You are not experiencing déjà vu. A huge percentage of films from our 2020 movie preview are once again here on our 2021 preview. But the good news is, there’s still a lot of great stuff to look forward to.
At this point last year, we had no idea the covid-19 pandemic would change the entire world as we know it, including delaying or moving around hundreds of movie releases in the process. Now that it’s 2021, and a vaccine is starting to be administered, there’s hope we’ll get to see these movies this year. Because, well, these are a lot of movies we really want to see, and we think you might agree.
(All dates are subject to change and let’s face it, probably will; release platforms provided when available.)
January
Outside the Wire
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Anthony Mackie is a superpowered android in this military sci-fi tale about a drone pilot (played by Damson Idris) sent into a war zone to track down a doomsday device. (January 15, Netflix)
Finding ‘Ohana
This fun-looking adventure from director Jude Weng follows a family that moves from New York to Hawaii, where the kids go on a pirate treasure hunt to save the family home. Comparisons to The Goonies appear to be entirely intentional. (January 29, Netflix)
February
Earwig and the Witch
From director Goro Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli’s first feature-length CG movie is about an orphan who begins to discover her hidden talent for magic when she’s taken in by an offbeat witch. The English language version features the voices of Dan Stevens, Richard E. Grant, and Kacey Musgraves, who also performs the theme song. (February 4)
A Nightmare Wakes
Nora Unkel’s gothic literary horror imagines that while Mary Shelley was penning Frankenstein, the characters from the book started to intermingle with her real life, including her romance with Percy Shelley. (February 4, Shudder)
Bliss
The latest from Mike Cahill (Another Earth, I Origins) stars Salma Hayek and Owen Wilson; it’s about a newly divorced guy that falls for an alluring woman who believes the entire world is actually a simulation. (February 5, Amazon)
Cinderella
Kay Cannon (Pitch Perfect, Blockers) directs this musical romantic comedy based on the classic fairy tale. The cast includes pop star Camila Cabello as Cinderella, Billy Porter as her fairy godparent, and Frozen’s Idina Menzel as Cinderella’s stepmother. (February 4, theatres, but rumoured to be moving)
Space Sweepers
This Korean sci-fi action-adventure is about a ragtag crew of space junkers who discover the score of a lifetime — a weaponised android — and must decide whether to cash in or protect her. The trailer makes this one look like all kinds of fun. (February 5, Netflix)
March
Chaos Walking
Under normal circumstances, a high concept sci-fi film from the director of Edge of Tomorrow starring Spider-Man and Rey Skywalker would be insanely exciting. However, after years of delays and changes we are fairly confident this Doug Liman-Tom Holland-Daisy Ridley film about a woman who shows up on an all-male planet won’t be as good as we’d like. (March 4)
Raya and the Last Dragon
Coming to theatres — as well as Disney+ for an additional fee — Raya and the Last Dragon tells the tale of a young woman seeking the last dragon in the world in order to save her people. Problem is, when she does, the creature is no longer up to the task. Featuring the voices of Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina, Raya looks to be another epic Disney adventure. (March 5, theatres and Disney+ Premium)
The King’s Man
The latest film in the Kingsman franchise takes things back to the beginning, telling the story of how the suave secret agents came to be. Ralph Fiennes leads the charge along with Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, and others. (March 11, but rumoured to be moving)
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
If you enjoyed 2018’s Peter Rabbit starring Domhnall Gleeson and Rose Byrne, this sequel is for you (and probably your kids). It’s once again directed by Will Gluck; James Corden will also return to voice the title character in addition to Elizabeth Debicki and Margot Robbie, plus David Oyelowo joining in a live-action role. (March 18)
April
No Time to Die
Daniel Craig’s final ride as the most famous secret agent of all time is now scheduled for release about a full year after it was originally supposed to come out. It was the first major film delayed due to covid-19, and when we finally get to see it, maybe it’ll make things feel semi-normal again? (April 1, but rumoured to be moving)
Tom and Jerry
