Director Report Card: Patty Jenkins (2020)

4. Wonder Woman 1984

“Wonder Woman 1984” was, like many other proposed 2020 releases, suppose to be just another big studio blockbuster. The highly anticipated sequel was originally slotted into a holiday 2019 release date before studio reshuffling had it settling into summer of 2020. We all know how that turned out. What should've been just another popcorn distraction then became the first major movie WB would release through its new HBO Max streaming service. A system largely skipping theaters to focus on streaming would completely upend the cinematic world. What the fall-out of Warner Brothers' strategy will be remains to be seen. (As will the fate of movie theaters, once COVID subsides.)  Yet another controversy would grip “Wonder Woman 1984” upon release last month: Many people didn't think it was very good. Now the time for me to judge.

Sixty-six years have passed since the end of World War I. Princess Diana of Themyscira, otherwise known as Wonder Woman, has been operating in secret all that time. While she rights what wrongs she can, Diana is still haunted by the death of Steve Trevor, her love. After a gem smuggling operation is raided, a rare stone arrives in the Smithsonian, where Diana works with a shy and awkward woman named Barbara Minerva. Neither realize that the stone is a magical relic with the ability to grant wishes. Maxwell Lord, minor TV personality and failing businessman, does know this. He gets a hold of the gem and takes its power. Soon, his wish-granting abilities sows chaos around the globe. It also brings Steve Trevor back to life and turns Barbara into the supervillain Cheetah. 

More than once, Patty Jenkins has cited Richard Donner's “Superman” movies as the primary influence on her “Wonder Woman” films. That sincerity and clarity of focus fit the first movie well enough but, for the sequel, Jenkins follows probably the least loved element of those Donner films. Namely, a seriously hokey streak. In the first major action scene featuring Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman swings through a colorful eighties shopping mall. Bank robbers with ridiculous hair-cuts are foiled. Kids stare on, wide-mouthed, in a goofy manner. This feeling, of exaggerated camp and out-of-place corniness, is not isolated to this one sequence. It seems Jenkins was also taking more than a few cues from the seventies “Wonder Woman” TV show, a tonal decision that clashes badly with what is expected of a modern superhero blockbuster. 

Moreover, on a narrative level, “Wonder Woman 1984” raises more questions than it can answer. The exact mechanics behind Max Lord's magical powers are never explained very well. He grants wishes and receives something from the wisher in return but how this affects everyone seems to vary from scene-to-scene. It seems he has to be touching people while making a wish, yet even this is inconsistent. As the film goes deeper into various elements set-up by his powers – how to undo the wishes, the mutatable properties of these wishes – things start to get increasingly fuzzy. The climax of the movie hinges on an absurd piece of technology, that strains belief even for a superhero flick. It's never a good sign when you have to pause the movie and think out a plot development before continuing. Nor when a movie includes a random, one-scene character to laboriously spout exposition.

The script makes a lot of questionable choices. Bringing Steve Trevor back isn't one of them. Yes, the exact way Steve is resurrected raises a lot of unfortunate implications. Yet the sequel most comes alive when playing up the chemistry between Gadot and Chris Pine. Dropping Trevor down into the eighties is a clever switch-a-roo on the first film's fish-out-of-water story. It also allows Pine a chance to flex his comedic muscles, as in a highly amusing montage in which Trevor discovers a love of fanny packs. If nothing else, Gadot and Pine's banter enlivens many of the sequel's scenes. 

Even if she didn't have Pine to bounce off of, Gal Gadot remains an inspired choice for Wonder Woman. Diana's arc, of learning the value of self-responsibility, is set-up gratuitously in the very first sequence. The power of truth is hammered home throughout, especially in the last third. It's another element of the film that feels shaky sometimes, as “the truth” is reduced to a platitude that is spat out countless times. Yet Gadot's pure sincerity, her style and grace, almost makes this work. The moment where she renounces her wish is a powerful bit of acting, just one example of how Gadot so ideally balances strength and vulnerability in this role. 

