenery
Release Date: May 5

Dolores
Dir: Peter Bratt
Logline: The story of Dolores’ lifetime fight for social justice from grass roots organizing to farm worker rights, to brown power, immigration, feminism, the LGBT and environmental justice movements and beyond.
Why: Politically relevant documentary + inspiring figure
Release Date: premiering at Sundance

Downsizing
Dir: Alexander Payne
Starring: Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz, Margo Martindale, Neil Patrick Harris
Logline: A social satire in which a guy realizes he would have a better life if he were to shrink himself.
Why: Want Payne to make a movie I love again + the cast is lovely
Release Date: December 22

Escobar
Dir: Fernando León de Aranoa
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Peter Sarsgaard, Julieth Restrepo
Logline: A journalist strikes up a romantic relationship with notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Why: My fave celeb Oscar winning couple + Escobar is a hot property
Release Date: TBD

Felt
Dir: Peter Landesman
Starring: Diane Lane, Liam Neeson, Maika Monroe, Michael C. Hall, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ike Barinholtz, Tony Goldwyn, Kate Walsh
Logline: The story of Mark Felt, who under the name “Deep Throat” helped journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the Watergate scandal in 1974.
Why: Literally every likable white actor is in this + I love this time in history
Release Date: TBD

The Force
Dir: Peter Nicks
Logline: THE FORCE goes inside an embattled urban police department struggling to rebuild trust in one of America’s most violent yet promising cities.
Why: I’m a bay area kid + I hope this gets into the nuance of policing
Release Date: premiering at Sundance

Get Out
Dir: Jordan Peele
Starring: Allison Williams, Lakeith Stanfield, Catherine Keener, Daniel Kaluuya, Bradley Whitford
Logline: A young African American man visits his Caucasian girlfriend’s cursed family estate.
Why: Horror film + racially charged plot
Release Date: February 24

The Girl with All the Gifts
Dir: Colm McCarthy
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Glenn Close, Dominique Tipper, Paddy Considine
Logline: A scientist and a teacher living in a dystopian future embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.
Why: YA with a black girl at the center + love some good dystopia + the twist is great
Release Date: TBD

God Particle
Dir: Julius Onah
Starring: Daniel Bruhl, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris O’Dowd, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Zhang Ziyi, David Oyelowo
Logline: 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.
Why: cool scifi + Cloverfield universe + AMAZING cast = #1 most anticipated film
Release Date: October 27

The Greatest Showman
Dir: Michael Gracey
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron,
Logline: The story of American showman P.T. Barnum, founder of the circus that became the famous traveling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Why: Hugh Jackman and Zac back in a musical + loved the circus as a kid + Barnum teas?
Release Date: December 25

How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Dir: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: Ruth Wilson, Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman
Logline: An alien touring the galaxy breaks away from her group and meets two young inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the universe: the London suburb of Croydon.
Why: John Cameron Mitchell + Nicole Kidman: Punk Rock version + based on a Gaiman short story
Release Date: TBD

Ideal Home
Dir: Andrew Flemming
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jake McDorman, Steve Coogan
Logline: The comedy stars Coogan and Paul Rudd as a bickering gay couple whose lives are turned upside down when Coogan’s character’s grandson that he never knew he had shows up at their dinner party. The twosome, who live an extravagant existence, decide to take in the new addition after he crashes their lives.
Why: Rudd and Coogan as gay lovers + Our Idiot Brother leftover love
Release Date: TBD

It Comes at Night
Dir: Trey Edward Shults
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, Riley Keough, Christopher Abbott
Logline: A father will stop at nothing to protect his wife and son from a malevolent, mysterious presence terrorizing them right outside their doorstep.
Why: the synopsis sounds really cool + Joel Edgerton is quietly becoming an acting fave + Shults’ Krisha follow up
Release Date: TBD

John Wick: Chapter 2
Dir: Chad Stahelski
Starring: Thomas Sadoski, Keanu Reeves, Ruby Rose, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Laurence Fishburne
Logline: The continuing adventures of former hitman, John Wick.
Why: The first one was brilliant + increase in budget + Keanu’s best fit?
Release Date: February 10

