The year 2017 offers a plethora of movies to choose from. Here is a rundown of the top movies to look forward to each month.
January
“Split,” starring James McAvoy, offers a chilling look into the many personalities that inhabit Kevin Crumb. Easily McAvoy’s most compelling role, “Split” offers a dramatic take on a man with split personality disorder who kidnaps three teenage girls.
“xXx: Return of Xander Cage” offers the third installment of the Triple X series. This time, the movie stars Vin Diesel as his familiar daredevil persona, acting as a government patsy to recover lethal military weaponry from the wrong hands. Diesel brings the star power from the “Fast and Furious” franchise to another movie in need of popularity after a 12-year hiatus between sequels.
February
The Keanu Reeves resurgence continues with “John Wick: Chapter 2,” staring Reeves as an infamous hitman on the hunt again, this time in Rome against the world’s deadliest killers. If you’re a fan of nostalgia, seeing Keanu Reeves and Lawrence Fishbourne in the same movie again will make you feel the good old days.
The critically acclaimed and controversial “Fifty Shades of Grey” series returns to theaters with the sequel, “Fifty Shades Darker.” In the film, Christian Grey tries once again to seduce his lover Ana Steele, but this time a mysterious character from Christian’s past is there to derail his courting. The Valentine’s Day release date should provide for an interesting date among couples across the nation.
“Get Out” takes a horrifying look at racial bigotry. It stars Daniel Kaluuya as a young African American visiting his Caucasian girlfriend’s home to find that her family may be too much for him to handle. Imagine “Guess Who” meets “The Visit,” in this anticipated horror film.
March
In what appears to be his last appearance as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman dawns the adamantium claws once again in “Logan.” In contrast to the other PG-13 rated movies in the “X-Men” franchise, “Logan” is R-Rated and offers a gritty look at the humanity of the Wolverine.
Making their return to the big screen are the familiar color-coded teenagers with attitude in “Power Rangers.” Releasing their first cinematic film since 1997, this Power Rangers reboot hopes to capitalize on their television success over the past 20 years in attracting older fans to see this new take on the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” series that debuted in 1993.
April
“Fate of the Furious” rocks the theaters after the astronomical success of “Furious 7.” With the loss of Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson is set for an increased role as he and Diesel duke it out in a non-stop action drama, atypical of the former movies in the franchise.
May
The classic lifeguard beach drama, “Baywatch” makes its cinematic debut starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. This California take on a buddy cop drama looks to be another cinematic success for the People’s Champ, as he plays mentor to a lifeguard recruit in this reboot.
The movie that stole the summer of 2014, “Guardians of the Galaxy” returns to the theaters, this time with twice the adventure, twice the action, and half the Groot. “Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2” is expected to do well considering the recent success of Marvel movies like the “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Captain America: Civil War.”
June
“Wonder Woman” expands upon the DC Cinematic Universe, as it chronicles the origins of the Amazonian warrior starring Gal Gadot. Gadot plays Wonder Woman as she attempts to intervene in the international conflicts that ensued during World War I.
July
“Spiderman: Homecoming” welcomes the New York web crawler back to the Marvel Cinematic universe. This time Peter Parker plays a high school student trying to balance his responsibilities as a young Peter Parker and his superhero alter ego.
“War of the Planet of the Apes” looks to expand upon the post-apocalyptic narrative in which apes took over the world. Woody Harrelson plays a rebel trying to lead a revolt against the cognitively advanced gorillas.
November
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman return to the cinemas as allies in the much anticipated “Justice League.” Batman, played by Ben Affleck attempts to assemble a team of metahumans to fight an impending extraterrestrial threat. The success of this movie along with “Wonder Woman” will weigh heavily on the status of the DC Cinematic Universe.
“Thor: Ragnarok” follows the hammer throwing Asgardian as he engages in a battle to save his home with the help of fellow Avenger, Hulk. The third installment in this series will look to improve upon the last two movies.
December
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” hopes to capitalize on the most recent success of “Rogue One” as it expands upon the Star Wars saga in what appears to be the last major cinematic showing of the year.