Review of 2015 from January to August

A couple of months ago we released our top picks for the first half of the year but, with the summer season finishing, we’ll give an overview of the year’s films from a commercial and critical perspective.

Film: Taken 3
Director: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Dougray Scott
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 9%
Budget: $48 million
Opening weekend: $39 million
Box-office: $325 million
Summary: The second highest grossing outing in the series is thankfully the last. There’s been growth since Taken ($226 million) but less than Taken 3 ($376 million).

Film: Blackhat
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Leehom Wang, Ritchie Coster, Holt McCallany, Viola Davis
IMDb/RT: 5.4/10 – 34%
Budget: $70 million
Opening weekend: $4 million
Box-office: $18 million
Summary: The star of Thor ($644 million) and Rush ($90 million) and the director of Heat ($187 million) and Collateral ($217 million) should have been a match-up to enjoy but somehow Blackhat flopped.

Film: The Wedding Ringer
Director: Jeremy Garelick
Starring: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuco Sweeting, Alan Richson, Jorge Garcia
IMDb/RT: 6.7 – 27%
Budget: $23 million
Opening weekend: $20 million
Box-office: $79 million
Summary: A slip up in comparison to Kevin Hart’s 2014 hit Ride Along ($154 million).

Film: Mortdecai
Director: David Koepp
Starring: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Paul Bettany
IMDb/RT: 5.5/10 – 12%
Budget: $60 million
Opening weekend: $4 million
Box-office: $30 million
Summary: This disastrous caper is proof of former superstar Johnny Depp’s dwindling popularity outside of Pirates.

Film: Jupiter Ascending
Directors: Andy and Lana Wachowski
Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Terry Gilliam
IMDb/RT: 5.5/10 – 25%
Budget: $176 million
Opening weekend: $18 million
Box-office: $182 million
Summary: This effort from the creators of The Matrix ($463 million) suffered from its release delays and ridiculously overpriced budget.

Film: Fifty Shades of Grey
Director: Sam Taylor Johnson
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eloise Mumford, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden
IMDb/RT: 4.2/10 – 25%
Budget: $40 million
Opening weekend: $85 million
Box-office: $570 million
Summary: Being critically reviled didn’t get in the way of this erotic drama.

Film: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Sophie Cookson, Mark Strong
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 75%
Budget: $81 million
Opening weekend: $35 million
Box-office: $406 million
Summary: The spy thriller from Kick-Ass ($96 million) Vaughn turned out to be his most acclaimed and profitable yet, even out grossing the likes of The Bourne Legacy ($276 million).

Film: Focus
Director: Glenn Ficara, John Requa
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney, BD Wong
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 57%
Budget: $50 million
Opening weekend: $19 million
Box-office: $159 million
Summary: A strong performance from Smith renews his popularity after the mediocre After Earth ($243 million).

Film: Chappie
Director: Neill Blompkamp
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Die Antwoord
IMDb/RT: 7.0/10 – 30%
Budget: $49 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $102 million
Summary: A let down in comparison to Blomkamp’s more lucrative works – District 9 ($210 million) or Elysium ($286 million).

Film: Cinderella
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard, Helena Bonham Carter
IMDb/RT: 7.1/10 – 85%
Budget: $95 million
Opening weekend: $68 million
Box-office: $542 million
Summary: Branagh’s lavish take on the period fantasy romance has successfully found a new following for the fairy tale.

Film: Insurgent
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Kate Winslet
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 30%
Budget: $110 million
Opening weekend: $53 million
Box-office: $295 million
Summary: The Divergent series has quickly turned out to be the inferior of The Hunger Games.

Film: Home
Director: Tim Johnson
Starring: Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Jones, Steve Martin
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 45%
Budget: $135 million
Opening weekend: $52 million
Box-office: $387 million
Summary: Dreamworks are struggling to stand out with their new properties in a market dominated by the likes of Warner Bros’ The Lego Movie or Disney’s Frozen.

