Summer movie guide: What to see at the cinema

Here’s a month-by-month look at all the big movie releases, starting with the new Star Wars, along with a selection of major Oscars season contenders.

If you’re looking for a killer flick to see over summer, here’s a month-by-month look at all the big movie releases.

DECEMBER

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

December 19

STARS: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill

THEY SAY: A year after the events of The Last Jedi, the remnants of the Resistance face the First Order once again – while reckoning with the past and their own inner turmoil. Meanwhile, the ancient conflict between the Jedi and the Sith reaches its climax, bringing the Skywalker saga to a definitive end.

WE SAY: The final instalment of the third trilogy of Star Warsmovies has a lot of story to work through, and a lot of closure to deliver to fans who will be poring over every little detail intently. The first two episodes of the Ridley-as-Rey saga have been emphatically strong, so it’s hard to envisage they’ll stuff it up from here. Bring it on!

CLOSE UP: Release was originally set down for May of this year. The delay has been ascribed to letting fan fatigue dissipate after the muted response that greeted last year’s standalone adventure Solo. J.J. Abrams returns to the Star Wars director’s chair after taking a break following 2015’s spectacular The Force Awakens.

The first two Star Wars episodes with Ridley is Rey were emphatically strong. Picture: Disney.

CATS

December 26

STARS: Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson

THEY SAY: A tribe of cats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life.

WE SAY: While the Christmas break has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for musicals, this totally bonkers-looking adaptation of the love-it-or-loathe-it Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is going to test this theory to the limit. Tom Hooper (Les Miserables) directs.

CLOSE UP: Trailers and images released across this year have already spawned a zillion social media memes, which will surely hit blizzard proportions once the movie comes out. Impossible to call whether this will be a trainwreck or purr-fection personified. Word of meow-th will prove crucial.

The latest Cats adaptation, starring Taylor Swift, looks totally bonkers. Picture: Universal

JOJO RABBIT

December 26

STARS: Roman Griffin Davis, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell

THEY SAY: During WW2, the world of a lonely German boy is turned upside down when he learns his mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. Will his imaginary friend be a help or a hinderance in dealing with this shock discovery?

WE SAY: The appeal of this satirical black comedy to many people could be indexed by how they feel about the identity of the title character’s imaginary friend. It is the notoriously evil Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

CLOSE UP: After meeting with an understandably divided initial reaction upon release in the US, the movie has come to be acclaimed as one of the year’s best on the awards circuit. If anyone can make such a dicey gambit work, it is New Zealander comic maestro Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Thor: Ragnarok). Just for good measure, it is he who plays the despised Fuhrer.

Jojo Rabbit divided audiences in the US. Picture: Twentieth Century Fox

ALSO OPENING IN DECEMBER

JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL (Dec 26): The first one grossed well over a billion, so a second burst of alt-dimension adventures for Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black and the gang has the makings of a surefire hit. New franchise recruits include Danny DeVito and Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians).

THE TRUTH (Dec 26): The raves have been strong on the festival circuit for this spellbinding comedy-drama throughout the year. Arthouse aficionados should put this at the top of their must-see card, and not just because it stars French legends Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche.

THE TWO POPES (Netflix from Dec 20): The times must be a’changing when you can now watch Oscar faves like this sublime papal buddy flick (starring a magnificent Anthony Hopkins) any time you want this summer. Same goes for other Netflix prestige productions likeThe Irishman and Marriage Story.

The first Jumanji made over a billion at the box office, so they’re coming back with a second. Picture: Sony

JANUARY

LITTLE WOMEN

January 1

STARS: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh

THEY SAY: Following the lives of four sisters, Amy, Jo, Beth and Meg, as they come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War. The March sisters stand by each other through difficult and changing times.

WE SAY: This is as classy a costume drama as you’ll get in the modern era, with a top-flight cast (has Saoirse Ronan ever been less than great in anything?) and a writer-director in white-hot form (Greta Gerwig, coming off the superb Lady Bird). Yes, please.

CLOSE UP: It would not be Oscars season without Meryl Streep in the mix somewhere. She has been aboard this production (as the no-nonsense Aunt March) since day one. Support cast also includes the leading male actor of his generation, Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name).

Little Women has a top-flight cast with Emma Watson and Saoirse Ronan leading the charge. Picture: Sony

1917

January 9

STARS: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Benedict Cumberbatch

THEY SAY: Two young British privates during the First World War are given an impossible mission: deliver a message deep in enemy territory that will stop 1,600 men from walking straight into a deadly trap.

WE SAY: Go right ahead and mark down this epic war drama as the ‘special occasion’ movie of the summer. Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) has conjured the mesmerising illusion of one continuous camera shot, which follows the soldiers every step along their hellish journey in real time.

CLOSE UP: This is a passion project for Mendes, who has dreamed of committing this remarkable story to the screen since it was told to him as a small child by his grandfather. Will be a star-making affair for George MacKay, who also has the title role in a certain Ned Kelly movie out this month.

Mark down epic war drama 1917 as the ‘special occasion’ movie of the summer. Picture: Unversal

TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG

Cinemas January 9, Steaming January 26

STARS: George MacKay, Russell Crowe, Essie Davis

THEY SAY: A movie that will shatter the mythology of the notorious icon to reveal the essence behind the life of Ned Kelly, and force a country to stare back into the ashes of its brutal past.