Yet certain connotations concerning Gadot are hard to avoid. Immediately after “Wonder Woman 1984” came out, one scene went viral in the worst way possible. I'm talking about when Max Lord meets with the leader of Bialya, a DC Comics stand-in for any number of Middle Eastern countries. When the prince wishes for the infidels to be out of his homeland, it doesn't just resurrect the moribund stereotype of the villainous Arab. Bialya is a fictional country with a long history in comic books, that doesn't match up exactly with any real world place. But this scene is clearly meant to bring the conflict between Israel and Palestine to mind. Considering Gadot's own membership in the Israeli military, and her on-going support of the government's actions, this moment becomes even uglier.

This is not the only questionable political aspect of “Wonder Woman 1984.” Max Lord is obviously patterned after Donald Trump, to a certain degree. The mop of blonde hair, his love of garishly gold interior design, eventually ending up in the White House, and status as a conman who has built a public image around the perception of being rich. (Even though his personal finances are actually in complete disarray.) He prays on people's hopes and fears and offers easy solution, but only out of a desire to make himself more powerful. As much as Lord is clearly patterned after Trump, he ultimately doesn't have much in common with our former president. Lord has a complicated relationship with his child, ultimately based in love. Near the film's end, he's given a sympathetic backstory. If you were going to pattern this cinematic bad guy so much after one of the real world's most prominent bad guys, why try and make the audience feel sympathy for him? I suspect the filmmakers were simply using Trumpian signifiers to easily identify Lord as underhanded and untrustworthy, a deeply shallow trick. 

Worst yet, Lord simply isn't that compelling a villain. Pedro Pascal's performance is cartoonish and increasingly sweaty, in an unappealing way. Luckily, the movie has a stronger secondary villain... That it makes some good and bad choices with. Kristen Wiig, despite early concerns she might be miscast, is well utilized as Barbara Minerva. A character who lacks all of Diana's natural grace, power, and charm makes for an interesting counterpoint. Watching her grow from friend to enemy is compelling, especially how Barbara's frustration grows into resentment and eventually villainy. Yet even then, I have issues. The moment where Barbara crosses the moral event horizon, a familiar step for villains of this type, is an odd choice. She kicks a harasser to death, which is only slightly more sever than what Diana did herself in an earlier scene. While her full transformation into Cheetah in the finale is decently executed, the big fight between Wonder Woman and her arch-enemy is sidelined by the rest of the movie's plot. 

Movies like this are spectacle and should be treated as such. Jenkins makes the interesting choice to not feature many action sequences for much of the movie's first half, focusing instead on character. The first big action doesn't occur until nearly an hour in, during the escape from Bialya. While there's some good stunts in this sequence, the visual framing is often kind of odd. A shot of Gadot running looks weird or the exact way a vehicle flips into the air doesn't track. Yet the action does get better as the movie goes on. A fight in the White House features some nicely choreographed fisticuffs. This continues through Wondie and Cheetah's big showdown. To continue the movie's weird choices, further action scenes are foregone for the finale. As with most of its elements, “WW84” has a really odd relationship with its action scenes.

Yet, despite its many flaws, there are still some moments in “Wonder Woman 1984” that made me cheer. Or at least smile widely. The sequel features at least two scenes I've wanted to see in a “Wonder Woman” movie for many years. That would be when Diana tosses her tiara through the air like a boomerang, a classic move. Later, the movie finds an only slightly convoluted way to get the notorious Invisible Jet into the story. That was really fun. In the modern age of comics, some people thought the Invisible Jet was silly and just gave Wonder Woman the power of flight. “WW84” follows this pattern, in a scene that is among the sequel's more uplifting. While the gold armor Diana is seen wearing in all the ads doesn't add much to the plot, it sure looks cool and leads to the film's most satisfying cameo.

When the sequel's title was announced, the natural assumption is that there was some great importance to the date and setting. If you put “1984” in the title of your movie, you expect it to tackle Orwellian themes in some ways. Disappointingly, this is not on the film's agenda. In fact, the eighties setting proves to be little but window dressing. Tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union informs the story but that was hardly unique to 1984. The fashion and style of the time are indulged in but, otherwise, there's pretty much no reason this story had to be set in 1984. It could've been set in 1964 or 2004 without too much about the story being changed at all.

