The movies still to come in 2018

There might only be six weeks left to 2018 but that doesn’t mean there aren’t heaps of new movies to be excited about.

It seems like the end of the year is almost here and we should be looking forward to next year’s cornucopia of entertainment delights.

But there are still some exciting movies to come for 2018 with a mix of award season dramas, family favourites and ambitious action flicks to sink your teeth into.

WIDOWS

A genuinely thrilling action movie, Widows is that rare intersection of crowd-pleasing blockbuster and awards season favourite.

The movie follows three widows, played by beautifully by Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki and Michelle Rodriguez, whose criminal husbands were killed during a disastrous heist. When they’re threatened by a rival gang, they have to pick up where their husbands left off and pull off the impossible.

It’s the long-awaited follow-up from 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen, Widows is written by McQueen and author Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), adapted from a British series by Lynda La Plante.

Release date: November 22

VICE

If a Family Feud audience was surveyed as to who would play Dick Cheney, Christian Bale would never have figured on the list (be honest, you probably thought it would be Richard Dreyfuss).

Leave it to The Big Short director Adam McKay to make that almost impossible stretch. It’s either going to be inspired or distractingly implausible, though the prosthetics look pretty convincing.

The film will chart the rise of one of American history’s craftiest political operatives — all the way to the vice-president’s office. It also stars Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld and Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush.

Release date: December 26

Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in 'Vice'. Picture: Greig Fraser/Annapurna Pictures

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

Based on the memoirs of author Lee Israel, Can You Ever Forgive Me? stars Melissa McCarthy as Israel, a writer struggling to make a living penning profiles about accomplished women. Somewhat by accident, she ends up committing fraud, passing off forgeries of letters by famous people.

The film is directed by Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) from a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said) and also stars Richard E. Grant. There’s already Oscar buzz around McCarthy’s performance.

Release date: December 6

CREED II

Michael B. Jordan returns as Adonis Creed in a sequel to Ryan Coogler’s 2015 film that reinvigorated the Rocky franchise. In a movie centred on family and legacy, Adonis must fight the intimidating son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the man who killed his father in the ring decades ago.

Creed II also stars Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Brigitte Nielsen and Wood Harris and was directed by Steven Caple Jr.

Release date: November 29

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

A sequel to the wildly popular Wreck-it-Ralph, Ralph and Vanellope are back for another adventure. When the Sugar Rush game breaks down, Ralph and Vanellope use the arcade’s new internet connection to go looking for a replacement part.

They’re in for a shock when the discover the enormous and insane world of the internet, of online shopping, chatrooms, algorithms and even Google. But, as is the case with the real internet, not everything inside the world wide web is fun and good intentions.

Release date: December 26

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

You know what’s better than one Spider-Man? Loads of Spider-Men. This animated Spider-Man story (completely unrelated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Tom Holland’s iteration of the character) focuses on Miles Morales (not Peter Parker) and sees the youngster balancing his school life with his heroics.

Then he’s introduced to the Spider-Verse, a realm where Spider-Men from other universes can coexist in the same time and place, including Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Ham. The movie will feature one of Stan Lee’s last cameo appearances.

Release date: December 13

AQUAMAN

In the next instalment of the DC extended universe, Aquaman will delve deeper into the origin story of half-human-half-Atlantean Arthur Curry/Aquaman, the reluctant would-be ruler of Atlantis, a world of creatures hidden beneath the sometimes calm and sometimes turbulent seas.

Jason Momoa, who made his DC debut in Justice League, returns in the title role alongside Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Temuera Morrison and Nicole Kidman. He’ll battle his own family for power and endeavour to save the world from a threat close to home.

Release date: December 26

THE FAVOURITE

Eclectic filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer) has made what many are calling his most accessible film yet, about the historical Queen Anne and the outlandish and bitter power plays of two cousins trying to be the Queen’s favouritest favourite.

As with any Lanthimos film, expect it to be a character-driven performance piece with an unusual, unsettling vibe. Its stars Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are all mooted to be awards season contenders.

Release date: December 26

The Favourite is shaping up to be a strong Oscar contender

HOLMES & WATSON

There will always be more appetite for the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and sidekick John Watson. Even in the last handful of years, we’ve already had the Benedict Cumberbatch/Martin Freeman, Jonny Lee Miller/Lucy Liu and Robert Downey Jr/Jude Law versions.

