The Bikeriders

June 21, 2024

Directed and Written by Jeff Nichols
Starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, and Norman Reedus
Focus Features

Official Synopsis: After a chance encounter, headstrong Kathy is drawn to Benny, member of Midwestern motorcycle club the Vandals. As the club transforms into a dangerous underworld of violence, Benny must choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.

Jeff Nichols (“Mud” and “Take Shelter”) has a fantastic track record, and this looks like “Sons of Anarchy” meets “Lawless,” with Tom Hardy playing the leader of a biker gang. The supporting cast is just as eye-catching, with Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, and Michael Shannon.

Horizon: An American Saga

Chapter 1: June 28, 2024 | Chapter 2: August 16, 2024

Directed by Kevin Costner
Written by Jon Baird and Kevin Costner
Starring Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jeff Fahey, Will Patton, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe, Ella Hunt, Jamie Campbell Bower and Thomas Haden Church
Warner Bros. Pictures + New Line Cinema

Official Synopsis: Chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American west.

Although word out of Cannes said it’s not great, I have a soft spot for Westerns, and the trailer for this looks too good not to offer some enjoyment.

MaxXxine

July 5, 2024

Directed and Written by Ti West
Starring Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon
A24

Official Synopsis: In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.

To think Ti West was originally only going to make “X” and then birthed “Pearl” and “MaXXXine” from that concept is endlessly entertaining to me. Mia Goth is perfect in these roles, and I love how each film has its unique style.

LONGLEGS

July 12, 2024

Directed and Written by Osgood Perkins
Starring Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Alicia Witt and Blair Underwood
NEON

Official Synopsis: In pursuit of a serial killer, an FBI agent uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree.

A horror film starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage from Neon? Oh hell yeah! Not to mention, the cinematography looks incredible.

Twisters

July 19, 2024

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung
Written by Mark L. Smith and Joseph Kosinski
Starring Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Maura Tierney, Katy O’Brian, Kiernan Shipka, Sasha Lane, Anthony Ramos, Daryl McCormack, and Paul Scheer
Universal Pictures

Official Synopsis: An update to the 1996 film ‘Twister’, which centered on a pair of storm chasers who risk their lives in an attempt to test an experimental weather alert system.

Despite the lack of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, this is a sequel I will welcome with open arms. Not to mention, I’m excited to see why this was Chung’s follow-up to “Minari.”

Deadpool & Wolverine

JULY 26, 2024

Directed by Shawn Levy
Written by Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen
Walt Disney Pictures + Marvel Studios

Official Synopsis: Wolverine is recovering from his injuries when he crosses paths with the loudmouth Deadpool. They team up to defeat a common enemy.

You can consider me a Marvel mark because I’ve been one of the few who has enjoyed everything following “Endgame.” But Disney’s first stab at the X-Men with some of the best to ever do it (Reynolds and Jackman) seems like the makings of this year’s “No Way Home.”

Cuckoo

August 2, 2024

Directed and Written by Tilman Singer
Starring Hunter Schafer, Jan Bluthardt, Marton Csokas, Jessica Henwick and Dan Stevens
NEON

Official Synopsis: A 17-year old girl is forced to move with her family to a resort where things are not what they seem.

Sometimes, all it takes is a great cast (Hunter Schafer, Jessica Henwick, Dan Stevens) and an original high concept to grab my attention.

Alien: Romulus

August 16, 2024

Directed by Fede Álvarez
Written by Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues
Starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu
20th Century Studios

Official Synopsis: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

The original “Alien” is one of my favorites of all time, but none of the sequels ever captured the horror element as well. “Romulus” looks to return to its horror roots. Plus, after “Priscilla” and “Civil War,” Cailee Spaeny is high on my list of actresses to seek out.

Emilia Pérez

August 28, 2024

Directed and Written by Jacques Audiard
Starring Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Édgar Ramírez
Netflix

Official Synopsis: Mexico, today. Lawyer Rita receives an unexpected offer. She has to help a feared cartel boss retire from his business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he’s always dreamed of being.

Coming out of Cannes with some buzz, the cast (Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Édgar Ramírez) and director Jacques Audiard (“A Prophet,” “Rust and Bone,” “The Sisters Brothers”) have me sold.

The Substance

September 20, 2024

Directed and Written by Coralie Fargeat
Starring Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Demi Moore, and Hugo Diego Garcia
MUBI

Official Synopsis: A fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.

Apart from “Anora,” no other film made a bigger splash at Cannes than this body horror starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. And for that, I am hooked. It feels like this year’s “Infinity Pool.”

Joker: Folie à Deux

October 4, 2024

Directed by Todd Phillips
Written by Scott Silver and Todd Phillips
Starring Zazie Beetz, Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson, Ken Leung, and Steve Coogan
Warner Bros. Pictures

Official Synopsis: Failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital.

As someone who wasn’t sold on the idea of the first “Joker” by Todd Phillips and was pleasantly surprised, I am going into this sequel with a slightly more open mind. Lady Gaga is perfect at reaching Phoenix’s level of crazy, so this should be entertaining.

Anora

October 18, 2024

Directed and Written by Sean Baker
Starring Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Ivy Wolk, Darya Ekamasova, and Lindsey Normington
NEON

Official Synopsis: Anora is a comedy about a sex worker shot in New York City and Las Vegas.

Winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes immediately puts a film on my radar. “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket” were enjoyable, but I’ve been waiting for a Sean Baker film that pushes toward iconic, so I’m hoping this might be the one.

Gladiator II

November 22, 2024

Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by David Scarpa
Starring Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Connie Nielsen, and Derek Jacobi
Paramount Pictures

Official Synopsis: Follows Lucius, the son of Maximus’s love Lucilla, after Maximus’s death.

In his 60-year career, Ridley Scott has rarely had misses. “Gladiator” was one of his most considerable achievements, and I’m excited to see where he takes the next chapter.

Nightbitch

December 6, 2024

Directed and Written by Marielle Heller
Starring Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Arleigh Patrick Snowden, Emmett James Snowden, Zoë Chao, Mary Holland, Ella Thomas, Archana Rajan, and Jessica Harper
Searchlight Pictures

Official Synopsis: A woman pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mom, but soon her domesticity takes a surreal turn.

With Searchlight Pictures and Amy Adams involved you have to wonder about the awards potential of “Nightbitch.” But the title and high concept (a mother finds herself turning into a dog) shed some doubt. Either way, it sounds perfect for me.

Nosferatu

December 25, 2024

Directed and Written by Robert Eggers
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, and Willem Dafoe
Focus Features

Official Synopsis: A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.

Director Robert Eggers has hit on all three of his previous films (“The VVitch,” “The Lighthouse,” “The Northman”), so there’s no reason to doubt he won’t with “Nosferatu,” a remake of the 1922 silent vampire film.