February 24, 2023
Now that the Oscars are upon us and we are two months into a decent start to the 2023 movie year, this week I’m going to share some of my most anticipated releases coming this year. With most industries back to some sense of normalcy since the pandemic, it’s safe to say that Hollywood is in the same state. Movie production schedules are getting back on track and this year should see a higher number of new releases compared to 2022. One other dynamic facing the industry is the growing realization that building content for a streaming service is really freaking expensive. Hence, a pullback on content spending from all of the major players – Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery, Disney, and Paramount have all committed to less content. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing – there are just way too many options when trying to pick something to watch. Hopefully less quantity leads to higher quality across the board.
Despite concerns about the demise of movie theaters, the box-office for 2023 has been pretty good so far, up over 40% since last year, but still trailing 2019 by 30%. What’s been surprising to me is that it’s not just the tentpole blockbusters that are delivering. Yes, Avatar: The Way of Water is still at (or near) #1 each week, and the newest Marvel film (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) had a strong opening last weekend. But two movies that were clearly marketed towards older adults – A Man Called Otto (with Tom Hanks) and 80 for Brady (you’ve seen the commercials) – outperformed expectations by a lot. Clearly, older audiences will go to theaters if there is a marketable story with movie stars. I will not be checking either of those pictures out, though – not my cup of tea based on the trailers. Before we dive into my full preview, here are a few 2023 films I would recommend.
Some Early Picks
First up is the deranged fun comedy-thriller M3GAN, about a killer robot doll, now streaming on Peacock. If you get scared easily, don’t worry – it’s pretty tame. M3GAN was so successful that a sequel was ordered less than two weeks after the film’s debut. Another movie I liked a lot was Knock at the Cabin, the new suspense thriller from M. Night Shyamalan. This one is a little scarier (so buyer beware) and is now available to rent at home. It should be streaming on Peacock soon.
Lastly, there was a clever movie released in January that I really enjoyed. Missing is the story of a teenager whose mother disappears while on vacation with her new boyfriend. The daughter tries to find her through some amateur sleuthing online. The trick with Missing is that our view of all of the action is through the lens of different types of screens – think of Facetime calls, searching on the internet, video of a Ring camera outside the front door, webcams into someone’s room, etc. It may sound like a gimmick, or a ploy that would give you a headache, but it’s actually a really clever idea that is executed very well. Missing is actually the second time the filmmakers told a story in this fashion. 2018’s Searching starred John Cho as a father looking for his missing daughter. Both movies are completely different stories, with the only connection being the storytelling device. I highly recommend both Searching and Missing, as they feature good plot twists and the filmmaking technique is pretty cool.
Looking Ahead
As I went through the list of new releases to cover, I didn’t include any of the major blockbusters coming from Marvel and DC Comics. I may check a few of them out depending on early reviews, but those areas of content are not my specialty. But if they are yours, then you probably already know that in addition to the new Ant-Man movie (which I did see and thought was pretty average – too much greenscreen dreck for my liking), Marvel will be releasing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in May, the animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in June and The Marvels in November. DC fans can look forward to the new Shazam sequel in March and The Flash in June, finally arriving after a number of delays. And if superhero movies are not your thing, but you want to see a movie that pretends it’s realistic (but really isn’t), you can see the tenth film in the Fast and the Furious franchise (titled simply Fast X – get it?) in May.
OK, now let’s move on to some speculative picks. None of these are out yet, so take these recommendations with a grain of salt – remember I don’t bat 1.000 here. With still a lot of potential movies we don’t know about yet, here are 23 picks for 2023 that I have my eye on.
In Like A Lion
March is coming in HOT. First up is Creed III next weekend. Michael B. Jordan is back as Adonis Creed, this time facing off against a former childhood friend, recently released from prison. That friend is portrayed by Jonathan Majors, who was actually very good in the new Ant-Man movie, playing the new Marvel villain for the next phase of the franchise. The previews for Creed III look excellent and this will be Jordan’s first directorial effort. He shot the film with IMAX cameras, so I’ll be looking to see this one on the big screen. One notable point for Creed III – despite the legacy connection to the Rocky franchise, Sylvester Stallone will not be appearing in this iteration. I’m not sure how I feel about this decision – on the one hand, he was great as a supporting character in the first two films, but I kind of like the decision by Jordan to go in a different direction with the third installment. Creed III debuts in theaters on March 3rd.