Chloë Grace Moretz stars in this animated/live-action hybrid bringing the world’s most famous cat and mouse team to the big screen. Tim Story, who directed the first Fantastic Four, is at the helm. (April 1, theatres)
Bios
Game of Thrones’ Miguel Sapochnik directs, and Robert Zemeckis produces, this sci-fi movie about the last man on Earth (Tom Hanks) setting out on a post-apocalyptic road trip with his android companion (played in a motion-capture performance by Caleb Landry Jones). (April 15)
Reminiscence
Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson star in the directorial debut of Lisa Joy, one of the creators of Westworld. Jackman plays a man who lets people relive one of their memories. That becomes an issue when a woman he’s falling for shows up in someone’s memory doing something very bad. (April 15)
Mortal Kombat
We’re not saying the world is a better place because a new Mortal Kombat movie is coming out. That would be silly. However, to be fair, we’re not NOT saying that about this latest adaptation of the hyper-violent fighting video game. (April 15)
A Quiet Place: Part II
Over a year after its original release date, we will finally get to see how the recently widowed Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt) keeps her family safe in a world overrun by aliens with super-sensitive hearing. The John Krasinski-helmed horror sequel promises to expand the world from the first movie in terrifying new ways. (April 22)
Ron’s Gone Wrong
A 20th Century Studios release from Disney, this CG animated feature was directed by Sarah Smith (Arthur Christmas), Jean-Philippe Vine (Shaun the Sheep), and Octavio E. Rodriguez (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2). It puts viewers in a world where robots are everyday pals to kids, but one young boy finds his doesn’t quite work like it’s meant to. (April 22)
Last Night in Soho
Little is known about the latest film from Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright. What we do know is it takes place in two different time periods — 1960s London, in a story led by Anya Taylor-Joy, and modern London, with Thomasin McKenzie — that somehow cross over, and the world of fashion is involved. Sign us up. (April 22)
Black Widow
This (pandemic-delayed) Avengers prequel explaining much of Black Widow’s secret history will hopefully finally arrive on this date. It’s rumoured that the events of this film will play a crucial role in everything moving ahead, wrapping up the MCU’s Phase 3 while acting as a bridge toward Phase 4. (April 29)
May
Bob’s Burgers: The Movie
Like many film projects, the highly anticipated Bob’s Burgers film, based on the hit Fox animated series, has shifted its date several times — first thanks to the Fox/Disney sale and then covid-19. What’s interesting though is that the creators involved haven’t spilled any beans (Gene!), and neither Disney nor Fox ever released any teaser footage. We’re as desperate to see this one as Louise is to smack Boo Boo. Buns crossed, everyone! (May 13)
Godzilla vs. Kong
If ever there was a film worth waiting to see in a theatre, it’s one about two giant, legendary monsters battling each other. The key with this film, however, will be if the story will be good enough to make the epic showdown worth watching or not. (May 20)
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
What does a Saw movie look like through the eyes of comedian Chris Rock? We’ll soon find out. Rock conceptualised and stars in this return to the popular horror franchise — which had pretty much run out of steam until Rock suddenly came along — about a killer who puts victims in cruel, elaborate traps. (May 20)
Free Guy
Ryan Reynolds is a NPC in a shooter video game who gains consciousness and ends up becoming a hero. The concept sounds really fun and with director Shawn Levy at the helm (Night at the Museum) this could be a real crowd-pleaser. It also stars Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer and Reynolds’ Green Lantern buddy Taika Waititi. (May 20)
F9
The return of Han. A possible venture into space. Action that somehow looks even bigger than the last few films. What could be more exciting than this ninth instalment in the Fast and Furious franchise? We submit, absolutely nothing. (May 27)
Cruella
Learn the origin story of the 101 Dalmatians villain as a young fashion designer in the 1970s begins to indulge her desire for…unconventional animal skins. The live-action Disney film stars Emma Stone as the titular character along with Emma Thompson and Mark Strong. (May 27)
Infinite