Now it’s Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s turn, whose Sherlock and Watson have to stop the devilish Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes — of course it’s Ralph Fiennes) from assassinating the Queen. Supporting players include Rebecca Hall, Rob Brydon, Kelly Macdonald and Hugh Laurie as Mycroft Holmes.

Release date: December 26

BUMBLEBEE

When a franchise is as financially successful as Transformers, you’re not going to let it die, even though it really should. Bumblebee is a prequel, set 20 years before Shia LaBeouf had to calm down some robotic aliens in his backyard.

In 1987, Bumblebee takes refuge in a Californian junkyard where a teenager named Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) discovers him. Soon they’re hunted by a mysterious government agency named Sector 7. On Bumblebee’s side is its director, Travis Knight, made the excellent and emotionally moving Kubo and the Two Strings — maybe there’s hope yet.

Release date: December 20

ROBIN HOOD

Robin of Loxley’s arrows will once again fly through Sherwood Forest in the latest iteration of the Robin Hood story, another classic story that filmmakers return to time and again. Taron Egerton (The Kingsman) will don the tights this time, as a battle-hardened Crusader under his commander Yahya (Jamie Foxx).

Robin is fighting against the corrupt English crown, focused on the nasty Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn). The cast also includes Tim Minchin, F. Murray Abraham, Jamie Dornan and Eve Hewson.

Release date: November 22

Everything old is new again

THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS

The classic ballet and opera gets a Disney spin with the live-action adventure The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, directed by Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston, and starring Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Mackenzie Foy and Morgan Jayden Fowora-Knight.

On Christmas Eve, young Clara Stahlbaum travels to a magical realm where she meets a nutcracker soldier, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Mother Ginger. She must battle the Mouse King to retrieve her key but must also face an act of betrayal and deception.

Release date: November 22

OVERLORD

If you’re not interested in feel-good Christmas movies or awards season dramas, and all you want is some blood and guts, try Overlord on for size. The horror movie is set during World War II and follows a group of American soldiers who are dropped behind enemy lines and discover secret Nazi experiments.

Overlord is directed by Australian Julius Avery and produced through J.J. Abrams’ company. It stars Wyatt Russell, John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker and Game of Thrones star (and Joshua Jackson lookalike) Pilou Asbaek.

Release date: December 6

THE GRINCH

The citizens of Whoville just want to get into the Christmas spirit without a green killjoy getting all, well, grinchy on them. But we’re pretty sure he’s about to do an about-face — just have a feeling about it.

Benedict Cumberbatch lends his talented vocals to this new computer-animated version, alongside Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson and Angela Lansbury, while Pharrell Williams serves as the narrator.

Release date: November 29

Benedict Cumberbatch is getting his Grinch on. Picture: Universal Pictures via AP

MORTAL ENGINES

Peter Jackson presents a post-apocalyptic future in which London is now a polluted steampunk machine on wheels trying to survive in a world with scant natural resources and where cities eat each other. The story is centres on two youngsters named Hester (Hera Hilmar) and Tom (Robert Sheehan) in a tale of revenge, rebellion and redemption.

Based on a popular young adult novel, producer Jackson is expected to push new boundaries in visual effects and spectacle though he handed directing duties to first-timer Christian Rivers.

Release date: December 6

CLIMAX

Argentinian/French director Gaspar Noe is notorious as an agent provocateur, revelling in shocking audiences and the industry. His previous film, Love, which is streaming on Netflix, has been decried by some quarters as pure porn.

No less confronting, Climax stars Sofia Boutella (The Mummy, Kingsman) as part of a dance troupe on a particularly bad LSD trip, pulsing with erotic energy and madness. Apparently, Noe was disappointed only a handful of people walked out of the Cannes screening. Bummer for him.

Release date: December 6

COLD WAR

Winner of the director’s award at Cannes, Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War is an epic romantic drama set in the early decades of the eponymous war. Shot in black and white like his Oscar-winning 2013 film Ida, Pawlikowski’s story spans time and space, taking its characters through Poland, France, Germany and beyond.

Wiktor and Zula are two mismatched folk musicians, swept up in the impossible situation of the post-war years in the Eastern bloc. It’s bound to be a heartbreaker.

Release date: December 26

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