Disney’s D23 announcements – The Force Awakens, Toy Story 4, Doctor Strange, Finding Dory and more!

If you felt that Comic-Con didn’t lift the lid on Disney’s upcoming works enough than D23 is for you. The expo of all things Disney enlightened us on all of their properties from Star Wars to Pixar to Marvel and all of the studio’s very own animated and live action features. Sadly there’s been no word on the likes of in the works projects such as Wreck-It Ralph 2, Frozen 2 or proposed remakes of Dumbo and Pinocchio. Firstly…

Pixar!

After critical and commercial triumph of Inside Out, the studio is rolling out its slate of six upcoming movies. The Good Dinosaur will tell the story of an alternate reality where humans are the Earth’s secondary species and dinosaurs still rule. It comes from director Peter Sohn (Partly Cloudy) and stars Anna Paquin (X-Men), Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) and Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading). November 25th 2015

Thirteen years after Finding Nemo, Finding Dory will pick up with the characters of the previous instalment when Dory finds herself in a marine study institute. Newly announced cast members include Hayden Rolence (Whom I Fear), Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) and Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) and Angus MacLane (Toy Story of Terror) direct the cast of Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen), Albert Brooks (Drive), Diane Keaton (The Godfather), Eugene Levy (American Pie), Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Dominic West (The Wire), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man). June 17th 2016

Toy Story 4 is also on the way and a teaser poster graced and it was revealed that it will focus on a love story between Woody and Bo Peep. John Lasseter (Toy Story 1-2) and Josh Cooley (George and AJ) direct while we expect Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), Joan Cusack (Say Anything) and Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest) to star. June 16th 2017

Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) has long been developing a film centred on the Mexican celebration of The Day of the Dead. It has finally been given a release date and a title, Coco. No casting announcements have yet been made. November 22nd 2017

Another sequel on the way is Cars 3. No plot details were offered but we do know that John Lasseter (Cars 1-2) will write and we’d expect Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers) and Larry the Cable Guy (Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector) to reprise their roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater respectively. June 15th 2018

The sequel Pixar fans have actually asking for will finally come out, 15 years after they asked for it. Assuming that the studio don’t want two sequels in the same year, The Incredibles 2 will head for a 2019 release. Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) will direct while we’d expect Craig T Nelson (Poltergeist), Holly Hunter (The Piano) and Samuel L Jackson (Avengers Assemble) to star.

Next up…

Disney Animation!

Disney’s latest animation Zootopia will portray a metropolis populated by mammals. Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) were already set to star but the latest addition is pop star/actress Shakira. The directors are Byron Howard (Tangled), Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph) and Jared Bush (behind the creative team of Big Hero 6). March 4th 2016

Next, the team behind Aladdin, Hercules and The Princess and the Frog arrived to unveil more from their latest work, Moana. Dwayne Johnson (Fast Five) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) will star in the story of a plucky young woman who is assisted by a demi-god to reach a fabled island. November 23rd 2016

The newest announcement was Gigantic. Tangled‘s Nathan Greno will collaborate with Frozen’s songwriters, Robert and Kristen Lopez to bring the story of Jack and the Beanstalk to Spain in the age of exploration. March 9th 2018

Following that was…

Disney live action (aka Worlds, Galaxies and Universes)

True life disaster thriller The Finest Hours will depict the struggle for survival of a group of sailors in 1952. Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm) directs with a cast including Chris Pine (Star Trek Into Darkness), Ben Foster (Lone Survivor), Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Holliday Grainger (Cinderella) and Eric Bana (Munich). January 29th 2016

The latest adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book was promoted by director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) as well as Oscar winning stars Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and newcomer Neel Sethi. The classic story of an orphan raised by the animals of the jungle also stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers Assemble), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim), Bill Murray (Ghostbusters), Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects) and Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter). April 15th 2016

Alice Through the Looking Glass will build upon the established world built in the Lewis Carroll books and the Tim Burton’s 2010 billion dollar hit. James Bobin (The Muppets) directs a cast featuring Mia Wasikowska (Crimson Peak), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), Alan Rickman (Die Hard), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon), Andrew Scott (Pride), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Toby Jones (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Lindsay Duncan (About Time), Stephen Fry (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) and Timothy Spall (Mr Turner). May 27th 2016

Next up was the family fantasy adventure Pete’s Dragon, about a young boy who seeks refuge from his family with a dragon. David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) directs while the film stars Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Wes Bentley (Interstellar), Karl Urban (Dredd) and Robert Redford (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). August 12th 2016

Two films delivered no material as such but were teased or mentioned. Firstly, Queen of Katwe – a drama about a girl from Uganda who trains to become a world chess champion. Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and David Oyelowo (Selma) will star with director Mira Nair (The Namesake). 2016

