“The Predator”
Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Jacob Tremblay, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, Yvonne Strahovski
Synopsis: Tremblay somehow summons a horde of Predators to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where his dad and a team of veterans and other government officials try to take on the otherworldly human hunters.
What You Need to Know: Shane Black returns to the click-click-boom alien horror franchise to hopefully give it his patented shine. His somewhat self-aware work on “Iron Man 3” grows in esteem as time goes on (oh, stop complaining, the big third act reveal in that is awesome), and one wonders if he’ll slam the pedal to the meta-metal on the franchise that helped launch his career. The addition of “bigger, badder” Predators feels like a clever Trojan horse for something far more interesting to be said for how Hollywood revamps these age-old series; Black’s wit perfect for a few gentle jabs at the familiarity factory. Even if it’s just a straight-up sequel, Black’s writing paired with that eclectic cast is enough to raise your excitement.
Release Date: September 14 — CW
“Gloria Bell”
Cast: Julianne Moore, Michael Cera, Holland Taylor, Rita Wilson, Sean Astin, Jeanne Tripplehorn, John Turturro, Tyson Ritter
Synopsis: A free-spirited woman in her 50s seeks out love at L.A. dance clubs.
What You Need To Know: Based on the critically acclaimed Chilean film “Gloria,” Sebastián Lelio returns to write and direct the American version of his breakthrough film. Lelio has been stunning audiences with his other captivating work, most recently “A Fantastic Woman” (Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film this past year) as well as “Disobedience,” both nearly unanimously loved by critics. With a track record like this, it is of little surprise that A24 has recently acquired the film ahead of its debut at the Toronto Film Festival. In a statement, Lelio said, “I really admire the films that A24 has championed. The company is strong and daring, which I think matches beautifully ‘Gloria Bell’s’ attitude about life.”
Release Date: Spring 2019 — Martine Olivier
“Boy Erased”
Cast: Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe
Synopsis: Jared is the son of a small-town Baptist pastor who gets outed to his parents at age 19. He’s soon faced with an ultimatum — attend a gay conversion therapy program or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
What You Need to Know: As “Boy Erased” makes its debut at this year’s Telluride Film Festival, it would seem many are already drawing the comparisons to another gay conversion therapy film from 2018, “The Miseducation of Cameron Post.” A shame, considering the only similarities are paper thin. Only the second feature film he’s directed, Joel Edgerton takes a sharp turn here from his last thriller “The Gift” with another based on true events adaptation. Lucas Hedges is quickly defining himself as one the ones to watch of his generation while Russell Crowe and especially Nicole Kidman nearly always deliver. Our critic who saw it in Telluride said “…Kidman often carries the movie in these sequences. She subtly conveys the gnawing pain of a mother who is increasingly unwilling to stand by and let her son be mistreated.” [Our Review]
Release Date: November 2nd— AJ
“Destroyer”
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Sebastian Stan, Tatiana Maslany
Synopsis: As a young cop, Erin Bell went undercover to infiltrate a gang in the California desert — with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges, Bell must work her way back through the remaining members while confronting her own demons.
What You Need to Know: Karyn Kusama has delivered one breakout film after another and still has yet to see the fruits of that success. From the gritty “Girlfight” to the purposefully playful and wicked “Jennifer’s Body” to the genuinely unnerving “The Invitation,” Kusama has mastered jumping from one genre to another with ease. With “Destroyer” it would seem she’s molding a number of genres together, with a synopsis vague enough to have us instantly intrigued by the moment the film starts. According to our critic, Kidman is a knockout and Sebastian Stan and Tatiana Maslany are welcome additions into the fold. [Our Review]
Release Date: December 25 via Annapura Pictures — AJ
“Outlaw King”
Cast: Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor–Johnson, Florence Pugh
Synopsis: After being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce is forced into exile by the English and leads a band of outlaws to help him reclaim the throne.
What You Need to Know: What looks to be one of Netflix’s biggest productions to date, “Outlaw King” casts an impressive and seemingly impenetrable glow with only its first, engaging trailer. Reteaming with his “Hell or High Water” star Chris Pine, director David Mackenzie has managed to build an eclectic career for himself in just the past few years. “Hell or High Water” was a meditative, Western heist film, “Perfect Sense” a horrifically deranged romance, and “Starred Up” a raw and intimated look into the Irish prison system. “Outlaw King” continues to flip the script with the tone being decidedly old school “epic” but with more blood. Pine leads and we’re excited to see what he does, considering he did his best work ever with the filmmaker, but we’re almost more excited to see what Pugh will do having left us gobsmacked following last years “Lady Macbeth.”
Release Date: November 9 via Netflix — AJ
“Her Smell”
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Amber Heard, Cara Delevingne, Dan Stevens, Agyness Deyn, Ashley Benson
Synopsis: A self-destructive punk rocker struggles with sobriety while trying to recapture the creative inspiration that led her band to success.
What You Need to Know: Over the course of his five — soon to be six — film career, one recurring theme unites all of Alex Ross Perry’s work: he does not write likable characters. Although the majority of writers tend to create characters that audiences will relate to in some way, Perry pens quick-witted narcissists, snarky sociopaths, and over-privileged brats. “It’s just always about people at their worst.” Perry stated during a discussion about his film “Queen of Earth,” which also stars Elisabeth Moss. “Not that they’re the worst [people]. It’s just the part of their lives that I want to find them in is the point at which they are really at an ebb.” Considering that Perry’s newest feature centers on a self-destructive punk rocker, “Her Smell” seems set on continuing the director’s examination of humans at their least amiable. Expect a healthy serving of sardonic irony, sharp dialogue, and deeply flawed individuals.
Release Date: Awaiting Distribution — JC
“Hotel By the River”
Cast: Joo-Bong Ki, Min-hee Kim, Hae-hyo Kwon
Synopsis: This Korean film follows a middle-aged poet who summons his two sons to a waterside inn when he thinks he may die soon.
What You Need to Know: Coming off the warm reception of its premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, “Hotel By the River” is the second feature film of 2018 by prolific Korean director Hong Sang-soo. Peaking with the acclaim of “Right Now, Wrong Then” in 2016, Hong has remained a strong international voice for quiet stories about art, human connections, and our mortality. Cinematographer Kim Hyung-koo once again works with Hong, providing the film a crisp black-and-white palette for his tale told in two parallel, and sometimes intersecting, strands. The parallel plotlines feature relatable themes around facing your own mortality and around facing your life after losing love.
Release Date: October 6 – KS
“mid90s”
Cast: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Katherine Waterston
Synopsis: First-time director Jonah Hill takes the coming-of-age story, slaps some sick wheels on it and rides it through the mid-’90s.
What You Need to Know: After a wonderful year of skateboard-based tales of youth, featuring the underrated “Skate Kitchen,” Hill makes his directorial debut with “mid90s,” a film that looks like “Boyhood” meets “Lords of Dogtown.” Hill’s sensibilities appear to be quite reserved and lingering, making the Richard Linklater comparisons apt. We’ve not got too many ’90s nostalgia pieces just yet (though, rest assuredly, they’re coming), so this one could be special and a forerunner for a new slice of coming-of-age stories. Suljic made quite an indent in last fall’s “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” and here, he gets center stage (or, should we say, prime hang time). Hedges is also building up to quite a fall between this and festival titles “Boy Erased” and “Ben is Back.”
Release Date: October 19— CW
“Hold the Dark”
Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgård, Riley Keough, James Badge Dale, Macon Blair, James Bloor
Synopsis: After the deaths of three children suspected to be by wolves, writer Russell Core is hired by the parents of a missing six-year-old boy to track down and locate their son in the Alaskan wilderness.
What You Need to Know: With quick succession, the indie hits, “Blue Ruin” and “Green Room,” filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier has quickly establishing himself as one of the striking auteurs of American genre movies. His films are grimy, rusty, dirty and extremely visceral. His latest, “Hold the Dark” looks to be a bit more expansive and austere, and it features his biggest-name cast yet. It’s going to premiere on Netflix and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get a theatrical release, which is a bummer because DP Magnus Nordenhof Jønck’s lensing of those unforgiving Alaskan landscapes looks like a left hook to the senses. Still, those lucky enough to see it at TIFF should be able to received the full-frontal punch to the face that is typically a Jeremy Saulnier film.
Release Date: September 28 via Netflix — Rodrigo Perez
“Donnybrook”
Cast: Jamie Bell, Frank Grillo, James Badge Dale, Margaret Qualley
Synopsis: Money hangs in the balance as two fighters prepare to go at it, bare knuckles-style.
What You Need to Know: Tim Sutton has quietly been building a heck of a resume in independent cinema, with his Aurora shooting-based 2017 film “Dark Night” an overwhelming display of what he’s capable of. He’s back with what appears to be a loose adaptation of the acclaimed 2013 short story-driven novel of the same name. The longline reads this as “No Country for Old Men” meets “Fight Club,” which is certainly a comparison, though we get shades of a nastier version of “Warrior” here as well. Bell turned in a strong performance last fall in the so-so biopic “Only Film Stars Live in Liverpool,” so it’ll be curious if this is finally the vehicle that grants his unique talents a wider audience, and if Sutton’s eye is able to translate into bigger projects.
Release Date: Awaiting Distribution — CW