Feature: The Big 2017 Film Preview

Oh look it’s our cinematic picks of 2017. We’ve sorted these by release date initially, but so many of these releases have nothing set in stone yet – so they are at the bottom for you to peruse. Obviosuly this is just a minuscule selection of what is on offer – but the ones that are the most exciting to us and hopefully you. 

Some of these films have had US/European releases already (Rules Don’t Apply etc.), but will most-likely be 2017 releases in the UK. We have included release dates where available.



All release dates correct at the time of writing.


Endless Poetry
Stars: Brontis Jodorowsky, Pamela Flores, Adan Jodorowsky
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Release: 6 January 2017


Jodorowsky’s second autobiographical film sees the eighty-seven year old auteur recount his young adult life in the Chilean avant-garde scene.

Detour
Stars: Tye Sheridan. Bel Powley, Stephen Moyer
Director: Christopher Smith
Release: 20 January 2017


Christopher Smith’s first horror film in six years follows a young law student who, while grieving for his dying mother, struggles to decide whether he should kill his unfaithful step-father.


Call Me By Your Name
Stars: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Release: 22 January 2017


Based on Egyptian author Andre Aciman’s novel, Luca Guadagnino directs this romance following an adolescent and a guest staying at his family’s Summer home. A Bigger Splash was our highlight of 2016 so we hope Call Me By Your Name will hit a similar spot for us in 2017.

The Comedian
Stars: Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Harvey Keitel
Director: Taylor Hackford
Release: 3 February 2017


This comic drama sees an offensive comedian fall for a much younger woman. Early word has been mixed but we can be sure of some solid performances from De Niro and Mann.


Wheeler
Stars: Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson
Director: Ryan Ross
Release: 3 February 2017


Stephen Dorff and country legend Kris Kristofferson star in this tale of an aspiring musician trying to make it big in Nashville. Expect a cracking soundtrack.


Running Wild
Director: Alex Ranarivelo 
Stars: Sharon Stone, Tommy Flanagan, Christina Moore
Release: 10 February 2017


Sharon Stone stars as a feisty female rancher who fights small town prejudices? Oh this sounds right up our street. 


John Wick 2
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Ruby Rose
Director: Chad Stahelski
Release: 17 February 2017


Surprise classic John Wick was one of the strongest action flicks of 2014 so the sequel has some high expectations to live up to.


Hidden Figures
Stars: Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Costner
Director: Theodore Melfi
Release: 17 February 2017


A team of African-American women provide NASA with important mathematical data needed to launch the program’s first successful space missions. Yaaas queens.


It’s Only the End of the World
Director: Xavier Dolan
Stars: Gaspard Ulliel, Léa Seydoux, Marion Cotillard, Vincent Cassel
Release: 24 February 2017


The first of two upcoming Xavier Dolan films is a French-language piece following a writer revealing that he’s dying to his family.


Tulip Fever
Stars: Christoph Waltz, Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan
Director: Justin ChadwickRelease: 24 February 2017

Prepare yourself for some period camp with the first trailer for Tulip Fever, coming next year from the Weinstein Company. The project stars Alicia Vikander and Christoph Waltz This adaptaion of the Deborah Moggach book set in 17th Century Amsterdam “follows a married woman (Vikander) who begins a passionate affair with an artist (DeHaan) hired to paint her portrait. The lovers gamble on the booming market for tulip bulbs as a way to raise money to run away together.”


Kong: Skull Island
Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts 

Release: 10 March 2017

This King Kong origins tale looks every bit as gritty as you could have hoped and appears to ditch the romanticism of Peter Jackson’s remake. It’s more Apocalypse Kong.


Rules Don’t Apply
Stars: Lily Colins, Alden Ehrenreich, Warren Beatty
Director: Warren Beatty
Release: 10 March 2017


Warren Beatty’s big screen comeback has been a long time coming and mediocre reviews from the USA aren’t enough to put us off this one. 


A Cure for Wellness
Stars: Celia Imrie, Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs
Director: Gore Verbinski
Release: 24 March 2017


Verbinski scales it down for this horror set in a sinister health spa run by Celia Imrie. Is it too early to say 2017 has found its best film?

Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson

Snatched
Stars: Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn
Director: Jonathan Levine
Release: 12 May 2017

Goldie Hawn is back on the big screen after a fifteen year absence for a rude and crude kidnap comedy.