Also, Disney’s new iteration of Beauty and the Beast was present. The reboot (telling the story of a relationship between a monstrous prince and a young woman) is directed by Bill Condon (Mr Holmes) and stars Emma Watson (Harry Potter), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Luke Evans (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Josh Gad (Frozen), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle), Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting), Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wonda), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) and Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings). March 17th 2017

Finally, there was news from the fifth instalment of a legendary franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. This one will see Captain Jack in search of the trident of Poseidon. Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings) was announced to be returning as Will Turner for the first time since 2007. The duo of Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki) direct an ensemble including Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner), Brendon Thwaites (Maleficent), David Wenham (300), Stephen Graham (This is England) and Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men). July 17th 2017

Marvel

We won’t include Marvel’s full extensive line up but two of their instalments next year. Because of the studio’s infamous secrecy, none of the material shown has made it to the public. Captain America: Civil War showed off its trailer to the D23 audience. Anthony and Joe Russo (The Winter Soldier) direct with a cast including Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Daniel Bruhl (Rush), Sebastian Stan (Black Swan), Frank Grillo (The Purge: Anarchy), Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Tom Holland (The Impossible), William Hurt (Artificial Intelligence) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit). April 29th 2016

Doctor Strange is another of Marvel’s latest. Scott Derickson (Sinister) directs the supernatural thriller of which the recent concept art many likened to Inception. Marvel head Kevin Feige (Iron Man trilogy) could neither confirm or deny the rumours of Rachel McAdams joining the film but we do know that Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave). November 4th 2016

Star Wars

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was heralded by this stunning poster from Drew Struzan – the legendary poster designer who craft iconic works for Back to the Future and Blade Runner. JJ Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness) directs a cast including Harrison Ford (Blade Runner), Mark Hamill (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Carrie Fisher (When Harry Met Sally), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Toast of London), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Adam Driver (Frances Ha) and Max Von Sydow (Shutter Island). December 18th 2015

The first spin-off has had a full title announcement, cast reveals and first still. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has added to its ranks Alan Tudyk (Serenity), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Wen Jiang (Devils on the Doorstep) and Mads Mikkelson (Casino Royale). Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will direct with the cast of Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Ben Mendelsohn (Killing Them Softly), Diego Luna (Elysium), Jonathan Aris (Sherlock), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland). December 16th 2017

There wasn’t any news on Star Wars: Episode VIII – directed by Looper’s Rian Johnson and coming out May 26th 2017 – or the Han Solo spin off – directed by 21 Jump Street’s Phil Lord and Chris Miller and coming out May 25th 2018.

It was revealed that the third and final instalment of the new sequel trilogy (Star Wars: Episode IX) will be directed by Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) but the returning cast members are yet to be announced!

The Best of 2015 – Half way review

In the first sixth months of 2015, we haven’t quite yet found a release worthy of the prestigious 10/10 score but there’s been no shortage of box-office goods with three films already breaching the $1 billion mark with more to come.

Worldwide:

1. Furious 7 – Director: James Wan – Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker – $1,511,636,779
2. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson – $1,372,063,254
3. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard – $1,259,873,609
4. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan – $569,651,467
5. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – Lily James, Cate Blanchett – $538,986,777
6. San Andreas – Peyton Reed – Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario – $441,858,144
7. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – Colin Firth, Taron Egerton – $403,788,617
8. Home – Tim Johnson – Jim Parsons, Rihanna – $367,811,449
9. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron – $356,649,491
10. Taken 3 – Oliver Megaton – Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker – $325,771,424

US:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard – $514,374,155
2. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson – $452,963,254
3. Furious 7 – James Wan – Vin Diesel, Paul Walker – $351,032,910
4. Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen – $200,844,477
5. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – Lily James, Cate Blanchett – $200,286,777
6. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson – $181,513,690
7. Home – Tim Johnson – Jim Parsons, Rihanna – $174,901,605
8. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan – $166,167,230
9. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $162,994,032
10. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron – $147,594,972

UK:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson – £49,096,981
2. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard – £39,216,914
3. Furious 7 – James Wan – Vin Diesel, Paul Walker – £38,399,325
4. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan – £33,065,566
5. Home – Tim Johnson – Jim Parsons, Rihanna – £24,908,077
6. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – Lily James, Cate Blanchett – £20,886,693
7. The Theory of Everything – James Marsh – Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones – £20,446,079
8. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – TJ Miller, Maya Rudolph – £19.527,404
9. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson – £17,466,588
10. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron – £17,260,896

Here’s our personal top 7 for January to June. To give you a taste of our opinions, 2014’s top picks were Interstellar, Nightcrawler, Boyhood, Guardians of the Galaxy and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

8) Into the Woods

Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, James Corden, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine
Budget: $50 million
Box-office: $212.9 million