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, this sci-fi action film has a cast that boasts Mark Wahlberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jason Mantzoukas, Toby Jones, Dylan O’Brien, Sophie Cookson, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, and Rupert Friend. It’s based on D. Eric Maikranz’s novel The Reincarnationist Papers which is about a man who finds out his visions are actually memories of his past lives, and he’s not the only one having them. (May 27)
June
Exclusive: “We’re going to see Sly do things he hasn’t done in a long time,” #Samaritan director Julius Avery tells Total Film https://t.co/2qwogPfzt0
— Total Film (@totalfilm) January 8, 2021
Samaritan
Sylvester Stallone gets to play a superhero in this action-thriller from Julius Avery, director of 2018’s Overlord (that WWII zombie-Nazi film from Bad Robot). And not just any superhero, but one thought dead or missing after a battle 20 years prior. Utopia and Addams Family 2 actor Javon “Wanna” Walton also stars. (June 3)
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The third Conjuring title in the ever-expanding Conjuring cinematic universe sees the Warrens (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga) return for another scary tale based on one of their real-life cases, this time a murder trial in which the defendant claimed to be demonically possessed. Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona) directs this time around, though James Wan is still on hand as producer and co-story writer. (June 3)
Vivo
The ever-busy Lin-Manuel Miranda grants his musical talents to Sony Pictures Animation’s first-ever musical CG animated adventure. Directed by Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) and Brandon Jeffords, from a screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights) and DeMicco, the film follows a Kinkajou named Vivo, a tropical rainforest creature, who travels from Havana, Cuba to Miami, Florida to fulfil a friend’s final wish. He’ll also apparently meet a “tween tornado” along the way. The voice cast has yet to be announced. (June 3)
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Decades after Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston saved New York from ghosts, their legend has faded. Ghosts are eternal though and mysterious family ties will be revealed in this continuation-slash-reboot of the hit ‘80s franchise starring Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd. (June 10)
Minions: The Rise of Gru
The Minions franchise takes a look back to just how a young Gru found himself on the path to supervillainy, as well as stewardship of his own little army of gobbledegook-spewing minions. (June 17)
Luca
Pixar movies are always fascinating, whether they end up being great or not. Luca is the studio’s latest and it might be the most…basic one yet? At least from what we know of it. All we know is it’s about a young boy growing up on the Italian countryside. Is there some weird twist? Probably? But it could just be a simple, lovely, coming of age story. Either way, it’s Pixar. We’re looking forward to it. (June 17)
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
The first Venom movie was a surprise smash, so it’s no surprise that a sequel quickly got set up. This one is directed by Andy Serkis and will feature Tom Hardy’s title character facing off with Woody Harrelson playing none other than Carnage, the popular comics character fans have been itching to see on screen for years. (June 24)
July
Rumble
As you can see by the trailer, it’s an animated movie about monsters who wrestle. And as you can tell by that sentence, we have an early contender for Best Picture 2022. (July 8)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Though Marvel’s Shang-Chi film will be the character’s first major appearance within the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie’s set to introduce the legendary fighter at a point in his life when he’s already attempted to escape the nefarious Ten Rings organisation. His path to heroism might not be a proper origin story, but as Shang-Chi saves the world in his first big-screen action epic, it’ll be the beginning of being one of the most high profile capes in Marvel’s catalogue. (July 8)
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Not many athletes could pick up the mantle of a basketball player who has to play with, and against, the Looney Tunes — but LeBron James can probably pull it off. The NBA champ stars in this sequel to the ‘90s hit which starred Michael Jordan. Bugs Bunny, surely, returns. (July 15)
Uncharted
Tom Holland is adventurer Nathan Drake in this long-awaited adaptation of the super awesome and popular PlayStation franchise of the same name. Mark Wahlberg co-stars in what could be the start of the next great action franchise. (July 15)