Ultimately, I understand why so many people were disappointed in “Wonder Woman 1984.” It's undeniably hokey in spots. The script is far messier than a blockbuster of this level, that had so many eyeballs on it in production, ever should've been. Its politics can only be described as tin-earred. At the same time, there are some fun action beats, a strong supporting turn from Kristen Wiig, and some entertaining moments. Were people expecting too much from this one or are my standards too low? Either way, Warner Brothers and Patty Jenkins are ready to move onto a third “Wonder Woman” movie, hopefully learning their lesson from the mistakes made here. [Grade: C+]

Film Preview 2021

Exactly one year ago, I published my list of most anticipated films for 2020. I expressed excitement for the year to come. If only I knew at the time that 2020 was going to be an infamous year that tested everyone's spirit. How terrible 2020 was is a meme by this point and, personally speaking, I'm sick of being sick of it.

As eager as I am to move on, there's no telling what 2021 will bring. There's a sliver of hope but I've been left far too jaded by the last twelve months to get my hopes up too high. Even speaking strictly as a movie nerd, 2020 was hard. The pandemic brought movie theaters to their knees and there's no guarantee they'll survive. The way the industry has coped with the virus, largely by increasingly relying on streaming services, will likely have long term ramifications on the whole film-going world. I hope things go back to normal soon but I have no idea if they will.

And so, it is with a very uncertain mind, we head into 2021. The world is crazy but I still love movies. Who knows when we'll be back in theaters but there's still plenty of exciting stuff being released in the upcoming months. Owing to the wide-spread delays the last year saw, several of my most anticipated movies for this year were also on last year's list. I'll try and find new things to say about the repeat offenders. And so, without further delay, here are...

My Top Ten Most Anticipated Films of 2021:

1. Wendell and Wild

Henry Selick, the genius behind “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Coraline,” doesn't get to make movies very often. Probably because stop-motion animation is a time consuming and labor-intensive process and Selick's sensibilities are weird and non-commercial. (Though this hasn't stopped “Nightmare Before Christmas” from making Disney billions over the decades.) In the past, Selick has had several projects announced – “The Graveyard Book,” “A Tale Dark and Grim,” “The Shadow King” – only for them to fall apart long before active production began. For a while, it really did seem like “Coraline” would be his last movie.

Proving once again that he is a fundamental force for good in the universe, Jordan Peele decided to write the check for Selick's next project. Better yet, Peele is starring in “Wendell and Wild” alongside his old pal, Keegan-Michael Key. Honestly, Key and Peele starring in a new Henry Selick movie would be enough to make “Wendell and Wild” my most anticipated film of the year. Yet the plot synopsis – involving bickering demon brothers, a monster-fighting nun, and some goth teenagers – somehow makes me even more excited for this. I can't wait. “Wendell and Wild” will be coming to Netflix sometime later this year.

2. The Northman

It took me a while to warm up to “The Witch” but I immediately loved “The Lighthouse,” quickly making Robert Eggers one of my favorite directors working today. His next film sounds like his most ambitious next. “The Northman” will see the director applying his particular style to the historical epic. That's not my favorite genre but this is a Viking historical epic, a type of story that is surely under-explored in modern Hollywood. (For authenticity sake, an Icelandic poet known as Sjón co-wrote the script.) Moreover, I certainly expect Eggers to make this tale of Scandinavian vengeance into something weirder and wilder.

Not that you need to hear anymore but Eggers has assembled an A-list cast for “The Northman” as well. Brawny Norseman Alexander Skarsgard stars, with Nicole Kidman, Willem DaFoe, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke and fucking Bjork filling out the supporting cast. No release date or platform has been announced yet for “The Northman” but Focus Features is distributing it, suggesting this may get a big Oscar push at the end of the year.

3. Last Night in Soho

“Last Night in Soho” was also number three on my most anticipated list in 2020. The truth is, I'm still really curious to see Edgar Wright try his hand at a serious thriller. We haven't learned much about the film in the last year. We've known for a while that it's about a woman in the modern era – who has now been identified as a fashion designer – forming some sort of link with a similar woman from the sixties. (Who we now know is a singer.) Behind that, Wright continues to inform us that the film is a homage to Polanksi's Apartment trilogy, which sounds awesome. Anya Taylor-Joy also stars in this one, alongside Thomasin Mackenzie and Matt Smith. This is not the only long-awaited Wright project coming out in 2021, as his Sparks documentary finally has a release date. And it's not even the only Sparks-related movie set to arrive in 2021...