7) Tomorrowland

Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Raffey Cassidy, Pierce Gagnon, Hugh Laurie
Budget: $190 million
Box-office: $202 million

6) Minions

Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
Starring: Pierre Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Geoffrey Rush
Budget: $74 million
Box-office: $141 million

5) The Theory of Everything

Director: James Marsh
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Simon McBurney, David Thewlis
Budget: $15 million
Box-office: $121.2 million

4) Still Alice

Directors: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Hunter Parrish, Kate Bosworth
Budget: $5 million
Box-office: $41.8 million

3) Selma

Director: Ava DuVernay
Starring: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Oprah Winfrey, Tim Roth
Budget: $20 million
Box-office: $66.8 million

2) The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner
Budget: $280 million
Box-office: $1.3 billion

1) Jurassic World

Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Jake Johnson, Vincent D’Onofrio
Budget: $150 million
Box-office: $1,2 billion

New Star Trek 3 title rumours

The JJ Abrams reboot of the Star Trek franchise in 2009 and the 2013 follow up Into Darkness are two of the most acclaimed films in the series but Abrams had to sit out on the third due to the arrival of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Justin Lin (Fast Five) has replaced him as director while Simon Pegg writes. The latest rumour states that the film’s title is Star Trek Beyond and will see the team go into deep unexplored space.

The cast includes Chris Pine (Jack Ryan, Into the Woods), Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar), Zachary Quinto (Heroes, Margin Call), Karl Urban (Dredd, The Lord of the Rings), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Mission: Impossible), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Monster: Dark Continent), Anton Yelchin (Like Crazy, Fright Night), John Cho (Harold and Kumar, American Beauty) and Idris Elba (Prometheus, Thor, Pacific Rim.

Star Trek 3 – July 8th 2016

Eisenberg’s Luthor revealed, Russos set for Infinity War, new Child 44 posters and Idris Elba in talks for Star Trek 3

We were worried that The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as the supervillain Lex Luthor (yet another billionaire tech entrepreneur) would be a case of the typecasting that halted Dane DeHaan in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and why great performances such as Heath Ledger’s or Tom Hardy’s come out of the blue and excel. This first look at him in the role is something to get us hopeful however.

Batman V Superman is directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, Man of Steel) and stars Ben Affleck (Argo, Gone Girl), Henry Cavill (The Man From UNCLE), Amy Adams (American Hustle, Big Eyes), Gal Gadot (Fast and Furious), Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, Hannibal), Scoot McNairy (Monsters), Holly Hunter (The Piano, The Incredibles), Diane Lane (Hollywoodland, The Perfect Storm) and Jeremy Irons (The Lion King, Reversal of Fortune).

As Avengers Assemble and Age of Ultron’s Joss Whedon ruled himself out from Infinity War. Now the two parted concluder to Phase 3 will be helmed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the sibling team who behind the Captain America instalments The Winter Soldier and Civil War. We still don’t know ant of the characters that’ll be surviving until the third and fourth Avengers films but we can expect the likes of Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game).

Eric Bana and Benedict Cumberbatch will be a tough act to follow but the newest Star Trek instalment is looking to cast Idris Elba. The star of Prometheus, Pacific Rim and Luther is in talks for the lead villain role for director Justin Lin (Fast Five). The cast includes Chris Pine (Jack Ryan, Into the Woods), Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar), Zachary Quinto (Heroes, Margin Call), Karl Urban (Dredd, The Lord of the Rings), Anton Yelchin (Fright NIght, Like Crazy), John Cho (American Beauty, Harold and Kumar) and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Mission: Impossible).

Finally today we’ve got our hands on the brand new posters for the thriller Child 44. The film depicts a detective in Soviet Russia who investigates a series of grim child murders. Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) directs the amazing ensemble of Tom Hardy (Inception, Locke), Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Public Enemies), Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum, Pride), Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, RoboCop), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan, Trance), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The Imitation Game) and Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

Child 44 – Apirl 17th

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice – March 25th 2016

Star Trek 3 – July 8th 2016

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 – April 27th 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 – Apirl 16th 2019

Into the Woods review

Director: Rob Marshall

Starring: Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, Billy Magnussen, Mackenzie Mauzy, Daniel Huttlestone, Lilla Crawford, Tracy Ullman, Christine Baranski, Johnny Depp

We may well live in a self-proclaimed new age of the movie musical. Hollywood’s golden age brought along the classics Singin’ in the Rain, West Side Story and Guys and Dolls but later on in the twentieth century the genre devolved into the popular but poorly ageing likes of Grease, even if animations – see The Lion King or A Nightmare Before Christmas – retained the harmonious charm. Rob Marshall, the man behind the Best Picture winning Chicago, is pioneering this alleged revival era with a screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s fantasy adventure Into the Woods but a middling response meant this was unlikely to outdo the former Jazz-age murder tale’s success.

