Top 15 Anticipated Movies of 2018

2018 looks like such a busy year coming up! Before we got into it, it seemed like it would be at least. As I was compiling this list and looking back at release schedules, I can’t say that I’m particularly inspired. There are definitely some interesting titles coming up. Of course, adaptations (from books and movies) along with sequels even reboots, and superheroes seem to be dominating a lot. As you will soon see, that mutants and mutated creatures seem to also be taking on a special theme here also.

I’m doing things a little different today. We’ll start with some movies that I’m worried but intrigued then head into some honorable mentions and finally wrap things up with our Top 15 anticipated movies, in the order of release according with Cinema Montreal and Collider (usually its only the first site but their releases end in August so I had to fill in the blanks).

The Movies I’m Worried but Slightly Intrigued

• Slender Man (May 18, 2018): I don’t know the lore a lot about Slender Man except from video games but he’s this tall faceless creepypast Internet meme and to myself, that doesn’t sound very scary but in the right hands to execute it and decent story, it might just work out.
• The Predator (August 3, 2018): Predator movies are pretty alright. I mean the first one was fantastic (even if I make fun of the effects now in the most endearing way) and its had a somewhat bumpy ride with the AvP however, Predators was pretty good so I’m staying optimistic about this one until we finally see a trailer then I’ll decide how I actually feel about its potential.
• Halloween (October 19, 2018): Someone’s hell bent on beating the amount of movies for Friday the 13th franchise or something because I have no idea where this could go but look, Michael Myers is a great slasher icon so why not give it a chance until we actually see some footage. This will be its 11th movie in the franchise after the last two were reboots so who knows, right?
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (November 16, 2018): The first was entertaining and exceeded my expectations. So why not? Plus, Johnny Depp has been a tad rocky of late but I’ll give him a chance here.

I know that I’m missing some big titles. Solo, Deadpool 2, The Incredibles 2, Wreck-it Ralph 2, Sicario 2 Soldado are just a few off the top of my head. A little justification probably would be that after I saw A Force Awakens and felt completely like I was barging into someone else’s life story, I felt that unless I actually caught up with Star Wars, it wouldn’t be fair for me to go into any of these movies. Maybe I’ll get around to it this year. Deadpool 2 is a similar reason because I haven’t seen the first. As for Disney sequels, they have yet to fully convince me that they are worth my time yet. I’ll still see them if I get a chance. And then there are movies that I feel sequels aren’t necessary. Sicario was perfect the way it was, just grim enough and outstanding characters. I’m not sure that I’m ready for another one of these depressing things. At least at the start of 2018, I’m already starting off with a bit of some small snags and its only the first day so grim movies aren’t appealing at this very moment. I struggled with putting Fantastic Beasts in worried but intrigued or this part of unjustified, however, I did find that Fantastic Beasts was fun and harmless for what it was and that had to do a lot of it exceeding my expectations of what it had to offer, in case you wondered why that made it and not Sicario (if my husband reads this, he will definitely disagree).

Honorable Mentions

• Peter Rabbit (February 6, 2018)
• Black Panther (February 16, 2018)
• The New Mutants (April 13, 2018)
• Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (July 20, 2018)
• Venom (October 5, 2018)
• Bumblebee (December 21, 2018)
• Aquaman (December 21, 2018)

All of these movies have a fair chance of me going to see it in the theatres. I do like the Black Panther addition to Marvel and The New Mutants looks very engaging but I’m wondering if it has to do the X-Men franchise. Perhaps some of you more knowledgeable about the Marvel universe can shed some light on that. most of these to be fair or some kind of Marvel or DC or Transformers and adaptation like Peter Rabbit. The only one out of those is the sequel for Mamma Mia! which I do love the first one even if Pierce Brosnan singing can be slightly cringe-worthy. I’ve never felt that need to watch DC films but Wonder Woman was pretty great (review coming up) so since I like Jason Momoa, maybe I’ll check out Aquaman if I have time.

Moving onto the main feature of this post!

Top 15 Anticipated Movies (in order of release date)

The God Particle (aka Untitled Cloverfield Project)
February 6, 2018

No poster, no trailer, two delays on record already. Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane has both exceeded my expectations and had two different tones to it with a small possible connection to everything. Titled with The God Particle but some still refer to as Untitled, this one holds a really nice cast (although I’m not a huge fan of Ziyi Zhang). However, looking at the general plot, it seems cool. But these Cloverfield films have all been incredibly vague until right before their release so hopefully, some time this month, we’ll start seeing a cryptic trailer or something.

Annihilation
February 23, 2018

I know that January and February are the centre of crappy movies and this one is an adaptation and could fall flat but look, Alex Garland wrote and directed both 28 Days Later and Ex Machina and those two movies are some of my absolute favorites. This one has a lot of potential, especially with its fantasy elements. I’ve never read the book its based on but hey, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson and Oscar Isaac have proved that they are involved in some good stuff so I’m pretty excited to see this one. Not to mention the trailer showed a pretty bad-ass creature design so consider me sold on the idea.

