2017 Movies: Non-Disney Edition

Welcome to the second part of my 2017 Movies series. Part one was Disney movies, and today we're looking at various other movies I'm interested in seeing this year. Your list might, and probably is, different, but I'm happy to share what I'm looking forward to. Shall we begin?

The Lego Batman Movie

Release Date: February 10

What It's About: Batman, of course. In this movie, he has to stop Joker from taking over Gotham and learn to get along with others. Which will be the hard part.

Who's In It: Will Arnett as Batman, Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl, Michael Cera as Robin, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred, and Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn. There will probably also be the numerous celebrity voice cameos scattered throughout the film.

My Thoughts: I loved The Lego Movie and I can't wait to see this one. Every trailer and clip has looked hilarious. And if it's anything like it's predecessor, it will also have a solid theme and a few heavy moments to balance the comedy. Batman is already funny, just from the trailers. And I love Batgirl.

Power Rangers

Release Date: March 24

What It's About: Five teenagers discover gems that turn them into heroes called Power Rangers. They must accept the call and protect their home from an evil alien named Rita Repulsa.

Who's In It: Dacre Montogomery as Jason Scott, the Red Ranger, Becky G as Trini, the Yellow Ranger, Naomi Scott as Kimberly, the Pink Ranger, Ludi Lin as Zach, the Black Ranger, RJ Cyler as Billy, the Blue Ranger, Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, Bryan Cranston as Zordon, and Bill Hader as Alpha Five.

My Thoughts: I'm a pretty big Power Rangers fan. The thing everyone says about the movie is it looks darker than the TV shows. I think that's because they're making a movie, not a show. But I'll be interested to see how it turns out. Also, their Iron Man type suits look awesome.

The Boss Baby

Release Date: March 31

What It's About: A boy gets a new baby brother, but this isn't a normal baby. This one wears suits and carries a briefcase. He also talks. The two must team up to stop the plot of Puppy Company's evil CEO.

Who's In It: Miles Christopher Bakshi as Tim, the little boy, Alec Baldwin as the baby, Jimmy Kimmel as the father, Lisa Kudrow as the mother, Steve Buscemi as Francis E. Francis, the bad guy, and Tobey Maguire as older Tim, the narrator.

My Thoughts: I know it sounds a bit cheesy, or maybe more than that. But it also sounds hilarious. We'll see which one wins out in the end. I'd like to watch this one at least once.

Smurfs: The Lost Village

Release Date: April 7

What It's About: Smurfette and some of the Smurfs discover a map leading to a mysterious village. They set off to find it and the biggest secret in Smurf history.

Who's In It: Demi Lovato as Smurfette, Joe Manganiello as Hefty, Jack McBrayer as Clumsy, Danny Pudi as Brainy, Julia Roberts as Smurfwillow, and Rainn Wilson as Gargamel.

My Thoughts: It'll be interesting to see what they do with this one. Sony is starting over from scratch, this movie being entirely animated. So far it looks funny, but you can never tell. I liked the ones they made with Neil Patrick Haris, so hopefully they don't ruin this one.

Gifted

Release Date: April 12

What It's About: Frank is raising his niece, a child prodigy. When it comes to light that she's not normal, his mother fights to take the child away.

Who's In It: Christ Evans as Frank, Mckenna Grace as Mary, his niece, Lindsay Duncan as his mother, Octavia Spencer as Roberta, and Jenny Slate as Bonnie.

My Thoughts: I originally watched the trailer because I saw Chris Evans was in it. But the story the trailer told caught my attention. I hope to watch this film and see if it's as good as it looks.

Wonder Woman

Release Date: June 2

What It's About: This is Wonder Woman's origin story, set during the Great War. A plane crashes on the Amazon's island, and Diana decides to leave with him to see the world. She helps in the war and learns who she truly is.

Who's In It: Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta, and Lucy Davis at Etta Candy.

My Thoughts: While Marvel has had the jump on DC in many ways, DC gets ahead with having the first female super hero film. (Captain Marvel, Marvel's first, doesn't come out until 2019.) I'm so excited to finally see Wonder Woman in her own film. I hope it's as great as I think.

