5 FIlms We’re Looking Forward To This Year
I love movies so much. My family might feel ashamed at how much time I set aside for the purpose of drowning out the world with hours and hours of television and film. There’s nothing I intend to do about that so instead here’s a list of my top five films I’m anticipating this summer with black leads.
Nope (Theaters, July 22nd) directed and written by Jordan Peele and starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke “keep a job” Palmer, and Steven Yeun (and a whole host of other recognizable faces) is a horror, sci-fi, mystery about the residents of a town in California bearing witness to a chilling discovery. Never mind my crush on Kaluuya, Peele gives me exactly what I’ve always wanted from horror films, and Black leads doing exactly what I think they should do in horror scenarios—getting the hell on.
The Woman King (Theaters, September 16th) First of all, it’s Viola Davis. That’s usually enough for me, but I’ll keep going. The Woman King, directed by Gina Prince-Blythwood (Beyond The Lights, Love & Basketball) is a historical epic inspired by the true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey, a powerful state of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. This one is for the fans of history, epics, and Black women beating people up. Alongside Viola Davis are Thuso Mbeda, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, and John Boyega.
Blade (Theaters, vaguely 2022) As a kid with an unhealthy obsession with supernatural lore, seeing Wesley Snipes play a vampire hunter was exciting. Learning that Academy Award Winner (and an actor who stuns me every time he is on screen) Mahershala Ali would be taking the helm has had me in an anticipatory chokehold for months. Details are literally nonexistent but the official Instagram for the film posted a picture of Ali as Blade and in the caption a simple, “Blade 4.” So, maybe revisit the Snipe’s films (and that third one we don’t really talk about) to start drawing up theories.
My Fake Boyfriend (Amazon Prime, June 17th) I’m not ashamed to say that I love a good romantic comedy. The moment I saw this trailer, I blocked out that evening of June 17th on my ical, so I could sit on the couch. The movie follows Andrew (Keinyan Lonsdale) who has a major problem with not staying away from his toxic ex-boyfriend. His friends create “Christiano” a perfect, fake boyfriend who becomes a viral sensation which becomes a problem when Andrew meets Rafi, a perfect guy irl, so now he and his friends have to think of a way to keep his ex away, end the fake relationship and get that happily ever after with Rafi.
Beast (Theaters, August 19th) This is a movie formula we’ve seen many a white man tackle but now it’s Idris Elba’s turn. Beast follows recently widowed Dr. Nate Daniels as he returns to South Africa, where he met his wife, with their daughters for a healing trip after loss. But it turns dangerous when lions and bloodthirsty poachers begin to hunt them. For me, I personally love an exciting action-adventure (and Idris Elba) so I’m in.