The Filmgoer's Diary 2018/19

MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES OF 2019

2018 has finally came to an end. Thus it is a perfect time for me to discuss the upcoming films of 2019. The interesting thing about the upcoming year is that for me at least, the superhero hype has more or less died off. In most years before this, movies like Captain Marvel and Shazam would've received a mention just for a being a part of franchises like Marvel and DC. Perhaps this is because the superhero movies genre has reached its modern-day nadir with Infinity Wars. Or maybe it's because most superhero movies coming out next year have had unremarkable trailers (X-men: Dark Phoenix comes to mind). Now, I realize there will still be a lot of superhero films in my list but for the most part they are there because they have done something that goes beyond the convention of their genres.

The lack of superhero hard-hitters in the hall of anticipated films has indeed opened up some space for more independent films. Of course by their definitions, these films are not going to be very much anticipated by the public. But they will still find a lot of audience among indie-film lovers who find pleasure in the return of the bohemian heroes of indie cinemas. 2019 sees the releases of Flarsky, a film that reunites Seth Rogen with director Jonathan Levine, who made 2011's 50/50. There's also Charlie Kaufman's return to the big screen with I'm Thinking of Ending Things, which will more than likely serves Kaufman's urge to make films that are weirdly brilliant or brilliantly weird, depends on what you think of the man himself. Dan Gilroy – the director of 2014's breakout masterpiece Nightcrawler – returns to make Velvet Buzzsaw which once again stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo. All these independent films seem interesting but they missed the list for specific reasons. Levine for example, has left such a huge gap between his last hit and his 2019 release that it makes the latter feel rather irrelevant. Kaufman's work would've made the list had it not been an adaptation. It's irrational for me to discredit this film by talking about its inherent nature but I've just always preferred Kaufman's original work like Synecdoche, New York to his adaptations. Gilroy's films seems promising enough but I have too little details on which I can base my anticipation.

Finally, we have the films that appear a lot in other lists but simply won't be here in mine. All the Disney remakes are not of any interest to me. I remember having put films like Beauty and the Beast in my anticipated list and later receiving what amount to utter disappointment. More than that, I simply do not want to endorse these films any more. In a time when Disney could make original movies like Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet or even sequels like Mary Poppins Returns, it just seems lazy for them to resort to recycling old works. The success of the aforementioned 2017 Disney abomination seems to cement the bankability of unimaginative remakes like Aladdin or Dumbo or god forbid, The Lion King. These films may end up surprising me for all I know. But as of now, I'm good on the skeptical side.

This is the year for animated sequels to, none of which unfortunately, will be making the list. Toy Story 4, I think will probably surprise me. If any one could make a fourth instalment in a seemingly complete franchise work, it would probably be Pixar. But again, I just don't like it when franchises need to go on without a reason. I don't see why we needed a fourth Toy Story when the last trilogy was damn-near perfect. Frozen 2 got me curious enough. This sequel in concept is not a bad idea. But I'm not hyped for it because I don't know very much about it at all. How To Train Your Dragon 3 could've had a more interesting trailer. Or more interesting premise. Either way what I've seen so far has not peaked my interest despite the last movie being shockingly great.

The Terminator franchise looks like it's getting yet another revival but to be completely honest, I can't give one shit about it after the disappointment of Genesys. The Fast and Furious franchise has the spin-off Hobbes and Shaw which I just don't care enough about. I was always rather indifferent to the franchise and I'm getting seriously bored with seeing the Rock on screen. Godzilla: King of Monster, I honestly believed made a wrong marketing choice of releasing the trailer that early. Because what I saw in the trailer were actually quite hype-inducing but the interest wear off really quickly. And after all that, I'm just more or less indifferent.