The Top 10 films for 2020, from Bond to Onward to Top Gun: Maverick, as chosen by KM Group film writer Mike Shaw
08:18, 08 January 2020
updated: 09:18, 08 January 2020
Needing something to look forward to in 2020?
If so, the KM Group's cinema writer, Mike Shaw, gives us his Top 10 films to look out for in the coming year.
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas break. Assuming the planet isn't turned into a giant fireball by climate change or despots with nukes, these are the 10 films I'm most looking forward to in 2020...
Onward
Release date: March 6
Pixar's new film is set in a fantasy version of suburbia. A magic spell that allows a boy to see his dead father for one day goes wrong and only resurrects his bottom half. The lad and his big brother embark on an adventure to find replacement parts for the top half, before their father is trapped between two worlds forever. With Tom Holland and Chris Pratt handling the lead voices, Onward looks funny and touching - exactly what a Pixar film should be.
No Time To Die
Release date: April 3
The 25th Bond film, and the fifth starring Daniel Craig as 007, is directed by Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation, True Detective) and stars Oscar-winner Rami Malek as the baddie.
This is Daniel Craig's fifth and final movie as James Bond and producers have promised that Craig's 007 will go out with a bang. It's a Bond film; what else is there to say.
Greyhound
Release date: May 8
Tom Hanks on a boat - Captain Phillips
Tom Hanks during the Second World War - Saving Private Ryan
Tom Hanks on a boat during the Second World War - Greyhound
In this film, Hanks plays a US Navy Commander protecting a convoy of 36 ships as they are pursued across the Atlantic Ocean by German U-boats.
Wonder Woman 1984
Release date: June 5
The first Wonder Woman film is the best DC superhero movie released to date, with Gal Gadot excelling as the Amazonian warrior. Wonder Woman 1984 changes the setting from the First World War to the 1980s. Patty Jenkins returns as director, with Kristen Wiig playing the Cheetah, a villain with superhuman strength and agility.
Top Gun: Maverick
Release date: June 26
The original 1986 Top Gun is a (slightly cheesy) classic, and in this sequel Tom Cruise returns to reprise his role of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. It's remarkable that all these years on, Tom Cruise is still one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.
Anyway, Top Gun: Maverick deal with the US military's growing use of unmanned drones and the dwindling need for human fighter pilots. Joseph Kosinski directs the film, which, like its predecessor, is already earning praise for its breathtaking flight sequences.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Release date: July 10
It's the Ghostbusters film people have actually been asking for.
Paul Rudd stars, and original cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver all return. It's directed by Jason Reitman, the son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman
Yes, the trailer that came out at the end of last year was pony, but I have hope the final product will be worth the 30-year wait.
Tenet
Release date: July 17
In traditional Christopher Nolan style, we don't know too much about Tenet.
We know John David Washington and Robert Pattinson are in the lead roles, and we know that it appears to be a time-bending tale of espionage, but everything else is still a mystery. It doesn't matter. It looks phenomenal, and Memento, Inception, The Prestige, Interstellar and Dunkirk have all taught me just to sit back and trust Nolan to do what he does best.
The Many Saints of Newark
Release date: September 25
This is the prequel to the greatest TV series ever made, The Sopranos. James Gandolfini's real-life son Michael plays a younger version of Tony Soprano in this film, which is centred around (but probably not focused on) the 1967 race riots.
The film is written by Sopranos creator and showrunner, David Chase, and is directed by Alan Taylor, who helmed nine episodes of the TV show.
The Witches
Release date: October 16
Robert Zemeckis will direct this adaptation of Roald Dahl's story, The Witches. An earlier version, starring Angelica Huston as the Grand High Witch, has been terrifying children since 1990. In this new take, Anne Hathaway will be playing the bald, square-footed villain.
Roald Dahl famously hated the first film. Hopefully, he would approve of this one; if you've seen Zemeckis' 2009 take on A Christmas Carol, you'll know he's very good at scaring kids.
The French Dispatch
Release date: TBC
Wes Anderson's latest film is being described as a love letter to journalists. It's set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city. Like all Anderson films, it has an eclectic cast, including Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz. Expect a killer soundtrack, black humour and Anderson's idiosyncratic visual style.
What did I miss out..? Let me know on Twitter @mikeshaw101
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