Creed III

It has now been over four years since the last Creed movie and other than King Richard there has not been much for sports fans to be entertained by. Creed III marks the directorial debut for star, Michael B. Jordan. I’m hoping his talent in front of the camera translates to talent behind the camera as well. Creed III looks to be delivering a worthy rival for Jordan’s, Adonis Creed, by introducing Damian Anderson played by Jonathan Majors. Creed III hits theaters on March 3rd and if it is at least as good as the two movies that came before it, I will be a happy movie goer.

Scream VI

Last year Scream V came out helmed by the directors of Ready or Not. In Ready or Not the directors showcased they were able to balance horror with comedy and with Scream V they proved that not only could they do that but that they could take on a huge horror franchise as well. While my excitement for Scream VI is not as great as it was for the previous film I’m still excited to see if Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett can continue the streak they have going. Scream VI slashes its way into theaters on March 10th.

John Wick: Chapter 4

You would think after 3 movies in fatigue would start to set in for the John Wick franchise but somehow these movies continue to up the ante in exciting ways. John Wick: Chapter 4 continues its army of one trope by throwing new challenges Wick’s way. These challenges come in the form of highly skilled assassin’s that Wick must somehow manage to take out. Look I’m not expecting this movie to blow me away with its story and lore but what I do expect is for this film to be another highly entertaining showcase for the action genre. Also freaking Donnie Yen and Scott Adkins are in this and I’ll watch pretty much anything with them in it. John Wick: Chapter 4 fights its way into theaters on March 24th

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Okay so first and foremost I don’t think Chris Pratt’s Mario voice is great but it isn’t the worst voice acting ever. Controversy surrounding the voice cast aside, this movie looks to be hitting all the right notes. The animation is downright gorgeous and vibrant, there is a lot of characters from the franchise being used in funny ways, and there are references to the source material galore. This film seems to be paying respect to the Nintendo property and has me excited to see how Illumination will tell this all too familiar story. The Super Mario Bros. Movie powers up into theaters on April 7th.

Beau Is Afraid

From the mastermind behind Hereditary and Midsommar, comes his arguably, strangest film to date. While I’m not entirely sure what this film will be about, I am sure that like Ari Aster’s previous work it will be a wild ride. Based on the trailer for the film, Beau is afraid looks to be about a paranoid man and his horrific adventures that take place over a lifetime. Visually this movie is striking, and it continues to showcase Aster’s unique filmmaking style. I’m excited to see what strange places this movie will go and what Joaquin Phoenix’s performance will bring to the table. Beau is Afraid ventures into theaters on April 21st.

Evil Dead Rise

Coming out 10 years after the previous movie and 5 years after the last season of the TV series, this film has a lot of work to do to please not only new fans but old fans as well. While I’m not familiar with the director’s previous work what I can say is that if the trailer is anything to go off of horror fans may be in for a treat. Evil Dead has been a franchise somewhat at odds with itself, having been simple horror to horror comedy and then back and forth a few times. This time around there looks to be no jokes just pure nightmare fuel. While I enjoy everything the Evil Dead franchise has released so far I am glad they have gone with a more horror focused approach this time around. Evil Dead Rise raises the dead and heart rates on April 21st.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The sequel to one of the best animated movies to come out in recent years. I am a fan of not only Spider-Man but the character Miles Morales as well. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse brought Morales to the big screen with a unique animation style, an excellent soundtrack and a story that can be appreciated by all ages. There is no doubt in my mind that Across the Spider-Verse will do the same. While the official trailer that has been released does not reveal much about the plot what is does reveal is that there is so much more that can be explored in this Spider-Man universe. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swings into theaters on June 2nd.

Extraction 2

As a huge fan of the action genre and long take scenes, I was pleasantly surprised by 2020’s Extraction. The first film, while nothing special in the story department, did offer intense exciting fight scenes. Many of today’s action movies rely heavily on numerous cuts or cgi which often leads to badly choreographed fight scenes. Extraction directed by Sam Hargrave, who is a actor and stunt coordinator as well, made sure to focus on the readability of the fights first and foremost and ended up creating some of the best fight scenes from the past few years. Details on the sequel are scarce but what I expect is for Hargrave to go bigger with the fight scenes and for Chris Hemsworth to continue being the charismatic Movie star that he is. Extraction 2 will see Tyler Rake, main character from the first film, come back from the dead on June 16th.

The Flash

Probably the most controversial big budget movie releasing this year. The Flash seems to have been marred by delays, studio rewrites and behind the scenes controversy from the movie’s star Ezra Miller. Yet despite all those things that have tried to stop this movie from releasing, this movie is very real and set to come out later this year. A full length trailer was released Super bowl weekend and it showed the culmination of the DCEU coming to it’s inevitable close. The Flash will be adapting the Flashpoint paradox storyline from the comics so the movie is bound to have numerous cameos and set up the future of the new DCEU. The Flash zooms into theaters on June 16th.

Elemental

Pixar’s next theatrical release, as usual seems to be a visual feast. This time around Pixar has decided to personify the elements. Elemental will see fire, water, land, and air based characters interacting and navigating their own unique animated world. Where these characters will go and what they will do is unclear as Pixar has not released a lot of details on the film. The teaser trailer shows off the different elements co-existing despite their differences. Pixar rarely misses so I’m excited to see what emotional journey this next film will have in store for audiences. Elemental is set to captivate audiences on June 16th.

-Sheldon Bradford