The 15 Movies I Need To See This Year
A werwulf, Mother Mary and the Lisan al-Gaib walk into a Trojan Horse.
I have seen two new releases so far this year: Primate & People We Meet on Vacation. One’s a horror movie in which a few people are trapped together attempting to survive the evils of the world. And the other one is Primate.
Although both fun (here and there), it’s January (also known as Dumpuary), so don’t worry. Many better movies are coming our way … and soon. This is just a small rundown of what I’m excited for, but this doesn’t even include a new Greta Gerwig, a sequel(?) to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and some indie fare that I’ve been looking forward to for years.
There’s also Magellan, which I’m seeing this week, plus a trip to a titular Bone Temple later this month. Like every year, it’s all coming up movies.
15. Digger - Oct. 2nd
I know Alejandro González Iñárritu has his detractors—god, BARDO is a slog—but I’m still ultimately pro the much-maligned Birdman and fascinated with Tom Cruise’s jump back into auteur-driven filmmaking. Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, Riz Ahmed, Michael Stuhlbarg and Emma D’Arcy round out a wild cast, and the premise is too fun not to be intrigued by: The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s saviour before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything.
14. Jack of Spades - TBD
There’s not much known about Jack of Spades, and yet, that won’t stop me from throwing this Joel Coen-Josh O’Connor project on the list. It’s being billed as a Gothic mystery, which certainly has my attention, with most of the filming set in Scotland to look like the early 19th century. That’s enough for me. I’m sold.
13. Sound of Falling - TBD
So, I missed this one at the NYFF, and how/when it releases in the U.S. is still kind of vague. But I’m ready for Sound of Falling, which revolves around “four girls from different time periods who experience their youth on a German farm.” I don’t think this one will be a blockbuster.
12. Possible Love - TBD
It’s somehow been eight years since Lee Chang-dong’s mystery-thriller Burning, which I just so happened to see at its New York Film Festival premiere, and it’s a movie that’s stuck with me all this time later. Possible Love is a romantic/un-romantic story about two couples getting tangled up together, and this is as good a reason as any to dive into the rest of Lee Chang-dong’s filmmography.
11. The Drama - April 3rd
It’s a hell of a year for Robert Pattinson and Zendaya, especially together. The actors will star in this A24 rom-com thriller, which is just a few months away. Plus, they’ll both be in two more BIG movies we’ll get to soon. The trailer’s enticing, but doesn’t give too much away, which is a huge win in this day and age.
10. October - TBD
If you have Netflix, and odds are that you do, you should check out Rebel Ridge. The action-thriller starring Aaron Pierre, AnnaSophia Robb and Don Johnson was a blast, as are Jeremy Saulnier’s other movies Green Room and Blue Ruin. October is a horror thriller, originally under the working title Moustache, and it’s apparently a Halloween-centric fugitive nail-biter starring Cory Michael Smith, Chase Sui Wonders and Sophie Wilde. Hell yes.
9. Behemoth! - TBD
Tony Gilroy made Michael Clayton, one of the better movies of the 21st century, so whenever he has a new movie, I’m immediately intrigued. His next behemoth Behemoth! is scheduled for 2026, and it stars Pedro Pascal, (Julia Roberts’ hero) Eva Victor and Olivia Wilde. It’s allegedly about a cellist from a family of musicians, but the details are pretty vague. No matter what, I’m in.
8. Mother Mary - April 24th
This is the Anne Hathaway-starring vehicle centered in the fashion world I’m most excited for, as it’s a psychological thriller from David Lowery (The Green Knight & A Ghost Story) and not a belated money-grab retread. This movie is set to focus on a pop singer played by Anne Hathaway and a fashion designer played by Michaela Coel, and has a pretty mysterious trailer. That’s what it’s all about.
7. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma - TBD
Jane Schoenbrun has quickly become one of the more interesting directors in the business after We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and I Saw the TV Glow. This seems like a step-up of sorts with a bigger budget and stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson. It looks like the story’s about a filmmaker trying to direct a new installment of a popular slasher series, and Schoebrun has described this movie as their “best attempt at the ‘sleepover classic.’”
6. Werwulf - December 25th
I currently own a Nosferatu-themed popcorn bucket. I’ll be seeing Robert Eggers’ next historical horror film on opening night. This one, Werwulf, brings back frequent collaborators Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe. My favorite of his films is probably still The Witch but nothing but love for the aforementioned Nosferatu, The Northman and my beloved The Lighthouse.
5. Flowervale Street - August 14th
This one has been in the works for what seems like years now. Director David Robert Mitchell is, umm, a specific flavor. And I am one of the few people who love Under the Silver Lake and his more popular film, It Follows. This one also stars Anne Hathaway—it’s a Hathassance—along with Ewan McGregor in a sci-fi thriller. It’s rumored to be a time-travel story with dinosaurs(?), but even that’s under dispute. No matter what, my interest has been piqued.
4. Disclosure Day - June 12th
This is a Steven Spielberg alien blockbuster starring Josh O’Connor, Emily Blunt and Colman Domingo. Yes.
The man is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and is still putting stuff out at the highest of levels, such as the more recent West Side Story and The Fabelmans. It’s a summer sci-fi thriller from the guy who gave us Jaws and Jurassic Park. We’re in good hands.
3. 1949 - TBD
I’ve been putting together a list of my top 25 movies of the 21st century for no reason other than to make myself go insane. And I feel like one of my big/best swings is Ida at No. 20. The Paweł Pawlikowski black-and-white drama is about a novitiate discovering a family secret in 1960s Poland, and it’s a movie I think about way too much … especially the ending. The director has 1949 coming soon, which stars Sandra Hüller and Hanns Zischler as a father and daughter on a road trip across Germany, and I can’t wait to see what Pawlikowski’s got next.
2. Dune: Part Three - December 18th
These top two won’t be very surprising. Sorry, but also I’m not sorry at all. Let’s start with Dune: Part Three, which features basically every good young actor in Hollywood, and might have Timothée Chalamet coming off a Best Actor win. I’ve loved these Denis Villeneuve sci-fi action blockbusters and am fascinated to see how this pitch-perfect team completes the trilogy. Along with Chalamet, this movie will star Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Mamoa, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Robert Pattinson. Jesus Christ…
1. The Odyssey - July 17th
Before Marty Supreme (good movie), we saw an extended preview of The Odyssey’s Trojan Horse scene, and it’s going to be pretty hard to wait until July to see this on the biggest IMAX screen possible. Oppenheimer was/is as good as these types of big-budget movies get, a tense historical thriller that centered on theoretical physics. So if Christopher Nolan wants to go any bigger, he doesn’t have much room other than the literal Odyssey. This will be an event and (sorry to just list actors) will feature Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Elliot Page, Zendaya, Mia Goth, Anne Hathaway, Jon Bernthal, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron. From the small snippets we’ve seen, this will have a Dunkirk-esque thumping score with overwhelming widescreen visuals. I’m just worried about getting IMAX tickets. But I’ll be working hard. Don’t you worry.
A few others I’m excited for, but didn’t list: The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, Coyote vs. Acme, Project Hail Mary, Wuthering Heights (maybe), Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, Send Help, I Love Boosters, Remain, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, The Adventures of Cliff Booth, The Dog Stars, Toy Story 5, Artificial, All of a Sudden, Resident Evil, The Way of the Wind (if it comes out), Bitter Christmas & Bucking Fastard. It’ll be a good year at the movies. Everywhere else? Let’s hope so.