Time for the usual "blah, blah, blah, sorry this has been inactive for so long, like a dormant volcano" malarkey. Rest assured, the end of year review is in full swing already and there were/are talks of something planned with one of my film-loving friends - we're trying to finalise an idea and find a time that suits both of us so we can start on it.
Anyway, here are the films I will be looking out for before the end of 2017:
- Wind River - September 8th
- From Taylor Sheridan (writer of Sicario and Hell or High Water), a US Fish and Wildlife Service agent (Jeremy Renner) and an FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) investigate a murder on a Native American reservation in Wyoming. Won Un Certain Regard for Best Director at this year's Cannes Film Festival
- Borg/McEnroe - September 22nd
- A look at the legendary rivalry in the 1980s between two of the greatest tennis players of all time - unflappable Swede Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) and hot-headed American John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf). So this could be the tennis version of Rush.
- Wait a minute, Shia LaBeouf as John McEnroe?!? You didn't consider asking me?!? "You cannot be serious!"
- Blade Runner 2049 - October 6th
- OK, I'm deliberately trying to avoid all plot spoilers, news, etc. regarding this film as I love the original Blade Runner, so expectations are high.
- And thankfully Ridley Scott is NOT directing this, unlike another sequel/prequel to one of his classics released this year - if you don't know what I'm on about, wait for the end of the year review.
- The Death of Stalin - October 20th
- "In Soviet Russia, comedy satirises you!"
- From Armando Iannucci, adapted from the graphic novel by Fabien Nury, this film shows the chaos that ensued following the death of Josef Stalin in 1953. Basically, it looks like a Russian version of The Thick of It...Good, because I love that show. Starring Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Michael Palin, Andrea Riseborough and Jason Isaacs (hello!!!)
- Murder on the Orient Express - November 3rd
- Kenneth Branagh's take on the classic Agatha Christie novel. An all-star cast, including Branagh, Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Daisy Ridley, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench and so on.
- Battle of the Sexes - November 24th
- Yes, another tennis film. This one though is more in touch with the modern day issue of the gender pay gap in Hollywood. A retelling of the exhibition match in 1973 between retired Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs (Steve Carrell) and World Number One Billie Jean King (Emma Stone), for $100,000 to prove the superiority of male players. From the directors of Little Miss Sunshine and the Academy Award winning writer of Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours.
- Suburbicon - November 24th
- A dark comedy about a suburban father who takes the law into his own hands following a home invasion. Directed by George Clooney; written by him, Grant Heslov and Joel and Ethan Coen; starring Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac.
- This could go either way, like most films involving the Coens; could be as great as Fargo, or as bad as The Ladykillers or Burn After Reading.
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi - December 14th
- As with Blade Runner 2049, no spoilers please...
