by Brandon Matzke

Happy 2018 everybody! New year, new films, same old me. To kick off the new year, I decided to look at the films I’m looking forward to this year. Obviously, I can’t predict if these will be good or not, but these are just the ones I’m looking forward to. Of course, we have different tastes; I’m not looking forward to the thirteen-hundredth Fast And Furious film, but I’ll gladly check out the next weird Wes Anderson flick. Now, in no particular order, here’s my most anticipated films of the year!

Avengers: Infinity War

I’ll get this out of the way; yes, I am a fan of Marvel and Marvel Studios. I look at their work as films; I try my best to ignore my inner fanboy when examining their films. But everybody screamed with excitement when the much-anticipated trailer came out, including me. This film had literally a decade to build itself up, and hopefully pays off. Even if it isn’t the best film in the MCU, it better be in their top 5!

The New Mutants

When I heard that Fox was making a film based on their New Mutants comics, I was worried it would be another “First Class.” But when the first trailer dropped, I was surprised at how differently the film appeared. I personally think that two genres that need to be combined more are comic book movies and horror (a truly terrifying Hellboy movie would be amazing), and it seems like Fox had my idea too. This film looks so much more bizarre than the traditional horror flicks coming out today, with an almost dream-like atmosphere to it. It’s talented young cast have proven themselves before, and the fact that the director claims to be a huge X-men fan definitely makes me more excited.

The Predator

A reboot of a classic action film is something I usually dread, especially one without any of the original stars. But here’s why I’m excited for this Predator revival: Shane Black.
This man has proven himself time and time again; from his days as a teenager writing Lethal Weapon to directing one of my favorite films of 2016 (The Nice Guys), and now (hopefully) making the 80’s sci-fi action classic Predator relevant again.

Isle Of Dogs

Wes Anderson: a director who makes films almost nobody will make, but they almost always pay off. His next weird adventure is Isle Of Dogs. Inspired by classic Japanese anime and manga, this promising new Searchlight picture takes two of my favorite things (dogs and Japan), and looks like a weirdly fascinating story incorporating the two. Ever since Anderson made The Grand Budapest Hotel, I’ve been looking forward to his next project. Hopefully, I was right for feeling that way.

Ready Player One

Mister Steven Spielberg, please keep making movies. Maybe this doesn’t look like his most Best Picture-worthy film, but it’s a film I’m excited for nonetheless. It’s a nerd’s dream; the whole film revolves around VR, a ton of pop culture icons have appeared in the trailers (Freddy Krueger, the DeLorean, THE IRON GIANT, etc.), and it’s all being helmed by the great Steven Spielberg. The only thing that could improve it is a Chuck Norris and Batman match-off. I know it won’t happen, but a man can dream…

Annihilation

Hey look! A confusing and psychedelic science fiction movie involving quantum physics! I love these! In all seriousness, I am excited for this film; it looks like hard sci-fi is coming back since the release of Arrival, and this film looks like it’s continuing the return of the sub-genre. Plus, it looks like an interesting film on it’s own.

Incredibles 2

Hey Pixar! Why did this take so long?! Well, our patience has been rewarded; after two unwatchable Cars movies, we’re finally getting our Incredibles sequel. Not much has been revealed about this film, but it seems like the ball of chaotic baby energy that we know as Jack-Jack is getting a much bigger role. Honestly, I’m just glad this is finally happening!

Halloween

This film could be a major hit or a miss; it promises to bring the franchise back to it’s low-budget roots, and reunites some of the stars of the beloved original. However, it’s being made by Blumhouse, which adds a risk factor. I’m not a fan of most of Blumhouse’s films (have you ever seen The Purge?!), but they made my favorite film of last year too (Get Out). So could this work? I hope so.

The next Cloverfield Movie

This one might not even come out this year if it’s been laid back too much. Which might happen. I consider the Cloverfield series to be a modern Twilight Zone, with each film getting progressively better and scarier. The first film re-invigorated the giant monster genre, and the somewhat-but-not-really sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane was in my top 5 of 2016. So far, all we know about this one is that it’s going to involve space. What kind of horrors lie in the universe of Cloverfield? We have no idea. We don’t even know the title for this one!