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 Avengers: Age of Ultron review

Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Andy Serkis, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Thomas Kretschmann, Linda Cardellini, Anthony Mackie, Julie Delpy

It’s fair to say that Joss Whedon’s 2012 superhero smash hit Avengers Assemble has reached phenomenon status. With $1.5 billion hauled in at the international box office, the film paved the way for a massive cult following as well as consecutive hits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second phase including The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Whedon is now reassembling the team for a sequel that has anticipation and dread at fever pitch.

The Avengers – arms dealer Tony Stark (Downey Jr), war veteran Steve Rogers (Evans), ex-spy Natasha Romanoff (Johansson), split-personality scientist Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), expert archer Clint Barton (Renner) and alien prince Thor (Hemsworth) – return to combating Earth’s biggest threats their days may be numbered. When Stark and Banner harness the power of the Infinity Stone from Loki’s sceptre, they use as the basis of an advanced AI to shield Earth from extra-terrestrial threats. However, the machine they create, Ultron (Spader), sees evil in humanity and views them as the threat in need of extinction.

The highest compliment one can give Age of Ultron is that Whedon revives the character-driven, quotable dialogue that makes spies, robots, monsters and gods as human and grounded as possible. Each and every ingenious gag and one liner fleshes out the Avengers from mere heroes to a band of characters as iconic, engaging and lovable as his previous creations such as Buffy and her vampire slaying troop or the crew of the Serenity.

His directorial flair also comes to light in some fantastically constructed action sequences with the excellent special effects we’ve come to expect from Marvel, even if they don’t quite reach the epic or thoroughly detailed levels of Godzilla or Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Sadly the finale resorts to the series’ cliche of the heroes defending a city from an aerial threat but at least this applies the twist of the city itself being the threat. Overall the ridiculousness of the action only serves as an uncanny reflection of the comic’s brash, adventurous tone.

Reinforcing the incredible character dynamic is a brilliantly acted ensemble that may be the films curse as well. We get to witness Stark’s decaying assurance as his own brainchild becomes his downfall in a series best performance from Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr. Snowpiercer’s Chris Evans and Lucy’s Scarlett Johansson excellently revive their likeable charisma to roles that could easily be annoying as Captain America and Black Widow respectively. There’s nothing wrong with Rush’s Chris Hemsworth performance but the character of Thor struggles with a lack of purpose without his brother Loki driving the plot.

The standouts really are Shutter Island’s Mark Ruffalo (who harnesses the power of donning motion capture to make his Hulk the best and most emotional depicted on screen) and The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner. The latter finally brings in the wise-cracking class that Hawkeye missed out on last time and re-establishes him as the everyman who rallies the team in their time of need.

There’s of coarse some new blood to shake up the lineup. The Blacklist star James Spader brings menace, malice and unnerving showmanship to Ultron, a villain distinguishing himself by being taken far more seriously. Ultron resembles and manifests every Avengers’ fear of an opponent who is more of a frightening concept of their hopelessness rather than a straight forward villain. His recruits are twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (AKA Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver). Accents aside, Wanda is an engaging, powerful character to watch tanks to the agency of Elizabeth Olsen’s first rate performance but Aaron Taylor Johnson’s Quicksilver is far less fun or interesting than the Evan Peters incarnation seen in last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the filmmakers know this.

The roster doesn’t end there. Paul Bettany expands his long running role as Stark’s digital personal assistant JARVIS into Vision, a synthetic android whose deeds will have fans raving for months to come. The likes of Samuel L Jackson, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie and Stellan Skarsgard all reprise their roles from various MCU films while Andy Serkis, Thomas Kretschmann, Linda Cardellini and Claudia Kim join the fun plus there’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em cameos from Julie Delpy, Idris Elba and more. With fifteen plus principal characters, there’s a clear flaw in messy overcrowding.

There’s a possibility that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting too big for its shoes with overpopulation and the increasing pressure to go even bigger than last time. And so its fitting that (alongside bonkers comic book spectacle) Age of Ultron thrives in its smaller moments, It’s a hilarious, extravagant, worthy sequel to a film whose cult status is only boosted by the follow up.

8/10

“The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims! But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no…wounded screams…mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and… gout.”

Weekend box-office – 9th to 15th of May 2015 – can Hulk smash the competition with Avengers 2?

