Jacob’s Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2018

This is the moment I have been waiting for! We are getting closer to the new year, which means I get to talk about (and share) the upcoming movies I am excited for in the new year! Some of these may be weird choices to you, but to me, these movies are what make me look forward to going to the movies. Also, feel free to let me know what your Top 10 anticipated movies are!

#10. ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’

Han Solo’s origin story was scrapped from ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’, so it only feels right for Harrison Ford’s snarky smuggler to get a back story. He is such an interesting character in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. Women loved him, and men wanted to be him! When I heard that he would finally get the origin story he deserved, I was excited, yet a bit skeptical. Sadly, ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ has went through production problems, from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (‘The LEGO Movie’, ’21 Jump Street’) were fired by LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and replaced by Ron Howard, to reports of Alden Ehrenreich’s terrible performance as young Solo; I am still skeptical, but also in for a wild ride, and a breath of fresh air knowing this character will finally get the prequel treatment.

 

#09. ‘Tomb Raider’

Some people will say that Angelina Jolie was the definitive Lara Croft, and none could compare. Keep in mind that this is based on a reboot of the ever-popular ‘Tomb Raider’ video games; which means that this is also a reboot of the movies as well! Jolie had her turn; now Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander (‘The Danish Girl’) is exploring the tombs and taking on the British accent. Thinking that this is based on a game rated M, I should hope the film will get an R-rating, but seeing how Hollywood and M-rated game adaptations work, it will probably get no more than a PG-13 rating to get teen gamers in the theaters. As for me, no matter how this will turn out; whether it will be the next ‘Assassin’s Creed’, or even ‘Mortal Kombat’, I will be glad to see what Vikander can bring to the character of Lara Croft!

 

#08. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

I know what you are thinking! Why isn’t ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ my most anticipated movie of 2018?! This is my own personal list. Not to mention, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ did not make the top of my ‘Anticipated Films of 2015’ list! While it would be easy to get excited over the most epic superhero movie ever, there are other movies out there; and besides it would be unfair to leave this one off of the list. To be honest, it would be amazing to see Marvel’s collection of characters we have all come to know and love, but it does seem crowded. I guess I will have to wait until May to see where it ranks in the MCU!

 

#07. ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2’

I bet a lot of you did not know that Disney was making a sequel to ‘Wreck-It Ralph’; well, I did, and once I heard news, like the case with ‘The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water’, my inner child got excited! I cannot wait to see what worlds Ralph (Voice of John C. Reilly) and Vanellope Von Schweetz hit when they break out of the arcade systems and hit the internet! I believe there will be plenty of sight gags, but I do hope this does not just try too hard and actually succeeds as far as Disney sequels go! Still looking forward to this over ‘Frozen 2’, which will be set to hit in 2019.

 

#06. ‘Mary Poppins Returns’

Oh look! Another long-awaited Disney sequel! This time, it is live-action and is a sequel to a classic that is but five decades old! In my opinion, Emily Blunt is the perfect choice to play P.L. Travers’ classic character! I believe she will capture the magic of the British nanny, plus she is a good singer! Must be the nostalgia that makes me excited!

 

#05. ‘A Quiet Place’

I might as well be playing “Six Degrees of Cinema”, because I am starting to notice a pattern between the last two choices and my Number 6 choice. ‘A Quiet Place’ may not be a Disney movie, but it also stars Emily Blunt in a lead role. Here she plays a wife (with real-life husband John Krasinski playing her husband) and a mother of two kids as they all try to keep quiet before this supernatural force tears them apart. Its trailer gives us very little; reminding me of last year’s ‘It Comes at Night’. Originality in horror movies is really hard to come by, so it only feels right to give this movie money!

 

#04. ‘Ready Player One’

Nostalgia, virtual reality, and Steven Spielberg seem like a match made in heaven. ‘Ready Player One’ – based on Ernest Cline’s book of the same name – will no doubt be visually stunning, with awesome action sequences to boot. Time will tell if it becomes his next flop like ‘The BFG’. (which I considered to be one of his best films) Nonetheless, I will be looking forward to immersing myself into the Oasis come March!

 

#03.’Black Panther’

I have never expected Black Panther’s solo movie to be so badass; at least that is what I am getting from the trailer! So far, every bit of marketing I have seen is getting me pumped for the main event in February! The atmosphere, action, and sheer look of the world of ‘Black Panther’ are getting me excited! I know audiences and critics will be too once Marvel’s newest feature is near release!

 

#02. ‘Isle of Dogs’

Since 2014’s ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, I have been waiting to see what Director Wes Anderson’s next feature would be. His comeback feature is more of a return to stop-motion with his first animated feature since ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’. It is also an homage to the films of Akira Kurosawa with its Japanese setting, as well as the stop-motion animated features of Rankin-Bass. (‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) To top it all off is an all-star voice cast featuring Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, and many others. I cannot wait to see what Mr. Anderson has cooked up this time!

