The Films/Anime I’m Looking Out For

Well…This is a rather peculiar yet familiar position I found myself in as I am currently writing this. While it has been nearly a year since I last wrote a single word about a film or anything which had caught my fancy at the time, I don’t think anyone could have predicted a year and time where we have all had to adapt to a status quo that has surely tested our own resolve. Indeed, this National Lockdown, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, has seen us adapt in new ways that we wouldn’t expect ourselves to fulfil, but has resulted in a lot of us championing skills and experiences that has provided different outlooks and perspectives on ideas. For me personally, this was most prominent in training to be a teacher where myself, and my other dear PGCE students, faced and adapted to a new landscape of education that has most definitely changed…For better? Or worse? That remains to be seen…

Digressing from this however, what’s been a certainty throughout these precarious times has been a viewing landscape where we have had to resign ourselves from indulging ourselves in social pleasures; most notably in the cinema-going experience and how naturally this norm of seeing the latest release wasn’t feasible. What equally came about however, I believe, is a renaissance for the streaming service giants to establish their name-sake in the convenience of the viewing experience. As much as can’t be helped to escape to the cinemas for the biggest cinematic releases, of which we’ll touch upon, it’s fair to argue how much of the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and most notably Disney+ have intruded on our viewing pleasure and how accessible it is to view something new and interesting though these services. On the flip-side of this of entertainment coin, the film industry has surely been tested; through the fact that this pandemic has resulted in the loss of monetary gain of big conglomerates and has plagued the film-making escapade of films coming to be. However, as we begin to emerge and find ourselves getting used to a new norm of life, things are beginning to look up; most notably for the likes of films that have had to be put on hold and features that are on the horizon. The movie industry has been, like many others, adversely affected by social distancing regulations and mandated shutdowns, but as vaccines continue to be distributed and businesses begin opening back up, I like to think we’re headed in the right direction.

With this in mind, I wanted to share with everyone what I am most look forward to seeing that’s soon approaching this year and next. Being as this is my first Blog Post in a very long time, it makes sense to cover what’s coming-up as I feel it gets people, including me, very excited of what to expect and even has us exploring past films that we haven’t seen in a very long time. Without further a due, let’s see what Films and Anime that I am most looking forward to seeing…

Spider-Man: No Way Home

The first film I wanted to highlight is one of the more discussed features in terms of its secrecy and the potentially big implications it has for its respected studios and franchises that it’s entangled with, and that’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Suffice to say, with the leaks that have been heavily discussed, and with how the narrative landscape is shaping within the MCU following the ending of Loki and reveals from both the likes of Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx in discussing their reprisals of Doctor Octopus and Electro respectively from Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Andrew Garfield’s version of the web-crawling hero, there will be some game-changing plot elements at play within this upcoming Spidey film and how it could easily paint the picture for the next over-arching Marvel story-line that’s set to feature in Phase 4, 5 and maybe 6? What has caught my eye upon this film’s release (of which I think will get postponed and move to a later date) is the speculation itself and how there truly hasn’t been any official merchandising/advertising of the said film at all; especially with it due to release in December of this year and how little time Sony have in promoting this film. However, despite there being no promotion of the film whatsoever, I have rather welcomed, at this present time, how an upcoming super-hero film of this magnitude isn’t getting overly-exposed as you normally expect to see. It’s refreshing to see a film coming-up that isn’t necessarily releasing a mass amount of trailers and footage for eager-beavers to witness, and I like this very much so. Even if a trailer for the film crops-up, I don’t think I want to watch it! From hearing about what could potentially be within Spider-Man: No Way Home, of the past Spider-Man films/characters of yesteryear joining the current Marvel fray, I want to be surprised of how they can manage to intertwine different universes into a single whole…

No Time To Die

With Daniel Craig returning for his fifth and (presumably) final turn as 007, True Detective director Cary Fukunaga takes the reigns for the 25th James Bond film that has significantly been ruptured by the rise of the global pandemic over the past year. Indeed, No Time To Die was one of the initial films to be truly affected by the pandemic; losing significant losses on promotion and distribution and having Danny Boyle leaving the directors chair as well. You can’t help but feel sorry for those working on this film for so many years and how they have desperately wanted to see everyone else see their work. Still, with a release on the near horizon, it’s finally coming to the cinemas and while I was rather encouraged by the films initial promotion and story, another part of me is thinking that this film could easily slip backwards like Quantum of Solace. I would say the most intriguing aspect to discuss about this film would be Daniel Craig’s representation as Bond and whether we’ll see him continue to play Bond in the future. For me, with their being reports of actors playing the famed espionage role in recent years, I suspect Craig to part ways and make way for a change of the guard. The question to ponder and think about is this…Who do you think would best enact the role of James Bond?

