IT’S SHOW TIME
Sandra Bullock’s female gangster. Saoirse Ronan’s Lady Bird. And the Mary Poppins sequel we’ve spent more than half a century waiting for. Our guide to the 80 unmissable events of 2018 begins with the must-see movies...
1. COCO Out January 12 The first Pixar film to be released since studio chief John Lasseter took six months’ leave of absence after admitting ‘mis-steps’ with female employees. Despite the whiff of scandal, American audiences have been flocking to see the magical story of Miguel, a musically gifted 12-year-old who travels to Mexico’s Land of the Dead in search of his great-greatgrandfather and musical idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Thank heavens his frail great-grandmother, Mama Coco, is still around to help.
2. THE MERCY Out February 9 In 1969, an unknown yachtsman, Donald Crowhurst, hit the headlines when he appeared to be close to winning the Golden Globe non-stop round-the-world yacht race, having apparently seen off the experienced likes of Robin Knox-Johnston and Chay Blyth. And then Crowhurst’s yacht, the Teignmouth Electronic, was found adrift and abandoned in the mid-Atlantic and one of the strangest – and saddest – stories in maritime history slowly began to emerge. Colin Firth stars as the doomed adventurer.
3. PETER RABBIT Out March 16 The works of Beatrix Potter have slightly fallen from fashion of late, and certainly been overlooked by feature-film animators. But all that will change as Will Gluck unveils his considerably updated take – a mix of ultrarealistic animation and live action – on Potter’s bestknown story. James Corden lends his voice to Peter, Daisy Ridley and Margot Robbie add support as Cottontail and Flopsy, while Domhnall Gleeson plays the now rather young, handsome but still fearsome gardener Mr McGregor. Possibly not for Potter traditionalists…
4. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Out April 27 Last time out the enemy was Ultron, this time it’s ubervillain Thuron, who’s intent on gathering all the ‘infinity stones’ for himself and threatening the future of the universe in the process. Good thing that Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow and co. are around to stop him, although with Guardians Of The Galaxy characters joining the already much-expanded Avengers team, keeping up with who’s who could be challenging.
5. JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM Out June 8 The Hollywood filmmaking machine has become highly skilled in rebooting old franchises, with 2015’s wonderful Jurassic World very much a case in point. Can lightning possibly strike twice? Well, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are both back as the closed theme park – and its dinosaur inhabitants – are threatened by an erupting volcano.
6. OCEAN’S 8 Out June 22 We’ve already had an allfemale Ghostbusters and good fun it was too. Now, it’s the turn of the Ocean’s Eleven heist franchise to get gender-rebalanced, with Sandra Bullock, playing Danny Ocean’s sister Debbie, leading the starstudded way. With New York’s ultraexclusive Met Gala the target, expect exquisite frocks, expensive rocks and a supporting cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling and Rihanna.
7. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 6 Out July 27 Tom Cruise clearly believes he has found a winning team, when it comes to making top-quality action movies. Christopher McQuarrie, who’s already directed Cruise in Jack Reacher and written the screenplay for Edge Of Tomorrow, returns to direct and co-write his second Mission: Impossible film in a row. And he’s not alone – Rebecca Ferguson, who was fabulous in M:I5 as the British agent Ilsa Faust, is back too, clearly hoping to help renew a franchise that’s now been running for an astonishing 22 years. And he may be 55, but Cruise still seems to be a man on a Mission.
WORTH WAITING FOR 8. MARY POPPINS RETURNS Out December 21
The long-awaited sequel (with a gap of a mere 54 years) to the iconic children’s film promises to be one of the highlights of the movie year. Emily Blunt looks born to play the part of Mary Poppins, Meryl Streep lends comic support, and Dick Van Dyke makes a sentimental return. Let’s hope his accent is better this time around.
9. RED SPARROW Out March 2
Adapted from a novel by former CIA operative Jason Matthews, but surely reminding everyone of the real-life Russian spy Anna Chapman, this is the story of young, good-looking Russian spies who are sent to Sparrow School, where they are trained in the dark arts of seduction and manipulation. Jennifer Lawrence adds class to this rather tawdry-sounding tale.
10. READY PLAYER ONE Out March 30
Wade Watts escapes a bleak, dystopian future by immersing himself in a virtual reality universe known as ‘The Oasis’. When its inventor, James Halliday (Mark Rylance), dies he leaves behind a hidden ‘Easter egg’ in ‘The Oasis’ worth a half-trillion dollars to its finder. Confused? All you really need to know about this film is that it looks stunning and is directed by Steven Spielberg.