2023 was an incredible year for movies in many ways, but it was also a year of transition. Barbenheimer launched an unlikely double feature that catapaulted both films past even the likely success they’d already have. Marvel perhaps began to breathe its final breath (though its release schedule in 2024 might say otherwise.) All the while audiences tentatively returned to theaters, supporting international features such as the Japanese films ‘Godzilla Minus One’ and ‘The Boy and the Heron’, as well as stranger fare such as Saltburn, a TikTok favorite. 2024 promises excitement to come as well, and we’ve looked ahead at just a few of the titles we’re incredibly looking forward to seeing this year.
Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 (Source: Pixar)
Inside Out has remained one of my favorite Pixar films, which says a lot considering its peer films. It’s as if Pixar took the premise of a discarded Magic School Bus episode and explored it to its fullest extent, making for a magical adventure into the inner workings of a young girl named Riley. It was relatable, heartfelt, and powerful. Inside Out 2 looks like it will be all that and more as Pixar takes us into Riley’s teen years, with the introduction of a new emotion many of us have felt more than ever – anxiety.
Director: Kelsey Mann
Nosferatu
Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU. (Source: Focus Features)Synopsis:A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
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It’s been now 100 plus years since the release of F. W. Murnau’s silent German Expressionist film ‘Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror’, which helped establish Bram Stoker’s Dracula and vampires in general in our culture, as well as paving the way for future horror films. In 2024, timed as perhaps un unlikely Christmas release, Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse) is reprising the story to revisit the tale of the titular vampire. Eggers’ films ‘The Witch’ has become a particular favorite for folk-horror aficionados, and though his next two saw somewhat diminishing returns, there’s still enough goodwill to suggest ‘Nosferatu’ may becoming a draw for horror fans and vampire film fans alike.
Director: Robert Eggers
Mickey 17
Synopsis: Not Yet Released
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A new Bong Joon-ho film on the schedule is always reason for excitement, and now with Mickey 17 set to be released in 2024 there’s reason for hype as we get nearer and nearer to the film’s release. Thus far all we have seen in the Mickey 17 teaser is Robert Pattinson’s character in some sort of sci-fi looking capsule or tube, but it’s enough to make me curious. This will be the third English/multi-language film, including Snowpiercer and Okja. As it’s coming now five years after the Best Picture winning film Parasite, the question will be can the film overcome the building hype? We’ll see this Spring, as its set to be released on March 29th.
Director: Bong Joon-ho
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Synopsis:
The untold story behind Helm’s Deep, hundreds of years before the fateful war, telling the life and bloodsoaked times of its founder, Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan.
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It’s perhaps fair to see another Tolkien adaptation and be skeptical; however, there are very few instances where I’m not at least excited for the possibility of more to come. After all Tolkien’s Middle Earth has been one of the foundational worlds for me to explore since childhood when I first read the books and discovered the early animated films. Now I’m even more of a fan, and though not all adaptations have worked, enough have that I have hopes and am excited to see a return to animated Tolkien.
Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Ballerina
Synopsis: A young female assassin seeks revenge against the people who killed her family.
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For John Wick fans (or the fans who sued because they were promised more Ana de Armas in Yesterday), good news as Ballerina is set to be released on June 7, 2024. Ballerina explores the Wick-verse by reprising the character of the ballerina turned assassin (previously played by Unity Phelan in John Wick 3). Armas has continued to shine even when given lesser material (cough cough Blonde cough), so there’s no doubt she’ll continue to be captivating in the titular role. While there’s no doubt the action will be exciting, the question will be whether the story adds to the Wick-verse or merely matches it? Either way I’ll be there popcorn in hand to find out.
Director: Len Wiseman
Twisters
Synopsis: An update to the 1996 film ‘Twister’, which centered on a pair of storm chasers who risk their lives in an attempt to test an experimental weather alert system.
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Sometimes I look forward to a film not because I nessecarily think it’ll be great, but because it’ll be fun. Twisters, the sequel to Twister (1996), likely will be the latter. Especially for a millenial such as myself Twister is one of those films that has stayed with me as a memorable cinematic experience. (Living in an area prone to tornadoes cerainly didn’t hurt with the impact of this movie.) Now decades later, with climate change a part of our broader conversation, it’ll be interesting to see if this film has something new to say – or if it’ll just lean into the spectacle that made it such a blockbuster to begin with. Either way we’ll find out on June 19th when Twisters blows into town.
Directors: Lee Isaac Chung
Dune: Part Two
Synopsis: Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.
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Seeing Dune in IMAX as one of my first in-theater experiences (after peak Covid) was one of the highlights of 2021. This was a story I only knew in passing, from roommates who fervently tried to convince all to read the Frank Herbert’s book. (Apparently that failed on me.) Seeing Dune on screen though was believing, and I was enthralled by the world! I also knew this was only the start of the story, and so I’ve been excitedly anticipating Part Two now for years. I’m excited that after delays we’ll be finally getting Dune: Part Two in theaters on March 1st, 2024.
Director: Denis Villeneuve