Film: Get Hard
Director: Etan Cohen
Starring: Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Alison Brie, Tip Harris, Craig T Nelson
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 29%
Budget: $40 million
Opening weekend: $34 million
Box-office: $106 million
Summary: The combination of these celebrated comics ought to have been special but didn’t come close.

Film: Furious 7
Director: James Wan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham
IMDb/RT: 7.4/10 – 81%
Budget: $190 million
Opening weekend: $147 million
Box-office: $1.512 billion
Summary: The blockbuster sequel made seven times more than the original did 14 years ago ($207 million) but the series might not have much room to grow into for film eight.

Film: The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, James Spader
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 74%
Budget: $280 million
Opening weekend: $191 million
Box-office: $1.401 billion
Summary: A slight slip up from 2012’s Avengers Assemble ($1.520 billion), the sequel still delivered the goods for the fans.

Film: Pitch Perfect 2
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Elizabeth Banks
IMDb/RT: 6.7 – 67%
Budget: $29 million
Opening weekend: $69 million
Box-office: $285 million
Summary: Pitch Perfect is quickly rivaling Jump Street and Bridesmaids to be the best comedy of the decade so far, while growing from the original’s $115 million.

Film: Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Rosie Huntington Whitely, Zoe Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult
IMDb/RT: 8.3/10 – 98%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $45 million
Box-office: $374 million
Summary: A stunningly successful return from the road warrior.

Film: Tomorrowland
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Hugh Laurie
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 50%
Budget: $190 million
Opening weekend: $33 million
Box-office: $208 million
Summary: While it polarized critics, concealing many secrets during marketing may have been the financial downfall of the underrated sci-fi adventure and another disappointment for Disney after John Carter ($284 million) and The Lone Ranger ($260 million).

Film: San Andreas
Director: Brad Peyton
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Paul Giamatti
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 50%
Budget: $110 million
Opening weekend: $55 million
Box-office: $469 million
Summary: The disaster thriller was a success but not a 2012 ($769 million) style smash hit.

Film: Spy
Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Jude Law
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 94%
Budget: $65 million
Opening weekend: $29 million
Box-office: $236 million
Summary: After striking big with Bridesmaids ($288 million) and The Heat ($229 million), Paul Feig is continuing to put himself on a good track for the Ghost Busters reboot.

Film: Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, Vincent D’Onofrio
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 71%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $208 million
Box-office: $1.642 billion
Summary: With a sequel coming in 2018, the franchise (dormant for fourteen years) is now set for big things.

Film: Inside Out
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Kyle MacLachlan
IMDb/RT: 8.6/10 – 98%
Budget: $175 million
Opening weekend: $90 million
Box-office: $701 million
Summary: Inside Out has become Pixar’s third biggest original feature.

Film: Ted 2
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Stewart
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 46%
Budget: $68 million
Opening weekend: $33.5 million
Box-office: $180 million
Summary: A very disappointing follow up to 2012’s Ted ($549 million). After the mediocre performance of MacFarlane’s western A Million Ways to Die in the West ($86 million), there’s increasing doubt in the Family Guy creator’s popularity.

Film: Terminator Genisys
Director: Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, JK Simmons
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 26%
Budget: $155 million
Opening weekend: $27 million
Box-office: $352 million
Summary: While it was a healthy opening but the franchise has long lost its previously stellar hype. Still not an improvement on 2009’s Terminator Salvation ($371 million).

Film: Magic Mike XXL
Director: Gregory Jacobs
Starring: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 65%
Budget: $14 million
Opening weekend: $123 million
Box-office: $117 million
Summary: The progressive stripper comedy sequel has decreased from Steven Soderbergh’s 2012 original ($167 million) and other raunchy blockbusters have been more profitable – for example Fifty Shades of Grey ($569 million) – but it’s still an impressive tally.