Attack On Titan: Season 4 Part 2

While it’s fair to say that I don’t necessarily watch as much anime as I once did, there are a select few famed series that I naturally want to revisit and see where the story is progressing to. Attack On Titan is an example of this since I feel its premise, and how the characters within the show have evolved in rather intriguing ways, has progressively got better and better. As much as I feel this latest season was produced rather hastily – with the demand of the hardcore audience wanting to see the finale of the story and how this transpired into an animation quality that looks rushed – it’s the story overall that kept people engaged for this last season and much more is said to be promised for the second part, which is set to be released in 2022. With the manga wrapping-up the events of Eren’s journey, it’ll be interesting how Studio MAPPA present this ending on a visual point of view, whilst also juggling their other shonen gem of Jujutsu Kaisen.

Dune

One of the my personal favourite directors in film in the past ten years has been Denis Villeneuve and how, with every film he has done since Prisoners, he manages to provide cinemascapes that are not only visually beautiful, but simultaneously build-upon difference facets of the story through its visual world-building. Villeneuve’s work of Blade Runner 2049 is an apt example of this where lighting and shadows of fantastical landscapes metaphorically eclipse Ryan Gosling’s character’s own conflicted nature. I expect some of the same from Villeneuve in adapting Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic of Dune. Funnily enough, I also expect for Dune to equally receive the same box-office attention as Blade Runner 2049 received…

John Wick 4

When it comes to viewing any action film, I can often become rather hesitant and doubtful of the said film; since I feel sometimes films of this genre can be over-burdened by the pressure of showcasing scenes of action that can feel lacklustre. An exception to this rule comes in the form of Keanu Reeves’ efforts in the John Wick series of films where there is a clear indication, from looking at the choreography and the cinematography, that the film-makers care about how their action scenes ultimately look. On top of this, comes their free-flowing story of the central character who hasn’t stopped running-and-gunning his way since the first film and how much of this won’t stop come the release of the 4th film, set to be released next year. From a narrative perspective, while I’m intrigued as to where they go with John Wick’s journey, I’m equally concerned on how much they expand on this said story and whether this could be a good time to end the series? What do you think?

The Matrix 4

From one Keanu film to another, comes the Wachowski’s return to the Matrix series with a fourth film close to being released. Somehow, some way, the characters of Neo and Trinity are to return for more action and sci-fi thrills and while it’s unclear as to how they are to be returning, with Trinity literally dying in Revolutions and Neo falling unconscious and taken away by the machines at the end of the same said film, it’s exciting that we are to be returning to the world of the Matrix. I just hope they don’t lump any of the pointless Zion story-line spiel from the previous films…Those scenes were painful in recently viewing the films.

Demon Slayer: Season 2

While there isn’t a specific release date for the second season of the show, much is anticipated from Ufotable’s Demon Slayer and where Tanjiro’s journey takes him next. Set to take place after the events of the recent Demon Slayer film, named Mugen Train which proved to be a rather rewarding experience for myself in venturing to the cinemas for the first time in a very long while (due to COVID), this second season is set to adapt the ‘Entertainment District’ arc of the manga where we hopefully get see more answers on Tanjiro’s questions about the demons themselves and how exactly can he turn his sister, Nezuko, back into a human. If there’s one thing that I would very much like to see, in terms of the said show developing its own lore and characterisation, is the inclusion of the Hashira; members of the Demon Slayer Corps who are renowned for their unique abilities. As much as we get a glimpse of these characters in the first season, it would be welcomed to get more of an outline of who each of them are and why they joined the Demon Slayer Corps…

The French Dispatch

Whenever a new Wes Anderson film is murmured to be in the making, or at least we see a trailer of the said Director’s work, it can’t be helped to infer how much one can be so eager in viewing what story has been concocted this time around. Reportedly inspired by Anderson’s love of the New York Magazine, the latest, in the form of The French Dispatch is a comedic drama that brings to life a handful of stories from the French bureau of a fictional newspaper headquartered in Kansas. The film’s press release calls it a “love letter to journalists,” and it brings together several of Anderson’s regular collaborators in a massive, star-studded cast. What is always a certainty with Anderson is his presentation and how the mould of the camera – how everything little minute detail is exposed like a tea-cup in a doll-house – and the imagination of his script – where the characters are constrained by formulaic speech – provide a whizz of a viewing experience that you can be fulfilled by. For certain, it’ll be interesting how this compares to his preceding work…What is your favourite Wed Anderson film?