Alien Covenant
Stars: Michael Fassbender, James Franco & Katherine Waterson
Director: Ridley Scott
Release: 19 May 2017


Early world suggests this Prometheus follow-up captures the very best of both Alien and Aliens – it’s likely that Alien: Covenant will be the sci-fi event film of 2016. 

Wizard of Lies
Stars: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer & Lily Rabe
Director: Barry Levinson
Release: May 2017


Following the Richard Dreyfuss/Blythe Danner TV event on the Madoff scandal, comes a slightly starrier version featuring De Niro and Pfeiffer.

Wonder Woman
Stars: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright
Director: Patty Jenkins
Release: 2 June 2017


Early glimpses at Wonder Woman suggest that it will hopefully buck the trend of being critically mauled, like the other DC releases. Wonder Woman certainly has one of the most exciting and little-explored origins stories of the DC characters, so expectations are high.

My Cousin Rachel
Stars: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin
Director: Roger Michell
Release: 9 June 2017

Daphne Du Maurier’s Gothic novel follows a young Englishman who plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. Expect sumptuious period styling and bodice ripping action. 


The Beguiled
Stars: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst & Elle Fanning
Director: Sofia Coppola
Release: 23 June 2017


This Southern Gothic drama isn’t what we would have predicted for Coppola’s latest project but the director rarely disappoints. Plus Nicole, Kirsten and Colin together on the big screen is definitely appealing.


The Dark Tower
Stars: Idris Elba, Matthew McConnaughey
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
Release: 28 July 2017


Stephen King’s long-running saga finally makes it to the big screen as Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world.


Blade Runner 2049
Stars: Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling & Jared Leto
Director: Dennis Villeneuve
Release: 6 October 2017


With a sublime cast and filmmaker steering the way, we’re confident that Blade Runner 2049 will be a worthy follow-up to the original sci-fi classic.


The Snowman
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Chloë Sevigny & Val Kilmer
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Release: 13 October 2017


Tomas Alfredson’s first film since 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy looks set to revisit those slow-burn aesthetics in this adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s scandi-noir, The Snowman. 


Friday the 13th
Director: Breck Eisner
Release: 13 October 2017
Those holding their breath for a new F13 film must surely be dead now, but the Breck Eisner (The Crazies) directed 13th entry in the long-running slasher series will allegedly be here this year. 


Saw Legacy
Stars: Tobin Bell
Directors: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Release: 20 October 2017


The highly-profitable Saw series is back and we couldn’t be happier. Halloweens just haven’t been the same without a new Saw film to look forward too – but this will all change come October. Jigsaw is back, baby.


The Mountain Between Us
Stars: Kate Winslet, Idris Elba
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Release: 20 October 2017

This drama about a couple stranded in a mountain range sounds like the Six Days, Seven Nights reboot that the world deserves.     


Red Sparrow
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeremy Irons
Director: Francis Lawrence
Release: 10 November 2017

We’re cautious about Matthias leaving the indie world behind to star alongside Jennifer Lawrence, but we do have a little optimism for this tale of Russian spy. We’d be more excited about Matthias starring alongside our favourite Russian, Katya Zamolodchikova, though.


Murder on the Orient Express
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Release: 24 November 2017


The all-star Agatha Christie adaptations of the seventies and eighties look to make a reappearance under the control of Kenneth Branagh who steps into Peter Ustinov’s shoes as the famed Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. He’s joined by a cast which looks set to rival some of the legendary ensembles assembled yesteryear.


Darkest Hour
Stars: Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn, Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas
Director: Joe Wright
Release: 29 December 2017

Joe Wright directs this period piece about Churchill’s decision to make a charge against the Nazis during WWII. An all star cast and transformative performance from Gary Oldman means this is likely a shoe in for some awards glory.

The Greatest Showman
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson & Zac Efron
Director: Michael Gracey
Release: 29 December 2017

The story of American showman P.T. Barnum, founder of the circus that became the famous traveling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. We’re expecting glamour and camp camp camp from this.

Jumanji
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Nick Jonas, Karen Gillan
Director: Jake Kasdan
Release: 29 December 2017


We don’t hold a particularly special place in our hearts for the original Jumanji, so a remake starring Nick Jonas has us salivating already.