Film: Minions
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Pierre Coffin, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Geoffrey Rush
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 54%
Budget: $74 million
Opening weekend: $115 million
Box-office: $1.004 billion
Summary: This triumphant spin off managed to surpass and compete with the previous instalments of the beloved Despicable Me franchise ($543 million – $970 million).

Film: Ant-Man
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Michael Douglas
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 79%
Budget: $130 million
Opening weekend: $57 million
Box-office: $363 million
Summary: It’s an underperformance in comparison to Marvel’s fellow Phase 2 superhero flicks such as Iron Man 3 ($1215 million), Thor: The Dark World ($644 million), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714 million) or Guardians of the Galaxy ($774 million) but is a worthy reception for the kings of summer blockbusters.

Film: Trainwreck
Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, John Cena, Tilda Swinton
Budget: $35 million
Opening weekend: $30 million
Box-office: $123 million
Summary: A traditional fooled-around-and-fell-in-love rom-com might have sank but the presence of rising star Amy Schumer has elevated this to the likes of Apatow’s The 40 Year Old Virgin ($177 million) or Knocked Up ($219 million).

Film: Pixels
Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage
IMDb/RT: 5.6/10 – 17%
Budget: $88 million
Opening weekend: $24 million
Box-office: $174 million
Summary: This sci-fi adventure’s financial reception didn’t live up to the premise but a budget half the size of Tomorrowland’s means that it may actually breakeven at the box-office.

Film: Southpaw
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Oona Laurence, Naomie Harris, Rachel McAdams
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 60%
Budget: $25 million
Opening weekend: $17 million
Box-office: $67 million
Summary: This sport drama failed to rekindle the mass popularity of boxing flicks such as Rocky ($225 million).

Film: Paper Towns
Director: Jake Schreir
Starring: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Halston Sage, Jaz Sinclair, Austin Abrams
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 55%
Budget: $12 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $75 million
Summary: A decent opening for the young adult romantic drama but well off the other John Green adaptation The Fault in Our Stars ($307 million).

Film: Vacation
Directors: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Starring: Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Leslie Mann, Chris Hemsworth, Chevy Chase
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 26%
Budget: $31 million
Opening weekend: $15 million
Box-office: $69 million
Summary: The comedy reboot of the adored Chevy Chase franchise didn’t inspire a great amount of nostalgia for fans of the originals.

Film: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 93%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $56 million
Box-office: $445 million
Summary: The Cruise action vehicle builds off the wobble of Edge of Tomorrow ($369 million). The spy series returned in style and will grow throughout the summer.

Film: Fantastic Four
Director: Josh Trank
Starring: Miles Teller, Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara, Toby Kebbell
IMDb/RT: 4.0/10 – 8%
Budget: $120 million
Opening weekend: $26 million
Box-office: $134 million
Summary: A superhero reboot full of hope and promise morphed into the year’s most depressing car crash. It was even a decrease from the 2005 film ($330 million) and its sequel ($289 million).

Film: Straight Outta Compton
Director: F Gary Gray
Starring: O’Shea Jackson Jr, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Aldis Hodge, Paul Giamatti
IMDb/RT: 8.4/10 – 89%
Budget: $28 million
Opening weekend: $60 million
Box-office: $125 million
Summary: The musical biopic has become one of August’s biggest hits but did smaller numbers than 2002’s Eminem effort 8 Mile ($242 million).

Film: The Man From UNCLE
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Grant
IMDb/RT: 7.6/10 – 67%
Budget: $75 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $57 million
Summary: The star studded spy thriller from the director of the Sherlock Holmes films ($524 million – $545 million) has struggled to find a home with fans.

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 Black Mass poster, Bryce Dallas Howard talks Marvel and first Hunger Games 4 trailer

The first two instalments of the Hunger Games franchise were genuine phenomenons, the first taking $691 million and Catching Fire receiving $864 million but Mockingjay: Part 1 slipped up with a drop to $752 million. The trailer for the series’ conclusion has been released and is hoping for a return to form.

