30. “Untitled Todd Haynes Velvet Underground Documentary”
Director: Todd Haynes (“Carol,” “Wonderstruck”)
Cast: Presumably… Lou Reed, Nico, John Cale, maybe Andy Warhol…
Synopsis: A look at how New York artist Lou Reed bonded with a group of musicians to form the influential rock band The Velvet Underground in the 1960s.
What You Need To Know: Todd Haynes has a well-documented history with rock n’ roll culture, whether it’s the feckless experimental streak on display in his 1987 short film “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story,” his proto-Bowie glam odyssey “Velvet Goldmine,” or his divisive, stylish deconstruction of the Bob Dylan persona, “I’m Not There.” Those of us who felt that the director’s latest (the Mark Ruffalo-starring procedural “Dark Waters”) didn’t feel enough like a Todd Haynes movie can now rejoice knowing that the acclaimed filmmaker’s next project will take a look at avant-garde proto-punk pioneers The Velvet Underground. This is rich material for Haynes, presumably covering the 1960’s in New York City, Lou Reed’s contentious relationship with German model and Gothic crooner Nico, and the band’s relationship to Andy Warhol and the Factory.
Release Date: TBD, but Sundance sounds like a good bet. – NL
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/894550895379136516
29. “Benedetta”
Director: Paul Verhoeven (“Elle”)
Cast: Virginie Efira, Lambert Wilson, Daphne Patakia, Clotilde Courau
Synopsis: A 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair.
What You Need To Know: Paul Verhoeven earned some of the best reviews of his career for his last film, 2016’s daring “Elle,” which all but flipped the blueprint for the played-out, problematic rape-revenge thriller on its head. Verhoeven is a master at mining unexpected depth out of taboo subject matter, and if what we know about “Benedetta” so far is any indication, he’ll be back on form with this tale of forbidden ardor and bizarre religious reveries. Verhoeven was supposed to premier “Benedetta” at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, but health problems, as well as the director’s penchant for rigorous perfectionism, saw the film getting postponed until 2020. While it remains to be seen if “Benedetta” will cause as big of a splash as “Elle,” there’s no doubt that any new work from Verhoeven belongs somewhere on this list.
Release Date: Unknown, but a 2020 Cannes bow seems all but imminent. – NL
First glimpse of Paul Verhoeven’s new film Benedetta pic.twitter.com/3OZlPK9KUD
— Eyes On Cinema (@RealEOC) August 29, 2018
28. “Rebecca”
Director: Ben Wheatley (“Kill List,” “A Field in England”)
Cast: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristen Scott Thomas
Synopsis: A young newlywed finds herself in living in the shadow of her wealthy husband’s previous wife.
What You Need To Know: No one Ben Wheatley film is quite like the one that preceded it: to date, he’s given us occult-tinged hitman flicks (“Kill List”), psychedelic wartime reveries (“A Field in England”) and a J.G. Ballard adaptation (“High-Rise”). For Wheatley’s next cinematic magic trick, he’s giving us his take on a Gothic romance. “Rebecca” is an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel that will star Armie Hammer (returning to the Wheatley fold after “Free Fire”) and Lily James as a newly married couple dealing with the looming issue of a family estate, the lingering specter of the man’s dead ex-wife, and a seemingly haunted house on the English coast. Attempting to reimagine a story that Alfred Hitchcock already tried his hand at is nothing if not a bold prospect. However, Wheatley has proven himself to be a true original, and we’re excited to see him work in a register that’s alternately creepy and stately.
Release Date: TBD. – NL
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1062885156975927296
27. “Nomadland”
Director: Chloe Zhao (“The Rider”)
Cast: Frances McDormand
Synopsis: After the Great Recession makes her lose everything, a sixty-something woman reroutes her life with a journey across the American West in a van as a modern-day nomad.
What You Need To Know: The last time we saw Frances McDormand onscreen, she was accepting her Oscar for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”, and educating the world about the urgency and sheer definition of an inclusion rider – a clause that can demand certain level of diversity in casting and production on a set. Meanwhile. Chloe Zhao was busy making one of the most deep-cut affecting portraits with her debut feature “The Rider”. To expect a project from both women together, then, maybe an “Into the Wild”, refreshed in a post-Emile Hirsch climate, feels pretty good.
Release Date: Unknown, but Zhao would fit right in over in the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes. – EK
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1095414717038907392
26. “The Old Guard”|
Director: Gina Pryce-Bythewood (“The Secret Life of Bees,” “Love and Basketball”)
Cast: Charlize Theron, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kiki Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari
Synopsis: A captain leads a small group of immortal soldiers working as mercenaries through the ages.
What You Need To Know: What’s it like to be a soldier and know that you cannot die? That’s just one of the questions posed by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez’s series of “Old Guard” graphic novels. It’s a heady, philosophically rich inquiry – particularly when you consider that the upcoming cinematic adaptation, “The Old Guard,” is shaping up to be another expensive Netflix action-adventure with a starry cast and a healthy degree of clout. “The Old Guard’s” plot will center around what happens when its central group discovers a new immortal in their midst – a presence that causes them to question the nature of their existence. Rucka, the original author, will be adapting his own source material, and his script will be brought to life by the ever-undervalued Gina Pryce-Bythewood, who could very well bring a kind of welcome, sobering humanity to what otherwise promises to be quite an out-there, fantastical story. story.
