Your winter of blockbuster movies is here
It’s a good time to shelter from the cold in a cinema. Here’s what we’ll be watching.
How does that saying go again? You wait ages for a bus and then two come along at the same time. Well, that’s what this winter season will be like when it comes to the movies. Ever since the pandemic, the traditional blockbuster corridor – northern hemisphere summer, all the way from the end of May until early September – has been a tumbleweed-strewn wasteland, with barely any popcorn hits to be seen.
Not this year. The movies are back, and how! The past month has already seen the release of the genre-busting Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, the sequel to the Oscar-winning animated film with voice performances from Jake Johnson, Shameik Moore and Mahershala Ali, a live-action Little Mermaid and, most recently, the fifth and final instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford rides again, this time with added Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
That’s just June. From Indiana Jones onwards, almost $US765m worth of movie-making magic will be splashed on the big screen, including Tom Cruise’s death-defying stunts in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb drama, Oppenheimer, and Margot Robbie as the most famous doll in the world. See you at the movies.
The Little Mermaid
It’s the best of the Disney live-action reboots – although admittedly that isn’t saying much. But what The Little Mermaid gets right is its central performance by Halle Bailey, who brings real anguish, real joy and a really incredible voice to her turn as Ariel, the mermaid who dreams of being where the people are. Melissa McCarthy is also delicious as the villainous Ursula. (And yes, she can also sing.) Sure, some of the underwater visuals are a little muddy but on the whole this is an enjoyable and nostalgia-inducing watch from Chicago director Rob Marshall.
In cinemas now
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
The first of the Indiana Jones movies not to be directed by Stephen Spielberg, Dial of Destiny is also the last of the franchise – though that is just a sad coincidence. Because director James Mangold (Logan, Ford vs Ferrari) has captured everything you’ve always loved about this adventure-filled series, which sees part-time archaeology professor Indiana Jones (played by the one, the only, Harrison Ford) go once more unto the breach. Along for the ride is Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge as his mischievous goddaughter, Helena. Danish star Mads Mikkelsen gives really good bad guy. There’s relics, there’s ancient tombs, there’s mysticism and there’s that John Williams score. What more could you want?
In cinemas now
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Tom Cruise is big, it’s the pictures that got small. That’s what we learned last year when Cruise single-handedly revived the flagging theatrical business with his billion-dollar Top Gun: Maverick reboot. He did so by quite literally throwing himself into practical effects and real stunts, as is the Tom Cruise wont, and he’s doing it all over again in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. The film is the seventh in the franchise, which follows Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his band of Impossible Missions Force agents.
The good news? Mission Impossible is perhaps the best modern action franchise, anchored by breathtaking stunt choreography and direction by Christopher McQuarrie and starring a very capable cast (Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell and Vanessa Kirby all appear alongside Cruise). The previous film, Fallout, was the biggest yet, which bodes well for Dead Reckoning Part One. The bad news is that the movie, which began filming in the very normal and unremarkable month of February 2020, was heavily impacted by the pandemic. Still, we have faith. In Ethan Hunt we trust.
In cinemas July 13
Oppenheimer
Director Christopher Nolan has made a name for himself as the cerebral blockbuster auteur: this is the man who gave us Inception, Interstellar and, yes, 2020’s Tenet. He’s back with Oppenheimer, a biopic of the inventor of the atomic bomb, and though barely anything is known about the film or its treatment of historical events, given Nolan’s involvement you can guarantee it will be a unique and unforgettable tale. The cast alone is worth the price of admission: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Jack Quaid, Josh Hartnett (and the list goes on).
In cinemas July 20
Barbie
Opening the same day as Oppenheimer just might be its cinematic polar opposite – the live-action Barbie film. Written and directed by Greta Gerwig (the actor turned auteur behind Little Women and Lady Bird), and starring Margot Robbie as the world’s most famous doll, Barbie will hit cinemas with about as much anticipation and buzz as a film could hope for. Not much is known about the story beyond what the trailer has given away: that Barbie (Robbie) leaves Barbieland with her Ken (Ryan Gosling, perfection) in tow, headed to the real world in search of answers. There’s a supporting cast that includes Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Emerald Fennell, Dua Lipa, Nicola Coughlan, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Hari Nef, Kingsley Ben-Adir and so many more. Excitement for this movie is sky-high.
In cinemas July 20
Asteroid City
Speaking of movies with an incredible cast, Wes Anderson’s latest film will hit cinemas in August and boasts an ensemble that has to be seen to be believed. Many of the celebrated auteur’s frequent collaborators – including Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Maya Hawke, Rupert Friend and Edward Norton – return for another round in the ring with the director, while a few new Anderson faces – Tom Hanks! Margot Robbie! Steve Carrell! – come along for the ride.
The plot is a story-within-a-story, in which Anderson follows the staging of a play about a group of young physicists and their families stranded in the American desert when an astronomical event upstages their prize ceremony. The play, and the events it documents, are interwoven in this tale of grief and family, which is, like all Anderson movies, intricately crafted and full of wit and whimsy.
In cinemas August 10
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