Despicable Me 3

Release Date: June 30

What It's About: Gru and the girls are back. This time, he's fighting a villain named Balthazar Bratt, who's obsessed with a character he played in the '80's (does this mean we'll hear some sweet '80's tunes in the soundtrack?). Also, Gru discovers he has a twin brother named Dru.

Who's In It: Steve Caroll as Gru and Dru, Kristen Wiig as Lucy, Trey Parker as Balthazar, and Miranda Cosgrove as Margo.

My Thoughts: I hope it's good. Despicable Me has been one of the few movies that went up as they made sequels. Let's hope the trend continues.

The Lego Ninjago Movie

Release Date: September 22

What It's About: Six ninjas fight a dark overlord who wants to take power in their world. He's also the brother of their sensei and father of their leader.

Who's In It: Jackie Chan as Sensei Wu, Justin Theroux as Lord Garmadon, Dave Franco and Lloyd, Michael Pena as Kai, Abbi Jacobson as Nya, Zach Woods as Zane, Kumail Nanjiani as Jay, and Fred Armisen as Cole.

My Thoughts: To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical. I'm a big fan of the original series, as created by Lego (Kai is my favorite ninja, if you were wondering). But I'm not so sure about the movie. For one thing, I wouldn't have picked the cast they did. Except for Sensei Wu. He's perfect. The first trailer was released yesterday, and my mind still hasn't changed. I'll wait and see what happens.

Justice League

Release Date: November 17

What It's About: Batman and Wonder Woman putting together a team to stop Steppenwolf from destroying Earth.

Who's In It: Ben Afflek as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Flash, and Ciaran Hinds as Steppenwolf.

My Thoughts: Batman V. Superman was a horrible set-up film. However, this one already looks much more promising. In the footage we've seen, Batman sounds more like his normal snarky self. I'm quite interested in seeing how this movie turns out. Plus, have you seen the guy who plays Aquaman? He's so perfect.

Murder on the Orient Express

Release Date: November 22

What It's About: Hercule Poirot, a detective, must solve a murder on the train Orient Express before it reaches the station and his suspects disappear.

Who's In It: Kenneth Branaugh as Hercule, Johnny Depp as Ratchett (the guy who gets murdered), Daisy Ridley as Mary Debenham, Josh Gad as Hector McQueen, and Penelope Cruz in an unnamed role.

My Thoughts: I love this mystery. It's so clever. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, but just be sure Agatha keeps you guessing. I'm excited to see this new movie, even if I can't imagine some of these actors playing a killer. Or can I?

Paddington 2

Release Date: November 24

What It's About: More high-jinks will occur from everyone's favorite bear as he tries to get a present for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, only to have it stolen.

Who's In It: Ben Whishaw as Paddington, Jim Broadbent as Mr. Gruber, Hugh Bonneville as Mr. Brown, Sally Hawkins as Mrs. Brown, and Peter Capaldi as Mr. Curry.

My Thoughts: I'm looking forward to it. I liked the first one. Even if it did stray from the original stories, I think it kept the heart of them. And I'd completely forgotten Peter Capaldi was Mr. Curry. It almost makes me wonder if he's hiding a TARDIS around his flat somewhere.

Jumanji

Release Date: December 22

What It's About: Nothing will be coming out of the game this time. Instead, the characters are sucked in. They have to play the game and win to get out alive.

Who's In It: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse, Kevin Heart as Moose Finbar, Jack Black as Shelly Oberon, as well as Nick Jonas and Rhys Darby in unnamed roles.

My Thoughts: It wasn't until recently I actually watched the whole original movie. I like how they're not re-making Robin Williams' work, but expanding on it. I'll be interested to see where this goes. (And how Jack Black is playing a character called Shelly.)

Of course, I have a whole second list of movies I'm interested in but unsure about until I learn more about them. It includes things like The Great Wall, Kong: Skull Island, Life, and The Greatest Showman. But for post length sake, I won't go through those.

What non-Disney movies are you looking forward to this year? How are your tastes different from mine? Let me know in the comments.