Release Date: TBD. – NL
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1022226058454528000
25. “Next Goal Wins”
Director: Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit,” “Thor: Ragnarok”)
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Elisabeth Moss
Synopsis: Adaptation of the 2014 British soccer documentary which follows Dutch coach Thomas Rongen who attempts the nearly impossible task of turning the American Samoa soccer team from perennial losers into winners.
What You Need To Know: Taika Waititi has given us so many different kinds of magic in so many different movie genres – droll mockumentaries about Vampires, Marvel adventures, and 2019’s most divisive “anti-hate” satire – and there are many more types of films we’d like to see him tackle. We ask you: who among Waititi’s fans wouldn’t want to see him tackle an old-school, big-hearted sports redemption movie? Waititi excels at these kinds of crowd-pleasing tightrope walks: it’s exactly what many people didn’t like about “Jojo Rabbit.” We’re hoping that Waititi, a Polynesian Jew, finds ways to subvert the white savior narrative that another filmmaker might lean into while telling this story – something tells us that the director has an ace up his sleeve with this one.
Release Date: Something tells us this could be a crowd-pleaser/sleeper hit for the late summer crowds, though a fall awards release is honestly just as likely. – NL
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1202256322349142016
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1182370726818410496
24. “No Time To Die”
Director: Cary Fukunaga (“True Detective,” “Beasts of No Nation”)
Cast: Daniel Craig, Raph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Rami Malek, Ana de Armas, Rory Kinnear, Léa Seydoux
Synopsis: Bond has left active service. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
What You Need To Know: The behind-the-scenes drama of “No Time To Die” has threatened to eclipse the release of the film itself, from the early departure of director Danny Boyle due to “creative differences,” to the unfounded accusations that hiring “Fleabag’s” Phoebe Waller-Bridge to spice up the script smacked of tokenism. That said, there’s plenty of reason to look forward to this new Bond outing. For one, it’s the last time that Daniel Craig will play 007, leaving the future of the franchise open-ended. Cary Fukunaga is a terrific director, and arguably an improvement over Sam Mendes. It’s hard to ignore the bad press surrounding this movie, but that’s exactly what we’re going to attempt to do when the film drops in April of next year.
Release Date: April 10, via MGM. – NL
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1201890095281782784
23. “Eternals”
Director: Chloé Zhao
Cast: Gemma Chan, Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Selma Hayek, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry
Synopsis: The saga of the Eternals, a race of immortal beings who lived on Earth and shaped its history and civilizations.
What You Need to Know: Another year, another Marvel-dominated release schedule. Even though superhero fatigue could have (some might say, should have) settled in years ago, the corporatized spectacle machine continues to push on. Skepticism aside, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four is shaping up to be one of its most eye-catching, at least with regard to the talent involved. Chloé Zhao, the director of “The Rider” and “Songs My Brother Taught Me,” is set to direct the upcoming MCU flick, “Eternals,” and the cast includes an international cast that ranges from relative newcomer Gemma Chan to Hollywood royalty like Angelina Jolie with “Game of Thrones” alumni Richard Madden and Kit Harington tossed in for good measure. Who knows? Maybe in the aftermath of “Joker,” Marvel will allow Zhao to incorporate some of her trademark artistry into the project. One can only hope for the best.
Release Date: November 6, via Marvel Studios and Disney. – JC
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1165320251157839872
22. “Promising Young Woman”
Director: Emerald Fennell
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Laverne Cox, Alison Brie, Adam Brody, Molly Shannon, Jennnifer Coolidge, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Connie Britton
Synopsis: A young woman, once described as promising, now a dropout, is haunted by past trauma and seeks revenge on the predatory men who stifle her.
What You Need To Know: Emerald Fennell made her name as a TV actress and writer mainly, boasting a credit on sex episodes of the second series of “Killing Eve”. Her feature debut as a writer/director promises a staggeringly stacked cast, and a plotline all too fitting for the post #MeToo climate. Margot Robbie is on board as a producer, and following Mulligan’s outstanding turn as a frustrated housewife in Paul Dano’s “Wildlife,” the leading role as a woman scorned in a thriller seems like a natural next step. Plus, to have former YouTube kid Bo Burnham, now an acclaimed director to watch with “Eighth Grade” billed so high up – it asks the question as to whether he really is done with comedy for good.
Release date: April 17, via Focus Features. – EK
First look of Carey Mulligan on the set of Promising Young Woman. pic.twitter.com/B0AEPKtNxc
— best of carey (@badpostmulligan) April 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1197941284880764933
21. “The Souvenir: Part II”
Director: Joanna Hogg (“The Souvenir,” “Exhibition”)
Cast: Honor Swinton Byrne, Tilda Swinton, Charlie Heaton, Harris Dickinson, Joe Alwyn
Synopsis: A sequel to the original “Souvenir” that picks up in the immediate aftermath of that film.
What You Need To Know: For those of you who remain unaware, let’s just clear the air right now – Robert Pattinson will not co-star in Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir: Part II.” There it is, sorry to break your hearts. We’re only sort of kidding, of course. The first “Souvenir” – Hogg’s austere and often punishing character study of a burgeoning female film student and the vile, self-serving, privileged heroin addict she finds herself trapped in a relationship with – was one of the most fascinating films of 2019. In that regard, it will be a treat for cinephiles to catch up with Honor Swinton Bryne’s Julie since the events of the last film, and the additions of cast members Joe Alwyn and Harris Dickinson are definitely a plus. Global treasure Richard Ayoade reprising his role as the world’s best/worst party guest only sweetens the deal for us.
Release Date: Unknown, but we would bet on a fall/awards-friendly release. – NL
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1161366829169664000