The Batman

Out of all the films and different anime series that I have and will go on to mention in this rather frantic list that I have made of things that I’m personally looking forward to watching at some point or another, Matt Reeves’ The Batman is one of which I am enraptured by. Despite the ongoing DC Extended Universe of films (which includes other entries in 2022 like The Flash and Aquaman 2), Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves tackles what looks to be an even darker take on Batman than we’ve already seen, with an impressive cast that includes Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Paul Dano as the Riddler, and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon. As much as I adore the many different variations of Batman that I have seen in my own lifetime, with the likes of the 1990’s Batman films and animated shows alongside Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy that paints the caped crusader in a rather ‘realistic’ tone, one little facet that I took away from viewing the Fandome trailer of Reeves’ upcoming film from last year was the impressive way it’s highlighting the dark undertones of the source material. I’ve personally enjoyed the Batman stories which require the said hero to investigate the crimes, compared to other versions of the character that rather pummel their way to the answers, and I suspect this investigated tone is set to come to fruition in a bleak yet fanciful manner. I simply can’t wait for next year to see this!

Last Night in Soho

It’s always fun when a director steps out of their box, and for Edgar Wright, Last Night in Soho looks like a pretty extreme departure for the better. One thing that you’re always going to enjoy in relation to watching any of Wright’s films, whether you’re watching any of the films that comprise the Cornetto trilogy or even seen through his successful thrill-ride of Baby Driver, is the manner in which he manipulates our gaze through his effective and rather illusive editing techniques; how the transitions from one camera shot to the other flow the story along onwards. As much as I don’t see Wright always adopting this strategy in this horror film, I equally expect there to be a seamless visual style that I’m attracted by. The trailer alone has me hooked for how there are clear distinctions I have seen from the likes of Suspiria, in terms of the story, and how it visually compares to Nicholas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon. It’s fair to say that I’m not always engaged with horror films specifically, but this is certainly one that I will have to see at the cinemas…

The King’s Man

While both a third instalment of the Kingsman franchise and a Statesman spin-off are still on the way, audiences will first get a taste of how the whole thing came to exist in the first place with this prequel, named The King’s Man, set in the early 1900s. Admittedly, as much as I thought the first film, also directed by Matthew Vaughn who is making this upcoming feature, was a rather engaging action romp that was compelling to perceive thanks to its overly-bananas action set-pieces, I couldn’t say the same when I went ahead and saw the 2017 sequel which was rather abysmal and happened to be one of the worst viewing experiences at the cinemas; purely based on the film that I was indeed watching. I couldn’t help but cringe my way through an atrociously paced and blasé story that was all over the place. With Ralph Finnes leading an all-star cast in an origin story that will show how a group of ex-soldiers formed the spy agency, I’m hoping that Vaugh’s prequel doesn’t stray in the same awry path as The Golden Circle did. Here’s hoping!

My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission

There ‘s an argument to be made that Kohei Horikoshi’s manga and now animated sensation of My Hero Academia has progressively got better and better from its inception up-to this point in time. Where it began as just an innocent shonen series that promised more in terms of animation style and the development of its likeable mass of characters, it has exceeded in all of the aforementioned qualities and has gone Plus Ultra in providing an anime series that is adhered by all ages and demographics. The filmic spin-offs have easily shared the same lime-light as well, where the first film further expanded on its gargantuan list of characters and the second film providing a visual spectacle that was truly incredible to witness at the cinemas, similarly how I felt when watching Dragon Ball Super: Broly. With a third film cropping-up, titled My Hero Academia: Wolrd Heroes’ Mission, I’m eager to find out what Kenji Nagasaki’s film will provide in relation to seeing different characters and what the likes of Deku and his friends will be faced with. The aforementioned series in general is entering an interesting stage, both in terms of its manga and anime respectively. While the manga draws nearer to its complete end, which is sad to hear and even harder to type-up, the anime is nearing towards future and important arcs that will have fans become ripe with joy. Whether you’re reading the manga or watching the anime on a weekly basis, it’s a good time to be a My Hero Academia right now…

Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness

In coming full-circle, my last entry of this of films and anime that I’m eager to watch comes in the form of another MCU film, this being Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness. Similar to what I discussed about Spider-man: No Way Home and how there is heavy speculation in regards to seeing different universes and realities colliding with each other, following the events that took place at the end of the Loki series, Raimi’s upcoming superhero film is promised to delve into this significant shift of the MCU; where we’re going to delve into different types of characters that we’re familiar with. It’s anyone’s guess as what specifically we’re going to be presented with and how this will thread into future Marvel films; whether we may get an adaptation of one of Marvel’s most recognised story-lines of the Secret Wars? What we do know is how Loki and Wanda, both from their respective Disney series, will also be featuring in the film where they’ll play significant roles toward the outcome of the story. Again, what is pleasing to see from a huge film franchise such as this is its ability to change its focus so seamlessly without it feeling so sloppy.