Tomb Raider
March 16, 2018

Probably one of my top anticipated movies in this list is Tomb Raider. I love the video game franchise an this one looks like what they’ve been aiming to reboot in the games as well in the origin story style. Alicia Vikander is a very talent actress and she seems to have the role in plus there’s Daniel Wu and I love him and love that he’s gaining success in Hollywood. Its look action-packed and fun. It might not live up to the video games as you aren’t in the character but it sure seems close enough so I have high hopes for this one.

Pacific Rim: Uprising
March 23, 2018

I like Pacific Rim a whole lot. Pacific Rim: Uprising looks pretty awesome. Its full of action with giant fighting machines and looks visually stunning still. The cast is pretty great with John Boyega, Scott Eastwood and Charlie Day. I don’t have any profound reasons for this one but I just think it’ll be fun theatre visit.

Ready Player One
March 30, 2018

I read Ready Player One and thought the book fell short a little of my expectations and all the awesomeness of what it had to offer however, I do have to say that I can totally see this working as a movie plus under the helms of Steven Spielberg, this one has a very small chance of failing. I’m hoping that I didn’t jinx it. Ready Player One has the potential of building a fantastic world. I’m a sucker for reality and animated blends in the world so I’m really sold in this idea. Plus, while I think that Tye Sheridan as the beginning doesn’t quite fit the image of Wade Watts from the beginning of the book, he is quite a good young actor and I like Olivia Cooke a lot as well so lots of good already shown here. I sure hope it lives up to its expectations and if it does, this one is going to be super fantastic.

A Quiet Place
April 13, 2018

Emily Blunt and John Krasinski teams up to be a movie couple. Plus, John Krasinski takes on the director’s seat in this one as well. I’d like to see how his vision will turn out for A Quiet Place. I love horror movies that use silence to its advantage. It can make for a very intense movie experience. I’m guessing the best example would be Don’t Breathe. The trailer seems to hide enough of the horrors to still make us wonder what is in store. I don’t have a habit of watching horror in theatres but I have a feeling that I’m going to make an exception for this one. Although, the timing of the release might be the tougher element to work with here.

Rampage
April 20, 2018

I’m an unapologetic The Rock fan. I haven’t seen all his movies and I do blame part of my love on my husband’s love for his roles. However, he always delivers these fun adventurous movies in some rather absurd way. Rampage is adapted from a video game and that also scores some points for myself. At the same time, it feels like this one has some more emotional elements to it and I’m huge on creature features so lets say that this one falls into my soft spot and I can’t wait to see it! The trailer boasts on the director of San Andreas, while I did enjoy it, I’m not exactly sure thats a selling point for many people to be fair.

The Avengers: Infinity War
May 4, 2018

I had discounted this movie for a long time. Marvel movies are decent and they have their entertainment value but I always find them slightly lackluster particularly The Avengers were both okay but also was missing something. Infinity War is still a huge chance on this one but it does seem to bring together both The Avengers and all their hard work in building these characters over the many many movies over the last few years (maybe decade) and the Guardians of the Galaxy universe so I’m pretty excited to see where this goes. Plus, they’ve had some nice comedic fun moments in these so I’m ready to give this one a go although I have a few previous ones to catch up with.

Ocean’s 8
June 8, 2018

Other than Rihanna and Awkwafina making me doubt this movie a tad, I’m actually very intrigued by this movie. Cate Blanchette and Sandra Bullock are awesome in a ton of stuff that I’ve sen them in plus I have a girl crush on Sandra Bullock ever since Speed. There is a strong cast. Plus, it looks like a fun time. To be fair, this one originally didn’t make the list however the trailer changed my mind a lot.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
June 22, 2018

I have regrets about watching this trailer because I feel like it reveals WAY TOO MUCH. However, I loved Jurassic World and I also like Jessica Chastain. Plus, dinosaur movies are fantastic. What can I say? I’m going to be there no matter what.

Ant-Man & The Wasp
July 6, 2018

I remembered liking Ant-Man more than I would have expected and looking forward to a sequel. It hit some nice comedic points and was a fairly easy-going film to watch. I’ll probably need to rewatch it before I go see this. However, Michelle Pfeiffer is also listed in this so count me in.

MEG
August 10, 2018

So far, The MEG has no trailers except we know that Jason Statham is part of this. Let’s just say that I love a good shark movie even this technically is about Megalodons who were thought to be extinct.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
November 2, 2018

Come on. This is like a  weird take on The Nutcracker with The Nutcracker music. It has Morgan Freeman as well. I’m totally sold on a fantasy like this one. I didn’t even know if its existence until I saw the trailer and then I was just really into it.

Mulan
November 2, 2018

Mulan’s live remake, according to IMDB is only in pre-production right now and only has Yifei Liu as Mulan casted. Which could mean that it might not be released in 2018 for all we know. However, I’m a sucker for the Mulan story even if I think there are certain flaws to it. I loved the animated version and it’ll be interested to see how they approach this one.

Mary Poppins Returns
December 25, 2018

You know what? As amazing as Julie Andrews is as Mary Poppins and how much I don’t think anyone could replace her, I do kind of see Emily Blunt fitting those shoes well. Mary Poppins Returns might not exactly be necessary and could only be seen as something of a cash grab but the talent in the movie is undeniable and just for those two reasons, I’m ready to give it a chance.