Francis Lawrence (I am Legend) directs a cast including Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Josh Huthcherson (Epic), Liam Hemsworth (Cut Bank), Jena Malone (Inherent Vice), Sam Claflin (The Riot Club), Donald Sutherland (Ordinary People), Juliianne Moore (Still Alice), Woody Harrelson (True Detective), Elizabeth Banks (The Lego Movie), Stanley Tucci (Margin Call), Toby Jones (Infamous), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Jeffrey Wright (Source Code), Mahershala Ali (House of Cards), Willow Shields (Beyond the Blackboard), Elden Henson (Daredevil), Natalie Dormer (Rush) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master).

Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help, 50/50) once worked with Marvel playing Gwen Stacy in 2007’s Spider-Man 3. Whilst promoting the new sci-fi sequel Jurassic World, she was questioned about returning to the studio in a different role, specifically Captain Marvel. Howard seemed immensely in favour of the idea.

“Oh my God, will you write that? Will you write that please? Yes, let’s start a campaign now. That would be rad. Those movies are so fantastic, because talk about just these incredibly drawn characters! That’s the joy of the comics, is that you fall in love with these characters and it’s who they are that carries you from journey to journey to journey… it’s not just about set pieces. It’s really about who these people are, and so, yes, I just would love to be in a Marvel film.”

So far the only serious suggestion for a casting and director are Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Prometheus) and Angelina Jolie (Unbroken) respectively. We do know that the script is penned by Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) and Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and is heading for a 2018 release.

Johnny Depp’s career is in a particularly horrific phase of his career. The star of Edward Scissorhands, Donnie Brasco and Pirates of the Caribbean hasn’t hit the spot recently besides 2009’s Michael Mann thriller Public Enemies, 2011 animation Rango and cameos in 21 Jump Street and Into the Woods. A varied reception for Alice in Wonderland, The Tourist, The Rum Diary and Dark Shadows plus financial failures The Lone Ranger, Transcendence and Mortdecai. Gangster drama Black Mass might be a return to Oscar contender form. The first proper poster for the film has been released.

Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) directs a cast including Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game, Sherlock), Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Great Gatsby), Juno Temple (Atonement, Maleficent), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Ant-Man), Dakota Johnson (21 Jump Street, Fifty Shades of Grey), Adam Scott (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Parks and Recreation), Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, The Homesman), Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County, Masters of Sex), Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead, Blue Jasmine) and Kevin Bacon (Apollo 13, Cop Car).

Black Mass – November 13th

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 – November 20th

Captain Marvel – November 2nd 2018

Gosling, Pitt and more confirmed for Big Short and first look at Johnny Depp in Black Mass

Writer director Adam McKay is well renowned for his excellent comedy work with Step Brothers, The Other Guys and the cult classic Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy but he’s moving into a different phase of his career with a Marvel film in the works and now the new political drama The Big Short. It has already assembled one of the finest casts of any upcoming film.

The cast of the film will feature Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March, The Notebook, The Place Beyond the Pines, Drive), Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Burn After Reading, Moneyball, Seven), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher, The 40 Year Old Virgin, The Office, Despicable Me), Melissa Leo (Frozen River, Prisoners, Oblivion, The Fighter), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler, My Cousin Vinny, In the Bedroom, The Lincoln Lawyer), Rafe Spall (Life of Pi, Prometheus, What If, Hot Fuzz) and Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Psycho, American Hustle, The Prestige).

Following a chilling turn as The Wolf in Into the Woods, we can now see the latest transformation of Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Neverland, Public Enemies, Edward Scissorhands) as the gangster Whitey Bulger in the new thriller Black Mass. Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) directs while Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), Joel Edgerton (Warrior), Juno Temple (The Dark Knight Rises), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Adam Scott (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad), Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County), Peter Sarsgaard (An Education) and Kevin Bacon (Apollo 13) also star.

Black Mass – September 25th

The Big Short – 2016

Weekend box-office – 21st to 27th of February 2015 – will Fifty Shades whip up a storm?