4. Dual

My favorite film of 2019 was “The Art of Self-Defense,” an offbeat, hilarious, and extremely dark comedy about toxic masculinity, karate, the properties of metal and soft rock, and a wiener dog. Director Riley Stearns is back at it this year with an even more outrageous sounding follow-up. How is this for a log line?: “Dual” revolves around a terminally ill woman who has herself cloned, to save her family from grieving. When she makes a miraculous recovery, she is forced by law to dual her clone to the death.

Holy cow! I cannot wait to see how that particular storyline plays out, especially under Stearns' quirky direction. Karen Gillian and Aaron Paul star.

5. Pinocchio

Guillermo del Toro hasn't directed a movie since sweeping the Oscars with “The Shape of Water” in 2018. Which isn't to say he's been taking it easy, as he's as busy as ever as a producer, writer, and television creator. It seems del Toro's Oscar gold has allowed him to create two long developing dream projects of his. His remake of classic noir “Nightmare Alley – which was number two on my 2020 list – recently wrapped production, ahead of an end-of-the-year awards run. Perhaps more exciting is another project del Toro has been talking up for ages. That would be a stop-motion adaptation of “Pinocchio.” del Toro has promised that his take on the well-trotted tale – which is also getting a big budget Disney remake from Robert Zemecksis this year – will be darker than previous versions. Considering how weird and violent that original novel is, I look forward to that. The artwork we've seen too is also pretty interesting.

Netflix is also releasing this one, as the streaming giant has apparently developed a taste for quirky stop-motion movies from beloved auteurs.

6. The Suicide Squad

The saga of how James Gunn made the leap from Marvel/Disney and to their Distinguished Competition before making the leap back has already produced a number of articles around the internet. It's a pretty fascinating journey but now the time has come to appreciate the fruits of Gunn's labor. “The Suicide Squad” is a sequel to the little-liked 2016 supervillain team-up movie, which wouldn't normally be exciting. Gunn, however, is determined to put his weird stamp on the cape genre once again with this one. The line-up of DC characters already announced for this film is fucking amazing. The fact that King Shark is finally going to be in a movie – and he looks beautiful – is a wonderful surprise to me. The sequel is going even deeper to include further oddities like Polka-Dot Man, Ratcatcher, and Arms-Fall-Off Boy. (Gunn also continues to cast his brother as furry humanoid animals, something he seemingly can't resist.) I'm also looking forward to seeing John Cena fulfill his action hero potential as Peacemaker.

I have no doubt that Gunn will also enjoy actually letting this version of the team live up to their name, offing several members long before the movie is over. (I'm kind of betting on Blackguard not making it out of the first act.) “The Suicide Squad” marches into action on August 6th, on both HBOMax and in whatever theaters are open by then.

7. A Glitch in the Matrix

Rodney Ascher continues to be among the most interesting documentarians working today. Last year, he unleashed the disturbing “El Duce Tapes” but, for his fourth features, he's returning more to the territory of “Room 237” and “The Nightmare.” Which is to say that Ascher is back to interviewing outsiders with weird theories and building elaborate visual sequences around these ideas. “A Glitch in the Matrix” approaches the simulated reality theory. That would be the belief, sincerely held by some, that we are living within a giant computer simulation. That idea has always caused all sorts of wonderful personal existential dread, so I look forward to Ascher disturbing me once again. Magnolia will be rolling “A Glitch in the Matrix” out in February.

8. Gunpowder Milkshake

Here's another left-over from my 2020 list. At the time, I described “Gunpowder Milkshake” as the all-female action ensemble Hollywood promised us years ago when it started talking about those “ExpendaBelles” movies. I have no idea if the movie will live up to that idea but an action flick starring Karen Gillian – I swear I'm not obsessed with her – Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Lena Headey, Angela Bassett and Paul Giamatti is still a tantalizing idea. We've learned a little more about the movie's premise in the year since then, including seeing a few images. I'm still pretty interested in seeing this.

