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Reuben Joe Joseph
Reuben Joe Joseph

WEEKEND SPECIAL

5 movies to watch out for in 2018

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Hollywood's most obvious trend in 2017 was the ever-expanding superhero franchises that seem to be raking in not only all the moolah, but also most of the top actors. Comic book heroes are hot property all over the world.

It continues into 2018 with prequels, sequels, spinoffs and whatnot, but keeping aside what can now be considered mainstream, here are a bunch of movies that ought to grab your attention before you grab your popcorn:

Red Sparrow

Based on a book by Jason Matthews, a former CIA operative, the movie follows Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence), a Russian ballerina who becomes a highly-skilled assassin after a career-threatening injury. She is forced to join a secret intelligence school, where students are trained to seduce and kill, and emerges as the most dangerous spy. She meets a CIA agent (Joel Edgerton) who tries to help her out of her murderous ways and convince her to work as a double agent against the Soviets.

Lawrence's character looks like a cross between Marvel's Black Widow (pardon the Avengers reference) and Lorraine Broughton from Atomic Blonde. The movie also stars Jeremy Irons and is directed by Francis Lawrence of the Hunger Games, I Am Legend and Constantine movies. It is sure to be the spy thriller of the year, but we'll leave you with one nugget—J-Law got into a bar fight while filming in Budapest. Looks like she got too immersed in the role to break character!

Isle of Dogs

All you need is one name to watch this movie: Wes Anderson. An auteur of his wacky projects, the director has come out with another such movie, this time with a stop-motion animated film. After the brilliant Fantastic Mr Fox (2009), everything about this next animated venture says that it is going to be an absolute delight.

In it, Anderson tells a story about dogs in a future, dystopian Japan that have been quarantined to a garbage island because of a rampant canine flu. Atari Kobayashi, a 12-year-old sets out to the island in search of his pet dog, and the other dogs vow to help him. The Japanese come to retrieve him and a battle begins between the dogs, with Atari on their side, and the humans.

Anderson sticks to his band of loyals (Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray and Harvey Keitel) to voice the characters, albeit with even more big names this time in Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Yoko Ono (you heard that right) and Jeff Goldblum. Paw-some, don't you think?

A Wrinkle in Time

In the news for all the right reasons, A Wrinkle in Time is an adaptation of the 1962 classic novel by Madeleine L'Engle. Starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling and written by Jennifer Lee, it is the first $100 million movie to be directed by an African-American woman (Ava DuVernay).

Meg Murry (Storm Reid) is a young girl who is distraught when her astrophysicist father (Chris Pine) disappears. She learns that he is trapped on a distant planet and goes on a quest, with her brother and a classmate, to rescue him with the help of three celestial guides (Winfrey, Witherspoon and Kaling). Zach Galifianakis also stars in this movie that seems to encompass several genres from fantasy to adventure to science fiction and drama.

Though the movie does not seem like the type that will blow away the box office or the critics, it is expected to break stereotypes and pave the way for more women-oriented big-budget projects. Also, Ramin Djawadi's got the music, which will add to the visual treat.

Thoroughbreds

This one is one for the psychopath in you. Two childhood friends, Lily (Anya Taylor Joy) and Amanda (Olivia Cooke), reunite after years apart. Completely different in their mannerisms—one is over-emotional and the other, emotionless—they gang up in a bid to murder somebody they loathe. They approach a local hustler (Anton Yelchin) to execute the person and the plot opens up.

The dark comedy is a directional debut for young playwright Corey Finley and earned high praise at the Sundance Film Festival. It also marks the last role played by Yelchin, who tragically died in a freak incident, days after shooting for the movie.

By the look of it, it seems to be one quirky, twisted outing, for those who dig the American Psycho type of movies.

Ready Player One

And finally, we have a Steven Spielberg sci-fi flick. But, before we talk about the movie, here's one piece of trivia: the movie is based on Ernest Cline's 2011 novel of the same name, which is, in turn, inspired by Spielberg's previous sci-fi works.

The story is set in a dystopian future (again), where the world is crumbling and people's only respite is a virtual reality universe called OASIS. A young impoverished boy enters this alternate world and goes headlong with millions of others in a battle to win the ownership rights to the virtual world.

At a time when everybody is discussing VR, this one shows the technology in positive light, albeit with an escapist theme. The book borrowed heavily from 1980s pop culture, and the movie is said to feature even more contemporary figures (like Deadpool) which means that this one should be filled with Easter eggs for geeks.

Tail piece: All five movies featured in this piece just happen to be releasing in March—we swear it's a coincidence. But, at least you now know, much in advance, the time of the year when you are just going to have to loosen those purse strings in return for some classics.

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Topics : #Movies | #movies | #Hollywood

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