My Most Anticipated Films for the Remainder of 2021.

 

It might be difficult to believe, but 2021 is near its close as we have only three months of films left for the year. I think 2021 has been a really solid year for films overall, but looking at the release date calendar for October, November and December, the last half of this year is shaping up to be very special as we have many exciting big budget blockbusters and potential Oscar players left in store for us film fans. Assuming the Covid pandemic doesn't mess things up again and cause more release dates to move once again, I'm going to practically be living at the movie theaters with these remaining months. With that out of the way, I figured I would run down the 10 films I'm most excited about while also singling out plenty of notable honorable mentions. 

Keep in mind though: Since I was at the Toronto International Film Festival a few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to have already seen Last Night In Soho, The Power of the Dog, Titane and Belfast amongst others so that's why you won't see any of those on here. 

Honorable Mentions: 

• Don't Look Up: Adam McKay's latest genre bending film has arguably the most stacked ensemble cast of the year from Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Timothee Chalamet and so many other big stars. It also has a genuinely wild concept that could be so timely and also divide audiences, but I think that's a huge part of why I can't wait for it.
• House of Gucci: I feel awful leaving off a brand new crime epic from director Ridley Scott, but that just goes to show how strong this calendar is. Nevertheless, I'm still very excited about Scott not only getting back into this genre, but also the amazing cast he's assembled with Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, and Jared Leto amongst plenty of others. I have some slight worries which I guess is why it couldn't quite crack this top 10, but I still have my faith in Scott and this cast.
• The Last Duel: Can't believe I'm leaving off two new Ridley Scott epics from my Top 10, but I am still very much looking forward to Jodie Comer, Adam Driver, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in a new spiraling epic.
• Halloween Kills: I was a big fan of David Gordon Green's 2018 Halloween sequel and I've loved just about all the trailers for this new sequel. Count me in! 
• The Tragedy of Macbeth: Joel Coen directing Denzel Washington as Macbeth and Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth in black & white cinematography? Yeah, say no more, I'm in. 
• King Richard: The true story of Serena & Venus Williams's father Richard Williams looks to be quite an inspiring and wonderful crowd pleaser. With Will Smith in the role of Richard Williams, we could also be looking at Smith's long overdue Oscar win just by looking at that trailer and I am so here for his big moment. 
• Marvel's Eternals: Grrrrrrrrr, I hate leaving this one off especially. Believe me though, despite having no prior knowledge of these new Marvel characters, I'm still very pumped for this one due to the incredible talents of director Chloe Zhao and the incredible cast she has assembled. The most recent trailer is so good and promises a genuinely unique installment for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Now for the main event.....

#10: West Side Story 

Of course, I had to feature the brand new film from one of our all-time greats in Steven Spielberg on this list. I'm not the biggest musical guy in the world, but I can get very easily wrapped up in one and when you pair that up with one of the all-time great storytellers the results could be pretty special. The West Side Story is obviously very iconic, but I'll be honest I have yet to see the original film or Broadway play, so I definitely have my homework to still do prior to this film. However, I loved both the teaser and most recent trailer as they very much show glimpses of that Spielberg magic. The cast is very promising, and this is certainly a pretty timeless story, so what's not to be excited about this one?  

#9: The Matrix Resurrections 

Honestly, I originally could have care less about a new Matrix film and at the beginning of the year I had my reservations about this sequel for numerous of reasons. Not only because of the previous underwhelming sequels we already have, but also the more recent films of the Wachowskis have just done literally nothing for me. Having said that, the original Matrix remains one of my all-time favorite films of course and leading star Keanu Reeves has also been on a huge winning streak as of late. And I'll just say right now that all my reservations for this one went totally out the window the moment that gorgeous first trailer dropped a few weeks ago which I've now watched way more times than I could possibly count. It looks like an ambitious, exciting, visually immersive, and bold Sc-Fi blockbuster that only the Wachowskis could make. Not only is it so great to see Reeves & Carrie Anne Moss reprising these iconic characters, but also adding both Yahya Abdul-Mateen II & Jessica Henwick is just the icing on the cake. Could it be another misfire? Sure absolutely, but I think that unpredictability is only making me even more excited.   