Old
The latest film by director M. Night Shyamalan is rumoured to be about a group of people trapped on a secluded island with a dangerous secret involving time. Despite the misstep of Glass, we’re still all about Shyamalan’s tiny, weird movies such as Split and The Visit, so we’re anxious to see what mystery he can unfold here. (July 22)
The Tomorrow War
Chris Pratt stars in this military sci-fi action thriller as Gunnery Sergeant Barney Gamble, a haunted man who must confront his past after humanity develops time-travel technology for recruiting soldiers to combat an alien adversary. (July 23, though rumoured to move)
Jungle Cruise
The dad jokes will be numerous in this big-budget adaptation of the classic Disneyland ride. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt star in a film that’ll aim to replicate the tone and success of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. (July 29)
August
The Suicide Squad
The Marvel Cinematic Universe changed for the better when James Gunn made an off-the-wall film about a group of ragtag criminals. We’re hoping he does the same for the DC Entertainment with The Suicide Squad, which has an amazing cast, super weird characters, and more potential than nearly any other comic book movie this year. (August 5)
Candyman
The wait for Candyman has only made us want the film more. Director Nia DaCosta went from talented young filmmaker to attached to a Marvel movie, star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II went from Aquaman’s nemesis to Dr. Freaking Manhattan and genre superstar, and now a horror reimagining we were already super excited about is arguably our most anticipated horror films of the year. (August 26)
Summer TBD
Army of the Dead
Zack Snyder’s first post-Justice League film technically isn’t his expanded “Snyder Cut” of Justice League. Before he went back to that film, he completed this horror-action film about a group of soldiers who pull off a casino heist in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Dave Bautista stars. (Winter, Netflix)
The Green Knight
After centuries of retellings of King Arthur’s tale, Dev Patel brings Sir Gawain’s story to the centre stage. Set after Arthur’s rise to power, The Green Knight sees Gawain following in his legendary uncle’s footsteps as part of his quest to slay a massive being with green skin who stalks the land.
September
Hotel Transylvania 4
The first in the series not helmed by animation icon Genndy Tartakovsky, the latest Hotel Transylvania sees Dracula and his kooky family return for new hijinks. (September 9)
The Boss Baby: Family Business
Somehow, Boss Baby has returned. Except that Boss Baby Ted’s all grown up now, and so’s his brother Tim, navigating family life and work-life as actual adults. But when a threat to Baby society is uncovered by Tim’s daughter, they must once again become Babies to help save the day. (September 9)
Dune
Like we said before, it’s just 2020 over again. Back then, we were foaming at the mouth for this big-budget Denis Villeneuve-directed adaptation and nothing has changed since. Well, except everything. We’ve already seen a fantastic trailer and it only make us want Dune more. (September 30)
October
Bloody Hell
This indie horror-comedy follows a man who flees the country after accidentally becoming a media sensation, but is immediately kidnapped by a freaky family and must figure out how to escape their basement (with the help of his own personified conscience) before it’s too late. (October 8)
Morbius
This year brings sequels for the Spider-Man and Venom characters, as well as the first film of another famous Spider-villain, Morbius. How or if this film, which stars Jared Leto, fits in with the others remains to be seen, but it certainly looks to be very much inspired by the anti-hero success of Venom. (October 7)
Halloween Kills
Evil never dies. Not even if you lock it in a basement and burn the house to the ground — which is what happened to Michael Myers at the end of 2018’s Halloween reboot. But this year, that story will continue in the middle chapter of what’ll end up as a trilogy bringing back not just the same creative crew, but Jamie Lee Curtis and, presumably, a very toasty Michael Myers. (October 14)
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding plays one of the most famous members of the G.I. Joe crew in this new iteration of the classic franchise based on the popular toy line. (October 21)
Eternals