The novel sensation Fifty Shades of Grey has been rushed into production as a new motion picture which is set to transfer its behemoth popularity into box office success. The controversially graphic romantic drama depicting the antics of an obsessive billionaire and a vulnerable journalist is quickly garnering a critic proof reputation that propelled The Da Vinci Code to stellar financial takings. Last week, we predicted it’d win but challenging it are spy thriller Kingsman: The Secret Service, animation SpongeBob, Oscar favourite American Sniper and the sci-fi action Jupiter Ascending.

US:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Director: Sam Taylor Johnson – $85.2 million
2. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $36.2 million
3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $31.5 million
4. American Sniper – Clint Eastwood – $16.4 million
5. Jupiter Ascending – The Wachowskis – $9.3 million

UK:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £13.6 million
2. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – £1.8 million
3. Shaun the Sheep: The Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak – £1.7 million
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – £1.6 million
5. Jupiter Ascending – The Wachowskis – £0.8 million

Fifty Shades has remarkably storm to success. These results may spell the apocalypse of cinematic integrity but it’s rare to see an 18 certificate film with a female director (Nowhere Boy’s Sam Taylor Johnson) and writers (author EL James and Saving Mr Banks’ Kelly Marcel). In the UK it triumphed with an opening weekend to rival last year’s top hits The Inbetweeners 2 and Transformers: Age of Extinction but we can expect Avengers 2 and Star Wars 7 to smash that record later in the year. The ultraviolent The Secret Service an impressive second place. I’ve scored 8/10 this week.

US:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
2. Hot Tub Time Machine 2 – Steve Pink
3. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn
4. SpongeBob The Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt
5. American Sniper – Clint Eastwood

UK:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
2. The Wedding Ringer – Jeremy Garelick
3. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams
4. Shaun the Sheep: The Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in Fifty Shades of Grey, this week’s US and UK number one.

The Super-Bowl 2014 Trailers special: Transformers 4, Noah and more!

We’re not venturing into sports just yet but the American Football extravaganza known as Superbowl is a huge event for advertising. With well over 100 million Americans watching, companies have to pay the whopping sum of $8 million dollars just for a one minute advertising slot. Only the biggest of big budget, big star blockbusters can afford to make the cut so you may be quite surprised when I tell you that among the nine titanic efforts trailered last night is the new project from Darren Aronofsky!

But before we get to that, we have the matter of a movie I recently predicted to make over a billion dollars. I speak of the fourquel of a monster series – Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Director Michael Bay (Armaggedon, Pearl Harbour, Bad Boys) returns to the series after a quick, and unsuccessful, break to make Pain and Gain. The franchise hopes to continue it success with an new human cast with Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor, replacing the old guard of Shia LaBeaouf, Rosie Huntington-Whitley and Megan Fox. This time, the Autobots are at battle with the villainous Dinobots and the technology tycoon Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), the former is revealed in the very first trailer. The film also stars Stanley Tucci and Peter Cullen. July 10th.

The second instalment in this nine-part epic is Marvel’s very own Captain America: The Winter Soldier. We’ve seen footage from this before but Superbowl unveiled the second trailer, which offers more in depth look at new antagonist The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). The plot pitches Captain America (Chris Evans) still adjusting to life in the 21st Century as well as working with SHIELD Agents such as Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Crossbones (Frank Grillo) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) to bring down a new menace who’s terrorising Washington. Cap 2 also stars Emily VanCamp, Samuel L Jackson, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Attwell and Toby Jones and is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. March 28th.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is next. Marc Webb returns to direct the sequel which increases the stakes for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) who has to balance life between his superhero alter ego Spider-Man, who’s battling Electro (Jamie Foxx), Rhino (Paul Giamatti) and the sinister father/son double act of Oscorp (Dane DeHaan as Harry and Chris Cooper as Norman), and normal life with the grieving Gwen (Emma Stone) and lonely Aunt May (Sally Field). The new trailer can be found here. To be honest, I’m not that impressed. April 18th.