A manipulative Witch (Streep) curses a baker couple (Blunt, Corden) with infertility and agrees to relieve them of their childlessness as she dispatches them to retrieve four objects: a cow as white as milk; a cape as red as blood; hair as yellow as corn; a slipper as pure as gold. Meanwhile, the owners of these objects – Jack (Huttlestone), Red Ridinghood (Crawford), Rapunzel (Mauzy), Cinderella (Kendrick) – venture into the woods for a better life.

The purpose of the Brothers Grimm’s tales, the ultimate source of this story, were always to teach a lesson however harsh they may be but Into the Woods takes on the ambition of extended beyond the happy ever after. This extension of the stories we know ought to increase that element of a bitter reality but it causes only a frustrating moral that the world is full of mistrust and infidelity.

Frustratingly, the film’s most crippling issues stem from Sondheim’s original work. The narrative relies on an outrageous and improbable amount of convenience and coincidence. Rob Marshall’s grand direction brands a cinematic stamp across the production (glorious English woods replacing the stagier Chicago sets) but the onstage roots are more evident when various events – most obviously Jack’s adventures in the land of the giants – are sung about instead of shown on screen; not because the film’s budget cannot afford it but because the play couldn’t.

Sondheim’s strongest legacy is some of he incredible song crafting: from the instantly hummable titular track “Into the Woods” to the Prince’s side splitting ballad “Agony”. Each of them are brilliantly performed by a pitch perfect cast. Streep in particular is excellent as the shrill and manipulative witch, mastering the comic and dramatic elements of the role. She scene-steals every inch of her supporting role and reaches some remarkable heights in her wearied but powerful delivery of “Last Midnight” and “Stay with Me”.

They may be lacking in chemistry but Edge of Tomorrow’s Emily Blunt and The Wrong Mans’ James Corden pump enough enthusiastic naivety into their performances to convince us. Anna Kendrick is outstanding as a bullied Cinderella who’s own happy ending is quickly tormented. Fantastically creepy and literally short-lived, Johnny Depp proves himself as more than the failed leading superstar he’s been of late (see Mortdecai, Transcendence etc) in a superb supporting role. Captain Kirk himself Chris Pine is thoroughly despicable as a borderline misogynist Prince – highlight: “I was brought up to be charming, not sincere.”

Four lesser known acts populate the lead cast with mixed success: youngsters Lilla Crawford as Little Red Riding Hood and Brit Daniel Huttlestone as Jack are both excellent but MacKenzie Mauzy and Billy Magnussen (Rapunzel and her prince) are either underwritten or miscast. The loss of Nightcrawler star Jake Gyllenhaal, who was originally set to play the latter, may have led to a decreasing in screen time to these undeveloped characters.

There’s some blatant errors in the execution of the plot and its far from breaking the mould of the fantasy genre; Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables is still far superior. Still this is a enchanting, charming, technically impressive and brilliantly acted fantasy adventure, even with the confusingly bitter conclusion.

7/10

“You’re not good, you’re not bad, you’re just nice. I’m not good, I’m not nice, I’m just right.”

Sam Rockwell in Poltergeist images, Cranston and Paul rumoured for new roles and new Daredevil trailer

“Theeere heeeere!”

Firstly today we have the very first look at the new remake of horror classic Poltergeist, courtesy of producer Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Evil Dead) and British director Gil Kenan (City of Ember). It’ll depict a family moving into a new home, occupied by evil spirits and will star Sam Rockwell (Moon, Seven Psychopaths, Iron Man 2, The Assassination of Jesse James), Rosemarie DeWitt (The Company Men, Kill the Messenger, Mad Men) and Jared Harris (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Mad Men, Lincoln, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).

In 2014, Breaking Bad duo Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul went almost head to head with Godzilla and Need for Speed respectively getting released, the former Japanese beast being the obvious winner. They may be butting heads again as they are both connected with two different roles. Cranston (star of the Best Picture winning Argo) is rumoured for Star Trek 3.

The sequel (after both JJ Abrams and Roberto Orci quit) is on its third director with Justin Lin (Fast and Furious series) now set at the helm and will star Chris Pine (Into the Woods, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit), Zachary Quinto (Heroes), Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy), Karl Urban (The Lord of the Rings, Dredd), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Mission: Impossible 3), Anton Yelchin (Like Crazy, Fright Night) and John Cho (American Beauty).

Aaron Paul, last seen in biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings, may be in the running for the male lead in the first Star Wars spin off. Paul was involved in Star Wars before, playing Luke in Kevin Smith’s New Hope live script read. The subject of the film hasn’t been established but it’ll be directed by Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards and the female lead is in contention between Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, Like Crazy), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) and Rooney Mara (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Her).

