Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

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transformers2
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Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

Post by transformers2 »

Here's to another year of cinema gang.

10.Infinity Pool:
While I felt that he left some meat on the bone with Possessor, Brandon Cronenberg has a gift for coming up with fascinating, outside the box concepts and Mia Goth is on such a tear in the horror/thriller space recently that I will get any excited about any genre projects she appears in.

9.M3GAN:
Akela Cooper proved herself to be a savant of writing campy horror with Malignant and making a movie about a killer doll for the TikTok generation presents her with the ideal canvas to paint another unhinged, hilarious masterpiece. Real shame this isn't rated R though.

8.Knock at the Cabin:
As predictably erratic as the quality of his films are, M. Night Shyamalan's movies are almost always interesting and this R-rated (!) apocalyptic thriller looks like it could be among his hits.

7.The Covenant:
Jake Gyllenhaal's "fuck it, I'm just going to have fun"-era continues with a collab with Guy Ritchie. The logline (an Afghan interpreter attempts to carry a wounded solider to safety) reads more like Wrath of Man than Snatch, but it'll likely be a good time regardless.

6.Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves:
I've never played Dungeons and Dragons nor do I care to, but the latest movie adaptation looks super entertaining and I'm really curious to see how John Frances Daley and Jonathan Goldstein handle a blockbuster after they directed the hell out of Game Night.

5.Renfield:
Nicolas Cage playing Dracula in a comedy action horror movie is something that seems almost too be good to true. Fingers crossed that the rest of Renfield can live up to the excellence of whatever madness Cage decided to cook up for this performance.

4.Cocaine Bear:
There's something beautifully poetic about Ray Liotta's final prominent film role being an 80's drug kingpin in a purposefully over-the-top project about a grizzly bear eating a bunch of cocaine, becoming super aggressive and going on a killing spree in the woods of Georgia. Having a great ensemble (Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr, Alden Ehrenreich, Isaiah Whitlock Jr., Margo Martindale, Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and a director in Elizabeth Banks that has an extensive comedy background alongside the late iconic character actor only increases the odds of Cocaine Bear being B-movie bliss.

3.Scream VI:
Scream 2022 proved that Tyler Gilett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin could honor Wes Craven's legacy while also making Scream into their own thing. Seeing where they take the series next-especially in a setting that's as massive as New York City with a presumed dead character from the past (Hayden Panettiere's Kirby Reed from Scream 4)-is going to be very exciting.

2.Creed III:
Severing ties with the legacy of the Rocky franchise feels like the next logical progression for the Creed films and making Creed III a film about Adonis' past coming back to haunt him seems like an excellent way to do just that. Bringing in Jonathan Majors to play the antagonist certainly helps its cause too.

1.John Wick: Chapter 4:
The gold standard for Hollywood action movies is finally back after a longer-than-expected 4-year hiatus and this time Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Bill Skarsgard, Clancy Brown, Shamier Anderson Scott Adkins and Rina Sawayama are joining the party as Mr. Wick travels overseas after being left for dead by his longtime friend/mentor Winston (Ian McShane) at the end of the previous film. Although having several behind-the-scenes franchise mainstays including writer Derek Kolstad, stunt/fight coordinator Jonathan Eusebio and 2nd unit director Darrin Prescott not return for this installment makes me a little bit nervous that John Wick: Chapter 4 could mark a regression for this absurdly consistent franchise, I have confidence in Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves' ability to advance John Wick's fascinating mythology and deliver some absolutely breathtaking action sequences.

Also Plan on Seeing:
House Party
Plane
Missing
When You Finish Saving the World
You People
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Inside
65
Shazam!: Fury of the Gods
Champions
The Super Mario Brothers Movie
Quasi
Some 2022 Awards-Qualifying Titles that aren't getting widely released until this month (or in the case of Return to Seoul, February)

Might Watch:
Chevalier
Mafia Mamma
Evil Dead Rise
BRING BRENDAN FRASER BACK TO THE BIG SCREEN DAMN IT
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Re: Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

Post by Buscemi2 »

There might be maybe two or three movies at best that I might see right away. Most of the forthcoming titles look terrible or have no interest to me as I'm not fourteen or a studio executive.

