10 Most Hotly Anticipated Non-Blockbuster Films Of 2017

Yes, yes, we're all frothing at the mouths in anticipation for Rian Johnson's foray into the Star Wars saga, Hugh Jackman's long-awaited turn as Old Man Logan, and the Guardians of the Galaxy guarding the galaxy while dancing for a second time, but in the midst of all of the blockbuster excitement when waiting for a new year of cinema it can be easy to forget about those smaller films that will be equally as entertaining, if not more so.

Lower key films produced on a smaller budget deserve our attention and respect for taking risks, as they are hardly ever safe in the knowledge of becoming an inevitable financial success like every single MCU movie that has been and ever will be made. And these smaller stories, yet often larger when it comes to stirring our emotions and entertaining us, often have the power to stay with us for years to come.

Although next year's slate isn't yet full, there are already a vast amount of films that look incredibly promising, and some may have already entertained our readers from across the pond. So if we are to be burdened with another underwhelming blockbuster summer season again at least be comforted by the fact that independent and daring filmmakers and actors have your back.

Down with the various detractors exaggeratively declaring the death of cinema at the hands of massive Hollywood franchises! Never has there been a larger choice at the cinema, and this list is here to prove it...

Director Doug Liman has treated us to some brilliant films over his varied career, including 90s indie darling Swingers, The Bourne Identity before Paul Greengrass made the series his own, and most recently the stunning science-fiction mind-bender Edge of Tomorrow, which also starred Tom Cruise, who will star in Liman's next movie, American Made.

American Made tells the real-life story of Barry Seal (how can you not love him already with a name like that?), a pilot turned drug smuggler turned DEA lemming. Not only that, but Seal is also recruited by the CIA to help combat the Communist threat in the 1980s. So, kids - don't do drugs, unless you can become a hero like Barry Seal.

If you don't consider yourself a Tom Cruiser, never fear, as the film boasts an outstanding supporting cast including Brendan Gleeson's super talented offspring, Domnhall Gleeson, and Jesse Plemmons, who will make a welcome return to the onscreen world of drugs after his shenanigans as 'Meth Damon' in Breaking Bad.

Expect Liman's trademark thrills and tight, exciting direction as Seal manipulates both the good guys and the bad as a morally ambiguous protagonist (often the best kind!), going undercover and hopefully having a tough time while going through customs with a bottle of shampoo that has too much liquid and a massive bag of cocaine.

Should everything go to plan in this difficult to organise world of cinema, American Made should be on your cinema screens in the final third of 2017.