With 2018 coming to a close, it’s time to look at what the new year might offer. This list covers the films and filmmakers I’m personally most excited about based on the topics, casts, and track record of the creative teams involved. Some may slip into 2020, but all of them are going to be worth keeping on your radar. Here are my most anticipated films of 2019:

11. The Good Nurse (TBA)

Tobias Lindholm has made a name for himself making tense, morally complex thrillers like A Hijacking and A War and his English language debut presents tantalizing subject matter. The story follows Charlie Cullen who allegedly killed hundreds of people during his 16 year nursing career and, with a cast that reportedly includes Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne as the leads, there is sure to be ample fuel for Lindholm’s drama.

10. Arctic (2/1/2019)

A survival story in the bitter cold of the Arctic is by itself an interesting premise, but adding Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt) as the lead makes this a definite must-see. The film opened at Cannes this year to positive reviews with critics praising Mikkelsen’s performance and the film’s uncompromising vision.

9. The Lighthouse (TBA)

The Witch is one of the most interesting horror movies of the past few years, with meticulous period detail and escalating paranoia that few films can achieve. Robert Eggers’s follow up is sure to be in the same vein with Willem Dafoe playing an elderly lighthouse keeper in this dark horror-fantasy.

8. Everything Everywhere All At Once (TBA)

Very little is known about the newest film from the Daniels, but their involvement is enough to warrant a place on this list. The film is described as an “inter-dimensional action film” with Michelle Yeoh and Awkwafina of Crazy Rich Asians starring. I’m personally not a huge fan of Awkwafina’s style of humor, but the Daniels’ history of creating absolutely bonkers music videos and their first feature Swiss Army Man make me excited for anything they have to offer.

7. Jojo Rabbit (TBA)

WWII Germany is not where most people would think to set a comedy, but most people aren’t Taika Waititi. Hunt for the Wilderpeople was one of my favorite movies of 2016 and coming off Thor: Ragnarok, a studio film that neutered many of his best quirks, it’s nice to see him return to a smaller scale. The script is hilarious and features another precocious boy in a coming of age story with Waititi playing the child’s imaginary friend: Hitler. The film is filled with the well-meaning buffoons and dialogue misunderstandings that make his work so consistently entertaining.

6. I’m Thinking of Ending Things (TBA)

It’s been more than a decade since Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) released a live action feature. His movies can sometimes be too reflexive for their own good, but are always thought-provoking. With some added freedom and budget from Netflix, he can hopefully put together one of his signature introspective stories.

5. Untitled Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis Musical (6/28/2019)

This is the most mainstream film on my list and I can’t deny my appreciation for Richard Curtis’s work (Notting Hill, About Time). Some may call him cheesy, but he creates sympathetic, endearingly awkward characters and stories with unabashed heart. The pairing of his writing with strong direction from Danny Boyle seems like a great fit. The film’s story follows a struggling musician who, for currently unknown reasons, is the only person able to remember the Beatles and uses their music to launch his own career. This silly, but promising setup with a talented cast starring Himesh Patel and Lily James could be one of the most crowd-pleasing movies of the year.

4. Long Day’s Journey into Night (Spring 2019)

After opening to incredible reviews at Cannes this year, Bi Gan’s sophomore feature has hit unexpected pre-sale records in China and is poised to be an arthouse breakout there. The film has received huge praise for its dreamy visuals, startling use of 3D, and a supposedly 50+ minute long take. Building off his stellar debut Kaili Blues and tackling new artistic challenges, Bi Gan is shaping up to be an original filmmaker to watch.

3. Wounds (3/29/2019)

Babak Anvari’s feature debut Under the Shadow was my favorite film of 2016 so I’m predictably excited for anything he has slated next. His new film, whose title seems to be in flux, is based on a horror-mystery novel called The Visible Filth about a man that finds a cell phone that sends his life spiraling into nightmarish territory. It features Armie Hammer and Dakota Johnson in the lead roles and seems perfectly suited to Anvari’s penchant for creating scenes of almost unbearable tension.

