Guaranteeing 193 million subscribers a new feature every week in 2021 isn’t the easiest thing to accomplish, especially with productions being postponed/delayed left and right all around the world, but the 71 movies announced today by Netflix will do just that. I’ve rummaged through the 71 titles, some like duds, others are majors question marks, but I found 10 movies, across various different genres, that I can’t help but get very excited for. As we cozy up at the comfort of our own living rooms in this dreary winter ahead, these will hopefully take out a little bit of the sting of living through a pandemic. Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst star in Jane Campion’s next film, the Netflix-produced “The Power of the Dog,” an adaptation of the Thomas Savage novel. A pair of brothers who own a large ranch in Montana are pitted against each other when one of them gets married. Legendary writer-director Campion hasn’t directed a movie since 2009’s “Bright Star,” since then, she’s mostly dabbled in creating the TV series “Top of the Lake,” which was quite wonderful, but didn’t come close to the landmarks Campion had created over her illustrious 25-year career. Those landmarks are, as far as I’m concerned, “The Piano,” “Sweetie,” and “An Angel at My Table.” I also have a great affinity for “The Portrait of A Lady,” and the now, thanks to gender studies classes in film schools nationwide, the newly-minted feminist classic “In the Cut” (a wildly uneven B-movie that is as fascinating as it is messy and frustrating). “Blonde” Director: Andrew Dominik (“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) Andrew Dominik hasn’t released a movie since 2012’s scathing indictment of America, “Killing Them Softly.” That movie has only aged better over time and whet our appetite for a new film from the New Zealand-born director. Enter “Blonde,” Dominik’s first film in over 8 years and a fictionalized chronicle of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe. The film has received major boosts in the wake of its star, Ana De Armas’, meteoric rise in popularity since the release of her star-making performance in “Knives Out”. And she is no doubt primed to deliver another killer role in Dominik’s re-imagining of one of Hollywood’s first megastars. Not many films have been made about the legend, born Norma Jean, but something tells us that what Dominik has in store will be very special. “Don’t Look Up”Director: Adam McKay (“Step Brothers,” “Vice”) What we know about Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” his upcoming return to comedy, is that it’s the story of two low-level astronauts who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching asteroid that will destroy Earth. It sounds politically-charged and it probably will be. McKay told Rolling Stone earlier in the year that his film was set to tackle a global catastrophe and a bumbling U.S. President who refuses to listen to his White House scientists advice. McKay has decided to bring in an all-star cast with him in the process, and that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Timothee Chalamet, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, and Jonah Hill. Netflix is producing. “Army Of The Dead”Director: Zack Snyder (“Dawn of the Dead,” “300”) I absolutely loved Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake of George Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead.” It may in fact be Snyder’s vert best movie as a director. This spiritual sequel to ‘Dawn,’ deals with a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, as a group of mercenaries try to pull off a casino heist during a full-scale quarantine shutdown. Dave Bautista leads the charge in what sounds like a kind of zombie/heist-flick hybrid. Although production has already wrapped, Netflix is rumored to be saving this one for the summer. “The Hand of God”Director: Paolo Sorrentino (“Youth,” “The Great Beauty”) Paolo Sorrentino has made quite a name for himself these last few years, he’s managed to break out of the euro-auteur mold with a unique Fellini-esque touch to all his films. “The Hand of God” is being developed and produced by Lorenzo Miell’s company The Apartment. Although there is limited information available about the actual plot of the film, rumor has it that the story will revolve around the late, great Argentinian soccer player Diego Maradona. Maradona’s life was a turbulently wild one; from the cartel, to the world cup to alcoholism — it’s almost inexplicable how his story hasn’t been told yet on the big screen until now. If you remember, Maradona was actually a character in Sorrentino’s 2015 film “Youth,” with Sorrentino even, beguilingly, thanking Maradona in his acceptance speech at the Oscars. “The Harder They Fall”Director: Jeymes Samuel A man discovers that the cold-blooded killer who murdered his parents is being released from prison, and brings his old gang back together to track him down. Feature-debut director Samuel gives us a peculiar-sounding Black Western with an incredible cast to boot; Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, Regina King, Jonathan Majors, and Delroy Lindo all star in this movie produced by none other than Jay-Z. The soundtrack is also said to feature contemporary music in a 19th century setting. “Bigbug”Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children). A group of bickering suburbanites find themselves stuck together when an android uprising causes their well intentioned household robots to lock them in for their own safety. This pertinently relevant story is the return of French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children). Remember him? He hasn’t made a feature since 2013’s “The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet.” Although not announced as part of Netflix’s 2021 slate, I’m told production has wrapped and the long, ardous process of FX editing has begun. A December release is not out of the question. “Red Notice”Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber Universal originally owned the rights to this film before Netflix came in to save the day. The budget is enormous, the estimate is currently at close to $200 million, and if this were released by any other studio in theaters it would easily be one of the highest grossing movies of the year. Alas, we’ll resort to watching this one on a TV screen. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot star in this globe-trotting heist film directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (“Central Intelligence,” “Skyscraper”). The test screenings were so good for this one that Netflix had originally planned to theatrically release the film two weeks before its streaming premiere. Suffice to say, plans have changed. “Stowaway”Director: Joe Penna The crew of a spaceship headed to Mars discovers an accidental stowaway shortly after takeoff. Too far from Earth to turn back and with resources quickly dwindling, the ship’s medical researcher emerges as the only dissenting voice against the group consensus that has already decided in favor of a grim outcome. Stowaway is an upcoming sci-fi thriller film, written by Joe Penna and Ryan Morrison and directed by Penna. The film stars Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette, Daniel Dae Kim and Shamier Anderson, but, more intriguingly, this is Penna’s second film after the Cannes-premiered survivalist epic “Arctic.” “Bruised”Director: Halle Berry Halle Berry’s directorial debut follows a former MMA fighter struggling to regain custody of her son and restart her athletic career. Bruised unfolds amidst a well-worn New Jersey backdrop and immerses viewers in the world of MMA fighting and title-match preparations. A rough cut of the film premiered at this past September’s Toronto International Film Festival, but only people at the in-person screening were allowed to have a sneak peak at it. Word of mouth is strong with this one, it turns out Halle Berry may have some surprising directing chops. Stay tuned. Contribute Hire me
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