Phil’s Quick look at what’s wetting his whistle for the upcoming year in films…
2019 was a good year all in all, with many smaller movies standing out from the crowded franchised blockbuster arena. That said Marvel killed it again and Star Wars Skywalker saga drew to a close. So here’s the films I’m most looking forward to in 2020. And a few that I’d be happy to miss.
The Must See’s
Most Excited: Top Gun: Maverick
The sequel to my second favourite film of all time, with a launch trailer that stuck the landing and an epic cast… okay so it will probably suck but I could not BE any more excited.
2.1917
Following up the dire Spectre with a big budget World War 1 film, Mendes looks to be striking gold on a film that’s already getting Oscar buzz. And teh single take idea really intrigues me.
3.Wonder Woman 1984
With Marvel having a quieter year it’s down to DC to deliver the goods this year and Wonder Woman 1984 may well be the film to do just that. The best thing in all the DC movies to date and with a well regarded film already under her belt, Wonder Woman returns to battle new bad guys. This time without Zack Snider’s influence.
4. The Many Saints of Newark
The Sopranos is my favourite TV show of all time. This feature length look at a young Tony Soprano (played by Gandolfini’s own son) could go either way. But, much like Top Gun, nostalgia runs high here.
5. No Time To Die
A risky choice for sure but No Time To Die promises lots. A great director, Craig reinvigorated (well that’s what he says) and a different story featuring a retired Bond dragged back into action. Every other Craig film has been good so the odds are in it’s favour.
Bubbling Under: Tenet (Nolan is back, always worth a watch ), Bill & Ted Face The Music (Excellent! ), A Quiet Place 2 (The original was superb ), Last Night In Soho (Edgar Wright. Say no more. ), Halloween Kills (The last Halloween was genuinely good ), Ghostbusters 2020 (a risk but with the original cast returning… maybe. Just maybe), Black Widow (Only a fool would bet against Marvel)
The Must Nots
Stinker Of The Year: The New Mutants
Shooting Fish in a barrel this one. So the trailer looked okay, the property it’s based on is solid and the cast & crew impressive… so why am I not keen? Simply this should have come out two years ago, it’s had delays, reshoots and is rumoured to be dumped direct onto Hulu. If it even comes out.
Also Dreading: Birds of Prey (Robbie will be great but the film will not, sadly ), Bad Boys 4 Life (Michael Bay – so will be long and a slog) , Fast & Furious 9 (No Rock, No Stath, No Walker. Just Vin ), Godzilla Vs Kong (I think we are done with Godzilla now ), Dolittle (A film we don’t need), Minions 2 (The last DM film was weak and teh Minions film equally a let down), Coming To America 2 (Murphy has had VERY little to offer of late)
Last Year…
So how did I do last year?
This is the time of the year when I look back at my picks of the good, the bad and the ugly from 2019 and see how close I was (or as it often is the case, how far!)…
For best: I tipped Toy Story 4, Captain Marvel, Hobbs & Shaw, Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as my most anticipated of 2019. Toy Story 4 was good but not in my top 5 of the year with Captain Marvel following suit. Hobbs & Shaw was a bust but Once Upon A Time In Hollywood delivered in spades. As for Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker… it was good but not great but still a great watch!
As for the rest? Avengers Infinity War Part 2 was really good and closed off the saga in spectacular fashion, IT: Chapter Two was better than most gave it credit (but still not on par with Chapter One). Wonder Woman 1984 never came out and has been added to 2020’s list. Glass was good fun but Godzilla: King of the Monsters died on it’s arse.Spider-Man: Far From Home could well be the best Marvel film of 2020 whilst Joker was simply awesome. Jumanji: The Next Level was good fun as expected, even if it as a step down from Welcome to the Jungle, & The Irishman was everything I wanted it to be (other than maybe a few minutes shorter)
As for the Stinkers? Terminator: Dark Fate was actually okay (and certainly not the bomb I expected), The Lion King remake was also pretty good fun, Pet Sematary was weak and Pokemon Detective Pikachu was great fun (think Deadpool for kids). Never watched What Men Want , Aladdin 2019 was solid and X-Men: Dark Phoenix was pretty much what I expected. Rubbish. John Wick: Chapter 3 was a return to form but both Alita: Battle Angel & Men in Black Spin Off both failed as expected.
So here’s to 2019… see you again next year!
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Phil Hobden is the former Film Editor & Writer for renowned martial arts focused COMBAT MAGAZINE in the UK. He is also a filmmaker in his own right, having produced two cult Independent action films in LEFT FOR DEAD and TEN DEAD MEN. He was the host for the award nominated Filmsploitation podcast for 4 years, currently co-hosts Ross And Phil Talk Movies and is a writer/editor for his own blog Phil’s Quick Capsule Review…