#8: The Many Saints of Newark 

I'll admit that I had never actually seen a single episode of The Sopranos in its entirety until earlier this year. But I finally caught up with all seven seasons of the iconic & epic crime show, and obviously I fell in with this incredibly rich series instantly. Prequel stories can generally be very hit or miss, but the story of how young Tony Soprano rose to be the powerful crime figure we knew him to be in the original series has always been a very potentially fascinating one to me. But the inspiring casting choice of Michael Gandolfini stepping into his late father James Gandolfini's shoes for the role of young Tony is arguably the film's biggest selling point, as the resemblance is ridiculously uncanny. Every trailer has been genuinely great though, and as now a huge fan of the show, I'm very excited to see all the obvious nods to the series while the film hopefully also stands on its own feet very well. The supporting cast for this one is also really incredible and I'm just really excited to see a new crime epic. Only a few more days wait for this one.    

#7: Spencer 

I don't quite understand why so many people have such a fascination with the royal family if I'm being honest, but the story of Princess Diana has honestly always been a fascinating one to me. This would not have originally been so high on my radar, but when those first official photos of Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana were released, I was left nearly speechless of how almost unrecognizable she looked. I realize lots of people like to still doubt Stewart as an actress and mock her as just the girl from Twilight, but that is ridiculous as she has established herself as quite a dynamic actress over the years. And then finally the first trailer dropped last month, and it was absolutely breathtaking, one of the best teasers I've honestly seen in ages. The second trailer dropped about a week ago and it was even better. The film looks gorgeous and a very unconventional biopic as well. Not to mention Stewart is clearly going to crush this role and be a major front runner at this year's Oscars. I was also a pretty big fan of Pablo Larrain's previous film Jackie with Natalie Portman and this film looks even better. Can't wait!    

#6: Spider-Man: No Way Home

What is there to even be said of this one really? The mysteries surrounding the latest Tom Holland centric Spider-Man film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have certainly been wild to say the least, but also so exciting, nevertheless. It's no secret that I am very much a part of the camp that has loved Holland's portrayal of our favorite web slinger and I've greatly enjoyed both films, flaws and all. But the numerous of rumors surrounding this new sequel have been so hard to keep track of too. I was skeptic about it upon hearing the idea at first, but I'm very much excited to see how this film will juggle both the identity crisis storyline for Peter Peter while also being very much a live action Spider-Verse film that sees the return of many familiar faces from the older Spider-Man films. Do I have some slight concerns about this film doing way too much? Yes absolutely, especially knowing the track record of Sony Pictures when it comes to stuffing too many ingredients in a Spidey film. However, I also have a lot of faith in Marvel head Kevin Feige, Jon Watts and team to deliver a very worthwhile, exciting Spider-Man film which is exactly what the amazing first teaser trailer that broke the internet a month ago promises. And as someone who grew up with this franchise, how can I say no to not only the return of Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, but also (almost 100% guaranteed at this rate) Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield? It might be fan service, but it will be glorious and I'm going to eat it up regardless. 

#5: The French Dispatch

Wes Anderson's films may certainly not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are definitely mine as he is by far one of my favorite filmmakers working today. Every new film of his always feels like an event and one that I get very excited for. I get easily immersed in not only his colorful visuals, but also wonderfully lively characters and of course impeccable ensemble cast he always assembles. I've been so excited for The French Dispatch for what feels like ages now as every piece of marketing for this film has looked to be yet another hugely funny, visually stunning, and wonderfully fun film from a great storyteller. This one stars not only the usual Wes Anderson alum like Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, but also Timothee Chalamet, Frances McDormand, and Benicio Del Toro amongst so many other amazing actors. What is there not to be excited about? The fact that I get to see this already this upcoming Sunday at the New York Film Festival feels kind of unreal, and I'm so excited.