What’s your favorite scary movie? That’s right, after a successful return a year ago, the Ghostface Killer is back for a sixth time in Scream VI. For this iteration, our lead character is once again Tara, played by Jenna Ortega, who has achieved superstar status with her leading role on the Netflix series Wednesday. After the catastrophic events of the last film, Tara and her friends have moved to New York City, but she is once again being stalked by a Ghostface Killer. I’m kind of glad this story will move to a new location, as I think it will help shake things up a bit. And while Courtney Cox will be back for this installment, Neve Campbell will not be returning as she was not happy with the contract offer from the filmmakers. Scream VI debuts in theaters on March 10th.
Arriving the same weekend as Scream VI is a science-fiction film that I have had on my list for a while. Anytime you are considering a movie that is not a sequel or part of a franchise, you need to look at the key ingredients. Here is what we have with 65 – Adam Driver starring. Check. Written and directed by the duo who co-wrote A Quiet Place with John Krasinski. Check. The premise: Driver plays an astronaut who seemingly becomes stranded on a mysterious planet, only to discover he has traveled back in time – 65 million years, to be exact – and he has some not-so-friendly dinosaurs to deal with. You’re damn right I’m interested. 65 debuts in theaters on March 10th.
Last up in March is the fourth installment of the John Wick series, starring Keanu Reeves as the former hitman, who just can’t seem to quit the criminal world he was a part of for so many years. The first few films in this franchise were pretty good. Reeves is great and the action sequences are fun, albeit a little too violent for me at times. That being said, I’ll probably check it out, although I was not happy to recently learn that the runtime for the new installment is two hours and forty-nine minutes. Please, Hollywood, find more editors! John Wick: Chapter 4 debuts in theaters on March 24th.
And for good measure, just after the packed month of March ends, we have a fun movie from the Boston boys, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. You’ve probably seen the commercials for this one, as a trailer premiered during the Super Bowl, alongside Affleck’s very funny Dunkin’ ad with his wife, J-Lo. The premise of AIR is the story of a fledgling shoe company who decides to put all of their efforts into creating a custom shoe for a promising NBA rookie. That shoe company was Nike and that rookie was Michael Jordan. Affleck directed the film and plays Nike CEO Phil Knight, with Damon playing top Nike salesman Sonny Vaccaro, who made his career by signing Jordan to his legendary Nike deal. This one might be a little schmaltzy, but I’m hoping with Affleck and Damon signing on, plus a strong supporting cast, including Viola Davis and Jason Bateman, it will be a good one. AIR debuts in theaters on April 5th, and will be streaming on Amazon Prime at a later date.
For the Horror Fan
After you get your fill of scares with Scream VI, here are a few other horror movies I have on my shortlist for 2023. First up is Renfield, which looks a little more comedy than horror, but that’s probably a good thing, because the premise sounds great. At the center of the story is the long-suffering servant of a very demanding boss, desperate to get a new job. His name is Renfield (played by Nicholas Hoult, wonderful in The Menu last year) and his boss is a guy named Dracula, played by the perfectly-casted Nicholas Cage. This looks to be a perfect follow-up to his excellent meta performance in last year’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. This one looks delightfully silly. Renfield debuts in theaters on April 14th.
Next up is the third picture in Ti West’s delicious horror series starring Mia Goth as the title character in MaXXXine. As I covered in last year’s wrap-up series, West and Goth teamed up for two pictures in 2022 – First up was X, the 1970s horror movie about an adult-film crew that runs afoul of an old couple who own the farm they set as their location. Goth portrayed one of the actresses (Maxine) and the old woman (Pearl, while under an avalanche of makeup). X was followed up by Pearl, the prequel story set fifty years earlier, with Goth portraying the title character as a young woman. Both of these films were very good and in the next installment, West will show us what happens when Maxine pursues a career in the adult-film industry in 1980s Los Angeles after the events of X. Since this is a horror movie, I am assuming she will run into some difficulties. Goth is a bona-fide superstar waiting to burst out into mainstream popularity. She also has a gonzo performance in Infinity Pool, one of the strangest movies I’ve ever seen (but I kind of liked it?) released earlier this year. MaXXXine will debut in theaters later this year, or potentially early next year.