 

#01. ‘The Happytime Murders’

Like Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s raunchy animated feature ‘Sausage Party’, I have known about ‘The Happytime Murders’ development for quite some time! Think a raunchier ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’, but with puppets instead of humans. One of the puppets named Phil Philips (Voice of puppeteer Bill Barretta) is tasked with solving the murders of a puppet cast of an 80’s children’s show in a world where puppets and humans coexist. (As if they have not already.) It seems that this long-awaited puppet comedy has finally found a release date in August, as well as a cast including Melissa McCarthy and Elizabeth Banks. Now the question is: When will the red-band trailer premiere?

 

Honorable Mentions:

‘Proud Mary’

The trailer for ‘Proud Mary’ makes it seem like a return to 70’s female blaxploitation pictures, such as ‘Foxy Brown’, even though it looks semi-serious. Also, Taraji P. Henson? Yes, please!

 

‘Game Night’

I am one for some dark comedy, especially one of the horror variety! Only time will tell if ‘Game Night’ is actually funny or just another comedy that tries too hard.

 

‘Sherlock Gnomes’

I know no one was really asking for a sequel to ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ (Trust me, neither was I!) But it has been a while since we have last seen the two love gnomes; (Voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt) only this time they are crossing paths with a famed detective gnome named Sherlock Gnomes (Voice of Johnny Depp) and his assistant Watson. (Voice of Chiwetel Ejiofor) I seriously cannot even hold my excitement for it!

 

‘Rampage’

I do not care if Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is one of Hollywood’s most overused actors/action stars; ‘Rampage’ is yet another movie based on a video game; and one that seemed pretty badass! Even if the plot seems different from the game, seeing George the gorilla, Ralph the werewolf, and Lizzie the lizard destroy buildings (and maybe each other) are what my inner child has come to see!

 

‘Super Troopers 2’

In case no one knew, I actually liked ‘Super Troopers’; and I am kind of looking forward to ‘Super Troopers 2’! I just hope it does not reach the same path ‘Dumb and Dumber To’, or ‘Bad Santa 2’ did!

 

‘Slender Man’

I figured that ‘Slender: The Eight Pages’ would end up being a good idea for a horror movie; now my imagination can probably come to life. ‘Slender Man’ may not even be based on the infamous PC game. It might just be based on the infamous Creepypasta itself. I hope it is the former though!

 

‘Incredibles 2’

Since I always make it a tradition to see every Pixar film that comes out, I felt it would be wrong to exclude ‘Incredibles 2’. I really cannot wait to see what happens to the Parr/Incredible family after the events of ‘The Incredibles’! I even found myself watching the teaser trailer more than once!

 

‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’

Out of all the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ‘Ant-Man’ remains to be their most underrated feature. It is hilarious, visually stunning, and surprisingly heartbreaking. Nevertheless, he is still a part of Marvel’s roster, and the first post-credits scene teased Evangeline Lily’s turn in the Wasp suit. Just take a look at the marketing above; it seems like a fun sequel which I hope it turns out to be!

 

‘The Spy Who Dumped Me’

This could be another stupid comedy; but two words: Kate McKinnon!

 

‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’

Okay! I give in! I really want to see ‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’. Enough said!

 

‘Christopher Robin’

I want to know what it is like to see a live-action/animated ‘Winnie the Pooh’ movie! Also, why not Ewan McGregor as an adult Christopher Robin? I can imagine the trailer now!

 

‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’

I know it seems pointless to remake ‘The Grinch’ yet again; but it’s Benedict Cumberbatch as the bitter green soul! That’s it!

 

‘Untitled Animated Spider-Man Film’

Marvel Studios and Sony may be sharing the rights to ‘Spider-Man’ right now, but I want to see what an animated ‘Spider-Man’ film would be like!

 

‘Deadpool 2’

As a character, I like Deadpool. I do not know what my reaction will be after seeing ‘Deadpool 2′, but it will be worth to see how the movie will turn the superhero sequel over its head with meta-humor similar to ’22 Jump Street’; just more fourth-wall breaking!

 

‘Venom’

News of a ‘Venom’ movie starring Tom Hardy has been hitting the rounds of the internet time and time again. I do not feel comfortable with Hardy as Spider-Man’s evil archnemesis, yet I am curiously interested in how cool a ‘Venom’ movie could be; especially when thinking about how much screen time he had in ‘Spider-Man 3’

 

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

I have heard about a Freddie Mercury biopic being in development for a couple of years now. First, Sacha Baron Cohen was set for the role. (and what a perfect choice it could have been.) Now Rami Malek has taken on the role. It sounds interesting!