The following films have no set release date at the time of writing.

Braven
Stars: Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Jill Wagner
Director: Lin Oeding


Jason Momoa stars as a logger who defends his family from a group of dangerous drug runners. Enjoy this before Momoa hits the stratosphere thanks to his DC roles.

3 Things
Stars: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Mia Jexen
Director: Jens Dahl


Before entering the witness protection program, bank robber Mikael (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) demands 3 things from the police. 3 things that cast a whole new light on the robbery he and his partners have been jailed for. Coster-Waldau’s most interesting work normally happens in his native Denmark, so we are very curious about this.

Mosaic
Stars: Garrett Hedlund, Sharon Stone
Director: Steven Soderbergh


Plot kept under wraps. Described as a show with an interactive element where the audience can determine the outcome of the story. Will this finally see the light of day in 2017?


Death Note
Director: Adam Wingard
Stars: Willem Dafoe, Nat Wolff & Margaret Qualley

This long-gestating remake of Japanese hit Death Note is finally off the ground and under the capable hands of horror maestro Adam Wingard, 

Backstabbing for Beginners
Stars: Theo James, Ben Kingsley
Director: Per Fly


We do love a good whistleblower drama and Per Fly’s film about a young program coordinator at the United Nations stumbling upon a conspiracy involving Iraq’s oil reserves sounds like it may be that.


London Fields
Stars: Cara Delevingne, Amber Heard, Theo James
Director: Matthew Cullen

Martin Amis’s novel about a clairvoyant femme fatale who predicts her death, before starting a relationship with three different men, sounds like cinematic candy.


Mudbound
Stars: Garrett Hedlund, Carey Mulligan & Jason Clarke
Director: Dee Rees


Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.

Burden
Stars: Garrett Hedlund, Forest Whitaker, Andrea Riseborough, Tom Wilkinson
Director: Andrew Heckler

An orphan raised within the KKK tries to break ties and seeks protection from a welcoming black community.


Woody Allen Project
Stars: Kate Winslet, Juno Temple, Justin Timberlake 
Director: Woody Allen


Woody Allen returns with his yearly project, this time a 1950s set New York period piece. Let’s hope he can give Kate Winslet her Carol – we realise this is unlikely as Woody Allen does not know that gay people exist. 

Z
Stars: Gael Garcia Bernal
Director: Jonás Cuarón

We hope that 2017 will finally be the year that we receive Jonás Cuarón’s new Zorro film. 


Hostiles

Stars: Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike & Ben Foster
Director: Scott Cooper


Crazy Heart’s Scott Cooper directs this tale set in 1892 when a legendary Army captain reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory. 


Death Wish
Stars: Bruce Willis, Dean Norris & Vincent D’Onforio
Director: Eli Roth


After being passed from director to director, Eli Roth decided to make his big studio debut with this remake of Charles Bronson and Michael Winner’s definitive vigilante movie. Sadly with Willis in the lead, much of our excitement is dampened but we’re nonetheless curious to see how this pans out.


The Masterpiece
Star: James Franco, Dave Franco, Zac Efron
Director: James Franco


Adapted from Greg Sestero’s The Disaster Artist about the making of cult classic, The Room, James Franco steps into the role of Tommy Wiseau for this upcoming oddball treat.


An Actor Prepares
Stars: Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston & Mamie Gummer
Director: Steve Clark


Irons stars as a heavy-drinking actor on a road trip with his estranged son. Whilst we can already envision the style and tone of this comedy, the chance to see Irons as a Peter O’Toole/Richard Harris style boozer should be entertaining.


Collide
Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Anthony Hopkins, Felicity Jone & Ben Kingsley
Director: Eran Creevy


This thriller about an American backpacker caught up in German drug smuggling has been sat on the shelf for some time, but we’re keen to see Hopkins and Kingsley ham it up on the Autobahn.

Devil’s Gate
Stars: Milo Ventigmilia, Shawn Ashmore, Bridget Regan
Director: Clay Staub

Indie horror set in the small town of Devil’s Gate, North Dakota, the film examines the disappearance of a local woman (Regan) and her young son. Schull plays an FBI agent who helps the local sheriff (Frakes) search for answers. Partnering with a deputy (Ashmore), they track down the missing woman’s husband (Ventimiglia) and find that nothing is as it seems. Maybe he’s run off with the deputy. 