Marvel’s blockbuster collaboration of franchises Avengers Assemble is the third highest grossing film ever at $1.5 billion and the established the model of a cinematic universe. Since then, Iron Man ($1.2 billion), Thor ($640 million, Captain America ($710 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy ($770 million) have all thrived but haven’t quite replicated the success of Joss Whedon’s superhero masterpiece. Last week, we predicted the film’s sequel (Age of Ultron) number one spot correctly and we’ll see quite how much it can take in its opening weekend.

US:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Director: Joss Whedon – $191 million
2. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan – $6.6 million
3. The Age of Adaline – Lee Toland Krieger – $6.2 million
4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – Andy Fickman – $5.9 million
5. Home – Tim Johnson – $3.5 million

UK:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – £8.6 million
2. Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Vinterberg – £1.5 million
3. Unfriended – Levan Gabriadze – £1.3 million
4. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan – £1.1 million
5. Home – Tim Johnson – £0.7 million

This week I’ve scored 4/10 while Age of Ultron has scored a higher opening weekend than Furious 7, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Man of Steel, Iron Man 3, and The Dark Knight Rises and is the biggest debut since the original’s $207 million haul in 2012 (retaining its all time record). The film will undoubtedly be among the top three of all time very soon. The surprise addition to the UK box office is Thomas Hardy’s Victorian drama Far From the Madding Crowd starring Carey Mulligan which has successfully provided a lucrative alternative to the blockbusters.

US:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon
2. Before I Wake – Mike Flanagan
3. Hot Pursuit – Anne Fletcher
4. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan
5. Maggie – Henry Hobson

UK:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon
2. Spooks: The Greater Good – Bharat Nalluri
3. The Age of Adaline – Lee Toland Krieger
4. Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Vinterberg
5. Unfriended – Levan Gabriadze

Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, this week’s US and UK number one.

The Avengers return in awesome new Age of Ultron posters

In one of the coolest marketing strategies of the year, Marvel have put online four incredible new posters for the IMAX release of Avengers: Age of Ultron and are putting it to the fans to vote for the best one. The first is a very retro and colourful of the team in the jaws of their new robot nemesis. Option two has the split panels similar to that of the recent Child 44 posters. Three highlights the apocalyptic destruction one might associate with The Road while four has the shredded paper style resembling one of Argo’s one sheets.

The film itself is directed by Joss Whedon (Serenity) and will star Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac), Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes), Scarlett Johansson (Her), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), James Sapder (The Blacklist), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Cobie Smudlers (How I Met Your Mother), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind), Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong), Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings) and Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Alexandre Desplat will score Rogue One and Ultron’s new Avengers 2 posters

When it was announced that JJ Abarms was directing Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens we were hoping that Michael Giacchino would be the film’s composer after the great work he did for Abrams on the latest Star Trek films as well as his achievements in Super 8, Up and The Incredibles. In the end the job, wisely, went to the original’s John Williams (Schindler’s List, Harry Potter, Jaws) but an alternative approach is being taken for the spin off Rogue One, which is already the coolest film in 2016. The film’s music comes from Alexandre Desplat, the Oscar winning maestro of The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, The King’s Speech, Argo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Tree of Life, for his Godzilla collaborator, British director Gareth Edwards. Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) will star.

Marvel have one by one been releasing character posters for their upcoming blockbuster The Avengers: Age of Ultron and now it it the turn of the titular robotic villain and his two minions, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. We’ll show them with the whole cast.

Joss Whedon (Serenity) directs the cast of Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island, Foxcatcher), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Lucy), Robert Downey Jr (Chaplin, Sherlock Holmes), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, American Hustle), Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Cabin in the Woods), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Margin Call), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene, Godzilla), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass, Nowhere Boy), Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park) and James Spader (The Blacklist).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Rogue One – December 26th 2016

Jackson, Johansson and Hemsworth in Avengers shots new Blade Runner developments

We begin today with a tip of the Starfleet Captain’s cap to Leonard Nimoy, best known as Spock – the most iconic and beloved science fiction character of all time. 1931-2015.

Another sci fi great is Ridley Scott’s android thriller Blade Runner but sadly Sott, who is still developing a sequel to Prometheus, won’t be a part of the now confirmed sequel. Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars) will reprise his role as the detective Rick Deckard but instead for the director Denis Villeneuve. The Canadian was behind the Oscar nominated Incendies and 2013’s acclaimed Hugh Jackman/Jake Gyllenhaal thriller Prisoners. Plot details are yet to emerge but we might hear some more over the coming months.

