Catriona Gray’s reign as Miss Universe. We will be on a high the entire year because of Catriona’s win. We cannot wait to follow her journey as she promotes her causes as Miss Universe.
Events from Super K! The sub-section of Inquirer Super has a lot of plans in store for fans of K-dramas, K-pop and Korean variety shows. Just stay tuned the entire year for what they are. Follow Super K! on Facebook.
Manila is roughly two hours away from the nearest Popeyes counter located inside Hong Kong International Airport. But not for long. The crispy, spicy Louisiana fried chicken and flaky biscuit drizzled with honey will be within reach because Kuya J will bring the US fast-food joint back in Manila.
The April 2019 premiere of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” will mark the beginning of the end the wildly popular TV adaptation. Will we see a return to the gray morality of previous seasons or will D&D double down on the instantaneous travel and ham-fisted, moustache-twirling villainy? Let’s hope that the “Dream of Spring” remains as such and not a nightmare.
“Kingdom.” The Joseon era has never been more interesting and exciting than Netflix Original series. We see re-animated corpses in the series that has an all-star cast that includes Ju Ji-hoon and Bae Doona. Dropping Jan. 25 on Netflix.
Shake Shack. The first branch is set to open at BGC and we cannot wait to stuff our faces with a Shack Stack, cheese fries and a caramel frozen custard.
“Hello, I’m Marie Kondo. My mission is to spark joy in the world through cleaning.” The best-selling Japanese author is coming to Netflix on Jan. 1 with “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” a reality show where she helps homeowners declutter and organize.
Out in April, “White” is “American Psycho” author Brett Easton Ellis’ first full-length book of nonfiction, tackling the edge of freedom of speech in this era.
“Love Alarm.” Some good dramas come from good webtoons. Case in point is “My ID is Gangnam Beauty” that brought Astro’s visual Cha Eun-woo into our senses. Kim So-hyun of “Radio Romance” and “Goblin” will star in this drama about an app that rings whenever someone who likes you get close enough.
We were hooked on the podcast “Dirty John” and cannot wait to watch the TV adaptation about the con man who turns a businesswoman’s life upside down. Connie Britton and Eric Bana will star in it. We’re also picking up the book “Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders” by Los Angeles Times staff writer Christopher Goffard, the man behind the compelling podcast. It will come out in November.
Nine wicked episodes of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is coming on April 5 on Netflix. We’ve been told that the second season is a lot sexier and magical. We can’t wait!
“The Phantom of the Opera” returns to the Philippines with the marvelous Jonathan Roxmouth once again playing the part of the masked protagonist/antagonist. The season opens on Feb. 20 at The Theatre at Solaire.
Shows from Lee Seung-gi. Workaholic Seung-gi has not stopped working since he finished military service. His drama “Vagabond” is set to be out this year, so is his appearance on Netflix Original “Busted!” an escape-room type variety show. Of course, we see him every week with Yang Se-hyeong, Lee Sang-yoon and Yook Sung-jae on “All the Butlers.” The show streams on Viu.
A shining, shimmering, splendid live-action film is coming on May 24. Disney’s “Aladdin” will star Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Naomi Scott (Jasmine) and Will Smith (Genie) in the remake of the 1992 magical film.
Speaking of remakes, Disney’s “Dumbo,” the cutest baby elephant with extra-large ears is flying in cinemas on March 29. Director Tim Burton assembled an A-list cast, from Michael Keaton, Colin Farrell, Eva Green and Danny DeVito.
Another remake we’re too excited for is “The Lion King,” out July 17. Because, 1) the songs (Hans Zimmer and Elton John are back as composer and songwriter); 2) voice actors are Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Earl Jones, Donald Glover and Beyoncé; and 3) did we mention Beyoncé?
Get double the dose of Stephen King with “Pet Sematary” (April 3) and “IT: Chapter Two” (Sept. 5).
My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way sees his Dark Horse Comics series “Umbrella Academy” get the TV treatment from Netflix in February.
South Korean acts. The country has become one of the regular stops of Korean acts. One of the first to announce is Park Bo-gum who will finally come to Manila. Details are yet to be posted. So Ji-sub will also visit on March 16. Ticketing information will still be announced. Momoland will hold their first fanmeet at the Araneta Coliseum on Jan. 25. Of course, we’re still waiting and hoping that BTS will make Manila or Cebu one of their stops next year.
