Mick LaSalle’s picks (maybe)
Don’t look now, but some good movies are heading into theaters — probably. We don’t know. We haven’t seen them. But from the descriptions, they look promising, and if this is like other years, most of the movies by which we’ll remember 2017 will arrive in theaters in the next few months.
Here are a handful that I’m looking forward to, which I offer with a word of caution that comes from past experience: I’m missing something. There’s probably something great on its way to theaters, but I have no idea. Maybe the description doesn’t seem like much. Maybe there’s nobody in it whose work I recognize. So expect a few pleasant and complete surprises along the way — and in the meantime, keep an eye out for these titles.
The Force: Director Peter Nicks, one of America’s best documentarians (“The Waiting Room”) gives us an inside look at the Oakland Police Department. Battle of the Sexes: Steve Carell is Bobby Riggs and Emma Stone is Billie Jean King in this re-creation of the famous 1973 Riggs-King tennis match, which was billed as a referendum on feminism and absolutely riveted the nation.
Marshall: Reginald Hudlin directs Chadwick Boseman in this story from the early life of Thurgood Marshall, the future Supreme Court justice, as he takes on one of his early cases.
Wonderstruck: Todd Haynes directs a film about two people experiencing a connection across a span of 50 years, a subject that seems like a natural for the director of “Carol” and “Far From Heaven.”
Blade Runner 2049: Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford star in this “Blade Runner” sequel, directed by Denis Villeneuve. However, a word of warning: If at any point, Harrison Ford gets stabbed and falls off a bridge, I’m walking out of the theater.
Mother! Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris star in a psychological thriller, from Darren Aronofsky, about a young couple whose peace is disturbed by the arrival of unexpected guests. That’s all we know about the story, but the trailer looks ominous.
The Foreigner: Jackie Chan is a good actor, but in his American films he hasn’t had a chance to show it. But that may change with this dramatic thriller about a quiet businessman who seeks revenge after his child is killed in a terrorist incident.
Suburbicon: George Clooney directs Matt Damon and Julianne Moore in a movie, written by the Coen brothers, about hidden treachery in late 1950s suburbia.