9. Everywhere Everyone All at Once

“Swiss Army Man” was a delightful buddy comedy made all the better for the streak of utter sincerity brought to its bizarre premise. Directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert suffered a bit of a sophomore slump with “The Death of Dick Long” but they are coming back this year with “Everywhere Everyone All at Once.” The film's (possibly sarcastic) plot synopsis describes it as being about a “55 year old Asian woman doing her taxes” but many other sources say the film is a “metaphysical action movie.” That sounds interesting! A strong cast includes Awkwafina, Jonathan Ke Quan, Michelle Yeoh – I swear I'm not obsessed with her – and Jamie Lee Curtis. I'm very intrigued to learn more about this one.

10. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Nicholas Cage is now more meme than man. Yet you can't deny that the Oscar-winner embracing his cult status has led to a pretty good string of films lately. Among the utterly forgettable dross, there's been standouts like “Mandy,” “The Color Out of Space,” and “Jiu Jitsu.” 2021 will bring with it another slate of oddball Nic Cage projects. In-between the movie where he fights evil animatronics, rescues his pet pig, and journeys into the ghost lands, there is “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” The extremely meta premise has Cage playing himself, presumably struggling with his position as both a beloved and highly mocked icon. There's also something about the CIA and Quentin Tarantino. I love “JCVD” shit like this. I have no idea if director Tom Gormican, formally of “That Awkward Moment,” can deliver on that premise – in fact, I'm fairly certain he can't – but I still want to find out.

Other Films of Note:

After Yang, BIOS, and BigBug

For whatever reason, robot movies are looking to be a trend this year. I guess Hollywood is low-key preparing us for the A.I. takeover. The most high-profile of these is "BIOS," which has the heart-tugging premise of the last man on Earth building a robot to take care of his beloved dog after he's gone. Dogs, robots, and a dying Tom Hanks? I'm already crying!

Another 2021 robot movie is "BigBug," the first film in eight years from Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It's about a suburban family surviving an Android uprising with the help of their house robots. It will presumably feature much quickly comedy and meticulous set design. There's also "After Yang," from the singularly named filmmaker Kogonada. It concerns a father and daughter attempting to revive their beloved robotic family member. It's weird how all these movies are about how robots are our friends, right? Truly, the Singularity is near...

Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi, Spider-Man 3 and yet more...

I'm just going to crowd all of 2021's other high-profile superhero releases under one entry here. I feel like we've been anticipating Marvel's "Black Widow" and "Eternals" for so long, that I have little left to say about them. I hope the former finds a compelling angle for Scarlet Johansson's super-spy (and doesn't throw away supercool villain Taskmaster) and the latter features lots of crazy sci-if imagery. As for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," I'm excited to see the real Mandarin in a movie, finally, but I hope Marvel really commits to making a badass martial arts movie. You kind of can't cheat on that when your main character is known as the Master of Kung-Fu.

As for 2021's other Marvel projects, the as-yet untitled third Tom Holland/Jon Watts "Spider-Man" movie is supposed to be released before the year ends. The film sounds like it's taking the multi-verse approach, weaving in old villains and maybe even previous iterations of the web-slinger. While I loved it when "Into the Spider-Verse" did that, I'm leery of the live action films following a similar path. Ya know, I kind of wanted a regular, normal Spider-Man movie. Can't he just fight Kraven the Hunter or something? Must every superhero movie be a cog in some massive corporate machine? Though if this technique actually gets the Sinister Six on-screen, it might be worth it... Also, Sony has "Morbius" and "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" on the docket, two movies that definitely exist. 

The Card Counter

After making "First Reformed," one of the last decade's best films, filmmaker (and cantankerous old man) Paul Schrader is back with "The Card Counter." Normally, a follow-up for such a masterpiece would crack my top ten... But this movie is about gambling, which is fucking boring. Okay, sure, it's got a solid cast and I'm sure there's more to the premise than just blackjack or whatever. But card games are one of those inherently non-cinematic topics filmmakers are regularly drawn to for whatever reason. 

