At the beginning of 2021, I did a podcast about my most anticipated films of the year (142: most Anticipated Films of 2021). I had on friend of the show, Paulo Baustisa, host of Box Office Watch as we each shared movies we were excited about. Now my co-host Rachel Ho, made a top ten list on her site about movies that are still to come out this year. Here is my response to her article with my most anticipated remaining films.
If you know me by now, you know I’m excited for Dune, frankly any cinephile that doesn’t have a new Denis Villneauve film near the top of their list is no friend of mine. So to avoid talking about a movie I have talked about ad nauseam, I will simply call this the Dune Memorial List. Selfishly, this allows me to add one more movie to my list. Here are the ten films that are expected to come out later this year, in order by release date (or festival premiere date if no wide release has been announced).
- CODA – directed by Sian Heder
Last year I became aware of the term CODA, child of deaf adult, because of the incredible Oscar nominated performance from Paul Raci in Sound of Metal. In the film he plays a man who loses his hearing in the war, but in reality he was born to two deaf parents with the ability to hear. CODA tells the story of a young girl who can hear, but both her parents and brother are deaf. She acts as their legal hearing companion for their fishing business, but she has her sights on becoming a singer, a profession decidedly looked down upon by her family. Also of note is Oscar winning actress Marlee Matlin, who plays the mother of the young girl. The film comes to Apple TV+ on August 13th.
- The Power of the Dog – directed by Jane Campion
This is Jane Campion’s return to feature films since 2009’s Bright Star (she was the creative powerhouse behind the TV miniseries Top of the Lake). I’ve sadly never seen The Piano or In the Cut, but this film looks to put her back in the forefront of cinephiles’ minds. It is about a rancher who’s younger brother and new family show up and tension arises. It has a star studded cast lead by Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, Thomasin McKenzie, Kodi Smit-McPhee and more. The film will premiere at the Venice International Film Festival between September 1st-11th before coming to Netflix later this year.
- Petite Maman – directed by Céline Sciamma
Not going to lie, I know nothing about this movie. But then you might ask, how come it is making my list? Well it’s simple, Céline Sciamma directed one of the most breathtaking films of the last few years in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and this is her much anticipated followup. Her ability to capture intense emotions while wielding a camera capable of the most poetic imagery gives her blind loyalty from me. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival to rave reviews, and will get a screening at TIFF sometime between September 9th-18th.
- The Tragedy of Macbeth – directed by Joel Coen
A Coen brother doing Shakespeare. That’s all I really need to include right? Alright, I’ll include some more info. Yes, by now we know that Joel is making his first film without lifetime collaborator Ethan (he supposedly is temporarily retired from filmmaking, I’ll hit the panic button on that in the future), but a Coen is a Coen. We have Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand playing the titular couple, bringing a new dimension to the play as the couple is now too old to conceive without some extra magical help. Along with the heaviest of heavy hitters in the leads, it’s shot in black and white and also features Brendan Gleeson, Harry Melling, Ralph Ineson and Corey Hawkins. This is enough to get you pumped now, right? The film premieres at the New York Film Festival on September 24th, no wide release has been announced.
- Titane – directed by Julia Ducournau
I didn’t see Raw, Ducournau’s very highly regarded debut about a young girl who gets the taste for human flesh after a hazing incident in vet school. But Titane won the Palm d’Or at this year’s Cannes festival and that has enough clout to get me very intrigued. It sounds like a cross between David Cronenberg’s Crash and Leos Carax’s Holy Motors (Carax also competed at this year’s Cannes festival with the Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard musical Annette). The trailer looks absolutely bonkers and I still don’t really know what is happening, but it seems to be enough to make even someone like Gaspar Noe blush. The film will be released on October 1st.
- The Harder They Fall – directed by Jeymes Samuel
I don’t only watch pretentious films, I do like to have fun at the cinema… err at the movies. This flick looks fun as hell, with a cast that is awe inspiring. You’ve got an all black western film about a gang leader who gets his crew back together as they work towards avenging his parents murder. It stars Jonathan Majors as the leader, with Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, Delroy Lindo and Regina King rounding out the cast. I will need a very large bag of popcorn for this one. Sadly it won’t actually be in theatres, but the film comes out on Netflix sometime late in 2021. It will premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 6th.
- The French Dispatch – directed by Wes Anderson
If I were to co-name this post it would be the Dune & French Dispatch Memorial List. But I want to talk about Wes Anderson. This is the auteur’s 10th film and he is bringing his A-game in terms of cast. The film is actually an anthology, telling short stories about an English newspaper located in Paris. We get usual Anderson suspects like Owen Wilson, Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston, Bob Balaban, Tony Revolori and Wallace Wolodarsky. Then you have the newbies like Timothée Chalamet, Elisabeth Moss, Léa Seydoux, Liev Schreiber, Benicio Del Toro, Christoph Waltz, Henry Winkler and Jeffrey Wright. Can you believe I actually left some names off? The film will be released on October 22nd.
- Last Night in Soho – directed by Edgar Wright
If you were to describe Edgar Wright’s films, words you would likely use would include funny, intricate and precisely edited. Wright’s roots are in horror though. His first two films, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are both quite frightening between the laughs. Here he directs what seems to be his first pure horror movie, with no real humour to be found in the trailer. It’s about a young fashion student in London, who gets obsessed with a singer/model from the 1960’s. She then mysteriously transports to swinging London where she seems to take over her idol’s body and vampires seem to be involved somehow too. It stars up and comers Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy along with stars from the era the film takes place in, including Terence Stamp and the recently departed Diana Rigg. The film will be released on October 29th.
- Belfast – directed by Kenneth Branagh
Not a ton is known about the film, but it has been a while since we got a smaller intimate film from the legendary thespian Branagh. He’s been very active the last decade, directing movies such as Cinderella, Thor, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Murder on the Orient Express and Artemis Fowl ranging from limited praise to outright derision. Here he is writing and directing a story about his childhood in 1960’s Northern Ireland, likely centering on the start of “The Troubles” a 30-year conflict between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that saw a lot of violence from people who wanted to control the fate of the Northern Irish. He’s lined up Judi Dench, Caitríona Balfe (from Ford v Ferrari), Jamie Dornan and Ciarán Hinds. The film will be released on November 12th.
- Nightmare Alley – directed by Guillermo del Toro
The master of suspense and otherworldly horror is back, four years after winning Best Picture for The Shape of Water. Nightmare Alley is actually a remake of a 1947 noir film directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell. It tells the story of an ambitious carnie and mentalist, played by Bradley Cooper here, who decides to partner up with a psychiatrist, Cate Blanchett, who may end up being his downfall. Knowing del Toro’s penchant for blending horror with other genres, we should expect a more creepy take on this classic noir. The film also stars Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, Rooney Mara and more. The film will be released on December 3rd.
What movies are you most excited for? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
