From Tom Cruise’s stunt-tastic return and Ana de Armas taking over the John Wick franchise to a sequel almost two decades in the making, here’s what’s headed to your local cinema this quarter.
With streaming services growing ever more expensive and the spread of high-quality content becoming increasingly thin (MAX’s imminent arrival in Australia is just the latest example of this), it’s almost as expensive to spend a night in as it is to head out these days. Okay, I might be exaggerating a touch there, but the point stands that streaming’s value offering isn’t what it once was, so maybe it’s time to head back to the cinema for a delightfully old-school movie-watching experience.
With that in mind, welcome back to Man of Many’s The Cinematic Seven! This is our Digital Edition series that explores seven of our most (or, if some mockery is in order, least) anticipated cinematic releases of the coming months. This issue, we’re spoilt for choice. However, we’ve managed to whittle down a much longer list to these seven essentials. From Tom Cruise’s latest (perhaps final?) impossible mission to the long-awaited return of rage-virus zombies in 28 Years Later, the next few months should be an exciting time for film buffs.
As always, this is a streaming-free zone. Get your arse to the movies.
1. Small Things Like These
We all like to have a good time at the movies, but that doesn’t mean we restrict ourselves to good-time movies. This flick, adapted from the Booker Prize-nominated novel by Claire Keegan, as about as far removed from feel-good fare as you can get.
Starring Cillian Murphy in his first role since winning the Oscar for Oppenheimer, Small Things Like These takes place over Christmas in 1985 when devoted father and coal merchant Bill Furlong (Murphy) discovers a number of startling secrets kept by the convent in his town. The narrative explores chilling truths about Ireland’s infamous Magdalene laundries, which were hellish asylums that ruined many a young woman’s life from the 1820s up until the mid-’90s. It won’t be an easy watch, but I’ve no doubt it’ll be a compelling one.
In cinemas: 10 April 2025
2. Sinners
If you’re a fan of Michael B. Jordan, be sure to add this flick to your must-see list as you’ll be getting twice as much of the Creed actor. Here, he plays twin brothers, who—according to the synopsis—return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
While the details for this horror movie have been kept under wraps, and the trailer didn’t give too much away, rumours abound that Sinners is, in fact, a vampire flick. Whatever it turns out to be, having Jordan reuniting with writer/director Ryan Coogler makes this a must-see, while a cast that includes Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, Jack O’Connell, and Wunmi Mosaku only sweetens the pot.
In cinemas: 17 April 2025
3. Warfare
The first of two Alex Garland-written inclusions on this list, A24’s Warfare follows a platoon of Navy SEALs who embark on a dangerous mission in Ramadi, Iraq. Things go from bad to worse to worse to worse as chaos ensues and the soldiers are pushed to breaking point.
Written and directed in collaboration with Ray Mendoza, one of the men who was on the ground when this true story actually took place, Warfare is—according to my colleague who’s already attended a preview screening—an exercise in extreme, unrelenting anxiety and confronting realism. With a cast that includes Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, and Joseph Quinn to name but a few, this movie is shaping up to be essential viewing.
In cinemas: 17 April 2025
4. Final Destination: Bloodlines
Next, let’s take a moment for something a little less heavy. The Final Destination franchise has been missing from the big screen since 2011’s Final Destination 5 and I, for one, welcome it back gladly. For anyone who can’t drive near a lumber truck without thinking of that infamous scene from Final Destination 2, this is a film series that is completely absurd and yet never less than highly entertaining.
I expect this new instalment won’t do anything to break up the franchise formula, which goes something like this: Someone has a premonition that a tragic event is about to take place and this enables them to save themselves and their friends. However the occurrence leaves death itself unsatisfied, meaning the characters are stalked and picked off one by one in a series of convoluted accidents. Much of the fun of these films is guessing how each character will ultimately meet their grisly end and I look forward to being surprised by the absurdity and inventiveness of the scenarios after this franchise has spent 14 years on the bench.
In cinemas: 15 May 2025
5. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is back for another round of incredible stunts and running. Lots of running. No one sells a full-on sprint quite like the world’s most famous Scientologist and no franchise has delivered real stunts and gripping action spectacle quite like Mission: Impossible.
This film was initially titled Dead Reckoning Part Two, but after Dead Reckoning Part One underperformed at the box office—a first for the franchise—it has been rebranded in the hope those who didn’t see the last instalment won’t feel put off about seeing this one. They really shouldn’t be, because what could be more cinematic than watching arguably the world’s greatest movie star genuinely put his life on the line in order to ensure we get our money’s worth? If you can see just one film from this list at the cinema, make it this one. The Mission: Impossible franchise has earned it.
In cinemas: 22 May 2025
6. Ballerina
If the end of 2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4 left you fearing for the franchise’s future, Ballerina is here to set your mind at ease. While I have a lot of love for Keanu Reeves’ highly influential and rightfully praised hitman franchise, that fourth instalment felt a little long and tired to me (yes, I recognise I’m in the minority here). Hopefully Ballerina, which is set in the John Wick universe, can freshen things up a touch.
Things are looking promising with the delightful Ana de Armas at the centre of proceedings—if you caught her brief appearance in Daniel Craig’s final Bond outing, you know she’s a natural at this stuff—and here she plays an assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma organisation who’s seeking revenge after her father’s death. If that doesn’t sound particularly original plot-wise, remember this has always been a franchise that elevates threadbare narratives through buckets of style.
In cinemas: 5 June 2025
7. 28 Years Later
As a ravenous fan of both 2002’s 28 Days Later and 2007’s 28 Weeks Later, this is a film I never thought we’d see. Naturally I’m thrilled it’s almost here, even if its arrival is one of very few bright spots to be found within our timeline — I think it’s safe to say we’ve stumbled into one of the worst. I guess we can take some comfort knowing that a highly contagious rage virus hasn’t infected our population and remains the stuff of fiction (at least for now).
According to 28 Years Later’s synopsis, this long-awaited sequel follows a group of survivors living on a small island. When one of the group leaves on a mission into the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors. With a fantastic cast led by Ralph Feinnes and Aaron Taylor-Johnson and the original directing and writing team of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland returning, I have high hopes this will deliver the same gut-wrenching tension so expertly served up by those first two films all those years ago.
In cinemas: 19 June 2025