C'mon C'mon

Mike Mills' "20th Century Women" was one of those films that hit me in such a personal place, I've never been able to write about it. His next feature, "C'mon C'mon," was originally supposed to come out last year before the whole world went to shit. Now A24 will be releasing the film a little closer to this year April Oscars. The premise, of a grouchy artist bonding with his precocious nephew on a road trip, sounds like a hundred other adorable indie dramadies. Presumably, Mills and star Joaquin Phoenix will bring something fresh to this one. 

Death Rider in the House of Vampires

Glenn Danzig's "Verotika" was the trash-horror cause celebre of 2020. Incompetent in almost every traditional fashion, the anthology was nevertheless hilarious. His attempt at a horror movie being laughed at by everyone did not discourage Danzig, as he immediately turned around and made another one. Good for him. I wish I had the confidence of an aging rock star. Anyway, the gloriously entitled "Death Rider in the House of Vampires" has been described as a spaghetti western in which every single character is a vampire. Devon Sawa, Kim Director, Danny Trejo and Julian Sands star, which is exactly the kind of cast you'd expect for a project like this. This is going to be terrible and I can't wait. 

Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time

It's been twenty-five years since "Neon Genesis Evangelion," perhaps the greatest science fiction anime series of all time, premiered. It's been another decade since the "Rebuild of Evangelion" franchise, which retells the series as big budget animated films, started. After many delays, the final installment will be released in Japanese theaters this year. The previous installment completely turned fan expectations on their head in a way that honestly pissed me off a little. I have no doubt that Hideaki Anno and his team will find new and exciting ways to baffle and anger me with the peculiarly entitled "Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time," which may or may not be the final piece of "Eva" media period. No American release is currently planned but I'll probably go ahead and import the Japanese Blu-Ray the minute it comes out. I'm not waiting. 

Godzilla Vs. Kong

Is Warner Bros. really expecting me to watch a new Godzilla movie on my tiny TV? I'm just saying, that vaccine better be widely distributed by May because there's no fucking way I'm not watching "Godzilla Vs. Kong" on the biggest screen available. I know fan reaction was split on "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." I know director Adam Wingard is not the golden boy he once was. And I know there was a flurry of reshoots after the underwhelming box office for the last one. None of that matters because Godzilla is going to fight King Kong in a new movie. Nothing can keep me from being excited for that!

In the Earth and Isolation 

Back in October, I referred to Rob Savage's "Host" as the first horror movie of the COVID era. Looks like I was onto something there, as we are seeing more indie horror pics made during the confines of quarantine this year. "In the Earth" was shot in secret by Ben Wheatley, another indie darling who's fallen off a bit, sometime last year. Neil Blomkamp pulled the exact same trick with an as-yet untitled feature. We know very little about these two but there's a bit more information out there about "Isolation." It's an anthology film from Larry Fessenden's Glass Eye Pix specifically about living through the pandemic. Fessenden himself contributed a segment, along with some other talented filmmakers. 

Kate

It's hard to remember now but "Birds of Prey" was a largely entertaining superhero flick released shortly before the lockdowns went into effect. One of the best parts of the ensemble was Mary Elizabeth Winstead's turn as Huntress. While it remains unknown if we'll ever see M.E.W. play that character again, she's continuing down the action hero path anyway. "Kate" sees the actress playing a female assassin who, with a "D.O.A."/"Crank" twist, has twenty-four hours to track down the person who has fatally poisoned her. Sure, we've seen it before but have we seen it with a Japanese setting and Ramona Flowers in the lead role? 

The Last Duel

In 1977, Ridley Scott made his feature debut with "The Duelists." In 2021, he's releasing a film entitled "The Last Duel." I'm wishing neither death nor retirement on the 83 year old filmmaker - who already has multiple future projects in development - but it would be a nice case of synchronicity if this became his last movie. It's about the 14th century rivalry between French knights Jean de Carroughes and Jacques Le Gris and has an A-list cast. Obviously, this is set for a late-in-the-year release with eyes towards Oscar gold next year.