We’ve had glimpses at Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes, The Judge, Chaplin) as Iron Man and Mark Ruffalo (Now You See Me, Shutter Island, Zodiac) as Hulk but now the likes of Chris Hemsworth (Rush, In the Heart of the Sea, The Cabin in the Woods), Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin, Her, The Prestige) and Samuel L Jackson (The Incredibles, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction). We hope to see fellow Avengers Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, The Iceman, Scott Pilgrim VS The World) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, American Hustle, The Bourne Legacy).

Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Joss Whedon also helms the cast of James Spader (The Blacklist), Andy Serkis (The Hobbit), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Stellan Skarsgard (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Thomas Kretschmann (Wanted), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau) and Paul Bettany (Master and Commander, A Beautiful Mind).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Blade Runner 2 – 2017?

First look at Dave Bautista and Lea Seydoux in Spectre plus new look at Ruffalo’s Hulk

Be it Spectre, SPECTRE or S.P.E.C.T.R.E., Bond’s twenty fourth outing is attracting a lot of press attention and Empire has been tracking production from London to Berlin to the Austrian Alps. Their major new unveiling of the film kicks off in this weekend’s issue. As a sneak peak, we now have our first look at two of the film’s villains. Firstly the enforcer Hinx, played by Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista, and the mysterious doctor Madeleine Swann (Blue is the Warmest Colour star Lea Seydoux) – pictured with director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Skyfall).

This pair are working for our main villain Oberhauser, two time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Carnage). This time round, our Bond is Daniel Craig (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), our Bond girl is Monica Bellucci (Irreversible), Moneypenny is Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Ben Whishaw (Paddington) is Q and Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Harry Potter, Schindler’s List, In Bruges) is M. Rory Kinnear (The Casual Vacancy, The Imitation Game) and Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Pride) also take places on the cast.

Yesterday, we got a suited up Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) in the first character one sheet but Shutter Island, The Kids Are All Right and Foxcatcher star Mark Ruffalo dons his motion capture outfit for his Hulk close up. Banner will be posing a greater danger than ever before as the Scarlet Witch begins her mid games.

Joss Whedon (Firefly) commands the returning cast of Jeremy Renner (American Hustle, The Hurt Locker), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, The Prestige), Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Cabin in the Woods), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Stellan Skarsgard (Melancholia), Paul Bettany (Master and Commander) and Samuel L Jackson (The Incredibles) with the newbies Andy Serkis (The Hobbit), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Godzilla), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong) and James Spader (The Blacklist).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Spectre – October 23rd

Jessica Chastain joins The Hunstman, Avengers 2 character poster and new director and title for Lego Movie 2

By no means a disaster, Snow White and the Huntsman’s lukewarm commercial and critical performance led to a spanner in the works of the intended darker reboot franchise. With Kristen Stewart dropped, the spin off gained the returning cast of Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Avengers) and Charlize Theron (Monster, Prometheus) with new addition Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, The Adjustment Bureau, Looper).

The next new casting is Jessica Chastain, a two time Oscar nominated star of Zero Dark Thirty, The Help, A Most Violent Year, Lawless, The Tree of Life and Interstellar, who’s set to be playing Ravenna’s (Theron) potentially eviller sister. Were she more heroic, we’d be hoping there’s not an overplayed good/bad relationship portrayed, like Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter in Alice and Wonderland.

On the subject of future castings, the first film’s dwarves (Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Johnny Harris, Ian McShane and the late Bob Hoskins) have ruled themselves out and Sam Claflin’s (The Hunger Games’ Finnick) won’t have much to do without his romantic interest. Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) writes for first time director Cedric Nicolas Troyan.

We were disappointed when Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the team of 21/22 Jump Street and the BAFTA winning animation smash hit The Lego Movie, announced that, while they are still writing the latter’s sequel, they’re handing over the director’s keys. We’re now slightly relieved to hear that it’ll be in the hands of Emmy winner Rob Schrab, part of the team of the immensely popular Community. It’s also confirmed to be titled the simple and ingenious The Lego Movie Sequel.

The sequel will likely star Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Elizabeth Banks (The 40 Year Old Virgin), Will Ferrell (Anchorman), Will Arnett (Bojack Horseman) and Liam Neeson (Batman Begins, Taken).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron opened in a big way yesterday with its major one sheet poster. Joss Whedon’s (Serenity) team are kicking off a new character poster series with a shot of a very worried looking Tony Stark. The painted “A” We’ll soon be seeing similar glimpses at Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson), Vision (Paul Bettany), Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Ultron (James Spader).

