Greetings Primates!
Evil Ash checking in again.
Last week, I gave you part one of my most anticipated movies of 2021. This week I conclude this two-part series by naming my remaining five movies. Again, I reiterate, that these aren’t what I think will be the BEST movies of 2021, just my most anticipated. There’s a big difference, and the new Ghostbusters movie mentioned last week is a perfect example of said difference. I’m certainly not expecting Seven Samurai when going to see a Ghostbusters flick.
Thanks for your comments in the Disqus forums, keep em’ coming, and please keep clicking and sharing all articles on this site! With that said, let’s get to it. Here’s part two of my Top 10 list – with trailers embedded, in no particular order.
Coming 2 America – March 5, 2021
In the 1980s, Eddie Murphy had a run of critical and commercial hits that’s comparable with the greatest, most famous actors in history; I’m talking Hanks, Denzel, Cruise, Ford, and a select few others. Between 1982 and 1988, Murphy – while simultaneously resuscitating the struggling Saturday Night Live at the age of 19 – knocked out the following movies: 48 Hrs., Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, The Golden Child, Beverly Hills Cop II (I stand by this sequel forever), Eddie Murphy: Raw, and of course, Coming To America.
By the time Coming To America came out, Murphy was 27, and the biggest star on the planet. Much like the original Ghostbusters movie, it was organic in the back and forth banter between stars Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall. It flowed so naturally. They are absolutely hysterical, and the supporting cast (James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Eriq La Salle, Frankie Faison, and many others) were rock solid. It’s part of the “Big 3” of Eddie Murphy movies, and incredibly re-watchable.
Now, 33 years later, we have Coming 2 America coming to Amazon Prime. Murphy, Hall, Amos, Jones, Shari Headley, and Paul Bates are all returning for the sequel, with Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and Jermaine Fowler joining the cast. Craig Brewer (Dolemite Is My Name) is directing, and that’s a GOOD thing as Dolemite Is My Name is the best thing Murphy has done in years. While I’m “anticipating” this film, the two trailers I’ve seen haven’t blown me away, and I can’t fathom that this will be anywhere near as good as the original 80’s classic. The official synopsis is as follows:
“Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, newly-crowned King Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his trusted confidante Semmi (Arsenio Hall) embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York – where it all began.”
If that sounds a little generic, that’s because it is. We’re revisiting a classic comedy from over 30 years ago. You kind of have to have a paint-by-numbers plot in place in order to clear out and let Murphy and Hall do their thing, and THAT’S the reason we’re seeing this; to see if Murphy and Hall can still bring it after all these years. While I don’t think this movie will be fantastic by any stretch of the means, I think it will have plenty of hilarity when it’s two main stars are on screen together. Unlike most of the other movies on this list, the March 2021 release date for Coming 2 America is firm, as this is being released via the streaming platform.
Nobody – April 2, 2021
Oh yeah. I mean, OH YEAH! When I first saw the trailer for Nobody, the first thing I did was watch it six more times to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing. Yes sir, that’s funnyman Bob Odenkirk, everybody’s favorite shady attorney from Breaking Bad, and it’s superior prequel Better Call Saul, kicking John Wick levels of ass. I then proceeded to send this trailer to about 20 people I know, exclaiming “You’ve gotta see this!” And you do. You DO have to see this.
If that trailer gives you “the feels” the same way the early John Wick trailers gave you back in the day, that’s because David Leitch and Derek Kolstad are behind this film and they are also the two people who basically created the John Wick universe for the screen. I’d like an extended scene with Odenkirk’s “Hutch Mansell” and Ian McShane’s enigmatic “Winston” at the Continental Hotel please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsJQsGbujzs
The premise of Nobody is that Odenkirk’s character is a “mild-mannered family man” who seems to be beaten down by life. On a night when two criminals break into his home, he fails to “man up” and defend himself, or his family. He just wants to “keep the damage to a minimum” as he says in the trailer. Clearly, these words have double-meaning as this home invasion awakens the dark and repressed side of Hutch. We see that he has a well-hidden violent past, which is about to unleash hell. Don’t call 911, and give him back the kitty cat bracelet! The movie co-stars Christopher Lloyd, as well as Connie Nielsen and RZA. While this is scheduled for a Spring release, like so many other movies, this will likely be pushed back to Fall or Winter 2021.
If the cinemas are back in action by then, I can see a LOT of people going to see this. I’ll be one of them. Looks fantastic.
Army Of The Dead – Summer 2021
The reason this title makes my Top 10 list is that I’m a huge fan of the genre. I’ve loved zombie flicks ever since I saw George Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead on VHS sometime in the mid-1980s. There have been good ones, such as Romero’s “Dead” trilogy or Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, and fantastic sequel 28 Weeks Later (many will say these two are not really “zombie” movies), and there have been not-so-good ones such as 2003’s awful House Of The Dead and the thousands of other horrible attempts throughout the years.
It’s a sub-genre of horror that’s really easy to screw up apparently. One director that didn’t screw it up was Zack Snyder and his 2004 incredible remake of Dawn Of The Dead. It was his first film as director, and we all know what kind of career he would go on to have. Love him or hate him, it was by far, his best film.