“Mind Hunter” Season 2. No final release date yet but we’re waiting anyway. Last season, we got a big dose of Ed Kemper. This season, we’ll be seeing Charles Manson, Son of Sam, Atlanta Child Killer and, if the teasers in the first season should be believed, we will be seeing more of Dennis Rader, the BTK killer.
Speaking of Charles Manson, you’ll be seeing more of the American killer in the films “Charlie Says” (Matt Smith plays him—what a jump from Prince Philip) and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, no, not as Charles Manson), out Aug. 21.
Korean celebrities who will end their military service – Lee Min-ho, Ji Chang-wook, Taecyon, Kim Soo-hyun, Jung Yonghwa and Big Bang’s Daesung, Taeyang, T.O.P., and G-Dragon are just some of the cuties that we cannot wait to see this year.
Fans of old-school, no-nonsense, hardcore video games should definitely check out the March release of Capcom’s Devil May Cry 5. Hideaki Itsuno of Dragon’s Dogma fame will return at the helm to direct the fifth entry of the beloved franchise after a 10-year hiatus (DmC doesn’t count).
“The Twilight Zone” reboot. Jordan Peele showed us his ability to terrify and creep out audiences in “Get Out” and he will get to do so again as he remakes the classic sci-fi series.
“Black Mirror Bandersnatch” was a sweet, sweet holiday gift from Netflix but there’s more Black Mirror coming our way soon, right? Right?
I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig, ah! Just getting ready for the big Spice Girls reunion! Let’s keep our fingers crossed for an Asia tour.
“Brooklyn 99” Season 6 is up on Jan. 10! Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool noice.
Netflix’s most expensive mini-series returns as “The Crown” crowns season 3 with a new queen (Olivia Colman) and prince (Tobias Menzies). We’re excited to see Helena Bonham Carter play Princess Margaret.
Taraji P. Henson can read the minds of men in “What Men Want,” out in February. We enjoyed Mel Gibson in “What Women Want” and are eager to see this gender reversal.
Three little orphans Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire are back for season 3 of “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” The final season begins New Year’s Day on Netflix so don’t look away.
“The Grudge,” a remake of the remake, out July 24. We’re ready to scream.
Manila can’t get enough of Maroon 5! The American pop rock band is back in the country for the third time for Red Pill Blues tour on March 5 at Mall of Asia Arena.
Emily Blunt! Lin-Manuel Miranda! A Dick Van Dyke cameo! “Mary Poppins Returns” may have taken over half a century to happen, but we’re just happy Disney has brought back the magical nanny in January.
Netflix’s “Stranger Things” comes back from the upside down with season 3.
“Glass” is the superhero movie you didn’t expect. It’s a crossover between “Unbreakable” (Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson) and “Split,” (James McAvoy) brought to you by the director everyone’s forgotten—M. Night Shyamalan.
Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield star as mother and son in the funny Netflix series “Sex Education” which will begin streaming on Jan. 11.
Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) is back when “The LEGO Movie: The Second Part” rolls around on Feb. 13. The brick gang winds up kidnapped in outer space and only Emmet can save them.
Get ready for “Young Blood 7.” The book puts together the best pieces published in the Young Blood column of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 2016 and 2017.
TodayXFuture brings the party to Poblacion with Futurist, which opens later this year.
“Miss Saigon” and “Wicked” movies? Yes yes yes please.
The creators of “Sword and Scale,” “Dark Topic” and “The Westside Fairytales” have been working on a secret podcast project that they say will push limits. Get ready to listen (and to be terrified) on Jan. 9.
Filipino food will continue to invade the world. According to Whole Foods, flavors from the Pacific Rim will captivate palates in the coming year, listing longganisa and shrimp paste among ingredients to keep an eye (or tongue?) out for.
Adele, our queen of queens, will bless us with a new album this year.
Corporate slaves look forward to extra vacation days (or double pay) on much awaited long weekends (there are at least 10 in 2019) and other nonworking holidays.
On March 6, the super-important film “Captain Marvel” introduces Brie Larson as the intergalactic super soldier Carol Danvers. What role will she play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? And why does Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, again) have two eyes? Find out here.