Freak Show
Stars: Bette Midler, Laverne Cox, Alex Lawther
Director: Trudie Styler 

Mrs. Sting directs this coming of age comedy. We’re excited by this tale of a young high school boy who decides to run for prom queen at his conservative high school. 

The Institute
Stars: James Franco, Josh Duhamel & Pamela Anderson
Director: James Franco & Pamela Romanowsky


We’re delighted to see Pamela Anderson slowly returning to the big screen and this thriller co-starring James Franco has us a little curious.


We Have Always Lived In The Castle
Stars: Alexandra Daddario, Sebastian Stan, Taissa Farmiga
Director: Stacie Passon

Shirley Jackson’s sumptuous gothic novel gets its first big screen adaptation. It explores an isolated family, which has already lost four members to poisoning, that uses rituals and talismans to keep itself away from hostile townspeople.

The Limehouse Golem
Stars: Douglas Booth, Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy
Director: Juan Carlos Medina


This Gothic horror sees a small town plagued by vicious murders which are pinned on a mythical beast known as the Limehouse Golem. 

The Shadow Effect

Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Cam Gigandet, Michael Biehn
Director: Obin Olson, Amariah Olson


Whilst plot details are currently under wraps for this action film, we’re excited by the pairing of Meyers and Gigandet.

SFv1 aka Science Fiction Volume 1: The Osiris Child 
Stars: Kellan Lutz, Daniel MacPherson
Director: Shane Abbess


Shane Abbess showed great potential with Infini, and reunites with its star Daniel Macpherson for sci-fi follow up SFv1. Hunk of spunk Kellan Lutz co-stars.

Submergence
Stars: Alicia Vikander, James McAvoy
Director: Wim Wenders


Wim Wenders’ latest narrative piece follows James McAvoy’s Brit held captive in Africa by Jihadist fighters.


Leatherface
Stars: Stephen Dorff, Lili Taylor & Sam Strike
Director: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury


Few genre filmmakers have a filmography as seamless as this French duo who brought us Inside, Among the Living and Livid – so we’re exciting to see how their European horror style blends with the Southern Texas Chain Saw brand of horror.

The Exception
Stars: Christopher Plummer, Lily James & Jai Courtney
Director: David Leveaux


This wartime drama follows a German soldier (Courtney) as he investigates a potential attack on Kaiser Wilhelm II (Plummer) during the beginning of WWII. Plummer’s casting seems perfect.


Salt and Fire
Stars: Gael Garcia Bernal, Michael Shannon & Veronica Ferres
Director: Werner Herzog


Herzog’s eco-thriller might not have been met with raves during its various stages of release, but we’re nonetheless excited to see what the visionary filmmaker has come up with.

Hangman
Stars: Al Pacino, Keith Urban & Brittany Snow
Director: Johnny Martin


Al Pacino in (another) a straight to DVD thriller? We’re still excited whenever a new Pacino film gets released, no matter how derivative they sound. This one? There’s some potential as Pacino’s grizzled cop tracks down a serial killer inspired by the children’s game, Hangman.


Aftermath
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maggie Grace & Scoot McNairy
Director: Elliott Lester


Whilst Arnie’s higher profile projects don’t seem any closer to fruition (King Conan, Triplets) we at least have Aftermath to look forward to. This thriller follows the aftermath of an airline accident.


Suspiria
Stars: Dakota Fanning, Tilda Swinton & Chloe Grace Moretz
Director: Luca Guadagnino


The second of two Guadagnino pictures released in 2017, is a remake of Dario Argento’s iconic giallo, Suspiria. There is no set release date yet.


The Sound of Metal
Stars: Matthias Schoenaerts, Dakota Johnson
Director: Darius Marder


Marder (the scribe behind The Place Beyond the Pines) directs this tale of a heavy metal drummer (Schoenaerts) losing his hearing.


Weightless

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender
Director: Terrence Malick

Terence Malick’s long-gestating music drama should be hitting the big screen in 2017 – and while we are not the biggest fans of the acclaimed auteur, it’s hard to argue with a cast like that assembled in Weightless. 


Our Souls at Night
Stars: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Matthias Schoenaerts
Director: Ritesh Batra


The pairing of Fond and Redford – their first since 1979’s The Electric Horseman – is bound to be a must see.