The Little People

I've never seen 2012 Irish monster movie "Grabbers," though I've heard largely positive things about it. Director Jon Wright - not to be confused with Edgar or Joe - has a new flick coming this year with an irresistible premise. I'm inordinately fond of what I call little monster movies. I'm talking about "Gremlins," "Critters," "Ghoulies," and so on. Wright is combining this premise with Irish folklore around fairies and leprechaun, describing "The Little People" as "Gremlins meets Straw Dogs." I am into that! 

Luca

While the release strategies for their superhero blockbusters still remains unknown, Disney seems committed to premiering their upcoming animated features in their streaming service. I'm definitely excited for "Raya and the Last Dragon" and "Encanto" but Pixar's "Luca" seems destined to be the studio's most buzzed about animated release this year. The film, set in the lush Italian coastland, concerns a vacationing boy whose new best friend turns out to be a sea monster in disguise. That sounds adorable but, me being me, I'd probably like it more if the sea monster wasn't in human form for probably half the movie. Either way, I'm sure this will be gorgeous. 

The Matrix 4

Given Keanu Reeves' newly re-minted superstar status, it was only a matter of time before the long-rumored fourth "Matrix" installment came to fruition. The original holds up but, despite some reappraisals over the years, I still find the sequels disappointing. Presumably Lana Wachowski, flying solo without sister Lana, wouldn't be returning to this world unless there was a really compelling reason. Our dependence on technology has certainly only grown over the intervening decade, creating fertile ground for a new "Matrix" movie. Will the fourth part double down on the impenetrable lore of the sequels or remind us why we loved this universe so much in the first place? I guess we'll see. Lots of familiar faces will be returning, including Daneil Bernhardt of all people, though pointedly not Laurence Fishburne or Hugo Weaving. 

Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon

Ana Lily Amirpour made a big splash with her debut, "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" but satisfied few with her follow-up, meandering wasteland saga "The Bad Batch." After briefly flirting with a "Cliffhanger" remake, Amirpour is back to doing her defiantly unique thing with "Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon." Described as a dark fantasy about a girl with special powers escaping an asylum and living in New Orleans, it sounds a bit like her first film. Whether you like her or not, it's clear Amirpour is a filmmaker with a distinct vision and I have to admire that. So hopefully I get more out of her latest vision. 

Nobody

I'll admit a certain fondness for what I call Dadsploitation movies. That would be films, like "Taken" or "Death Wish," about middle-aged guys getting to be big bad-asses that are specifically designed to appeal to the power fantasies of old guys. I'm sorry, I find it kind of charming. 2021 looks to introduce an especially self-aware example of the genre with "Nobody." About a John Wick type who has relaxed a little too much in retirement, it perfectly casts unassuming Bob Odenkirk as the normal dad who turns out to be a super-confident killing machine. Hopefully, this one balances comedy and bloodshed as well as the trailer indicates because I just love that dopey premise. 

O2

Two years ago, Alexandre Aja had a surprisingly amount of success with pulpy, improbable confined space thriller "Crawl." Pleased by this reaction, Aja has decided to build a flick around a space even more confined than a flooded, alligator-infested basement. "O2" concerns a woman trapped in a medical cryo unit with no memory of how she got there. Which sounds similar to "Buried" - does anybody but me remember that one? - but I'm sure Aja will find his own lurid spin on this idea. Originally intended to star Anne Hathaway or Noomi Rapace, the equally capable Melanie Laurent will instead be the girl in the box. 

Samaritan

Since the age of the superhero movie isn't ending anytime soon, deconstructive superhero movies will also continue to exist. We've already seen two in the last six months but here's another one. "Samaritan," which comes to us from "Overlord's" Julius Avery, is a bit similar to last year's "Archenemy." Both are about a young boy befriending a former superhero, who is now living in seclusion on the streets. Though in this film, the hero is widely known, instead of presumed to just be a crazy guy. The big difference between this film and that one is "Samaritan" stars Sylvester Stallone. Hell yes, I'm interested in seeing one of our great action icons doing a dark and brooding riff on the cinematic trend that largely replaced the kind of movies he used to star in. 

