The year ahead – What to watch on the big screen

POLOKWANE – 2016 will go down as a year filled with epic film releases. Trilogies ended, forces awakened, alliances were forged and civil wars were fought on grand cinematic scale. There were spine tingling thrillers and laugh-out-loud comedies with a pixar animation that took more than 10 years to produce. And if you think it was a great year in films, buckle up, because these previews show we are in for another year packed with quality films.

Here’s a look at films set to be released in 2017:

• John Wick: Chapter 2

Release date: February 2017.

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Common, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane, and John Leguizamo.

Short description: The follow-up to John Wick, this film follows the well-known hitman who comes out of retirement to face off against some of the world’s deadliest killers.

• Power Rangers:

Release date: March 2017.

Starring: Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler and Becky G.

Short description: The classic children show makes it debut on the big screen as five troubled teens become Power Rangers when they learn their world is threatened by alien forces.

• Ghost in the Shell.

Release date: March 2017.

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, and Juliette Binoche.

Short description: A Cyborg counter-cyberterrorist field commander and her task force must face a new enemy who will stop at nothing to sabotage their artificial intelligence technology.

• Beauty and the Beast.

Release date: March 2017.

Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline and Josh Gad.

Short description: The classic animation movie has been made into a live action picture. It follows the tale of a young woman who falls in love with a monstrous beast, which enrages the townsfolk and leads to a fatal showdown.

• Logan

Release date: March 2017

Starring:Hugh Jackman stars as Logan  with Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier.

Short description: Follow the famous but ageing hero Wolverine as he and Professor Charles Xavier try and protect a young, gifted girl who is being hunted for sinister reasons.

• Kong: Skull Island

Release date: March 2017.

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and Brie Larson.

Short description: A team of explorers, escorted by soldiers, travel to a mysterious island where they cross paths with a mythical giant gorilla known as Kong.

• Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2

Release date: May 2017

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper.

Short description: Two months have passed since the guardians saved the galaxy, they now travel through the cosmos and struggle to keep their family together.

• Wonder Woman.

Release date: June 2017.

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright and Lucy Davis.

Short description: In the early 20^th century, the Amazon princess Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) joins forces with a military pilot Steve Trevor to fight in the First World War.

• Dunkirk

Release date: July 2017

Starring: Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Jack Lowden, Aneurin Barnard and Harry Styles.

Short description: Follow this epic war film set in the middle of World War Two, around the Dunkirk evacuation. Follow a troop of brave soldiers as they fight for survival, and freedom.

• Justice League

Release date: November 2017.

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, and Ciarán Hinds.

Short description: Inspired by Superman’s sacrifice in the events of Batman vs Superman, Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) assemble a team of metahumans to face off against world threatening evils.