Following on from their “Across the Internet” campaign, Muppets Most Wanted has launched a new ad in which the new doppelganging villain Clementine literally reaches out to us Across the Internet. Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Stanley Tucci, Ricky Gervais, Lady Gaga, Tom Hiddleston, Salma Hayek, Christoph Waltz and Danny Trejo make up the human cast alongside the classic Muppets such as Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Sam the Eagle, Beaker, Dr Honeydrew, Walter and Animal. Flight of the Conchords/The Muppets’ James Bobin directs. March 28th.

With a premise of no CG, just expensive cars going ridiculously fast, video game adaptation Need for Speed is actually in good shape. It sees newly released ex-con Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul – Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman) getting back into the dragraces that got him locked up for a year. Upon hearing the news, Marshall’s ex racing partner Dino (Dominic Cooper – Marvel’s Howard Stark) puts a bounty on his head. Scott Waugh (Act of Valour) directs a huge cast including Michael Keeton, Dakota Johnson, Scott Mescudi and Imogen Poots. The superbowl spot can be found here. March 12th.

We return to the aforementioned Darren Aronofsky who, after impressing with the likes of Black Swan, The Wrestler, Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, makes his comeback with a huge budget and cast list for his new epic picture Noah. The new trailer is available but I’m shocked that a director as prestigious as Aronofsky would fall to the depths of a Twitter hashtag; this time it’s “#TheFloodIsComing”!. The film stars Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Ray Winstone, Kevin Durand, Douglas Booth, Nick Nolte and Frank Langella. April 4th.

Pompeii seems to me like one of the potential box office clunkers of the year with a decent cast list which doesn’t match its huge budget but director Paul WS Anderson (Event Horizon, Resident Evil) may prove me wrong. The new trailer unveils a fair bit of spectacle so the film won’t rely on the cast of Kit Harrington, Carrie Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Jessica Lucas, Kiefer Sutherland, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jared Harris and Jessica Lucas alone. May 2nd.

3 Days to Kill launched a new trailer too. McG (This Means War, Terminator: Salvation, We Are Marshall, Charlie’s Angles) directs this new action thriller starring Kevin Costner as an dying agent who teams up with his daughter for one last assignment which get him the life saving drug he needs. Also starring Amber Heard, Connie Nielson and Hailee Steinfeld. February 21st.

Lastly, we have another Kevin Costner project. Draft Day sees the manger of American Football’s Cleveland Browns who’s struggling to find the number one draft pick for his team. Costner will star alongside Terry Crews, Jennifer Garner and Ellen Burstyn while director Ivan Reitman (Ghost Busters, No Strings Attached). April 11th

Action triple-bill special with Need for Speed, The Expendables 3 and Fast and Furious 7

After the tragic death of Paul Walker last month, the production Fast and Furious 7 has been in a halt; the summer 2014 release date fell apart. The sequel will now have to deal with the huge competition of 2015. Star Trek 3 , Warcraft (March 11th), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Avatar 2, Finding Dory (June 17th) and Angry Birds (July 1st) have already spilled into 2016 to avoid ’15’s Batman vs. Superman (July 17th), Ant-Man (July 31st), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1st), Cinderella (March 13th), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (November 20th), The Bourne Betrayal (August 14th), Assassin’s Creed (August 7th), San Andreas (June 5th), Bond 24 (October 23rd), Mission: Impossible 5 (25th December), The Good Dinosaur (November 25th), Inside Out (June 19th), The Minions (July 10th) and Star Wars: Episode VII (18th December). Fast 7 is directed by James Wan (The Conjuring, Insidious, Saw) and stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham and the late great Paul Walker.

Need for Speed is a plotless game franchise that relies on the thrill of its gameplay alone for success. While the series has constantly churned out excellence year by year, you wouldn’t think this format would be decent cinematic material but Act of Valor director Scott Waugh is confident that with his brilliant cast, Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Dakota Johnson (The Social Network), Imogen Poots (The Look of Love), Michael Keaton (Batman) and Dominic Cooper (Captain America), he can make Need for Speed a hit. An awesome new poster has come in for your own admiration.