The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes with a star-studded cast playing celestial beings. Plus, Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Gemma Chan, and Salma Hayek aside, after award season this year, everyone is going to know the film’s director Chloé Zhao too. (She directed early Oscar contender Nomadland.) (October 28)
November
Mission Impossible 7
The last few Mission: Impossible movies have been so incredibly good, we have no idea how this seventh film (which is being shot in tandem with an eighth film) can even begin to live up to that. But, if anyone can do it, it’s the IMF team led by star Tom Cruise and writer-director Christopher McQuarrie. (November 18)
Encanto
As the only unmagical member of a notoriously magical family living in an enchanted corner of Colombia, the heroine of Disney’s Encanto feels understandably out of place and unsure of what life has in store for her. As she ventures out into the wider musical world, though, it’s likely that she’ll discover a kind of magic all her own, in typical Disney fashion. (November 24)
The Addams Family 2
Yup, it’s the sequel to the animated film from 2019 starring Charlize Theron and Oscar Isaac as Morticia and Gomez Addams. Chloë Grace Moretz will reprise as Wednesday as well but Javon “Wanna” Walton picks up Pugsley’s voice from Finn Wolfhard this time around. This one also stars Bill Hader, Nick Kroll, Bette Midler, and Snoop Dogg. (November 25)
December
Clifford the Big Red Dog
How do you adapt the beloved literary adventures of a giant red pooch into live-action? With a whole lot of CG and a whole lot of heart, hopefully. Clifford and his new best friend Emily find themselves targeted by a sinister genetics company that wants to supersize animals for profit. (December 9)
The Matrix 4
After three movies in a relatively short period of time, most fans never thought they’d see a new Matrix movie. Plus, the story was over. Neo had done it. But Lana Wachowski decided that wasn’t the case and got Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss back along for the ride. We have no idea what it’ll look like yet but wow, we’re ready to plug back in. (December 26)
Sing 2
The 2016 mega-hit about a singing competition is finally getting its sequel later this year. We don’t know what it’s about but we’re guessing it’ll contain lots of singing animals voiced by famous people. (December 26)
TBD 2021
Untitled Spider-Man: Far From Home Sequel
Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker in one of the most talked-about Marvel sequels to date. Why? Because Doctor Strange joins the webslinger in a film that’ll explore the multiverse; it reportedly brings in actors like Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to link all of the Spider-Man movies that have ever been released, while also moving the MCU forward.
Nine Days
Black Panther and Us star Winston Duke plays a person who sets souls up with human bodies. But Pixar’s Soul, this is not. Duke’s character puts souls through tests to see who is ready to go to Earth and then finds himself enamoured with one soul, in particular, played by Joker’s Zazie Beetz. It looks lyrical and excellent.
The Forever Purge
Not much is known about the plot of this one other than it’s a sequel to 2016’s The Purge: Election Year, but by now we definitely have a good handle on what the violent, lawless Purge itself is all about. And that title, taken with the fact that this is poised to be the final Purge movie, is suitably ominous.
Little Fish
In a world where a virus has started wiping away memories, a young woman (Ready Player One’s Olivia Cooke) struggles to hold onto love when her husband (Jack O’Connell) begins to forget her. It’s adapted from a short story by author Aja Gabel, and the tone looks more like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind than, say, The Notebook or The Vow.
Saint Maud
Lots of critics have already been able to see this psychological horror film from studio A24 and they’ve been raving. It’s the directorial debut of Rose Glass and follows Morfydd Clark (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) as a hospice nurse, the titular Maud. She’s recently converted to Roman Catholicism and becomes obsessed with saving the soul of someone in her care, Amanda, played by Jennifer Ehle (RoboCop). Its release was up in the air for a bit so we’re glad it finally will be available.
PG: Psycho Goreman
In this retro-flavored sci-fi horror adventure from Steven Kostanski (The Void), a brother and sister have a close encounter with a terrifying alien who soon realises he’s forced to do whatever the little girl tells him to. Hijinx, heavy metal, fish-out-of-water hilarity, alien brawls, and what look to be some excellent creature effects ensue.
