I know, I know, 2019 has already started but I still wanted to share some of the things I am looking forward to in the world of media and entertainment this year. Check out some of what’s on my list!

Us

Jordan Peele blew so many minds with Get Out, so Us has a lot of people teetering on the edge of insanity from the anticipation. People are already doing full breakdowns of the trailer, attempting to breakdown every bit of symbolism they can find and try to predict what the story may be about. Not going to lie, I started theory crafting myself and can’t wait to find out if I’m right.

Avengers: Endgame

After this, shouldn’t we just take a break from Marvel movies for a while? After 11 years of films, can’t you just let us rest? I’m sure Cap wants to be put back on ice and Tony may finally be ready to retire all of his suits all over again. Real talk though, I’m incredibly excited to see the end of this first decade of Marvel cinema, it has been a wild ride full, sometimes painfully mediocre and at other moments showing where superhero movies can become more. I’m ready for the no doubt exciting conclusion.

Alas, Spider-Man: Far From Home will come out like a month later, so I guess we’ll have to continue the slog.

Wondering what I thought about Infinity War? Check out my podcast episodes on 10 years of the MCU and my full-spoiler thoughts on the film.

Resident Evil 2

Growing up I never had a PlayStation, so my experience with games like Metal Gear Solid and the first 3 mainline entries in the Resident Evil series had escaped my grasp outside of sometimes getting some hands-on time at a friends house. At some point, either through a friend or cousin, I received a copy of the strategy guide for RE2 and would read its pages as if it was a comic book over and over again.

It had this fantastic art section in the back where you could see all of the amazing concept art for each of the characters, weapons, and environments. Whenever I visit home now as an adult, I still leaf through its wrinkly pages whenever I have the chance. Oddly enough, despite rereleases of the OG PlayStation version on various other systems, I still haven’t actually played this version.

Perhaps I had been waiting for a complete remake, much like we had gotten with the first Resident Evil on the GameCube. Well, that time is finally at hand and I can’t wait to experience one of my favorite games of all time that I’ve never played.

Kingdom Hearts 3

Let me put this in perspective: Kingdom Hearts 2 came out during my first year in college, 2005. Sure, multiple other games came out between now and then, but so many of us have been waiting for this sequel for close to 15 years now. The story of Kingdom Hearts is a mess, the combat can get repetitive, sometimes the Disney and Square character choices are strange, but damn does this look pretty and fun. I’m just excited to dive back into this bright, intriguing world with my friends Goofy and Donald.

Star Wars: Episode IX

But the Last Jedi ruined Star Wars for everyone right? Get out of here with that noise. I’m ready to see the end of the Skywalker saga. With all things Star Wars, there are things we love about each film and things we don’t, this isn’t going to be any different.

If you want to hear my thoughts on all of the theatrical Star Wars release and want to see how I would rank them, take a listen to the Star Wars retrospective episode of my podcast.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

I may not write or talk about Godzilla a lot, but I grew up watching the King of Monsters from a real early age. At this point I think there are maybe 3-4 Godzilla films that I haven’t seen yet. I know people had mixed feelings on Legendary’s last outing with Goji, but they tried some interesting ways to resurrect the character and bring him into the current age. This new film looks beautiful and haunting, and I truly hope it will do what it needs to do to make a whole new generation fall in love with the giant monsters that gave me so much joy as a kid.

Rocketman

I don’t know a whole lot about Elton John, and I’m sure, much like Bohemian Rhapsody, this film will only give us a partial look into the musician’s life, but the way fantasy elements seem to be added in this trailer makes me incredibly curious. The man makes good music, so as long as it is filmed well, the performances are great, and they have enough of his music for the runtime, it will hopefully be an enjoyable theater experience.

Pet Semetary

I have a love-hate relationship with horror movies, but recently there have been a lot more that got me onboard. In the last few years, It, Halloween, Get Out, and Hereditary all got me to give the genre more of a chance. Returning to a Stephen King classic like this could be the next to capture my attention. The trailer got my attention and I’m intrigued to see how they pull the whole thing together.

Want to hear my thoughts on the type of horror I dig? You guessed it, I have a podcast episode for you to listen to.

Missing Link

Laika makes some of my favorite animated films. Coraline, ParaNorman, and Kubo and the Two Strings are some of the most intriguing and lovingly made animated projects I have ever watched, so it was hard for me to not be excited when I saw the initial trailer for this film. With voice talent from folks like Zach Galifianakis, Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Fry, and others, I’m sure this film will give us a lot to love.

Polar

Mads in an eyepatch? I don’t have a whole lot to say here, this is totally my kind of aesthetic. I love wild crime and assassin action-dramas with colorful characters going on crazy adventures. This is right up my ally. I just hope it is as over the top as it needs to be to make this type of story work. Despite some of my frustrations with Netflix content, I do have to say that I am really glad they are taking so many risks on content that could just outright fail due to a lack of interest.

Velvet Buzzsaw

Another Netflix project, but I love Jake Gyllenhaal’s previous work with Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler. This looks to be a fun horror romp set in the world of art, and, given my background, that’s super appealing to me. Given the trailer, I’m already getting the sense that this is going to have the right amount of melodrama, and I can’t wait to see the mechanism behind the madness and horror that everyone in the film will be experiencing.

Carmen Sandiego

I am a huge fan of cartoons and I always love to see how things from my childhood get reimagined. Carmen Sandiego was one of those really interesting properties that I never thought we would see again. It never struck me as something people would be interested in seeing these days, but watching the trailer, it looks like it has been reimagined in an interesting way. Sure she’s kind of a Robin Hood-style benevolent thief now, but maybe that will work in the stories favor. We shall see.

Jane the Virgin

If you listen to my podcast you already know that I binged the entirety of the series so far in about a week and a half. The last season left on such a telenovela cliffhanger that I’m really excited to see how all of the loose threads tie together in the end. Plus, I love some good ridiculous melodrama, and Jane the Virgin is a perfect way to satisfy the itch.

Devil May Cry 5

Speaking of ridiculous melodrama… Devil May Cry is over the top action-melodrama at its most ridiculous. I’ve always been a fan of the style of these games, the characters, demons, weapons, and boss fights have always hit a sweet spot for me and I’ve had a hankering for more since beating Devil May Cry 4 back at the end of college. Sure they danced out a reimagining a few years back developed by a non-Japanese team, but for me, it never quite had the same impact. I know most of you will watch this trailer and think “WTF is this?” But it works for me, let me like what I like.