You can now relish in the first teaser for The Expendables 3. Red Hill’s Patrick Hughes directs the overgrown cast in this action sequel which features, from left to right in the trailer, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Randy Couture, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Victor Ortiz, Kelsey Grammer, Wesley Snipes, Kellan Lutz, Glen Powell and Ronda Rousey (aka the least feminine ensemble you’ve ever seen)! Jackie Chan, Milla Jovovich and Nick Cage are still rumoured for roles.

Need for Speed – March 14th 2014

Fast and Furious 7 – April 10th 2015

The Expendables 3 – August 25th 2014

Disney unveil Star Wars Rebels’ villain and Avatar theme park experience plus Hunnam leaves 50 Shades and Wheatley to direct Doctor Who

As Peter Capaldi roles into the role of The Twelfth Doctor for the 8th season of Doctor Who and the 50th Anniversary Special draws closer (indeed we only have to wait until November 23rd), next years thirteen episodes are coming together with one up and coming British director signed up to direct two episodes. The director/writer behind civil war drama A Field in England and horror hits like Sightseers and Kill List.

“I am very excited and honoured to be asked to direct the first two episodes of the new series of Doctor Who. I’ve been a fan since childhood – Tom Baker is my Doctor if you are asking,” Wheatley told Screendaily. “I’ve been watching the current run of Doctor who with my son and have discovered it all over again. The work that has been done is amazing. I’m really looking forward to working with Peter Capaldi and finding out where Steven Moffat is planning to take the new Doctor.” His often murderous filming style could be bringing back some of the excellent darkness of the series opening of season 6.

Charlie Hunnam’s casting was possibly the most controversial of the year (in a 12 months that included Ben Affleck as Batman). The Pacific Rim and Sons of Anarchy star was signed up to play young billionaire Christian Grey in Sam Taylor-Johnson’s novel adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey but that deal has crumbled. They’re saying that’s because the production clashed with Hunnam’s extensive TV work but I’m hoping he’s signing on for Guillermo Del Toro’s potential sequel Pacific Rim 2. Tell us in the comments who you think should join Dakota Johnson and Jennifer Ehle in the cast of Fifty Shades and fill Hunnam’s previous role of Grey

Star Wars Rebels is Disney’s attempt at returning George Lucas’ series (which they recently acquired) into animated television after Star Wars: The Clone Wars was axed at it’s prime. David Oyelowo and Tim Curry are set to lend their voices to the project and they’ve given us a first look at their new villain: the sinister Sith Lord The Inquisitor.

Disney have also given us some concept shots of their new Avatar themed area in the Animal Kingdom Park in Disneyworld, Florida. Avatar was the highest grossing film of all time at it’s 2009 release (and still is). The film’s director James Cameron has been brought in to oversee the reconstruction of Pandora (the mystical world which plays host to the plot and their heroes). Avatar’s sequels are planned for Christmas releases in 2016, 2017 and 2018 which’ll match the 2017 opening of the Pandora area.

Doctor Who season 8 – August 2014

Fifty Shades of Grey – August 1st 2014

Star Wars Rebels – 2014

The Pandora Area of the Animal Kingdom Park at Disneyworld Florida – 2017

Rossio to write Masters of the Universe, Ehle joins 50 Shades, new Walter Mitty and Limitless TV show

Bradley Cooper’s 2011 mystery thriller was an excellent one. Two years on, Limitless, which itself was based upon sci-fi novel The Dark Fields, is set for a television remake. The plot centres around Eddie Morra, a failing writer who accepts an experimental drug called NZT from an old acquaintance who claims it to be legal and that it allows your brain to reach it’s unused 80%. His use of the drug and rising intelligence gets him noticed by those who find him a great business venture (I.E Robert De Niro’s Carl Van Loon) or those who want the drug for themselves (Andrew Howard’s Gennady). We don’t know if Cooper will star but we think the Academy Award nominee from The Hangover and Silver Linings Playbook is set to be executive producer. We still don’t know if the film’s director, Neil Burger (currently busy finishing off young-adult novel adaptation Divergent), will return though.