Meanwhile, I have to imagine House Party is probably going to be to the worst of the lot. Why call it House Party if it has absolutely nothing to do with the original?
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numbersix
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Re: Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

Post by numbersix »

Yeah, usually I can muster up 10 films I'm interested in, but not this season. Here's what I am curious about


Seen and liked: Close, Alcarras, Saint Omer



6. Inside - despite the dull title, I've been hearing good things about this single-location thriller

5. Cocaine Bear - It looks ridiculous, but could be fun

4. Evil Dead Rise - I've known Lee for years, and caught up with him at Christmas, so very exicted to see what he's done to the franchise

3. Huesera - been hearing great things about this horror film from the fest circuit

2. Infinity Pool - I really enjoyed Cronenberg Jnr's last film, Possessor, and this looks like a step up

1. Of an Age - the director's previous film, last year's arty horror You Won't Be Alone, was a revelation, so I have to see this romantic drama

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Re: Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

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So that's why Focus is releasing Of an Age wide. I guess they're going to pretend that You Won't Be Alone didn't have any business theatrically.
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Re: Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

Post by Chienfantome »

There are 3 films I have already seen and highly recommend. Close, R.M.N. and Pacifiction, three remarkable and powerful cinematic offerings. One Fine Morning is also quite good. I have also seen Saint Omer, but I’m not really fond of it.

As for my most anticipated, in release schedule order :

Plane
Yeah, I know, it looks like just another typical Gerard Butler movie. But don’t be fooled, because behind the camera is one bonafide French director, Jean-François Richet, who directed Etat des lieux and Ma 6T va craquer in the 90’s, the Mesrine diptych and The Emperor of Paris. His Assault on District 13 remake was also some solid stuff. Anyway, all this to say, I’ll definitely check it out. Plus, I’m a sucker for thrillers in flights and good B-movies. Never thought I’d write such a long paragraph for Plane.

The Son
Zeller’s previous adaptation of his own work as a playwright, The Father, was pretty good. Maybe I’ll go watch this one too.

Knock at the Cabin
Shyamalan almost always has a great premise for his films. Sometimes they deliver, sometimes they don’t. But despite the flaws, he can be marvelous storyteller, so I always check out his films in theaters.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance
I remember the Magic Mike sequel was actually better than the first, so if it keeps getting better, it will definitely be worth it.

Crazy Bear
Could be awfully bad, could be delightfully fun.

65
Like I said, I love B movies, especially sci-fi ones. And this sounds like a cool B movie.

Champions
The Spanish original film was hilarious. So one Farrelly bro could very well make it a hilarious film too.

Dungeons & Dragons
Could be awfully bad, could be delightfully fun. Did I already use that sentence for another film ?

Super Mario Bros
I’ll be honest, on the paper, when I read last year that Illumination had a Mario Bros film on the way, I couldn’t picture it. But the teaser trailer convinced me. I grew up playing Mario games on my Super Nintendo, and this looks fun.

Renfield
Nicolas Cage as Dracula ? Sold.
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numbersix
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Re: Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

Post by numbersix »

I'll add Beau is Afraid to my list, as apparently it's out in April. Although if it doesn't hit a major festival before then (a late Sundance entry, or perhaps Berlin or SXSW) then it's not a good sign about the movie's quality.

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Re: Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

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Beau is Afraid was doomed as soon as A24 renamed the movie and released that bland poster.

I get the feeling they're trying to turn it into a Garden State ripoff with the way it's being positioned. But of course, the A24 faithful will love it.
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Re: Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

Post by transformers2 »

numbersix wrote:
January 5th, 2023, 11:47 am
I'll add Beau is Afraid to my list, as apparently it's out in April. Although if it doesn't hit a major festival before then (a late Sundance entry, or perhaps Berlin or SXSW) then it's not a good sign about the movie's quality.
Not necessarily. Midsommar didn't screen at any fests and that turned out just fine (although to your point of potential concern about its quality, I don't believe that film had to be reworked/cut down as much as this one did).
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Re: Most Anticipated Films of Winter/Spring 2023

Post by Buscemi2 »

Midsommar didn't need festivals. Hereditary was enough of a hit, both at Sundance and financially, that A24 only needed to open Midsommar in the summer to get interest. Also, the film was still undergoing editing while the spring festivals were going.
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