“Mary Queen of Scots” features the onscreen clash of two queens, Saorsie Ronan’s Queen Mary and Margot Robbie’s Queen Elizabeth coming March 21.
After “Aquaman” made a splash in 2018, “Shazam!” marks the newest addition to the DC Extended Universe with the always funny Zachary Levi playing the superhero who’s really a teenager with a magic word (April 4).
April will see the next chapter in James Wan’s Conjuring-verse, as he is a producer on “The Curse of La Llorona,” which seemingly already has the scariest trailer on the internet in the tradition of the screamfest. Then, scream some more for “Anabelle 3” (July 3).
More episodes of “The Staircase.” Netflix will be releasing three new episodes of the divisive crime docuseries. Did author Michael Peterson kill his wife Kathleen? We really can’t decide.
If you were obsessed with “Serial” the podcast, you’d want to watch the HBO docuseries “The Case Against Adnan Syed.”
Michelle McNamara’s 2016 book “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer,” which was published posthumously, has also been picked up by HBO. The docuseries will focus on the hunt for Joseph DeAngelo who was finally identified and arrested this year (sadly, Michelle was no longer alive to see it happen).
Find out what’s happened to the gang after 20 years as Arnold Arre marks the 20th anniversary of his iconic graphic novel “The Mythology Class” with a sequel.
April 26 is important because that’s when the biggest film of the year, Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” is unleashed upon cinemas. After the massive ending of “Avengers: Infinity Wars,” who‘s ready to find out how the war with Thanos ends? This may be the last run of iconic Avengers Iron Man (Robery Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans) so hang on to your cape!
Have you ever imagined Pikachu talking with Ryan Reynolds’ voice? That’s exactly what you’ll get with May’s wacky “Detective Pikachu,” with the “Deadpool” actor voicing the CGI Pokemon along with would-be Pokemon master Justice Smith.
Senatorial elections. Our democracy works. We can change our government into what we like or we can keep it the same. The important thing is that we go out and vote on May 13.
An abundance of true crime is headed your screens in 2019. In “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” Zac Efron plays serial killer Ted Bundy.
May 31 heralds the arrival of “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” the titanic follow-up to 2014’s “Godzilla.” The kaiju gang (Gamera, Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidora) are all here. Millie Bobbie Brown, Vera Farmiga and Ken Watanabe stand witness to the Titans (that’s what they’re calling the kaiju) battle for supremacy.
In June, the Men in Black get a fresh look with “Men in Black International,” starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Liam Neeson are putting on the black suits as we see what battling aliens is like outside of New York City.
The “Charlie’s Angels” reboot, which stars Kristen Stewart and is directed by Elizabeth Banks, arrives Oct. 30.
The nostalgic local jukebox musical “Ang Huling El Bimbo” will be back in 2019.
Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and his toy friends are back in the unexpected “Toy Story 4,” out in June. This Pixar film will have a lot to live up to, as “Toy Story 3” was pretty good.
In July, Tom Holland swings back as Peter Parker in “Spider-Man: Far from Home,” the sequel to the hit “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” This time, Spidey will be battling Jake Gyllenhaal as the mind-bending villain Mysterio.
“The Addams Family” animated film will feature the voices of Charlize Theron, Oscar Isaac and Chloe Grace Moretz.
“My Favorite Murder” hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark have written a double memoir “Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered,” to be released in May.
It has been a whopping 17 years but on Aug. 7, the big screen adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s young adult novel “Artemis Fowl” comes to theaters.
You may still not have built your snowman by the time Disney’s “Frozen 2” arrives on Nov. 22.
“Zombieland 2,” out Oct. 16.
We really enjoyed “Bohemian Rhapsody” so we also can’t wait to watch the Elton John biopic “Rocketman,” which stars Taron Egerton.
She said she wasn’t going to do it, but we’re glad she changed her mind. It’s been over three decades since Margaret Atwood helped redefine dystopia with her 1985 novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” A stunning TV adaptation later, Atwood will be releasing the much-awaited sequel, “The Testaments” in 2019.
Star Wars fans will be eagerly anticipated the yet-untitled “Star Wars: Episode IX” in December as director JJ Abrams reveals what happens to Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).
Super Surprises. We only scratched the surface! More treats are coming your way when you least expect it.