Fear Street Trilogy
R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series was the step many of us took after ingesting his Goosebumps books. Now, Netflix has a trilogy of adaptations set in different eras. Here’s what the streamer revealed about the plot: “In 1994, a group of teenagers discovers that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations may all be connected — and that they may be the next targets.” You’ll notice some of the casts overlap. Here are the other details:
- Fear Street: 1994 is directed by Leigh Janiak and written by Janiak and Phil Graziadei. It stars Kiana Madeira, Olivia Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger, Ashley Zukerman, Maya Hawke, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Jordana Spiro, and Jordyn DiNatale. (Netflix)
- Fear Street: 1978 is also directed by Janiak, who penned the script with Zak Olkewicz. It stars Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins, McCabe Slye, Ted Sutherland, Gillian Jacobs, Kiana Madeira, Jordana Spiro, Chiara Aurelia, and Jordyn DiNatale. (Netflix)
- Fear Street: 1666 should be an interesting one. Writer Kate Trefry joins Janiak on this one which stars Kiana Madeira, Ashley Zukerman, Gillian Jacobs, Olivia Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Darrell Britt-Gibson, Fred Hechinger, Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, McCabe Slye, Jordana Spiro, and Jordyn DiNatale. (Netflix)
Blood Red Sky
A woman’s worst nightmare becomes reality when the flight she’s on is hijacked, setting in motion a series of events that forces her to finally reveal a dark secret related to the mysterious disease she’s carrying that few, if any, of the people around her know she might be exposing them to. (Netflix)
Escape from Spiderhead
Based on George Saunders’ short story, Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) directs the tale Netflix describes thusly: “In the near future, two young convicts grapple with their pasts in a facility run by a brilliant visionary, who experiments on inmates with emotion-altering drugs.” The cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, Jurnee Smollett, Mark Paguio, and Tess Haubrich. (Netflix)
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
Emile Hirsch, Kelsey Grammer, Alfred Molina, Steven Yeun, Nick Frost, Diego Luna, Tatiana Maslany, Nick Offerman, and more voice characters in the latest from Dreamworks’ and Guillermo del Toro’s Trollhunters franchise. The summary for this one: “Arcadia may look like an ordinary town but it lies at the centre of magical and mystical lines that makes it a nexus for many battles among otherworldly creatures including trolls, aliens and wizards. Now the heroes from the hit series Trollhunters, 3Below and Wizards, team-up in their most epic adventure yet where they must fight the Arcane Order for control over the magic that binds them all.” (Netflix)
A Winter’s Tale From Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the sheep knows that if he and the other barn animals would just behave and stay put in their enclosures when humans aren’t around, they wouldn’t get into nearly as much trouble as they tend to. During the holiday season, all Shaun truly wants to do is relax, but when a plan to secure the animals more gifts suddenly goes awry, it’s up to Shaun to put things right before the festivities are ruined for everyone. (Netflix)
Wish Dragon
A struggling college student and a mystical dragon become fast friends as they set out on a journey across present-day Shanghai. With the dragon’s vast magical powers at their disposal, there’s little the duo can’t simply wish their way through as they get into all sorts of trouble. But the more they simply ask for things, the more they realise that what’s most important in the world are the relationships we form. This one stars the voices of John Cho, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jimmy Wong, Constance Wu, and more. (Netflix)
Awake
Gina Rodriguez, Ariana Greenblatt, Frances Fisher, Shamier Anderson, Finn Jones, and Jennifer Jason Leigh star in this one, which imagines that every human on the planet suddenly stops being able to fall asleep. Within hours, society’s on the brink of collapse both because of the phenomenon’s impact on people and the fact that the world’s electronics have also mysteriously stopped functioning. When a former soldier named Jill realises that her daughter might be unaffected by the event, she suspects that the child may be humanity’s last hope. (Netflix)
