Big names, big budgets and big expectations. Blockbuster season is starting to hit, and with temperatures continuing to soar, we’ll be spending lots of time at the cinema to cool down (and fill our faces with popcorn).
And because life is too short to waste time on a duff flick, we’re grabbing our gummy bears and heading for the nearest theatre complex. The only question now is whether we deserve an upgrade to gold class…
Vanquish
Morgan Freeman? The bad guy? Yes the perennial good man has gone to dark side in this action-packed flick. A corrupt, retired police commissioner who has an iron grip on his city, Freeman enlists the help of agent Ruby Rose (Orange Is The New Black) to collect millions of his laundered money. It’s not long before she discovers our ex-cop’s
evil intentions.
In cinemas now.
Wrath of Man
A film with Jason Statham in it? You know you’re in for non-stop action. The martial arts expert is back doing what he does best as he teams up with director Guy Ritchie once again for a remake of the French 2004 hit movie Cash Truck. Statham is a new money transport security guard who takes the law into his own hands during a heist, showing off his deadly ability. The bad guys won’t know what hit them.
In cinemas now.
Spiral: From the new Book of Saw
The gory horror series is back for its ninth slashing with Spiral: From the new Book of Saw. A spin-off from the iconic torture franchise, funnyman Chris Rock puts the jokes aside to play a brash detective working alongside a rookie partner, Max Minghella, to put a stop to number of grisly murders
that are reminiscent of the work of Jigsaw. Are you ready to play the game?
Estimated release date: May 14.
A Quiet Place II
The first instalment of John Kransinski’s horror flick had us using our popcorn boxes as shields as the Abbott family fought for survival against blind creatures with super-sensitive hearing (better than mum’s) that attacked anything that made a noise. The sequel to the megahit sees Cillian Murphy (or Tommy Shelby to all you Peaky Blinders) and Djimon Gaston (Blood Diamond) join the chaos as the family try to stay out of harm’s way from bloodthirsty monsters – human and the alien. We think we’ll be going for the XL popcorn this time.
Estimated release date: May 28.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
Ever watched a film so frightening that you kept the light on when going to sleep that night? No? Well that might change after watching the third outing of The Conjuring, suffixed The Devil Made Me Do It. The first two movies served up plenty of scares, and this one will no doubt do the same. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return as paranormal investigators. Based on a true story? We hope you got your Zs in last night.
Estimated release date: June 4.
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
It was bags of fun the first time around as Ryan Reynolds struggled to protect (and contain) Samuel L Jackson from a hail of bullets and bombs (while going through his repertoire of quotes) on their way to the International Criminal Court. Returning to the big screen on June 16, Salma Hayek takes on a bigger role to spice things up as Michael Bryce (Reynolds) gets roped back into protecting the larger than life Darius Kinkade (Jackson).
Estimated release date: June 16.
F9
Audiences love the Fast & Furious franchise for its crazy car heists, death defying stunts and out-of-this-world motors. So expect plenty more of the same in the ninth outing. F9 sees Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his petrolhead cohort brought together again to take on the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered in the nine movies — his brother, Jakob Toretta (John Cena). Will the crew be able to keep their eyes on Cena long enough to defeat him?
Estimated release date: June 25.
Black Widow
Actions have consequences as Scarlett Johansson discovers in the first film of phase four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back as the leather-clad, lethal hitwoman Natasha Romanova, Johansson finds herself being relentlessly pursued by old enemies with a score to settle. We guess an apology doesn’t cut it at this stage.
Estimated release date: July 9.
The Suicide Squad
Okay we hear you. The first movie did not live up to the billing (far from it). However, we have been promised that The Suicide Squad (which is a direct sequel) has ironed out the kinks and creases and will live up to the hype. We’re always willing to give anything a second go and with an all-star line-up including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, Sylvester Stallone and Viola Davis, the cast certainly sets the bar high.
Estimated release date: Aug. 6
Candyman
If you haven’t seen the 1992 original then head to your local movie theatre to check out Nia Costa’s prequel of the classic slasher show. It is a direct follow on from the aforementioned ’90s motion picture with Anthony McCoy, a painter whose career is stalling, reinvigorating the supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, and you can imagine the mayhem to follow. So are you ready to find out what happens when you say Candyman in the mirror five times?
Estimated release date: August 27.
Reminiscence
Hugh Jackman has thrown aside his top hat and cane (and claws) to help people relive memories in this sci-fi thriller. Playing Nicolas Bannister, Jackman falls in love with Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) but when a different client’s memories implicates Mae in a number of serious crimes, the veteran must find out about the woman for whom he has fallen. This is one show Jackman might wish he hadn’t seen.
Estimated release date: August 27.
The Ice Road
Liam Neeson is back on the big screen showing off his particular set of skills. The Taken star is an ice driver leading an impossible rescue to save the lives of trapped miners in a remote Canadian diamond mine. Directed by James Hensleigh, who was at the helm for Die Hard With A Vengeance, Jumanji and Armageddon, expect to spend most of the evening at the cinema on the edge of your uber-comfortable seat.
Release date: To be confirmed.
The Comeback Trial
The boys are back together for more mischief and laughter in this flick designed to give everyone one a right tickle. Robert De Niro and Zach Braff (Scrubs) are two movie producers who owe a serious amount of dough to the mob run by Morgan Freeman and plan to save themselves by bumping off their leading man, Tommy Lee Jones, for the insurance rewards. This is a film you cannot refuse to see.
Release date: To be confirmed.
