Sunday Best: Winter/Spring Movie Preview 2023

 

Now it is time to turn to the upcoming Winter-Spring movies.  

Here is a list, with a few brief thoughts of my own, including on a scale of 1-5 stars my likelihood of seeing it in theaters (1 being “Not at all” 5 being “Cannot wait!”).

So here are some of the movies that are coming out along with my level of excitement.  My ability to get out to the theater may be limited this time around.  But I will try to get to the ones that really excite me.


January 7-13

These movies have already come out, but are currently in theaters as of this writing.

M3GAN (***)

I am not into horror movies, but this one looks to be less gory and it seems to be about something: how outsourcing parenting to technology leads to disaster.
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A Man Called Otto (***)

-For a Tom Hanks movie, this film looks very middling.  The trailers look fine, the movie could be good, but there is nothing about it that is getting me excited

Plane (**)

This looks like typical Gerard Butler action fare, which is not bad.  But I will probably wait for streaming.

House Party  (**)


The trailer did not make me laugh, and that is an essential selling point for a comedy.

January 20th

Alice, Darling (***)

-I really like Anna Kendrick as an actress and this looks like it is going to be a good performance.  The tone and the visuals also look intelligent and intense, but this doesn't look like it will pleasant viewing experience.

Women Talking (**)


From what I understand, the title sums up almost all of the content: women talking in a room about a horrible situation.  It looks like it could have some good performances and the writing, I heard, is very good.  But I might wait for this one.

February 3

Knock at the Cabin (*)

-Four people show up to a cabin and tell the people inside that one of them must die to prevent the world from ending.  Intense and scary premise, but I have no faith in M. Nigh Shyamalan any more.

80 For Brady (***)


The cast for this is great and it looks to be different than a lot of other comedies for young people.  If they play this right, it could be some nice fun for an older crowd (like me)

February 10th

Magic Mike's Last Dance (*)


Did not see any of the others.  Literally no interest in this one.

February 17th

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (*****)

The MCU ain't what she used to be, but at least each film still feels like an event.  The Ant-Man movies have always been middling in the collection of Marvel films.  I am hoping with the raised stakes that this one will break through.  The trailer looks much more intense and emotional than we are used to in an Ant-Man movie.  

Marlowe (***)

I saw the trailer.  The cast is good and I like the idea, but there is just something missing, that X-factor that seems to bring it all together.  I'm curious, but I may wait.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (*)


I will not be seeing this, but I am impressed that the film makers were ready to take a unique vision on this world once it went into the public domain.

February 24th

Cocaine Bear (***)

-Like Snakes on a Plane, the title says it all.  If I was a younger man I might be interested, but this looks like it might too much.  It has potential Bullet Train vibes (which I loved), but I might wait.

The Jesus Revolution (***)

-I will be honest, the thing that has me most intrigued is that the actor who plays Jesus on The Chosen is also in this.  And it doesn't hurt that an actor of Kelsey Grammar's caliber is staring.  Most Christian movies are not very good, but this has my attention.

March 3rd

Creed III (****)

-I know that Stallone has washed his hands of this franchise, but the trailers have be very intrigued.  The idea behind it is very good: Adonis Creed is fighting the person that he would have been had he not been adopted.  There is fertile ground for some really good character study to complete his arc.

March 10th

Scream VI (*)

-the last film in this franchise I saw was Scream II in 1997.  I have no interest in this one.

Inside (*)

This looks like it could be a good performance by Willam Dafoe, but beyond that, there is nothing very interesting.

March 17th

65 (****)

This looks like it could be a better dinosaur movie than the most recent outings of the Jurassic films.  The trailer is excellent, so I might have to see this in the theater.

SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods (*****).


-I really liked the original SHAZAM! movie and I want to see the story of the family continue.  I don't know that this is going to be as good, but I will be there opening night.

March 24th:

John Wick Chapter 4(*****)

-You get what you pay for when you go to see a John Wick movie and it is well worth the price of admission.  Even if none of the sequels have matched the raw fun of the first, I have enjoyed every single outing with the character and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Champions (****)

-this looks like just a simple, mid-budget fun an uplifting movie.  Sometimes you just need that in a movie.

March 31st

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (*****)

The last Dungeons and Dragons film was a complete and total disaster.  This movie could be as well.  The trailers show a tongue-in-cheek humor that could completely derail the entire movie or it could give it a stroke of fun that it needs.  I am taking a big leap of faith on this one, but there is a certain charm in the trailers that I hope is present in the final film.

A Good Person (***)

Zach Braff is an excellent writer/director.  I have like both films of his that I have seen.  This melodrama might just work, especially with its fantastic cast, but I will have to see.

April 7th

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (*****)

-everything about the trailers tells me that they nailed to the look and the tone of the video games while adapting for all-ages audiences.  I predict that this movie will be bigger than any Disney animated film to come out this year.

The Pope's Exorcist (**)
-The only reason that this interest me is that the movie looks like it stars Russell Crowe, who can still turn in some great performances.  Other than that, I might skip.

April 14th

Renfield (**)

-this could be fun, but there is something about director Chris McKay that I find rather mean-spirited.  The feeling from the trailer is that the violence of the movie will cancel out any of the humor.

Sweetwater (*)

-this looks like a vile, violent, anti-Christian waste of time.

April 21st

Evil Dead Rise (*)

-this looks scary as heck, but I have not taste for horror.

April 28th

Untitled George Foreman Movie(***)

-I am incredibly intrigued by this movie because I find his story fascinating.

Thoughts?