There are certain films that are untouchable, meaning they should never be remade. For instance, no one is going to make a new version of The Godfather. When I first saw news of a new movie called The Exorcist, I got very concerned. It may be the scariest film I have ever seen and it is a freaking masterpiece, and should never be remade. Then I read the premise and felt a little better. Then I read who was behind the new picture and I got excited. Technically this will be the sixth in the franchise, but will actually be positioned as a direct sequel to the original 1973 film. Think of how the 2018 version of Halloween was a direct sequel to the original 1978 movie. In fact, the writer and director of The Exorcist (2023) is David Gordon Green, who also oversaw the latest Halloween trilogy. He is planning this next film to be part of a new trilogy and it will feature Leslie Odom, Jr. as the parent of a possessed child who goes looking for help from someone who has been in his shoes, played by (you guessed it) Ellen Burstyn, reprising her role from the 1973 classic. The Exorcist (2023) will debut in theaters on (naturally) October 13th.
Under the Radar
We’ll hit these quickly because I don’t know a lot about them, except given the track record of those involved, I’m willing to jump in whenever I can watch them.
First up is Challengers, a love triangle comedy set in the world of tennis. The film stars Zendaya, Mike Faist (West Side Story) and John O’Connor (The Crown) and is directed by Luca Guadagnino, best known for the wonderful Call Me By Your Name. Guadagnino has an interesting career, with a variety of genres, and is coming off of his cannibal-love story (you read that right) Bones and All, which I thought was very good, despite the wild premise. Challengers will debut in theaters on August 11th.
My next choice also comes from a brilliant European director and stars one of the best young actresses working today. Blitz is the first feature film from Steve McQueen since 2018’s excellent Widows. His 2020 anthology series Small Axe was one of my favorite pieces of filmmaking I watched that year. Blitz stars Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird, Little Women) in a World War II historical-drama. Not much else is known, but with McQueen and Ronan involved, I’m definitely intrigued. Blitz will debut later this year on Apple TV+, with a potential theatrical release beforehand.
Three years ago, Netflix quickly snatched up the film adaptation rights to Leave the World Behind, a popular novel about a couple facing a potentially apocalyptic event. Sam Esmail (creator of Mr. Robot) directs Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke as the couple on vacation who experience a widespread blackout, followed by news from the property owners (Mahershala Ali and Myha’la Herrold) that there could be something more serious at hand. I have this novel, but have yet to read it, and I recently heard a podcast host recommend not doing so before seeing the movie, which tells me to avoid spoilers at all costs. Leave the World Behind will debut on Netflix on December 8th.
Next up is the first of three films on my list from directors in their 80s. God bless ‘em. Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider, Last of the Mohicans) delivers his first movie in eight years with Adam Driver starring in Ferrari. The story is focused on a specific time in the life of Enzo Ferrari, as he was building his car company, and dealing with family problems. I’m thankful this isn’t a “cradle to grave” biopic, which I find doesn’t work very well. Driver is outstanding in just about everything he does, and the supporting cast includes Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley. I expect Mann to have his fastball back after his last several films were disappointing. Ferrari will debut in theaters later this year.
Could Be Great / Could Be Terrible
After a disappointing fourth film in the Indiana Jones franchise (which I would like to forget, thank you very much), Harrison Ford is back for one more crack of the whip. This time James Mangold (following up the excellent Ford v. Ferrari) takes over for Steven Spielberg as writer and director of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Can’t say I’m wild about the title, but that’s ok. Mangold has cited the original Raiders film as his inspiration, and Spielberg and George Lucas served as executive producers, which helps alleviate some concerns. The trailer looks decent, and I’m trying to push aside the fact that Ford is now 80, and hope that co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge will be a great addition. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but we’ll find out soon. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will debut in theaters on June 30th.
Ari Aster might be pushing his luck. After two very successful horror movies (Hereditary and Midsommar), the writer-director is back with what is being described as a “surrealist horror comedy” clocking in at three hours. Beau is Afraid stars Joaquin Phoenix as a man suffering from anxiety who must confront his past experiences and fears, while dealing with the death of his mother. The trailer for this one looks batshit crazy and I’m not sure if it will work, but Midsommar was brilliant and Phoenix must have seen something in the script – he doesn’t take roles just for the work. Beau is Afraid will debut in theaters on April 21st.