2. Ad Astra (5/24/2019)

This sci-fi thriller, co-written and directed by James Gray, may be the movie that delivers on what Interstellar could not. The film stars Brad Pitt as an engineer who travels through space searching for his father, played by none other than Tommy Lee Jones, who has been missing since he left for a mission to Neptune 20 years earlier. Ad Astra has Gray’s largest budget to date and with his focus on character and proven ability to tell decade spanning epics (The Lost City of Z), it could be the smart sci-fi we’ve been waiting for.

1. Climax (3/1/2019)

Gaspar Noé is one of my favorite filmmakers. He may be a provocateur and indulge himself in some unnecessary scenes, but he also creates visceral experiences like no other. Climax premiered at Cannes this year to the most positive reviews of Noé’s career, so much so that he was disappointed he didn’t hit his normal walk-out rate. His film follows a dance troupe whose celebration changes when they find out their drinks have been laced with LSD. Noé has played with hallucinatory imagery before but devoting an entire film to this setup, powered by his and his regular cinematographer Benoît Debie’s technical skill, is going to be an unrivaled example of pure audiovisual experience.

Directing his first film in over a decade, Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit) and the wonderful team at Aardman Animations (Chicken Run) have created another hilarious stop-motion romp. Set in the Stone Age, the story follows Dug (Eddie Redmayne; The Theory of Everything) and his fellow cavemen who are forced out of their valley by a Bronze Age nobleman named Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston; Thor). Desperate to get his homeland back, Dug bets Nooth that his tribe can beat Nooth’s all-star soccer team. If the cavemen win, they can return to their valley, but if they lose they will be forced to spend their lives working in Nooth’s bronze mines.

A cast of prominent British actors has the time of their lives doing the voicework. Redmayne as Dug is an eternal optimist whose springy voice implies he always has another idea up his sleeves if things don’t work out. His resilience is as charming as his naivete, but the real standout has to be Hiddleston. Lord Nooth gives him the chance to be the villain Loki (his character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) never could be. He is deliciously evil, savoring every injustice he can create and every piece of bronze he can swindle. Yet, his ludicrous scheming is kept light by his blatant incompetence and his fear of how the Queen will react to his actions. He is the epitome of the likable, but bumbling villain, perfect for an audience to laugh at, but not with. Topping off the performances is a variety of vaguely European accents. Ricocheting between western European countries, the cast’s adopted speech only heightens the farcical plot and adds to the film’s absurd tone.

Lord Nooth is probably Hiddleston’s finest role yet.

Early Man is filled to the brim with inventive humor. Unlike most animated films, Park doesn’t rely on desperate fart jokes to get a laugh out of his audience. He uses the Stone Age setting to create ridiculous situations with the peak being a gargantuan, man-eating mallard duck and then mines the culture clash of the cavemen entering the Bronze age. There are setups with characters using ancient technology for modern communication, particularly a running gag involving a messenger bird, that are priceless. As the soccer match ramps up there is also a surprising amount of sports related humor. Subtle digs at prominent real-world teams and a caricature of sports commentators are welcome additions that even non-soccer fans will enjoy. Aardman’s humor goes beyond single jokes. Each scene is packed with unexpected sight gags that make the film worth a second viewing. It has the rare combination of both quality and quantity of jokes that will keep audiences of all ages laughing.

The simple plot may be a slight disappointment to some. While Park takes advantage of the humor that the Stone Age brings, the film quickly and unexpectedly turns into a sports movie with an unusual backdrop. The beats leading up to the soccer match follow the expected tropes including a training montage, a struggle to perform, and a new member that motivates the team. It’s impossible to not wonder what zany situations the cavemen could have faced if Park had leaned further into the prehistoric setting (more man-eating mallards would have been appreciated), but there is plenty to love about the story that is present. Despite its familiarity, it’s the unique spin Park adds that prevents it from becoming cliché. Under his direction, and with the work of his stellar animation team, Early Man is a consistently hilarious, beautifully crafted, and uniquely Aardman take on the sports movie.

4/5 stars.

BS Reviews

Tag Archives: Eddie Redmayne

Most Anticipated Movies of 2019