#4: Nightmare Alley

Every new Guillermo Del Toro film is pretty much a special event for cinema fans and for great reason as he's one of the greatest visionaries we having working today. Coming off his Best Picture & Director win at the Oscars with 2017's beautiful The Shape of Water, I have a lot of confidence in Nightmare Alley which is also a remake of the 1947 film. I know a lot of us are so exhausted with remakes, but I've never actually seen the original film, so this is still a very fresh story for me. Not only that, but this cast is obviously insanely great from Queen Cate Blanchett, Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara, Richard Jenkins, and Toni Collette, I mean good lord. The first trailer doesn't give away many details, but it looks absolutely stunning and I haven't been able to stop watching it since it released. The idea of Blanchett & Cooper going back & forth as dangerous con artists was more than enough to convince me to purchase my ticket. I loved The Shape of Water, and this looks like it could be every bit as great if not even better.  

#3: Licorice Pizza 

Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, and Spielberg are pretty much my Big 3 as far as the great directors go, but no doubt Paul Thomas Anderson ranks up there with those names and any new film of his is going to be an automatic must. He is a master storyteller and the more I'm hearing about Licorice Pizza the more unbelievably excited I am for it. The first trailer has finally been released and it absolutely looks like a contender for the best film of the year, no question. I'm already a sucker for a great coming of age story and from the looks of this first trailer this is very much Anderson's take on the genre while also harkening back to his earlier work such as Boogie Nights which is still perhaps my personal favorite of his. And of course, how can one not be excited for this cast? Lots of big names from Bradley Cooper, Ben Stiller, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, but I'm just as intrigued about newcomers Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman (the real life son of the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman). PTA + 70s coming of age story? Yeah, I'm in love already.

#2: No Time to Die

I might be a little bias since he's the one I've personally grown up with, but Daniel Craig is undoubtedly my favorite James Bond. Sure, his Bond films haven't been completely perfect, but they've been mostly strong as both Casino Royale and Skyfall are my personal favorite Bond films as well. It's been 6 years since Spectre came out in 2015 and that's exactly how long it feels like I've anxiously been waiting for No Time to Die as this film has been delayed more times than I can probably count on two hands. I can't even begin to describe my excitement for this film though as it looks like not only a fantastic swan song for Craig's final Bond outing, but also this could easily be one of the greatest Bond films of all-time hopefully. I have that much faith in director Cary Joji Fukunags who feels perfectly suited to bring a very fresh take to this iconic franchise while still maintaining its roots. In addition to Craig of course, this cast could not be any better. Not just the great returning supporting cast, but adding in Rami Malek as the new Bond villain along with Ana de Armas and Lashana Lynch also just comes with so many exciting possibilities. This is shaping up to be everything I could possibly want in both a Bond film and a major studio blockbuster. I can't wait to relish all of it on a glorious IMAX screen in just about a week from now.    

#1: Dune

Do I really need to explain myself with this one? Until about a year ago, I honestly wasn't very familiar with the Dune franchise as I had yet to have read the original novel or see the 1984 David Lynch film. But that has changed as I've now done both so you can say I am very much a part of the Dune fandom. Not only that, but a very strong argument can also be made that director Denis Villeneuve is arguably the most consistent and even best filmmaker working in the industry today. The man has yet to deliver a misfire and his Dune adaptation looks like it could even be his greatest accomplishment yet which is definitely saying a lot. My excitement for this one has reached Star Wars: The Force Awakens levels, and for many different reasons. We rarely get epic Sc-Fi franchise films anymore that isn't Star Wars or Marvel related, but with the trailers definitely giving off massive Lord of the Rings vibes Dune definitely looks to be the next big thing and I sure hope it is. I was very lucky to have also attend the special IMAX preview just this past summer where they showed us the first 10 minutes of the film and I was honestly left near speechless by the end of the footage. It looks absolutely glorious and everything a Dune fan could want in an adaptation. Not to mention how perfect this cast is from Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin and so on. Denis Villeneuve looks to have a very special film on his hands here and I can't wait to see it in New York very soon.   

Us film fans are eating very good these next three months and I could not be any more excited! Hoping for the very best for all of these!