Finally today we have the first full trailer for Netflix and Marvel’s very first collaboration: Daredevil. This teaser is both surprisingly brilliant and brutal. Showrunner Steven S DeKnight (Spartacus) commands the cast of Charlie Cox (The Theory of Everything, Stardust), Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Trance), Elden Henson (The Hunger Game: Mockingjay), Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood), Ayelet Zurer (Man of Steel, Munich) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket, Men in Black, The Judge).

Daredevil – April on Netflix

Star Trek 3 – July 8th 2016

Star Wars spin-off – December 16th

Poltergeist – July 31st

Review of the Year – The 2014 Review Issue

This is the first of a two-part special for Tuorhoth Movies that’ll conclude one year and kick off another. Tomorrow we’re discussing the mammoth releases of 2015 but this year’s given plenty to talk about, from the B-movie delights of Godzilla to the D’Movie horror of Mrs Brown. We’ll begin with the year’s financial countdown featuring the US, UK and international takings. These may not prove to be the definitive figures as Interstellar, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, Big Hero 6 and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies are all still rising and last year Frozen proved us wrong by overtaking Iron Man 3. But for now these calculations are our most accurate.

US:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy – Director: James Gunn – Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan – $332.9 million
2. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman – $311.3 million
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie – $259.8 million
4. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett – $257.8 million
5. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Michael Bay – Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci – $245.4 million
6. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Sam Riley – $241.4 million
7. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Peter Dinklage – $233.9 million
8. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell – $208.5 million
9. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, TJ Miller – $203.2 million
10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan – $202.9 million
11. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins – $200.7 million
12. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell – $191.7 million
13. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman – Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Will Arnett – $191.2 million
14. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Aidan Turner, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett – $183.5 million
15. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, McKenzie Foy, Bill Irwin, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi, Casey Affleck – $178.8 million

UK:

1. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett – £36.5 million
2. The Inbetweeners 2 – Damon Beesley, Iain Morris – Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas – £35.8 million
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell – £35.4 million
4. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan – £30.4 million
5. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Peter Dinklage – £29.3 million
6. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman – £27.4 million
7. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois – Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill – £26.6 million
8. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan – £26.1
9. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorcese – Leonardo Di Caprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew MacConaughey, Margot Robbie – £24 million
10. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris – £24.2 million
11. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Michael Bay – Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci – £21.3 million
12. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Brad Pitt – £21.2 million
13. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Sam Riley – £21 million
14. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie – £20.7 million
15. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell – £20.2 million

Worldwide:

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Michael Bay – Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci – $1.1 billion
2. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan – $772.5 million
3. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Sam Riley – $757.8 million
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Peter Dinklage – $746 million
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie – $714.1 million
6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan – $709 million
7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell – $708.3 million
8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman – $676.2 million
9. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, McKenzie Foy, Bill Irwin, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi, Casey Affleck – $650.1 million
10. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Aidan Turner, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett – $628.8 million
11. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois – Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill – $618.9 million
12. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins – $525 million
13. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx – $498.8 million
14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman – Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Will Arnett – $477.2 million
15. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett – $468.1 million
16. Lucy – Luc Besson – Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman – $458.9 million
17. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson – $369.2 million
18. Noah – Darren Aronofsky – Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins – $362.6 million
19. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris – $356.6 million
20. The Maze Runner – Wes Ball – Dylan O’Brien, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario – $339.8 million
21. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell – $331.3 million
22. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Jack O’Connell – $331.1 million
23. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, TJ Miller – $325.5 million
24. The Fault in Our Stars – Josh Boone – Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe – $304.2 million
25. Divergent – Neil Burger – Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney, Zoe Kravitz, Ansel Elgort – $288.7 million

In an era where billion dollar movies are a fairly regular recurrence, 2014’s claim of one film to have accomplished this feat is a slump from previous years (2010 – Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland; 2011 – Harry Potter 8, Transformers 3, Pirates 4; 2012 – The Avengers, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit; 2013 – Frozen, Iron Man 3) and nearly all new entries are failing to cross the $800 million mark but this is still an overall lucrative year for film.

Interstellar is the only original property to feature in the top 10 and the top 25 only includes Edge of Tomorrow, Lucy and The Lego Movie (also perhaps the very loosely adapted Noah). Godzilla, Maleficent and TMNT are all revivals or remakes of previous material and the only non-sequel adaptations are Guardians of the Galaxy, The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars and Gone Girl.