The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Mark Rylance
Logline: The Kidnapping Of Edgardo Mortara recounts the story of a young Jewish boy in Bologna, Italy in 1858 who, having been secretly baptized, is forcibly taken from his family to be raised as a Christian. His parents’ struggle to free their son becomes part of a larger political battle that pits the Papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification.
Why: You had me at Oscar Isaac + Spielberg + Rylance is always a treat
Release Date: TBD

The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Colin Farrell, Alicia Silverstone, Nicole Kidman
Logline: A teenager’s attempts to bring a brilliant surgeon into his dysfunctional family takes an unexpected turn.
Why: The mastermind behind The Lobster + I heart Nicole when she’s in auteur pieces (I also love her in regular films)
Release Date: TBD

Lean on Pete
Dir: Andrew Haigh
Starring: Steve Zahn, Charlie Plummer, Travis Fimmel, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi
Logline: A young boy embarks on a perilous journey in search of his long-lost aunt and a possible home, his only companion the stolen racehorse Lean on Pete.
Why: I love how Andrew Haigh ruins my spirit + this cast is really exciting + interested in his post-Looking stories
Release Date: TBD

Life
Dir: Daniel Espinosa
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare
Logline: An international space crew discovers life on Mars.
Why: the cast! + the subject matter! + the only blockbuster that sounds interesting in 2017!
Release Date: May 26

Logan Lucky
Dir: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Katherine Waterston, Adam Driver, Sebastian Stan, Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank
Logline: Two brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina.
Why: Soderbergh finally back to directing films + this cast is insane + sounds like a fun crime caper
Release Date: October 13

Manifesto
Dir: Julian Rosefeldt
Starring: Cate Blanchett
Logline: The film integrates various types of artist manifestos from different time periods with contemporary scenarios. Manifestos are depicted by 13 different characters, among them a school teacher, factory worker, choreographer, punk, newsreader, scientist, puppeteer, widow, and a homeless man.
Why: it sounds weird as fuck + Cate Blanchett is a brilliant actress
Release Date: premiering at Sundance

Molly’s Game
Dir: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Chris O’Dowd
Logline: Molly Bloom, a young skier and former Olympic hopeful becomes a successful entrepreneur (and a target of an FBI investigation) when she establishes a high-stakes, international poker game.
Why: Aaron Sorkin getting in the director’s chair + Chastian as a skier turned businesswoman turned conwoman?
Release Date: TBD

The Mountain Between Us
Dir: Hany Abu-Assad
Starring: Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Marci T. House
Logline: A pair survive a plane crash in the mountains where they are forced to trust each other and find safety while badly injured.
Why: Winslet and Idris as survivalists + Winslet and Idris in a movie + did I mention Kate and Elba together?
Release Date: October 20

Mudbound
Dir: Dee Rees
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jonathan Banks, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell
Logline: Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.
Why: Dee Rees is an underrated director + Mitchell’s first big role post Straight Outta Compton + not enough stories about post war racism
Release Date: premiering at Sundance

Murder on the Orient Express
Dir: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leslie Odom Jr, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Michael Peña
Logline: Renowned Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of a wealthy American traveling on the Orient Express, the most famous train in the world.
Why: Agatha Christie’s most famous work + the cast is bananas + Branagh
Release Date: November 22

Okja
Dir: Joon-ho Bong
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Lily Collins, Tilda Swinton, Steven Yeun, Paul Dano, Giancarlo Espisito
Logline: A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named Okja.
Why: Joon-ho Bong visuals + its a monster mash + more Swinton weirdness
Release Date: TBD

Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Matthias Schoenaerts, Joel Edgerton
Logline: A sexy Russian spy falls for a CIA officer and considers becoming a double agent.
Why: Lawrence got some of JLaw’s best acting + I’m here for Edgerton + we need more sexy spy thrillers!
Release Date: November 10

Rock That Body
Dir: Lucia Aniello
Starring: Kate McKinnon, Scarlett Johansson, Zoë Kravitz, Demi Moore, Colton Haynes, Ty Burrell, Ilana Glazer
Logline: A male stripper ends up dead at a Miami beach house during a bachelorette party weekend.
Why: Interesting gender dynamics (man dead amongst women) + comedic stylings of Kate, ScarJo, and Burrell + can’t wait to see what Colty will do
Release Date: June 16