[referenced id=”1661289″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/12/12-intriguing-sundance-movies-that-could-become-2021s-genre-sleeper-hits/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/31/nb4u0t5v45wkbazdgw4i-300×169.jpg” title=”12 Intriguing Sundance Movies That Could Become 2021’s Genre Sleeper Hits” excerpt=”Even though no one will actually be in Park City, Utah to see it, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival is still happening. It’s taking place mostly online from January 28-February 3 and anyone can go, if they buy tickets and passes. Those go on sale January 7 so, in the…”]
Thunder Force
Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer fight crime in this superhero comedy from Ben Falcone, which sees the stars cast as estranged childhood friends who reconnect when one of them develops a treatment to give them powers to fight back in a world dominated by the rise of supervillainy. (Netflix)
Nightmare Alley
Guillermo del Toro is back with one of his many highly anticipated projects, this one a psychological thriller based on William Lindsay Gresham’s book (previously adapted in 1947 by Edmund Goulding). Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Tony Collette, and Bradley Cooper are just some of the names attached to this story about a carnival worker conman (Cooper) who gets entangled with a psychiatrist (Blanchette) who’s, let’s say, not so ethical. (Netflix)
Back to the Outback
A ragtag group of talking deadly critters — Maddie the poisonous snake (Isla Fisher), thorny devil lizard Zoe (Miranda Tapsell), Frank the hairy spider (Guy Pearce), Nigel the scorpion (Angus Imrie), and their frenemy Pretty Boy the Koala (Tim Minchin) — escape an Australian zoo and head out on a wild road trip across the country, trying to avoid capture by their zealous zookeeper (Eric Bana). (Netflix)
Don’t Look Up
From writer-director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Ant-Man), this political satire/sci-fi disaster story follows two astronomers tasked with trying to warn the world of a comet set to destroy Earth. We’re assuming, based on all current real-world evidence, that they won’t have much luck. However, it has an all-star cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, Melanie Lynskey, Himesh Patel, Matthew Perry, and Tomer Sisley. (Netflix)
Nightbooks
Sam Raimi is among the producers of this family-friendly chiller from David Yarovesky (director of Brightburn), based on the children’s horror-fantasy book by J.A. White. It’s about a New York City kid who’s kidnapped by an evil witch (Krysten Ritter) and is forced to tell scary stories every night if he wants to survive. (Netflix)
[referenced id=”1522573″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/10/the-10-scariest-g-rated-movies/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/24/que7y7nog5mz5saxfggb-300×169.jpg” title=”The 10 Scariest G-Rated Movies” excerpt=”Halloween is a time for horrors, haunts, and movies with a lot of blood. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the most terrifying films out there are the ones that are considered “safe” for all ages. Here are our picks of the 10 scariest G-rated movies in modern history.”]
Robin Robin
Aardman delivers an all-new stop-motion animated tale for the holiday season, about a young robin chick who goes on a journey of self-discovery after being raised by a family of mice. (Netflix)
Stowaway
Toni Collette captaining a mission to Mars? Um, sign us the hell up. This sci-fi thriller is about a stowaway (played by Shamier Anderson) who accidentally hitches a ride on a long-haul space journey and causes chaos once he’s discovered, with other crew members played by Anna Kendrick and Daniel Dae Kim. (Netflix)
Pinocchio
Another from Guillermo del Toro! His dark fairytale stop-motion animated take on the classic Pinocchio story is finally getting released. This one transports the story of a puppet boy trying to live up to the father that created him to…the rise of fascism in Mussolini’s Italy? Yeah, get ready for things to get grim. (Netflix)
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie
In this continuation of the gone-too-soon latest take on the TMNT franchise, Leo leads his brothers into action in the greatest threat the Wild Dogs (née Hamato Clan) has had to face yet, as the dark shadow of the sinister alien Krangs descends upon New York City. (Netflix)