Space Jam: A New Legacy

Some sequels have no reason to exist. I may ruffle some feathers by saying this but "Space Jam" is bad. Even as a kid, I knew "Space Jam" was bad. Despite that, the film has become a beloved relic of nineties nostalgia. Fans, of which there are many, have been literally petitioning for a sequel for years now. After many rumors, that enthusiasm willed a "Space Jam" sequel into existence. Given the incredibly dumb subtitle of "A New Legacy" -- how do you know it's a legacy if it's new??? -- the film sees the widely requested LeBron James stepping into Michael Jordan's shoes and playing some b-ball with the Looney Tunes. 

At the very least, there's nowhere but up for this particular franchise to go. There's a rumor that the opposing team will be composed of other WB properties, like the Joker, Jason, Pennywise, and the Gremlins. Which would admittedly grab my attention a lot more than whatever the fuck a "Space Jam" sequel would be about otherwise.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Speaking of established slasher icons! While Jason and Freddy's futures remain unknown, and Michael Myers and Ghostface prep for their next return, that most-abused of horror villains is getting rebooted for the umpteenth time. Filmmakers just can't seem to get Leatherface right. The various incarnations of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" over the last thirty years have failed to capture the unique terror and intensity of the original. To be totally frank, I don't think anybody has gotten it 100% right since Tobe Hooper stepped away from the deranged family he created. 

But here's another try anyway. This latest "Chainsaw Massacre" unsurprisingly draws inspiration from the recent "Halloween" reboot and will disregard all the previous sequels... Though pretty much every Leatherface movie has done that, so I fail to see how that's a fresh approach. About the only thing we know about this latest reboot is that it was filmed in Bulgaria, not Texas, and that the original director was fired a week into production. Not exactly information that excites me but, as a loyal horror dork, I'm sure I'll watch this when it saws its way onto one streaming service or another. 

Titane

Julia Ducournau's uncomfortable "Raw" made a big impression on horror fans back in 2016. She's following up that tale of adolescent cannibalism with "Titane." The film concerns a mysterious vanished child reappearing just as mysteriously ten years later, which seems to correspond with grisly murders happening near-by. The film has been described as more of a thriller but that sure sounds like a horror movie to me. I have no idea where Ducournau will take that premise and that's exactly what it excites me. This is a director who clearly can catch her audience off-guard.

Wrath of Man

It feels like it's been a while since we've had a movie simply devoted to Jason Statham beating the shit out of people. The Steak, as I like to call him, has largely spent the last few years appearing in big budget studio flicks not specifically built around his unique talents for whipping ass. Which I'm sure has been great for his career but I long for the simpler days, when wailing on one disposable enemy after another is all the actor needed to attract an audience. "Wrath of Man" will re-team Statham with Guy Richie, the filmmaker responsible for launching his career, so it's just as likely to be the kind of twisting crime narrative Richie used to specialize in. But the story, revolving around Statham playing a mysterious armored truck driver, really sounds like a classic vehicle for the action star. Here's hopin'. 

Wrong Turn

You may not know this but there's been six "Wrong Turn" movies. I haven't kept up with the hillbilly slasher series since the (surprisingly entertaining) second one but it's always given me a faint sense of pride that my home state of West Virginia has its own horror franchise. 2021 sees "Wrong Turn" getting rebooted, in some markets with the subtitle "The Foundation," which normally wouldn't excite me much. However, this installment finally brings WV's slasher series to my corner of the woods, as it's set around Harpers Ferry, a town I grew up right down the street from. (It was actually shot in Germany, so there will be no reason to look out for local landmarks.) Nevertheless, I find that pretty cool. We'll discover if this is a satisfying reinvention of this particular series soon enough, as it arrives in theaters later this January.

Yet More 2021 Releases I'm Interested In:

Babylon, The Boy Behind the Door, Bennedetta, Candyman, Censor, The Color Rose, Coming Home in the Dark, Deep Water, Don't Worry Darling, The Forever Purge, The French Dispatch, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghosts of the Ozarks, Green Knight, Jakob's Wife, Kandisha, Malignant, No Time to Die, Soggy Bottom, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Triangle of Sadness, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The Vigil, and What Happens Next Will Scare You.