The Shape of Water
Dir: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Michael Shannon, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer, Sally Hawkins
Logline: An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963.
Why: del Toro monsters + GREAT actors + Cold War backdrop
Release Date: TBD

Sleight
Dir: J.D. Dillard
Starring: Jacob Latimore, Seychelle Gabriel, Dulé Hill, Storm Reid
Logline: A young street magician is left to take care of his little sister after his mother’s passing and turns to drug dealing in the Los Angeles party scene to keep a roof over their heads. When he gets into trouble with his supplier, his sister is kidnapped and he is forced to rely on both his sleight of hand and brilliant mind to save her.
Why: Black people in a movie with magic? + Latimore and Reid are Stars of Tomorrow
Release Date: April 7

Split
Dir: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, James McAvoy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula
Logline: After three teenage girls are abducted by a strange man they begin to meet all of his 24 personalities. But can they use them to aid in their escape?
Why: the trailers were wonderful + McAvoy chewing the scenery + at some point M. Night will make a good film again, right?
Release Date: January 20

Suburbicon
Dir: George Clooney
Starring: Matt Damon, Oscar Isaac, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin
Logline: A crime mystery set in the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, where the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and betrayal.
Why: a Coen Bros script + 50s era has been good to Moore + Isaac’s last great performance came from Coen Bros material
Release Date: TBD

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Dir: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Peter Dinklage, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Frances McDormand
Logline: After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (Academy Award winner Frances McDormand) makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson), the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.
Why: McDonagh’s brutal sense of humor + actors who excel in brutal humor
Release Date: TBD

Under the Silver Lake
Dir: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Jimmi Simpson, Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, Topher Grace, Zosia Mamet
Logline: Modern noir crime thriller set in Los Angeles.
Why: I love a good LA noir + Mitchell showed flashes of brilliance with It Follows
Release Date: TBD

A United Kingdom
Dir: Amma Assante
Starring: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport
Logline: Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana causes an international stir when he marries a white woman from London in the late 1940s.
Why: LOVE Oyelowo and Pike + Assante is one of the most exciting filmmakers working
Release Date: February 10

Untitled Darren Aronofsky Project
Dir: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Ed Harris, Domhnall Gleeson, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer
Logline: Centers on a couple whose relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.
Why: Sounds like God of Carnage but dramatic + hopefully its claustrophobic as hell + can Darren shake up J-Law
Release Date: TBD

Untitled Detroit Riots Project
Dir: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, John Krasinski, Ephraim Sykes, John Boyega, Will Poulter, Anthony Mackie
Logline: A police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in one of the largest citizen uprisings in the United States’ history.
Why: I will always anticipate a Boal-Bigelow team up + extremely topical + Boyega is a star in the making
Release Date: TBD

Wind River
Dir: Taylor Sheridan
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Jon Bernthal
Logline: The movie follows a veteran game tracker and FBI agent, who investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.
Why: Taylor Sheridan is 2/2 with scripts and now he’s directing + Olsen and Renner
Release Date: premiering at Sundance

Wonderstruck
Dir: Todd Haynes
Starring: Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Amy Hargreaves, Millicent Simmonds, Oakes Fegley, James Urbaniak
Logline: Set in 1927 and 1977, Rose (Millicent Simmonds) escapes her home in New Jersey to catch a glimpse of her idol Lillian Mayhew while Ben (Oakes Fegley), who lives with his family in Minnesota, runs to New York after his mother dies after he finds a mysterious note.
Why: Todd Haynes is a master + reteaming with Julianne Moore!
Release Date: TBD

XX
Dir: Annie Clark, Karyn Kusama, Roxanne Benjamin, and Jovanka Vuckovic
Starring: Natalie Brown, Melanie Lynskey, Breeda Wool, Angela Trimbur, Sheila Vand, and Christina Kirk
Logline: XX is a new all-female helmed horror anthology featuring four dark tales written and directed by fiercely talented women.
Why: creepy anthology horror + a kick ass all female directing team + Sheila Vand!
Release Date: February 17

Full list on the next page

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Terence Johnson

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