Now, 17 years later, Snyder leaves the superhero universe behind (for now) and returns to his roots with Army Of The Dead. The premise is that Las Vegas has become a zombie ravaged wasteland. What better time to plan a major casino heist! What could possibly go wrong! It’s basically Ocean’s 11, but with flesh-eating zombies. I’m in! Dave Bautista, Tig Notaro, Garret Dillahunt, Raul Castillo, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi and Ella Purnell are all staring in this Netflix production.
Snyder is all over this one, as he’s also the screenwriter and cinematographer on this project. It seems that Netflix has a lot of confidence in Snyder and this film, as a prequel and an animated series have both been green-lit. Look, this is Army Of The Dead, not a Merchant/Ivory production, I know what I’m getting, and I can’t wait.
Snyder+Zombies=Fun. While there has been no official release date for Army Of The Dead, it’s expected to drop in Summer 2021.
The Many Saints Of Newark – September 24, 2021
I’m sure David Chase’s The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark isn’t on a lot of Top 10 lists, but it’s on mine as I’m biased and lived in New Jersey all my life. As the late great James Gandolfini would say (as New Jersey mob boss Anthony Soprano) “it is what it is” For me, The Sopranos is the greatest dramatic 1-hour show in TV history. Some may disagree, but you’ll never change my mind. It resonated with me in a way no other show ever did. The humor, one-liners & scenery was all so New Jersey.
It helped that it was one of the best acted and written shows ever. Chalk that up to Chase. The Sopranos was and is still, his baby. If any of you have listened to the fantastic Sopranos podcast with Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa, you’ll know that Chase, creator, frequent writer and director, and showrunner of The Sopranos, oversaw every detail, from the clothes to the music, to the types of food on the table. Nothing made it past him without approval. This shows in the finished product. Cut to 14 years later and there’s a prequel portraying all my favorite characters in their youth; written and created by David Chase? Sold! There really isn’t a trailer yet, so below is some on-set footage filmed in Newark and Patterson, NJ.
The premise of The Many Saints Of Newark revolves around the DiMeo and Soprano crime families in the 1960s, which is tied into the race riots that took place in Newark in 1967, essentially putting Italians and African-Americans at war with each other in a City that was on fire, literally. The prequel film features a fantastic cast that includes Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Corey Stoll, Ray Liotta, Billy Magnussen, John Magaro and Leslie Odom, Jr. Alessandro Nivola is portraying Dickie Moltisanti, the father of Imperioli’s “Christopher” and Michael Gandolfini, son of James Gandolfini, is portraying the younger version of his father’s character, Tony Soprano.
Much like the original series, Chase has heavy creative control over the production and has hand-picked the entire cast himself. The film is scheduled to be released simultaneously in the cinemas and on HBO Max on September 24, 2021. I absolutely can’t wait for this.
Dune – October 1, 2021
The transference of Dune from book to film has a long and complicated history, one that was filled with excess and failure. On this very site, I’ve written about Alejandro Jodorowsky’s insane and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to bring Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 tome to life. David Lynch tried in 1984 to make it happen, and he had the misfortune of going up against the unstoppable Eddie Murphy and Beverly Hills Cop on opening weekend.
Lynch’s movie was considered a box-office and critical disappointment. Lynch basically walked away and disowned the film, stating that his artistic control and right to have final cut was taken away from him. To this day, the director does not like talking about Dune, and has rejected any offer from Universal to be involved in releasing the mythical “final cut” version. He stated:
“With Dune, I sold out on that early on, because I didn’t have final cut, and it was a commercial failure, so I died two times with that.”
Now, 37 years later, Denis Villeneuve’s long-awaited remake will be dropping on both HBO Max and in theaters. The science-fiction epic stars Timothée Chalamet as the Christ-like Paul Atreides, who leads the battle for control over the desert planet Arrakis; source of the most valuable substance in the universe, “the spice.” The cast is star-studded and includes Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.
Dune is planned to be a two-part theatrical event, and to my knowledge, part two has not yet been greenlit by the studio, so we have a potential Dark Tower-type disaster in the making if this movie isn’t successful. For me, nothing has been as good as Herbert’s original series of books. However, this looks to be a production that is loaded with talent behind and in front of the camera. If anyone can make this work, it’s Villeneuve. It sure would have been nice to Ridley Scott’s version.
While I have my doubts as to how good this will be, this is by far one of the most anticipated movies of 2021 and is scheduled to be released simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max.
There you have it for part two of my Top 10 list of most anticipated movies coming in 2021. Again, this list is just one man’s opinion, and not necessarily what I think will be the “best” movies in 2021, rather, my most anticipated. As always, please feel free to disagree with me, yell at me, and leave your treacherous comments in the talkbacks.
Sound off Outposters and let me know what you think!
Hugh “Evil Ash” Feinberg
To read my 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2021 – Part I – CLICK HERE
For my article about Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune – CLICK HERE
