WATCH AND WAIT

Some hung on, giving us desperate hope that they would finally hit the big screen as promised. But just this month James Bond’s No Time To Die joined the ranks of movies put off until 2021, followed quickly by the remake of Dune, the sprawling science fiction story that could become the new Star Wars.

Since COVID-19 decided to ruin our lives in early 2020, dozens of blockbuster movies have been pushed back. All this at a time we need escapism more than ever.

So, what’s to be done? One answer is to watch — or rewatch — the originals. Unfortunately in the case of some of the titles we were waiting for, such as Venom 2 and Ghostbusters, the original is not on any streaming platform. But we have found some great alternatives in our roundup of 10 great movies to watch at home while you wait for the sequel or the remake to finally hit theatres.

FAST AND FURIOUS 9

This was supposed to be out in May but has been shifted back until April next year. While you wait, catch up on the first six movies in the series — and the fun spin-off Hobbs And Shaw. Essentially these movies do fall into a pattern and you’ll get all the crazy car chases, the stunts, the women in revealing outfits and the quips from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson you need to keep you going. Prepare to push your testosterone into the red zone.

Watch them on Foxtel

WONDER WOMAN 1984

This has gone from June to

October to now Christmas Day. And the way things are going in Europe and America with COVID, Warner Bros is going to play Grinch and put it off even further. While you wait, check out the original Wonder Woman movie. It won’t have the crazy costumes and music we were expecting from the 1980s, but it’s still a great movie. And I say that while wearing the Lasso of Truth.

Watch it on Foxtel

A QUIET PLACE II

This was about to be released when COVID hit. After being pushed back to September, it’s now back to April, which is set to be a busy month. The original is simply brilliant but isn’t on any screening service.

So why not jump on to Netflix and watch Bird Box instead? Different monsters, different rationale (in A Quiet Place you can’t speak, in Bird Box you must not open your eyes) but it still slams your senses.

Watch it on Netflix

MINIONS: RISE OF GRU

This was supposed to be the July kids movie of 2020. Now it’ll be the July kids movie of 2021. The misadventures of the wacky minions will finally reveal how they came to work for Gru. You can still check out the original Minions and indeed the various Despicable Me movies.

Watch them on Foxtel

ETERNALS

This was going to be the blockbuster superhero movie that truly kicked off phase four of the Marvel Universe. And quite probably launched a new superhero team into our consciousness. But Marvel has simply moved everything back a year.

After initially being bounced to February, it’s now slated for November 2021. Meanwhile, if you want to watch a superhero team origin movie, you can’t go past The Avengers series. All four pack quite the punch.

Watch them on Disney +

MONSTER HUNTER

This was supposed to hit cinemas in September but is yet another one bounced until April 2021. Seriously, that month is going to be so full of movies, you need to clear your schedule now.

Anyway, this video game reinvention has Milla Jovovich again stepping into the role of an arse-kicking gorgeous heroine. Other than that, the title says it all. Monsters must be hunted. Don’t expect philosophical insights, do enjoy the fights in tight costumes. Luckily that is also the essential ingredient in the Resident Evil series. Check out what I reckon was the best of them, the second one, Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

Watch it on Foxtel

TOP GUN MAVERICK

This was primed for takeoff on December 23. Now it’s been wheeled back into the hangar until July 2021. It’s a sequel four decades in the making, so to say anticipation is sky-high is not an exaggeration.

Luckily you can go back and check out the original, when Tom Cruise was just a freshfaced sex symbol and you could admire his work without thinking about Scientology. Watch it on Foxtel

GODZILLA VS KONG

The king of the apes takes on the king of the lizards. We were all set to see this mighty battle go down in November but now we’ll have to wait until May.

How can Kong seriously take on a giant reptile that fires bolts of energy? The ape is smart but he’s going to have to tool up or something. Check out why it sounds like an unfair fight by watching Godzilla: King Of Monsters. And it has more monsters than you can poke a stick at. A very big stick, at that. Watch it on Foxtel

PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY

This was set to hop into cinemas in August but might pop out of its burrow in January. That’s the plan at this stage but who knows if it’ll be safe enough to return to the movies then. Expect more slapstick and cheeky jokes from James Corden as the voice of Peter, who took Beatrix Potter’s genteel character and dragged his tail into the 21st Century. Meanwhile, go back and check out the first one.

Watch it on Netflix

NO TIME TO DIE

James Bond never let a deadly pandemic stop his mission. But it stopped his film. This is another one now slated for April 2021. This has been moved so many times, Daniel Craig seems to be having more farewell promotions than John Farnham.

Anyway, while we wait and wait for this to come out, you have your pick of Bond movies, villains and indeed Bonds. Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, George Lazenby or Sean Connery? The faces change but the double entendres stay the same.

Watch them all on Stan