Did we need another Willy Wonka movie? Well, hear me out for a minute. After the brilliant Gene Wilder version from 1971 and Tim Burton’s remake in 2005, what we will be getting later this year is actually a prequel story to the original novel by Roald Dahl. Timothée Chalamet stars as the titular character in Wonka, which is described as a musical fantasy story about the early days of our favorite candy maker. I’m intrigued by this one, even if it might turn out wacky. The film was written and directed by Paul King, who also made the popular Paddington movies from the last few years. Wonka will debut in theaters on December 15th.
I really like Margot Robbie. I think she’s an excellent actress and I love the fact that she takes on daring roles. After two period-piece movies (Amsterdam, which I hated, and Babylon, which I liked a lot) in 2022 that both underperformed at the box office, Robbie is taking on another daring role as Barbie. We don’t know a lot about this film yet, except for a short teaser trailer that came out a few months ago. Is it about toys that have come to life? Is it about the world that Barbie and Ken (Ryan Gosling, looking as chiseled as ever) inhabit despite being based on toys? It’s unclear, but I’m putting my trust in director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women), who co-wrote the script with her partner Noah Baumbach. Barbie will debut in theaters on July 21st.
My Most Anticipated Films of 2023
I couldn’t narrow this list down to five, so here’s my lucky seven.
#7 – Napoleon
Despite the lackluster response to his last movie (2021’s The Last Duel, one of my favorites from that year), 80 year-old director Ridley Scott marches on towards his next feature film. In fact, production on Napoleon has already wrapped and Scott is readying the shoot for his Gladiator sequel starring Oscar nominee Paul Mescal. Before that, we will see Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor during his rise to power and his marriage to Josephine, played by Oscar nominee Vanessa Kirby. I expect this to be a sweeping epic drama, one of Scott’s specialties. Look for Napoleon on Apple TV+ later this year, perhaps preceded by a brief theatrical run.
#6 – Maestro
Another film that has been on my radar for a while is the directorial follow up to A Star is Born from Bradley Cooper, who stars as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. Cooper is very talented and has shown some incredible range in his recent roles and I thought A Star is Born was an excellent film. I’m interested to see how Maestro turns out, as I am usually tepid on biopics. Hopefully this one focuses on a specific time in his life and his marriage (his wife is played by Carey Mulligan) and is not a full cradle-to-grave story. There was talk about a year ago that this could be a 2022 film, but it was eventually pushed to 2023. Probably a good thing, so we didn’t have to hear about “two conductor movies” in the same year, with Maestro and TÁR. Maestro will be streaming later this year on Netflix.
#5 – Dune Part II
One of the more incredible filmmaking accomplishments of 2021 was Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune, the legendary fantasy novel from the 1960s. With the sweeping story of Frank Herbert’s world in the novel, it made perfect sense for Villeneuve to break this into two movies. Filming on the sequel was finished in late 2022 and now the director and his team will work on post-production to add what I am sure will be incredible special effects. Timothée Chalamet returns as the star, along with Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin and others from the first film. Villeneuve has built such a strong reputation and interest in this story that was able to recruit even more stars for part two, including Austin Butler (coming off of his role in Elvis), Florence Pugh (one of the more in-demand actresses working today), and the legendary Christopher Walken, among others. This film could be one of the front-runners of the Oscar season one year from now. Dune Part II debuts in theaters on November 3rd.
#4 – Oppenheimer
If you thought the cast of Dune Part II was impressive, you should see the list of actors that Christopher Nolan has assembled for his first film since 2020’s Tenet. Oppenheimer features Nolan’s long-time collaborator Cillian Murphy in the starring role as the man who led the Manhattan Project and the invention of the atomic bomb. The supporting cast includes Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey, Jr. and many other big names. Unlike his brain-twisting stories like Inception, Tenet, and Memento, it looks like Nolan’s new picture will be more of a drama with incredible special effects. A recent story reported that Nolan used real explosives to simulate a nuclear test. Of course he did. After all, this is the guy who filmed a real airplane crashing into a terminal for a scene in Tenet. One thing is for certain with Oppenheimer (aside from the fact that it looks incredible) – it’s unlikely it will be on a streaming service anytime soon. Nolan was famously critical of Warner Bros’ decision to move all of their 2021 movies to HBO Max instead of theaters and severed his twenty year relationship with the studio. Universal Pictures financed Oppenheimer which means at some point (a long time down the road) it will likely land on Peacock. But you’ll want to see this on the big screen – trust me. Oppenheimer will debut in theaters on July 21st.