The Racer and the Jailbird
Stars: Matthias Schoenaerts
Director: Michaël R. Roskam


The pairing of Schoenaerts and director Roskam will hopefully recapture some of the magic of their 2011 tour de force, Bullhead. Set against the background of a brutal crime gang in Brussels, a tragic love story between Gigi (Schoenaerts), a high-flying gangster, and Bibi, a young racing driver with very upper-class roots. We were sold at Schoenaerts.


Slack Bay
Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Director: Bruno Dumont

Juliette Binoche stars in this period comedy about a French seaside resort. 


The Old Man and the Gun
Stars: Robert Redford, Casey Affleck & Sissy Spacek
Director: David Lowery


An elderly bank robber, who had managed to escape from prison over a dozen times in his life before moving to a retirement community, looks to spice things up with another heist. Whilst all these light-hearted pensioner gigs don’t exactly signal that Redford is going to deliver another All Is Lost, we’re nonetheless excited to see him on screen, whatever the context.


Souvenir
Stars: Isabelle Huppert
Director: Bavo Defurne

A forgotten European Song Contest singer, fading away in a pâté factory, falls in love with a young aspiring boxer. Together they decide to attempt her comeback. That’s Isabelle Huppert playing a Eurovision star. We are dying. 



Lights Out
Director: Brian De Palma


De Palma’s latest follows a blind Chinese girl who gets caught in a plot to expose a top-secret assassination program.

Halloween Returns
Producers: John Carpenter, Jason Blum 

Call this one an optimistic long-shot, we hope 2017 will be the year we finally get a new Halloween film. With Carpenter producing and potentially on soundtrack duties we are optimistic.


Wonderstruck
Stars: Julianne Moore
Director: Todd Haynes

It might sound a long way from his fantastic adult drama Carol, but Todd Haynes re-teaming with Julianne Moore is always an enticing prospect. This drama sees a young woman escape from her home in New Jersey to catch a glimpse of her idol – played by Moore.    

Mary Magdalene
Stars: Rooney Mara, Tahar Rahim & Joaquin Phoenix
Director: Garth Davis


We like a good old fashioned biblical epic and Mary Magdalene looks set to tick all the right boxes. Tahar Rahim looks set to be the sexiest on-screen Judas of all time.


The Sleeping Shepherd
Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Willem Dafoe, Michael Pitt, Imogen Poots
Director: Frank Hudec


The world’s greatest art thief collects almost two-billion dollars in masters only to have his mother burn them all in the family backyard.

Happy End

Stars: Isabelle Huppert
Director: Michael Haneke

After his flashmob picture never came to fruition, Michael Haneke is now in post-production on a drama about a family set in Calais with the European refugee crisis as the backdrop. Sounds expectedly grim.

In the Forests of Siberia
Stars: Raphaël Personnaz
Director: Safy Nebbou


All round beautiful Frenchman Raphaël Personnaz stars in this man vs. nature drama about Teddy, a man who decides to escape urban life and move to Siberia. 

The Trap
Stars: Al Pacino, Benicio Del Toro, Robert Pattinson
Director: Harmony Korine


An ex-con is out for revenge against a gangster rapper and former friend who let him take the fall for a robbery they committed 14 years earlier. Korine has assembled a fine cast for this excessive tale of revenge.

The Long Home
Stars: James Franco, Josh Hartnett, Ashton Kutcher
Director: James Franco


William Gay’s Southern Gothic novel finally makes it to the big screen . Gay’s novel follows a young contractor hired to build a honky-tonk (aka a dive bar) in Tennessee by the man who killed his father.


The Outsider
Stars: Jared Leto, Tadanobu Asano, Kippei Shîna
Director: Martin Zandvliet


Jared Leto stars in this epic set in post-WWII Japan and centred on an American former G.I. who joins the yakuza.

Waco
Stars: Taylor Kitsch, Michael Shannon
Director:John Erik Dowdle

Dowdle impressed with the Canon-esque No Escape so we’re excited to see this tale of the FBI and ATF seizing religious leader, David Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound in Waco.




How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson
Director: John Cameron Mitchell

Nicole starring in a Brit-flick about a Bowie-esque alien who explores 1970s London. Give it to us now. If you need any more convincing, this is directed by Hedwig’s John Cameron Mitchell