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.

Weekend box-office – 13th to 19th of June 2015 – Entourage vs espionage: will Spy debut well?

Actress Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig began their winning partnership with 2011’s unexpected smash hit rom-com Bridesmaids ($288 million) – also starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd and Jon Hamm – and they returned in Sandra Bullock-starring cop comedy The Heat ($229 million). They’re even behind next year’s Ghostbusters reboot but for now we have action caper Spy, whose cast of McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne and Jude Law have whipped up critical acclaim. The competition: horror sequel Insidious Chapter 3 and spin-off of HBO comedy show Entourage. Last week, we predicted Spy would top the box office.

US:

1. Spy – Director: Paul Feig – $29.1 million
2. San Andreas – Brad Peyton – $25.8 million
3. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell – $22.7 million
4. Entourage – Doug Ellin – $10.3 million
5. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – $7.8 million

UK:

1. Spy – Paul Feig – £2.6 million
2. San Andreas – Brad Peyton – £2 million
3. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell – £1.4 million
4. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – £0.8 million
5. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – £0.7 million

Spy has had a fine entry at $30 million where as Insidious pales in comparison to its more star-studded predecessors. Entourage has disappointed but that might be a reflection of HBO’s outrage-provoking risks now working in cinemas (their Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra – with Michael Douglas, Matt Damon and Rob Lowe – got a UK audience but was pulled off US screens). This might put a damper on those Game of Thrones movie rumours.

The UK release to watch out for is Secret Cinema’s screening of The Empire Strikes Back in an immersive experience recreating Hoth Echo Base. The company’s previous screenings include The Third Man, The Shawshank Redemption, Brazil and a Back to the Future themed recreation of Hill Valley. It took £300,000 from just one site. This week I’ve scored 5/10.

US:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
2. Spy – Paul Feig
3. San Andreas – Brad Peyton
4. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell
5. Entourage – Doug Ellin

UK:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
2. Spy – Paul Feig
3. San Andreas – Brad Peyton
4. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell
5. London Road – Rufus Norris

Melissa McCarthy in Spy, this week’s US and UK number one.

The 2015 Super-Bowl Special – Jurassic World, Terminator 5, Insurgent, Furious 7 and more!

America’s biggest sporting event attracts America’s biggest crowd (around 100 million viewers). The Super-Bowl Sunday’s Phoenix setting saw a showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots but we’re a bit more focused on those movie exclusives showcased inbetween. With this audience, film studios are willing to dish out $8 million per sixty seconds of advertising. Firstly:

Film: Terminator Genisys
Director: Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, Matt Smith, JK Simmons
Premise: He’s back. In the new timeline, Kyle Reese travel back in time to discover that Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and T-800 (Schwarzenegger) have long been fighting the machines.
Release: July 3rd

Film: Insurgent
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Zoe Kravitz, Octavia Spencer
Premise: Divergent’s sequel gets a Matrix-style revamp sees Tris (Woodley) preventing all out chaos in her dystopian future.
Release: March 20th

Film: Furious 7
Director: James Wan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Djimon Hounsou, Kurt Russell
Premise: Deckard Shaw (Staham) is out for revenge on the gang. Watch the trailer and you may well have found the best stunt of 2015
Release: April 3rd

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Film: Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Judy Greer, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Lauran Lapkus, Omar Sy
Premise: The park is finally open but an attempt to breed a new species, Indominus Rex, goes disastrously.
Release: June 12th

Film: Tomorrowland
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie
Premise: Walt Disney’s vision of a secret metropolis (where science can do the work of miracles) comes to life.
Release: May 22nd

Film: Seventh Son
Director: Sergei Bodrov
Starring: Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Kit Harrington, Alicia Vikander, Djimon Hounsou, Olivia Williams, Antje Traue
Premise: Local hermit and magician Gregory (Bridges) recruits the young Thomas (Barnes) to battle the evil Malkin (Moore)
Release: March 27th

Film: Inside Out
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
Starring: Kaitlyn Dias, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan
Premise: Pixar explores the literally conflicting emotions inside the head of a young girl as she moves across the country.
Release: July 24th

Various releases (Ant-Man, San Andreas, Chappie, Avengers 2) missed out on cashing in on this advertising goldmine but we still look forward to seeing them soon.