Age of Ultron will also star Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong), Stellan Skarsgard (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

The Huntsman – April 22nd 2016

The Lego Movie Sequel – 2018

Avengers 2 poster, Blomkamp directing new Alien and Boyhood, Kingsman, Interstellar and Imitation Game rule Empire Awards

Neill Blomkamp has been busy giving sci-fi and the South African film industry a good name with the Best Picture nominated District 9, the Matt Damon-starring Elysium and his new thriller Chappie but he was secretly developing ideas for a new Alien film. When the bold concept art was released it showcased a brilliant insight of the project he’d envisioned and the acclaim it received has sparked some level of interest. The Johannesburg-born filmmaker’s Alien instalment has been officially commissioned in addition to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel. Details such as a release date or cast are yet to be confirmed but we might see appearance from Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley (Maleficent, Powers) or a return for Sigourney Weaver (Avatar, The Cabin in the Woods) AKA Ripley.

Birdman, Boyhood, Still Alice and Whiplash took centre stage at the Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes in the past few months but the Empire Awards are set to amalgamate the mainstream and the arthouse in their public-voted awards. Previous winners include The Bourne Ultimatum, Men in Black Seven, Skyfall, Inception and Gravity. Click here for the voting while you can admire all of the nominees below.

Best Film:

The Imitation Game
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Boyhood

Best Director:

Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Matt Reeves – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

Best Actress:

Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina

Jameson Best Actor:

Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best British Film:

The Imitation Game
Paddington
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Under the Skin
The Theory of Everything

Best Thriller:

The Imitation Game
Gone Girl
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Locke

Best Comedy:

The Inbetweeners 2
Paddington
The Lego Movie
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Horror:

The Guest
Oculus
The Babadook
Annabelle
Under the Skin

Best Sci-fi/Fantasy:

Guardians of the Galaxy
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Interstellar

Best Female Newcomer:

Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)
Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Essie Davis (The Babadook)
Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service)
Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle, Beyond the Lights, Jupiter Ascending)

Best Male Newcomer:

Jack O’Connell (Unbroken, ’71, Starred Up)
Dan Stevens (The Guest, A Walk Among the Tombstones)
Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Testament of Youth)
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)
Daniel Huttlestone (Into the Woods)

Here’s the leaderboard:

The Imitation Game – 6
Dawn of the Planet if the Apes, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Kingsman: The Secret Service – 4
Boyhood, Gone Girl, Interstellar, The Theory of Everything – 3
The Babadook, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Guest, Oculus, Paddington, Under the Skin, X-Men: Days of Future Past – 2

Finally today, we have the first major poster of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, tipped to be the biggest blockbuster of 2015. Joss Whedon (Serenity, Toy Story, The Cabin in the Woods) directs the cast of Robert Downey Jr (The Judge), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Jeremy Renner (American Hustle), Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Don Cheadle (Crash), James Spader (The Blacklist), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist), Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting), Andy Serkis (The Hobbit) and Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Alien 5 – 2017?

The 2015 Preview Issue

2015 is the new 2012 (The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall, The Hunger Games, The Hobbit), which itself was the new 1999 (The Sixth Sense, The Phantom Menace, The Matrix, Two Story 2). Its releases should not only be huge financial successes but promise to be delightful watches as well. Here’s what we reckon will be topping the year’s box office in twelve months time.

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Director: Joss Whedon – $1.7 billion
2. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens – JJ Abrams – $1.4 billion
3. Spectre – Sam Mendes – $1.2 billion
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – $925 million
5. Furious 7 – James Wan – $875 million
6. Minions – Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin – $800 million
7. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – $775 million
8. Inside Out – Pete Docter – $725 million
9. Mission: Impossible 5 – Christopher McQuarrie – $700 million
10. Ant-Man – Peyton Reed – $675 million
11. The Good Dinosaur – Peter Sohn – $625 million
12. Ted 2 – Seth MacFarlane – $600 million
13. Terminator Genisys – Alan Taylor – $575 million
14. The Fantastic Four – Josh Trank – $550 million
15. Tomorrowland – Brad Bird – $525 million

We reckon The Avengers sequel will edge Star Wars seeing as the former series’ commercial success is actually growing. Pixar’s double-billed return to original storytelling with Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur should score them impressively but Minions will triumph on the animation front. The only other original work we expect to see doing well is sci-fi adventure Tomorrowland. The race in the new crop of reboots will be won by Jurassic World, beating off competition from Terminator and Fantastic Four. Close to gracing the Top 15 will be sequels to YA franchises (The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials, Insurgent) and there might be an upset for Chris Columbus/Adam Sandler comedy Pixels and Joe Wright/Hugh Jackman fantasy adventure Pan. Should it finally get a major release, The Interview may well be a smash hit.