Next, we’ve a new casting for 50 Shades of Grey. The EL James adaptation stars Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim) as young billionaire Christian Grey while his lover Anastasia Steele will be portrayed by Dakota Johnson (21 Jump Street). Jennifer Ehle has joined the project under the directing excellence of Sam Taylor-Wood. Ehle was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress British Academy Film Award back in 1997 for biopic Wilde and won a television BAFTA in 1995 for the beloved mini-series Pride and Prejudice where she starred alongside Colin Firth. Since then, she’s starred in Contagion, The King’s Speech, Zero Dark Thirty, the upcoming sci-fi action RoboCop and now 50 Shades of Grey where she play’s Steele’s stern mother Carla whose now married to her fourth husband.

We move on to a potential He-Man reboot. Masters of the Universe tells the story of Adam, Prince of Eternia, whose granted with magical powers and sets out with a team of heroes, Battle Cat, Man At Arms, The Sorceress, Teela and Orco, who set out to take down the villainous Skeletor. Terry Russio will now script the production. He’s a regular writer on the Pirates of the Caribbean series and recently scribed Gore Verbinski’s unappreciated Western The Lone Ranger. He also won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Oscar for his work on Dreamworks animation Shrek.

Finally, we’ve got the new trailer (on Empire because it wasn’t accessible on Youtube) for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Ben Stiller stars in and directs this comedic adventure with Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), Sean Penn (Milk), Patton Oswalt (Young Adult), Kathryn Hahn (Anchorman) and Adam Scott (Friends With Kids).

Fifty Shade film casts it’s leads and Bob Peterson leaves Pixar’s Good Dinosaur

Our 75th post won’t be doing anything particularly special other than covering the recent movie news. From Fifty Shades of Grey to Disney/Pixar, this post has quite a contrast.

EL James’s Fifty Shades trilogy (made up of Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed) was the phenomenon of a novel series of last year. Sam Taylor Johnson (wife of Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor Johnson) was assigned to task of adapting it for the big screen a couple of months ago and she cast the leads for the film.

The director of John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, Taylor Johnson, has brought in Dakota Johnson (The Social Network, 21 Jump Street) to play Anastasia Steele and Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim, Sons of Anarchy) as Christian Grey, the twenty something billionaire that Steele falls for. Dakota Johnson will also seen fairly soon alongside Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Dominic Cooper and Michael Keaton in video game adaptation Need for Speed. Hunnam meanwhile will be working with Guillermo Del Toro, as he did on Pacific Rim, with new project Crimson Peak. He’ll star with Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska and Burn Gorman while they’ll be looking for a replacement for Benedict Cumberbatch after his leaving of the project.

Meanwhile at Pixar, some sad news has reached our ears. Bob Peterson will not direct film. The co-director of, arguably, Pixar’s best film, Up, has been removed from The Good Dinosaur and will be replaced by Brian Trust. “All directors get really deep in their films,” explains Ed Catmull, President of Pixar, “Sometimes you just need a different perspective to get the idea out. Sometimes directors are so deeply embedded in their ideas it actually takes someone else to finish it up. I would go so far as to argue that a lot of live-action films would be better off with that same process.”

This isn’t the first time that Pixar have done this. Director have been replaced on Ratatouille, Cars 2 and Brave but never on any of Pixar’s best like the Toy Story trilogy, Up, Wall-E, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. I think we may have to pin out hopes for the next Pixar classic onto 2015’s Inside Out.

Fifty Shades of Grey is out August 1st 2014

Need for Speed is out March 14th 2014

Crimson Peak is out April 2015

The Good Dinosaur is out July 18th 2014

Inside Out is out June 19th 2015