The return of stalwart franchises Planet of the Apes, The Hunger Games, Transformers and The Hobbit dominated but Marvel Comics have most obviously triumphed. The rebooted Spidey’s second outing was actually a slip up from the first but the X-Men’s goliath comeback made it the first time they’d graced the annual top 10 since 2006’s The Last Stand.

While Chris Pine (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) and Jennifer Lawrence (Serena) have struggled, stars to have consistently impressed this year include Michael Keaton (Birdman), Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar), Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher), Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), David Oyelowo (Selma), Tom Hardy (Locke), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Jack Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Domhnall Gleeson (Frank) and Jack O’Connell (Unbroken, ’71, Starred Up).

However our own heroes of the year are Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The duo (behind Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street) brought us a pair of smash hits this year: the first was the greatly dreaded release of The Lego Movie, the year’s most charmingly brilliant film. Comedy sequels seem to never turn out well but Lord and Miller’s follow up to Jump Street outdid the original’s impact. We’re still distraught they they didn’t get the Ghostbusters gig as it’s hard to imagine anyone more perfect for the film.

We now advance to our main feature, the top ten (or twelve) best films of the year. This ought not to be confused with the upcoming Tuorhoth Awards which may include the late entries The Theory of Everything, Into the Woods, Jupiter Ascending, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Paddington and Exodus: Gods and Kings. For now, we feel the need to highlight the releases that almost made the cut, Mr Turner, The Boxtrolls, The Maze Runner, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Noah.

12) The Imitation Game

Director: Morten Tyldum
Writer: Graham Moore/Andrew Hodges
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Allen Leech, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, Rory Kinnear, Mark Strong
Why It Was Great: This harrowing WW2 story may thrill quite as much as its “race-against-time” pitch suggests but Cumberbatch, Knightley and Dance’s truly thought provoking performances all engage.

11) The Grand Budapest Hotel

Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson, Hugo Guiness
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Jude Law, Tom Wilkinson, F Murray Abraham
Why It Was Great: The often tedious Anderson brings us a genuinely hilarious caper. As loveable as Revolori’s Zero is, Fiennes (tied with Channing Tatum) is the comedy revelation of the decade.

10) The Two Faces of January

Director: Hossein Amini
Writer: Hossein Amini/Patricia Highsmith
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst
Why It Was Great: Amini’s directorial debut is gorgeously shot and Isaac and Mortensen’s roles are stunningly intense.

9) Edge of Tomorrow

Director: Doug Liman
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth/Hiroshi Sakurazaka
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton
Why It Was Great: Maybe a career best for Cruise, this sci-fi flick was excellent in concept and execution via Liman’s thrilling action and Blunt’s reinvention as an action star.

8) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Ed Brubaker
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Redford, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Cobie Smulders
Why It Was Great: Marvel’s back to basics premise slips up in the OTT finale but the Bourne like quality of action was astonishing. Evans proves Cap’ as more than the patriotic stereotype.

7) The Lego Movie

Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Writers: Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman
Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day
Why It Was Awesome: Consistent in gags and created on of the greatest on screen Batmans. Freeman’s Vitruvius is a delight.

6) The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Peter Jackson, Guillermo Del Toro, Frank Walsh, Philippa Boyens/JRR Tolkien
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Aidan Turner, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett
Why It Was Great: A slip up from previous instalments but it’s still a phenomenally crafted fantasy adventure.

5) Godzilla

Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Max Borenstein, Dave Callaham
Starring: Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche
Why It Was Great: An British indie director steps up to the big leagues as he helms a multi-million blockbuster that has all the same style, suspense and human drama of his previous work (Monsters) while still being the ultimate homage to a screen legend.

4) X-Men: Days of Future Past

Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Peter Dinklage, Evan Peters, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore
Why It Was Great: A masterful marketing strategy landed the film on nearly double the series’ previous peak but this time-setting crossover delivers for fans as the most emotionally battering superhero film yet.

3) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Director: Matt Reeves
Writers: Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver/Pierre Boulle
Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit McPhee, Gary Oldman
Why It Was Great: Serkis is simply brilliant as Caesar, Reeves direction is sharp and stunning and there are APES ON HORSES. What’s not to love?

2) Guardians of the Galaxy

Director: James Gunn
Writers: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman/Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, Glenn Close, John C Reilly
Why It Was Great: The return of the one liner (“We’re just like Kevin Bacon”), thrilling, fantastical action and antiheroes to become enduring icons of the decade.

1) Interstellar

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan
Starring: Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessican Chastain, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Caine, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Bill Irwin, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn
Why It Was Great: If not his greatest, this is Nolan’s grandest picture yet. The visual effects are on a level previously unrealised on film while the performances are numbingly raw and the altogether result is truly beautiful.