Now here are our top twenty to one most anticipated releases of the year.

20) The Fantastic Four

Director: Josh Trank
Writers: Josh Trank, Simon Kinberg, Jeremy Slater, TS Nowlin
Starring: Miles Teller, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara, Michael B Jordan, Toby Kebbell
Premise: For a very long time, next to nothing had been revealed about Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot. Star Wars took a similar approach and that sent fans running wild with speculation but no such hype surrounded the FF, exposing a serious lack of interest. Still, Chronicle’s Trank is a promising hope and the the high-end castings of Teller (Whiplash), Bell (Bill Elliot), Mara (House of Cards), Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and Jordan (Fruitvale Station) ought to liven things up.
Release: August 6th

19) Everest

Director: Baltasar Kormakur
Writers: William Nicholson, Mark Medoff, Justin Isbell, Lem Dobbs, Simon Beaufoy
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Robin Wright, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki, John Hawkes, Emily Watson
Premise: An absolute first-rate cast from two teams who embark on an expedition to the peak of the world’s highest mountain, where they also face the world’s toughest terrain. The stills so far reveal some spectacular drama.
Release: October 2nd

18) Mission: Impossible 5

Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Drew Pearce, Will Staples
Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Alec Baldwin, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Ving Rhames
Premise: It’s hard to get excited when all we have to go on is a few on-set snaps but we can still expect a high-end spectacle of action. Uniting Cruise and McQuarrie (star/writer of Edge of Tomorrow) is a solid move and the returning cast of Ghost Protocol (Pegg, Renner, Patton) hints at more franchise continuity than before.
Release: December 26th

17) The Man From UNCLE

Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Guy Ritchie, Lionel Wigram, Jeff Kleeman, David Campbell Wilson
Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Debicki, Jared Harris
Premise: Bond and Hunt are both set in stone in their nationalities but spy reboot The Man From UNCLE pitches a teaming up of the American Napoleon Solo (Cavill) and the Russian Illya Kuryakin (Hammer). With Sherlock Holmes/Snatch director Guy Ritchie helming it ought to be a truly gripping thriller.
Release: August 14th

16) Child 44

Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writers: Richard Price
Starring: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Paddy Considine, Jason Clarke, Dev Patel, Joel Kinnaman, Charles Dance
Premise: In Stalin-era Soviet Union, a detective investigates a series of murder, the complication is that the state believes crime doesn’t exist. The cast alone is enough of a reason to get interested and Daniel Espinosa proved his action credentials in Safe House.
Release: April 17th

15) Minions

Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
Writer: Brian Lynch
Starring: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton
Premise: There are very few well favoured comedy spin offs but the first trailer for Despicable Me’s spawn the Minions looked promising.
Release: June 26th

14) Untitled Steven Spielberg Cold War Project

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Matt Charman, Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring: Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Mark Rylance
Premise: We know nothing more than the title suggests but another collaboration between Spielberg (Jaws, ET, AI, Minority Report, Schindler’s List, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park) and Hanks (Forrest Gump, Captain Phillips, Cast Away, The Green Mile, Road to Perdition) is a huge attention grabber. The pair’s previous collaborations are Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal and Saving Private Ryan.
Release: October 9th

13) Chappie

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writers: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel, Sigourney Weaver
Premise: The director of District 9 takes on a slightly more light hearted venture as Chappie, a discarded robotic cop, us taken under the wing of a group of scientists who teach it. Soon, others realise that Chappie is potentially dangerous.
Release: March 6th

12) The Walk

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Christopher Browne
Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale
Premise: As chronicled in the Oscar winning documentary Man on Wire, stuntman Philippe Petit begins his ultimate accomplishment by wire walking from one Twin Tower to the other. This is the first teaming up of the duo Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Cast Away) and Joseph Gordon Levitt (Looper, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception).
Release: October 2nd

