Summer has finally arrived and we're giving you every reason to celebrate! From on-screen dramas to a hilarious new Aussie comedy, we share a guide to some of the hottest upcoming films to add to your watch list.
COMEDY
Swinging Safari
Release date: January 18, 2018
A 200-ton blue whale washes up on a local beach and the kids think it's the biggest thing that's ever happened in their lives. It’s a time of boxed wine, bad styles, bad choices, but good times. And like the rotting whale, it's all about to go spectacularly wrong.
Set in the height of a 1970s summer, Swinging Safari is a colourful satire of a typical Australian beachside neighbourhood, which captures the innocence of an era of careless parenting, constant sunburn and suggestive adult behaviour.
From director Stephan Elliott, who brought you The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Swinging Safari features an all-star cast including Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue, Asher Keddie, Julian McMahon, Radha Mitchell and Jeremy Sims.
Father Figure
Release date: February 1, 2018
Kyle (Owen Wilson) and Peter Reynolds (Ed Helms) are brothers whose eccentric mother (Glenn Close) raised them to believe their father had died when they were young. When they discover this to be a lie, they set out together to find their real father, and end up learning more about their mother than they probably ever wanted to know.
The upcoming film also stars Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, Oscar nominee June Squibb, Ving Rhames, and Oscar winner Christopher Walken.
Finding Your Feet
Release date: February 15, 2018
On the eve of retirement a middle class, a judgmental snob discovers her husband of 40 years has been having an affair with her best friend. She is forced into exile with her bohemian sister who lives on an impoverished inner-city council estate.
Filled with grand, old British charm, Finding Your Feet is a feel-good film about discovering new beginnings.
Imelda Staunton, Timothy Spall, Celia Imrie, David Hayman, John Sessions and Joanna Lumley, star in this heart-warming romantic comedy.
DRAMA
The Secret Scripture
Release date: December 7, 2017
Lady Rose (Vanessa Redgrave) is an elderly woman who has lived in a hospital for 40 years. Despite her bleak surroundings there is a light in her eyes that cannot be extinguished. Dr Grene (Eric Bana) is drawn to her, compelled to discover her past and help gain her freedom.
Through Lady Rose’s ‘Scripture’, a life of extraordinary love and great injustice emerges, revealing a remarkable young woman of courage, whose only crime was to fall in love.
All the Money in the World
Release date: January 4, 2018
The film follows the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother Gail to convince his billionaire grandfather to pay the ransom.
When Getty Sr. refuses, Gail attempts to sway him as her son’s captors become increasingly volatile and brutal. With her son’s life in the balance, Gail and Getty’s advisor become unlikely allies in the race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money.
Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams star in this Ridley Scott ransom thriller based on the true story of the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III.
The Post
Release date: January 11, 2018
A thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post's Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents.
The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers – and their very freedom – to help bring long-buried truths to light.
SCI-FI
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Release date: December 14, 2017
The Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.
The film stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio Del Toro.
Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time
Release date: December 26, 2017 (Limited Screenings)
The epic finale to the Peter Capaldi era of Doctor Who, Twice Upon a Time is coming to cinemas for two nights only, featuring the return of Pearl Mackie and special guests Mark Gatiss and David Bradley.
The Twelfth Doctor, still refusing to change, goes on a last adventure with the First Doctor. Stranded in an Arctic snowscape, the two Doctors face enchanted glass people – stealing their victims from frozen time, and a World War One captain destined to die on the battlefield. But the Doctor must face his past to decide his future; his journey is only just beginning.
The cinema event will also feature two special bonus pieces, taking you behind the scenes to the filming of this special Christmas screening and celebrating the tenures of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Steven Moffat as showrunner and lead writer.
Annihilation
Release date: February 2018
A biologist attempts to solve a mystery involving her missing husband while on a top-secret mission to a location where the laws of nature don't necessarily apply. On her expedition she discovers a dangerous creature lurking in the wilderness.
Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s best-selling Southern Reach trilogy, Oscar winner Alex Garland directs Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac.
MUSICAL
The Greatest Showman
Release date: December 26, 2017
Inspired by the imagination of P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
The Greatest Showman features songs by Academy Award winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land), and stars Academy Award nominee Hugh Jackman. Jackman is joined by Zac Efron, Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya.
ROMANCE
Breathe
Release date: December 26, 2018
When Robin (Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge) is struck down by polio at the age of 28, he is confined to a hospital bed and given just months to live. Against all advice, Robin’s wife Diana (Claire Foy, The Crown) brings him home from hospital where her devotion and witty determination inspire him to lead a long and fulfilled life.
Written by two-time Academy Award nominated writer William Nicholson, and shot by three-time Academy Award winner Robert Richardson, Breathe is a heart-warming celebration of love and human possibility.
Just To Be Sure
Release date: December 26, 2018
The breakout French hit of the 2017 Cannes International Film Festival, the charming romantic comedy Just To Be Sure is a winning tale of parenthood, love and family, both lost and found.
When 45-year-old widower Erwan (François Damiens) discovers by accident that the man who raised him isn’t his real father, he begins a search for his biological one. He soon locates the mischievous, 70-something Joseph (Andre Wilms), whom it seems his mother may have known briefly. Erwan soon falls not only for his charm, but that of the impetuous Anna (Cécile de France), who has ties to them both. But conflicting loyalties become compounded and very soon Erwan’s families begin to collide, to unexpected, hilarious and moving effect.
CRIME
Sweet Country
Release date: January 25, 2018
When Aboriginal stockman Sam (Hamilton Morris) kills white station owner Harry March (Ewen Leslie) in self-defence, Sam and his wife Lizzie (Natassia Gorey-Furber) go on the run.
Sergeant Fletcher (Bryan Brown) leads the posse with the help of Aboriginal tracker Archie (Gibson John) and local landowners Fred Smith (Sam Neill) and Mick Kennedy (Thomas M. Wright). They are pursued across the outback but, for the health of his pregnant wife, Sam decides to give himself up. He is put on trial but will justice be served?
HORROR / THRILLER
Insidious: The Last Key
Release date: February 8, 2018
The creative minds behind the hit Insidious trilogy return for Insidious: The Last Key. In the supernatural thriller, which welcomes back franchise standout Lin Shaye as Dr. Elise Rainier, the brilliant parapsychologist faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet: in her own family home.
Winchester
Release date: February 22, 2018
Inspired by a true story, Winchester follows firearm heiress Sarah Winchester (portrayed by Academy Award winner Helen Mirren) who was convinced that she was haunted by the souls killed at the hands of the Winchester repeating rifle.
After the sudden deaths of her husband and child, she threw herself into the 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week construction of an enormous mansion designed to keep the evil spirits at bay. But when skeptical San Francisco psychiatrist Eric Price (Jason Clarke) is dispatched to the estate to evaluate her state of mind, he discovers that her obsession may not be so insane after all.
What films are you most looking forward to watching?
Read more: