With the pandemic over (that’s right, we’re declaring it done!) and moviegoing back in full swing, we decided to take a look ahead at the year in cinema and the movies that we’re most looking forward to. The 2023 calendar is looking pretty stacked so we decided to break down our selections based on studios and streaming services. First up is our list of most anticipated movies that are being released by Sony Pictures.
A Man Called Otto (February)
Based on Fredrik Backman’s 2014 New York Times bestselling novel, this life affirming new dramedy centers on a curmudgeonly old man – the titular Otto – who has all but given up on life until a young family moves in next door to him. He may be playing against type, but the movie still looks like it has all the hallmarks that make for a great Tom Hanks movie. It looks genial, earnest, and well meaning. The real question, however, is whether it can live up to the Swedish original, A Man Called Ove, which scored two Oscar nominations back in 2017.
Missing (February)
Aneesh Chaganty’s Searching was unexpectedly great. It one of those rare movies that transcended it’s gimmick, delivering a truly frightening experience that made you stop and question whether or not you really knew what your kids were doing online. It was one of the tensest cinematic experiences we had in 2018. Now, the minds behind that movie are back with Missing, which looks like yet another roller-coaster of a mystery that’s told from the point of view of the devices and services that have come to dominate our day-to-day lives. We’re definitely intrigued.
65 (March)
It’s sci-fi Adam Driver versus dinosaurs! MASSIVE FREAKIN’ DINOSAURS! What more could you possibly want dammit?
The Pope’s Exorcist (April)
Listen. We’re suckers for stories like this one. We love The Exorcist, and Evil, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. There’s just something about the idea of a lone priest facing down the devil himself that is heroic, and selfless, and deeply terrifying. What makes The Pope’s Exorcist even more exciting is that it’s based on a true story. Russell Crowe plays Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of the Vatican, who performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime. He wrote two memoirs – An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories – where he detailed his experiences battling Satan and the demons that had clutched people in their evil grasp. What’s more, this one is directed by Julius Avery, whose alt-history-Nazi-zombie-war-flick, Overlord, we absolutely loved.
Love Again (May)
The best rom-coms are always based on the simplest of premises. What if a widowed President fell in love with a lobbyist? What if two people swapped homes for the Christmas holidays? What if you tried to sabotage your best friend’s wedding? Can a man and a woman ever just be friends? Love Again, which stars heartthrobs Priyanka Chopra and Sam Heughan, is also rooted in a somewhat simple question: What if a random text message led you to the love of your life? It’s a meet-cute which could lead to all sorts of rom-com hijinks involving fate, and serendipity, and wacky romantic misadventures. In recent years, the mid budget rom-com has found a new home on streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video. It’s one of our favorite film genres and we’re always thrilled when one of them makes it out onto the big screen.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June)
The first Spider-Verse movie was an absolute revelation. It was bright and beautiful. It was full of heart. It had a real momentum to it as well as an animation style that was nothing short of revolutionary. It truly leaned into the medium and did things that just weren’t possible in live action. (Also: Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower” is now forever associated with Miles Morales!) This first of two planned sequels is long overdue and promises to blow up the Spider-Verse in all kinds of new and exciting ways. Not just with more “Spider-People” than we can shake a stick at, but also with an aesthetic that is pushing at the limits of what animation can achieve. This is comic book fare at its very best.
Insidious: Fear the Dark (July)
“Set ten years after the end of previous first two films, Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) heads east to drop his son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) off at an idyllic, ivy-covered university. However, Dalton’s college dream becomes a nightmare when the repressed demons of his past suddenly return to haunt them both.” While that cookie cutter synopsis doesn’t really tell us much about this fifth installment in the Insidious franchise, it feels like James Wan, Jason Blum, and Leigh Whannell have sufficient horror credibility to get us worked up about anything and everything they put out.
Gran Turismo (August)
It’s a video game adaptation that’s not quite a video game adaptation. Gran Turismo is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a teenage gamer whose skills won a series of Nissan competitions, leading him to become an actual professional racecar driver. It’s every gamer’s secret hope. It’s the ultimate wish fulfillment story. And if that isn’t enough to convince you, then surely David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Geri Halliwell Horner (the Spice Girl and wife of Christian Horner, team principal of the Red Bull Racing F1 team), and Djimon Hounsou can!
Untitled Ghostbusters Sequel (December)
We were huge fans of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. As a requel it hit all the right notes, leaning into nostalgia, providing just the right amount of fan service, while carving out its own path forward at the same time. Unlike, say, The Force Awakens, it didn’t concern itself with mirroring the same beats of the original movie, but rather reintroducing the iconography of the series through the actions of a young girl, finding her way in the world by excavating her family’s history and legacy. We know that it’s scheduled for release in December. We know that the cast is back. (Yay. Podcast!) And we know that Gil Kenan is directing from a script he co-wrote alongside Jason Blumenfeld and original director Jason Reitman. We’re all in on this one.
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