Coming Soon – The 2015 Preview Issue

Wyatt, Tyldum, Lin and Duncan Jones in consideration for Star Trek 3 and Mr Turner leads London Critics

Departing to the new Star Wars trilogy, JJ Abrams’ sterling work on the Star Trek reboot series was always going to be hard to replace but the removal of esteemed writer Roberto Orci from the bridge proved the extremity of the task. Next Generation star and writer Jonathan Frakes has been lobbying for the job but those mentioned here are the most likely to succeed Abrams for Paramount’s so far untitled production.

On the shortlist are Rupert Wyatt, Daniel Espinosa, Justin Lin, Morten Tyldum and Duncan Jones. These five can easily be categorised into two camps: Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Gambler) and Jones (Source Code, Moon) are representing the sci-fi credentials while Lin (Fast and Furious 5/6) and Daniel Espinosa (Child 44, Safe House) are the action veterans in consideration. Morten Tyldum is an interesting contender. The Norwegian’s roots are with thrillers such as the greatly lauded Headhunters but is gaining acclaim for wartime drama and multi-Golden Globe nominee The Imitation Game.

In terms of who’s likely to get the job, the BAFTA winning Duncan Jones has already ruled himself out. Wyatt is sworn off the traditional blockbuster format and Lin is preoccupied with the next Bourne instalment. Tyldum appears to be embarking on a path to future Oscar glory and perhaps not the Final Frontier and I’m not sure Espinosa’s nuts-and-bolts style suits Star Trek’s uber stylish mould. The cast is yet to have been confirmed but we can expect to see Chris Pine (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Into the Woods), Karl Urban (Dredd, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Out of the Furnace, Avatar), Zachary Quinto (Margin Call, Heroes), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Mission: Impossible), Anton Yelchin (Fright Night, Like Crazy) and John Cho (Sleepy Hollow, American Beauty).

Pride was the most obvious leader at the British Independent Film Awards but the London Critics Circle has selected the artistic biopic Mr Turner as its front runner in their own ceremony. It’s followed by the American releases of black comedy Birdman, dark thriller Nightcrawler, intense drumming story Whiplash, whimsical caper The Grand Budapest Hotel and coming of age drama Boyhood as well as the foreign language efforts Ida and Leviathan. Still the homegrown productions of Mr Turner, paranormal mystery Under the Skin and Steven Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything. Here’s the nominations in full.

Film of the Year:

Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Leviathan
Mr Turner
Nightcrawler
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin
Whiplash

Foreign Language Film of the Year:

Ida
Leviathan
Norte, The End of History
Two Days, One Night
Winter Sleep

British Film of the Year:

The Imitation Game
Mr Turner
Pride
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin

Documentary of the Year:

20,000 Days on Earth
Citizenfour
Manakamana
Next Goal Wins
Night Will Fall

Actor of the Year:

Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Timothy Spall – Mr Turner

Actress of the Year:

Marion Cotillard – Two Days One Night
Essie Davis – The Babadook
Scarlett Johansson – Under the Skin
Julianne Moore – Maps to the Stars, Still Alice

Supporting Actor of the Year:

Riz Ahmed – Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
JK Simmons – Whiplash

Supporting Actress of the Year:

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Marion Bailey – Mr Turner
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Agata Kulesza – Ida
Emma Stone – Birdman

British Actor of the Year:

Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Tom Hardy – Locke, The Drop
Jack O’Connell – Starred Up, ’71, Unbroken
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Timothy Spall – Mr Turner

British Actress of the Year:

Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow, Into the Woods
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game, Begin Again, Say When
Gugu Mbatha Raw – Belle
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl, What We Did On Our Holiday

Young British Performer of the Year:

Daniel Huttlestone – Into the Woods
Alex Lawther – The Imitation Game
Corey McKinley – ’71
Will Poulter – The Maze Runner, Plastic
Saoirse Ronan – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Director of the Year:

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Mike Leigh – Mr Turner

Screenwriter of the Year:

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Breakthrough British Filmmaker:

Hossein Amini – The Two Faces of January
Elaine Constantine – Northern Soul
Yann Demange – ’71
Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard – 20,000 Days on Earth
James Kent – Testament of Youth

Technical Achievement Award:

’71
Birdman
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Leviathan
Mr Turner
A Most Violent Year
Under the Skin
Whiplash

Roberto Orci departs Star Trek 3 and rumours about new Nolan movie

JJ Abrams (Super 8) left a great gap when he parted ways with Star Trek after two brilliant films and traded it for Star Wars. His replacement as director for the third film was the writer Roberto Orci while the production was set for a release in 2016. Deadline have now reported that Orci is no longer attached but the reason is yet to have give an official reason. It still isn’t clear if he’s quit of his own accord or if Paramount gave him the boot. Either way it’s surprising, particularly as The Amazing Spider-Man franchise fell apart with his departure.

