2020 – A Look Ahead
As we start the new decade, it’s time to have a look ahead at some of the highlights “coming soon” in 2020.
January – Bad Boys For Life. The first Bad Boys was a huge film for me growing up, and I really enjoyed the 2003 sequel as well – so I’m very much looking forward to this belated (final?) instalment in the buddy-cop action/comedy series. Also out in January is Sam Mendes’ war epic 1917, which looks to be something worth checking out on the big screen.
February – Birds of Prey. Although it was not loved critically, I really enjoyed the anarchic tone of 2016’s Suicide Squad , and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn was definitely the best thing in it – so I’m looking forward to seeing where they go with (to give it it’s full title) Birds of Prey: And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. Also out in February is The Invisible Man staring Elisabeth Moss, which I originally thought was going to be another pointless remake, but now looks like an inventive examination of abusive relationships and gaslighting.
March – A Quiet Place: Part 2. The original A Quiet Place was my third favourite film of 2018 (and my favourite “original” film of that year), so I’m hoping writer/director John Krasinski can recapture the emotional impact of that first film.
April – No Time To Die. Daniel Craig is probably my favourite Bond actor, and Casino Royale and Skyfall are probably my two favourite Bond films, so I’m really hoping that this final film in his tenure gives him the send-off he deserves.
May – Black Widow. May sees the first instalment of Phase 4 of the MCU, and the first film following the conclusion of The Infinity Saga. No pressure there then. Also due in May is Fast & Furious 9, although there have been no signs of a trailer yet?
June – Wonder Woman 1984. The first Wonder Woman was an unexpected triumph (and made my Top Ten of 2017), and so the forthcoming reunion of Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins is definitely something to look forward to.
July – Tenet. As usual, little is known about Christopher Nolan’s next film, except that it stars John David Washington and may (or may not) involve time in some way or another. But quite frankly, after Memento, The Prestige, Inception and Interstellar, I don’t need to know anything else to want to see this. July is a busy month, with belated threequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife, belated sequel Top Gun: Maverick, interesting concept film Free Guy (Ryan Reynolds as a NPC in a Grand-Theft-Auto-style computer game world), and potential future family favourite Jungle Cruise (starring the always watchable Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt) all due for release that month.
Later in 2019 – In August we have Bill & Ted Face The Music, which anyone from my generation is likely to be very excited about. In September we have the delayed prequel The King’s Man (which I’m looking forward to, as fan of the earlier Kingsman films), and Edgar Wright’s time-travelling psychological thriller Last Night In Soho. October sees the release of the Venom sequel (which hopefully will do more justice to the character than the awful first Venom film), and Halloween Kills (the direct sequel to 2018’s surprisingly good Halloween). Then to round the year off, we have The Eternals (Marvel’s first “original” film since Captain Marvel), Denis Villeneuve’s much anticipated, all-star version of Dune, and Godzilla vs Kong (the mash-up sequel to both King: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
So that’s a selection of what to look out for in 2020 and in the meantime, I’ll be working on my cinematic highlights from 2019...