11) Ant-Man

Director; Peyton Reed
Writers: Gabriel Ferrari, Andrew Barrer, Adam McKay, Edgar Wright
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Judy Greer

10) Inside Out

Director: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
Writers: Michael Arndt, Pete Docter
Starring: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Lane
Premise: Pixar’s second release of 2015 is the brilliantly madcap concept of emotions, symbolised as the characters above, controlling the emotions within our mind. Unlike The Good Dinosaur, this has a Pixar regular, Pete Docter (Monsters Inc, Up), at the helm as well as Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt.
Release: July 24th

9) Jurassic World

Director: Colin Trevorrow
Writers: Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Omar Sy, Judy Greer, Jake Johnson, Vincent D’Onofrio
Premise: We’re well prepared for a sequel that won’t live up to the original’s same magic. Still, Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) and his new set of leads – Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Howard (The Help), Robinson (The Kings of Summer) and Simpkins (Insidious) – look set to give a fresh rebranding.
Release: June 12th

8) Tomorrowland

Director: Brad Bird
Writers: Damon Lindelof, Brad Bird
Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Judy Greer
Premise: One f the year’s most secretive releases comes from Pixar protogee Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) and, while it is a fairly original prospect, it’s in fact roughly based upon Walt Disney’s own bright and bold vision of the future.
Release: May 22nd

7) Mad Max: Fury Road

Director: George Miller
Writers: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Zoe Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult
Premise: Pleasing the die hard fans of the original will be a tough task but the footage so far revealed for this sequel is phenomenal. It’ll be massively entertaining to see Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Locke) in a rawer action role.
Release: May 15th

6) The Martian

Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Drew Goddard
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessican Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kirsten Wiig, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean
Premise: The film’s tone, either epic or dramatic, has yet to have been established but it sees Damon’s astronaut stranded on the red planet. Still, we’re immediately excited to see what legendary Brit director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Black Hawk Dawn, Alien, Blade Runner) can bring next.
Release: November 27th

5) Spectre

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: John Logan, Neil Purvis, Robert Wade
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jesper Christensen
Premise: After Skyfall became one of the undisputedly great Bond films (rivalling Dr No, Goldfinger, GoldenEye and Casino Royale) and its follow up is hoping to be just as successful. In this new adventure, Bond (Craig) tracks a mysterious signal from a previous mission and finds a secret organisation, led by Waltz’s Oberhauser.
Release: October 23rd

4) In the Heart of the Sea

Director: Ron Howard
Writers: Charles Leavitt, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Charlotte Riley, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson
Premise: Fresh off of smash hit racing drama Rush, Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind) returns with a period thriller based on the true story that inspire Moby Dick. Hemsworth’s whaling crew are stranded in the see for weeks on end as the most fearsome whale they have ever witnessed haunts them. The trailer is awesome, terrifying and truly monstrous.
Release: March 13th

3) Crimson Peak

Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Writers: Guillermo Del Toro, Matthew Robbins, Lucinda Coxon
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, Doug Jones, Burn Gorman
Premise: The masterful Mexican Del Toro, director of Pan’s Labyrinth and Pacific Rim/writer of The Hobbit trilogy, returns to properly gothic horror as aspiring author Edith Cushing (Wasikowska) moves into a new home with her sinister new husband Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston). If it’s what it promises to be, we could have a chilling masterpiece on our hands.
Release: October 16th

2) The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, James Spader, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Samuel L Jackson, Andy Serkis, Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle, Stellan Skarsgard, Hayley Atwell, Thomas Kretschmann
Premise: Stark’s robot peacekeeping program gets out of hand as his creation begins its own global dominations. Marvel’s other properties (Inhumans and Doctor Strange) are being set up elsewhere but this is sowing the seeds of Civil War, Black Panther and Infinity War. Still Whedon’s superhero sequel will be darker, bolder, bigger and better.
Release: April 24th

1) Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens

Director: JJ Abrams
Writers: JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Warwick Davis, Christina Chong, Iko Uwais, Maisie Richardson Sellers
Premise: Besides the setting (30 years on from Return of the Jedi) we know almost nothing but how could anything else be number one? Perhaps it would have been lower down before that trailer landed but it just blew 90% of our worries out the water. We’re equally terrified and excited to what JJ will produce. Others may be surefire hits but this is the one we hope for the most.
Release: December 18th