The search for his replacement has thrown up the far fetched suggestion of Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim VS The World, Hot Fuzz) while there’s a strong campaign for The Next Generation star/director Jonathan Frakes (Riker). Star Trek 3 will likely star Chris Pine (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, People Like Us), Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar), Zachary Quinto (Margin Call, American Horror Story), Karl Urban (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Dredd), Anton Yelchin (Like Crazy, Fright Night), John Cho (American Beauty, Sleepy Hollow), Alice Eve (Men in Black 3) and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Paul).

Christopher Nolan, director of Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, new epic picture Interstellar got a fairly polarized reaction; some acclaimed it a masterpiece but it has gained its fair share of loathers. Warner Bros are now seeking him for sci-fi project Ready Player One, based upon Ernest Cline’s novel.

Part of that Interstellar’s success was based around the fact that Nolan succeeded in shrouding it in mystery completely until its announcement in early 2013. Even then we knew nothing and the film’s true motives were a secret before its release. Nolan may well be reluctant to take up a project whose exact details are already published. Should he sign on, I’d expect a 2017 release but I still suspect that he has his own 2016 project up his sleeve.

Star Trek 3 – 2016

Ready Player One – 2017?

The Best Films of 2014 – the Half-Way Point

Looking at any annual film schedule, its evident that the first half of the year can never quite live up to the second and 2014 is no exception. This year really did get off to a rotten start with 47 Ronin, The Legend of Hercules and I Frankenstein dragging their heals at the box-office but this did pave a way for others; The Wolf of Wall Street and Ride Along both enjoyed three consecutive weeks at the top of the UK and US box-office respectively. Following that came some genuine surprises. Wes Anderson’s ensemble comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel reached 1st and 3rd in the UK and US against all odds and The Lego Movie, one of the most poorly marketed films in recent years, was an unexpected treat and certainly and future cult classic.

The biblical format seemed to increase in popularity around Easter with the low-key Christian dramas Heaven is For Real, Son of God and God’s Not Dead taking nearly thirty times their micro-budgets but these religious flicks aren’t proving successful outside of America, besides Aronofsky’s star-driven epic Noah. The “Katniss-effect” of The Hunger Games has evidently given studios the faith to put stronger female characters into the fray of action and adventure with Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent and Shailene Woodley’s Divergent winning out over Johnny Depp’s Transcendence or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Sabotage financially. Edge of Tomorrow even managed it to the extent of Tom Cruise needing saving from Emily Blunt’s ultimate warrior.

In the last six months, certain individuals are lighting up the box-office left, right and centre. Former comedian Kevin Hart has lead a trio of success, Ride Along, About Last Night and Think Like a Man Too, while the Jump Street quartet (director Phil Lord and Chris Miller/stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill) have a cinematic Midas-touch. It’s evident that Lego’s Chris Pratt can do no wrong and, with Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy coming soon, he’s well on his way to man-of-the-year status. The biggest winners of the year have to be Marvel. Even though their heroes are divided across Sony, Fox and Disney, Stan Lee’s creations of Spider-Man, Captain America (kind-of) and the X-Men are currently the three biggest films of the year so far and they’ll only continue to grow bigger.

Below you can find the international box-office top ten followed by our own personal picks of the year so far as well as the ten to look for in the rest of 2014:

International Box-office Top 10:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Director: Anthony and Joe Russo – Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones – Box-office: $710.8 million
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper – $703.3 million
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till – $700 million
4. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville – $531.8 million
5. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche – $478.7 million
6. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Bruno Mars, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am – $469.4 million
7. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders – $467.2 million
8. Noah – Darren Aronofsky – Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins – $356.2 million
9. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton, Lena Headey, Jack O’Connell, Rodrigo Santoro, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham – $331.1 million
10. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong – $298.8 million

Tuorhoth’s Top 10:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche
3. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones
5. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong
6. The Two Faces of January – Hossein Amini – Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst
7. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Justin Chadwick – Idris Elba, Naomi Harris
8. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, Nonso Anozie, Gemma Chan
9. RoboCop – Jose Padilha – Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle, Jackie Earle Haley, Aimee Garcia, Michael K Williams, Samuel L Jackson
10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper

Top 10 Anticipated:

1. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Topher Grace, Casey Affleck, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow, Matt Damon
2. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy, Lee Pace, Manu Bennett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee
3. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Hamill, Mark Strong
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, John C Reilly
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Jason Clarke, Andy Serkis, James Franco, Judy Greer, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit McPhee
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jena Malone, Sam Clafin, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Natalie Dormer, Philip Seymour, Hoffman
8. Fury – David Ayer – Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Jason Isaacs, Michael Pena, Shia LeBeouf
9. Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott – Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley
10. The Judge – David Dobkin – Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, Vera Farmiga