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Promising Movies Coming This Year
from Sunday Signal 010823
by Signal
ENTERTAINMENT
Roeper: Some Promising Movies of 2023
By Richard Roeper
Signal Contributing Writer
Check the list of the Top 10 box office hits of 2022 and you’ll find nine were sequels or spinoffs, led by “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Avatar: The Way of Water,” and one was a restart: “The Batman.”
This is the way of the mainstream movie world. In the year ahead, we’re getting “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “Creed III,” “John Wick: Chapter 4,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” “The Marvels,” “The Exorcist,” “Dune: Part Two,” “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” “Wonka,”
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” etc., etc. We look forward with keen anticipation to some of these follow-ups; here’s looking at you, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Creed III” and “John Wick: Chapter 4.” Others? Well, you never know, maybe Aquaman will rise from the waters with a triumphant new chapter, and the new take on “The Exorcist” will at least come close to matching the terrifying brilliance of the origiatres • Santa Clarita Signal nal! One can always hope. In the meantime, here’s our list of 5.9” ORIGINAL movies we can’t wait to date: see in 2023. (As always, release dates are subject to change.) delivery date: ‘You People’ Jan. 27 “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris directed and co-wrote the script with Jonah Hill, who co-stars with Eddie Murphy in this comedic take on finding romance amidst cultural and generational gaps. Lauren
Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at 4:03:30 PM CASCS _ LEM0108-0112.qxp
Sunday-Thursday, January 8-12, 2023
TM NEWHALL 22500 Lyons Ave. info Line 310.478.3836 Bringing the Finest in Film to the SCV!
SKINAMARINK Thu: 7:30 PM Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.
SHIN ULTRAMAN Wed: 7:00 PM After a particularly challenging encounter, a silver giant descends from the sky to rescue the planet. Dubbed Ultraman, this giant’s identity and purpose are a mystery. SHIN ULTRAMAN is a delightful reimagining of one of Japan’s classic superheroes, full of cosmic twists, charismatic villains, and giant Kaiju.
M3GAN C 1:30 4:20 7:00 A toy company who uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN. After unexpectedly gaining custody of her orphaned niece, Gemma enlists the help of the M3GAN prototype - a decision that has unimaginable consequences.
BABYLON E 1:30 6:45 From Damien Chazelle, BABYLON is an original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles . A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood. London plays Hill’s love interest in what looks to be a modern and edgy update on “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” ‘Knock at the Cabin’ Feb. 3
Listen to this setup: “While vacationing at a remote cabin in the woods” — OK, we’re going to stop right there. How many times have I warned you all about vacationing at a remote cabin in the woods! NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS when you vacation at a remote cabin in the woods! Be that as it may, this looks like a promising take on a familiar trope, with M. Night Shyamalan directing and an interesting cast, including Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn and Rupert Grint. Expect more “Twilight Zone” than slasher/splatter film.
‘Cocaine Bear Feb. 24
Elizabeth Banks directs this black comedy thriller, which has already won the internet and features one of the most fantastically insane posters in recent history. Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and the late Ray Liotta star in the story of an American black bear that goes on a rampage in a small Georgia town after ingesting a duffel bag full of cocaine, and yes, this is actually based on a true story.
‘Renfield’ April 14
We know the story of Count Dracula, but what about Renfield? You know, Renfield! Dracula’s lackey? Chris McKay directs this horror comedy, with Nicolas Cage as Dracula (imagine the accent!) and Nicholas Hoult as Renfield.
CORSAGE Sun to Tue: 1:20 4:15 7:30; Wed & Thu: 1:20 4:15
As her 40th birthday approaches, beautiful Empress Elisabeth of Austria is thrown into turmoil as she anticipates being considered an old woman. WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY C 1:00 4:10 7:20
Naomi Ackie stars as Whitney Houston in the musical biopic, which is based on the epic life and music of the iconic singer. The film will take audiences on an emotional, energetic journey through Houston’s career and music. PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH B 1:20 7:30
Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for peril and disregard for safety have taken their toll. Puss has burned through eight of his nine lives, though he lost count along the way. Getting those lives back will send Puss in Boots on his grandest quest yet. AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER C 1:00 6:30
“Avatar The Way of Water”begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure. THE FABELMANS C 1:10 4:00 7:10
A coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves. WWW.LAEMMLE.COM
‘Oppenheimer’ July 21
They’ve already been running ads on TV for writer-director Christopher Nolan’s surefire Oscar contender, starring the brilliant Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, aka “the father of the atomic bomb.” The star-studded supporting cast includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Gary Oldman and Casey Affleck.
‘Barbie’ July 21
Speaking of advance publicity, I can’t remember when we’ve seen as many leaked production photos from a movie as we’ve seen with this Barbie movie, which I would tend to brush off as a ridiculous idea if not for the fact the director is Greta Gerwig, the screenplay was written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, and the film stars Margot Robbie as the title character, Ryan Gosling as the always smooth Ken — and Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel. Sounds like this was made for meta.
‘True Love’ Oct. 6
On the other end of the advance-notice spectrum, we don’t know a whole lot about this sci-fi project from Gareth Edwards, director of “Monsters,” the 2014 version of “Godzilla” and “Rogue One.” John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney and Ken Watanabe headline the cast, and shooting took place in Thailand.
That’s about it. That’s about all we know. And that’s kind of refreshing in this day and age.
‘Wish’ Nov. 22
When you wish upon a star ...
Yes, but what about that star? This epic animated musical from Disney is said to ask the question, “How did the wishing star, upon which so many characters wished, come to be?”
HEAVY. But most likely light and breezy and inspirational and filled with positive messages as well.
‘Ferrari’ TBD
The legendary Michael Mann (“Thief,” “Heat,” “Collateral”) makes about three movies per decade — but they’re some of the most memorable and visually striking films of our times. This time around, Mann takes us into the world of one Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) circa the late 1950s. Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley and Gabriel Leone costar. It will be an upset if “Ferrari” DOESN’T feature some of the most thrilling racecar sequences ever filmed.
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