#3 – The Killer
David Fincher, one of my favorite directors, is back in his wheelhouse after taking a detour for 2020’s Mank, a passion project of his deceased screenwriter father. I liked Mank a lot, but I’m glad to see Fincher back to the type of story for which he is best known. For The Killer, Fincher will direct Michael Fassbender as an assassin. Not much is known about the film, which is based on a French graphic novel series and on the surface may not seem like much. But Fassbender is an excellent actor, Fincher has an incredible eye for filmmaking, and the writer is Andrew Walker, who wrote the screenplay for Fincher’s breakout film Seven. The Killer will debut on Netflix on November 10th.
#2 – Killers of the Flower Moon
It’s been five years since I first read the book that Martin Scorsese’s next epic film was based on, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release. In fact, a year ago when I wrote my 2022 preview, it was high on my list, but alas Marty needed more time to craft his vision and it’s now slated to arrive later this year. Killers of the Flower Moon is a true story centered around the mysterious murder of members of the Osage tribe in Oklahoma and the subsequent investigation by the newly formed FBI. It turns out that oil was recently discovered on the tribe’s land and this played a part in why people were being murdered. It’s a fascinating book and when you put Scorsese behind the camera for this kind of story, you can imagine a masterpiece coming. Oh, yeah – let’s talk about the cast. Shortly after the legendary director signed on to the project, we heard he would be reuniting with his two frequent collaborators – Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. Several months later, we learned that Leo had stepped aside from the lead role (recognizing he was too old for the part) to play a supporting part. In stepped Jesse Plemons to take on the lead role. This will be Scorsese’s first feature movie since 2019’s The Irishman, a picture that I liked a lot, but a lot of people thought was too long. Buckle up, because a story came out this week that Killers is reportedly three hours and twenty minutes long. Normally, this is where I would say Hollywood needs more editors, but not for an epic film from Marty. Bring it on. Killers of the Flower Moon will be released later this year in theaters, followed by a streaming release on Apple TV+.
#1 – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1
I don’t think I wrote about one of my highlights from Avatar: The Way of Water. No, it wasn’t the movie itself, which was fine – great special effects, but the story was a little bland and it was too long for me. No, the cool part about seeing James Cameron’s film on an IMAX screen was a behind the scenes look at the next adventure from Tom Cruise that played before the film. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 (whew, that’s quite a title) is the beginning of the end for Ethan Hunt as Cruise has maintained that when part two is released in 2024, that will be the end of his journey as the superspy he has portrayed for 27 years. I’ll believe it when I see it, but then again, Cruise is 60 and surely he’ll have to shift to different types of roles to earn that Oscar. Unless he picks one up as producer of Top Gun: Maverick, but we covered that already. I’m sure the plot for the seventh installment of the Mission franchise will be convoluted, but we’re going for the fun twists and turns and the incredible stunt sequences. Speaking of which, if you’d like a taste of what is in store and watch the preview I saw before Avatar, you can see how Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie (and a huge production team) concocted the craziest stunt I’ve ever seen here. It’s truly breathtaking and an example of why this film is my most anticipated release of 2023. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 will debut in theaters on July 14th.
What’s Next
That’s all for my 2023 movie preview. Before I wrap up, a few words about what’s next for the blog. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought over the last few months and decided on a new format and frequency. Instead of covering new releases only once or twice a year, I’m going to be sharing my thoughts as the year progresses. No sense in waiting to share how I feel about a movie I see in April until I write my year-end list. I’m also going to move away from “best of” genres, directors, or actors, unless something really compels me to share my thoughts. For instance, you can expect my top ten Martin Scorsese films when we get closer to the release of Killers of the Flower Moon.
With that in mind, I’m going to switch up from a weekly post to a monthly post. It will give me more time to focus on my other activities, but allow me to stay active with my writing hobby, without it getting stale. My plan is to post a new column on the last Friday of every month. The new “Monthly Movie Report” will feature my thoughts on any recent news in the industry, new releases I’ve seen, maybe a deep cut from the past that I recently rewatched, a television show that I would recommend, and maybe a few personal anecdotes sprinkled in here and there. So, that’s the plan. You can expect a new post at the end of March in which I’ll cover my reaction to the Oscars and other news and notes from the month. Thanks for reading and if you’d like to be notified of future posts, you can subscribe below.