WE SAY: No one ever does a ‘straight’ movie take of the Ned Kelly story. We’ve had Mick Jagger out of his depth, Heath Ledger mumbling into his beard, and now this defiantly strange reading of the legend based on the controversial Peter Carey novel.

CLOSE UP: This could end in triumph or tragedy. Cast looks promising. George MacKay (yet another Brit playing Ned) is poised for major stardom once 1917 hits. Russell Crowe make a rare home-ground appearance as Kelly’s mentor Harry Power, while ever-reliable Essie Davis is the bushranger’s mum.

Russell Crowe stars in True History of the Kelly Gang. Picture: Transmission Film

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

January 23

STARS: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Maryann Plunkett

THEY SAY: A story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between a beloved American children’s TV icon and a sceptical award-winning journalist.

WE SAY: The subject of the movie, Fred Rogers, is a virtual unknown in Australia, as his programs never ran here. However, the X-factor here is that he is played by the one and only Tom Hanks, already drawing some of the best reviews of his career for his charming performance.

CLOSE UP: Rogers is the closest thing American TV has to a saint, and it is all due to his best-known show Mr Rogers’ Neighbourhood, which dominated children’s afternoon TV in the US from 1968 through 2001.

Tom Hanks is already drawing some of the best reviews of his career for his performance in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

ALSO OPENING IN JANUARY

THE GENTLEMEN (Jan 1): Filmmaker Guy Ritchie goes back to his Brit-crime roots (remember Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels?) with a ripping ensemble affair. Matthew McConaughey and Colin Farrell spearhead a wired and inspired tale of a mobster war over a secret dope-dealing operation.

DOLITTLE (Jan 16): Now that Robert Downey Jr. is off the clock with Iron Man and the Avengers, he will be talking to the animals. Just like Eddie Murphy and Rex Harrison did before him. The most expensive family film of the summer.

LIKE A BOSS (Jan 23): Been a while since a rom-com did any big biz, but this one stands a good chance of reversing the trend. Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish play best friends who start a beauty company, while Salma Hayek is the tycoon circling to take a controlling share.

Michelle Dockery, Matthew McConaughey and Charlie Hunnam in The Gentlemen. Picture: Roadshow Films

FEBRUARY-MARCH

BIRDS OF PREY

February 6

STARS: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ewan McGregor

THEY SAY: After splitting with the Joker, Harley Quinn joins superheroes Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya to save a young girl from an evil crime lord.

WE SAY: While 2017’s Suicide Squad is now rightly regarded as a botch job by the DC Comics faithful, thumbs stayed up for Margot Robbie incendiary turn as the mad, bad and dangerous-to-know Harley Quinn. Hence a highly anticipated standalone sequel.

CLOSE UP: Also a credited producer on the movie, Robbie has been careful to keep DC fans in the loop on all developments, regularly releasing fresh news, pics and thoughts on social media. Reaction has been emphatically positive, especially to Harley’s fresh costume looks overseen by Robbie herself.

Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn was regarded as the best part of Suicide Squad and now she’s got her own movie.

MISS FISHER AND THE CRYPT OF TEARS

February 27

STARS: Essie Davis, Daniel Lapaine, Ashleigh Cummings

THEY SAY: After freeing a young Bedouin girl from imprisonment in Jerusalem, Phryne Fisher unravels a decade-old mystery concerning priceless emeralds, ancient curses and the suspicious disappearance of a forgotten tribe.

WE SAY: Based on the books by Kerry Greenwood, Essie Davis’ Jazz Age socialite detective absolutely deserves a shot at big-screen glory after a consistently strong run on the box. Fans from all over the world kicked in $250,000 of crowdfunding dough when news broke of a potential movie.

CLOSE UP: Filmed on location in Melbourne and Morocco – which ain’t a cinematic combo you see all that often! – and picks up exactly where 2016’s third TV season ended.

Essie Davis in Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears.

MULAN

March 26

STARS: Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Jet Li

THEY SAY: To save her father from death in the army, a young Chinese maiden secretly goes in his place and becomes one of her nation’s greatest heroines in the process.

WE SAY: Disney’s masterplan to reverse-engineer classic animated properties into live-action reboots has been a roaring success with audiences so far. With no big-name stars attached, this is the riskiest move to date. Luckily, the story is a stone-cold winner if not tinkered with too much.

CLOSE UP: Disney has yet to truly crack the mega-lucrative Chinese market, and has gone all-in to make this work there. Therefore leading lady Liu Yufei’s social-media support for Hong Kong protesters – triggering talk of a possible Mulan ban by Chinese authorities – has been a worry for the studio.

Mulan is Disney’s attempt to crack the lucrative Chinese market, but their leading lady’s tweets supporting protests in Hong Kong has thrown a spanner in the works.

ALSO OPENING IN FEB-MAR

EMMA (Feb 13): If Little Women cuts through as a major hit, momentum will swing behind this fresh adaptation of the classic Jane Austen romance. The breakthrough role rising British star Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) has been waiting for.

THE RHYTHM SECTION (Feb 20): A female-centric mystery-thriller tipped to be the next Gone Girl. Blake Lively is out for revenge on those responsible for the plane crash that killed her family.

A QUIET PLACE PART 2 (Mar 19): Tight veil of secrecy surrounds how writer-director John Krasinski will mount a sequel to one of the best films of 2018. His wife Emily Blunt stars again, facing a world where only total silence guarantees survival.

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Originally published as Summer movie guide: What to see at the cinema