Paul Walker in new Fast 7 picture and MacConaughey and Hathaway in new Intestellar stills

The world of film suffered a great loss late last year after the tragic death of Fast and Furious’ Paul Walker. The production of Fast 7 is attempting as best they can to do justice to his final role. Co-star Vin Diesel has now tweeted a picture of the of the few scenes that Walker did film, offering the full insight at the film. James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring) directs series regulars Paul Walker (Flags of Our Fathers), Vin Diesel (Riddick, Guardians of the Galaxy), Dwayne Johnson (The Scorpion King), Michelle Rogriguez (Avatar), Tyrese Gibson (Transformers) and Jordana Brewster (Dallas) and newcomers Jason Statham (The Transporter), Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator) and Kurt Russell (The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China).

The week-long promotion of epic sci-fi mystery Interstellar has come to an end but this month the film is the subject of this month’s issue of Empire who’ve debuted a set of new stills from the film. Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception, Memento, The Prestige) directs the cast of Matthew MacConaughey (True Detective), Jessica Chastain (Tree of Life), Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Matt Damon (Saving Private Ryan), Michael Caine (Zulu), David Oyelowo (Jack Reacher), John Lithgow (Terms of Endearment), Wes Bentley (The Hunger Games), Ellen Bursytn (The Exorcist) and Bill Irwin as TARS.

Interstellar – November 7th

Fast and Furious 7 – April 3rd 2015

Toby Kebbell cast as Fantastic Four’s Doctor Doom and Stallone, Statham, Schwarzenegger, Snipes and more in Expendables 3 posters

The recent trend of having a dozen character banners for a blockbuster hasn’t taken a new twist today. Normally, each poster’s unveiling is staggered up to the release but ensemble action sequel The Expendables 3 has taken the risky step of going for every member of the giant cast all at once. It’d be pretty extensive work to publish them all so we’re only going to unveil a quick sample but you can enjoy all of the cast here. The film features Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes, Kelsey Grammer, Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Victor Ortiz and Glen Powell. Red Hill’s Patrick Hughes directs.

It’s fair to say that Fox have missed out on a major opportunity to cast Dredd and About Time’s brilliant Domhnall Gleeson, who was rumoured alongside Eddie Redmayne and Sam Riley, as Doctor Doom. The Fantastic Four’s nemesis has been confirmed to be portrayed by The Counsellor and Dead Man Shoes star Toby Kebbell. We shouldn’t judge too quickly; Kebbell will be raising his profile with major roles in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Warcraft. The four titular superheroes will be played by Michael B Jordan, Kate Mara, Miles Teller and Jamie Bell and are directed by Chronicle’s Josh Trank.

The Expendables 3 – August 15th

The Fantastic Four – June 18th 2015

Samuel L Jackson talks Incredibles 2, Fast and Furious changes gear and Fantastic Beasts will be a trilogy

The tragic death of Paul Walker brought grief to the whole film industry. The production of action sequel Fast and Furious 7 was greatly set back as Walker has always been at the centre of the series. Rewrites and major plot changes had to take place before filming could restart but Instagram have confirmed that the second part of production has begun.

The new instalment sees the team under attack from the vengeful Ian Shaw, brother of Fast 6’s villain. The film reunites Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Paul Walker, Lucas Black and Michelle Rodriguez and introduces to the series Ronda Rousey, Kurt Russell, Djimon Hounsou and Jason Statham. The ensemble is directed by horror legend James Wan, the man behind Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring.

Pixar recently established that Brad Bird is working on a sequel to the brilliant animation The Incredibles. Out of all the ensemble cast, the superpowered family (Craig T Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox) are the most rememberable, as well as the scene stealing Syndrome, Edna Mode and Jack Jack. It’s easy to forget Frozone, played by Pulp Fiction, Avengers Assemble, Django Unchained, Star Wars and Jurassic Park’s Samuel L Jackson, although he has the best line in the film:

“Honey, where is my super suit?”

While on the press tour for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Samuel L Jackson answered Digital Spy’s questions on his involvement with the sequel. “Every time I run into Brad, he always tells me Frozone is part of what’s going on, so I have to believe that. I guess they could be the Incredibles without Frozone, but I think Frozone would be a wonderful addition to what’s already there.”

The Harry Potter franchise ended with a bang in 2011 but we recently discovered that the book’s author JK Rowling wasn’t quite ready to leave Harry’s world for good. She’s writing the screenplay for the mock textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them but the story may go further than that.

“As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, Fantastic Beasts is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world.” That’s Rowling’s pitch for the film which is now set to become a trilogy, which we know to be set in New York seventy years before the events of Harry Potter.

This explains why Rowling was appointed originally. If they plan to make three films from a remarkably thin and plotless book then they need Rowling to ensure authenticity in the series, which’ll probably see magical zoologist Newt Scamander travelling the globe the discover the secrets of the world’s most fearsome and mysterious beasts.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – 2017?

The Incredibles 2 – 2018?

Fast and Furious 7 – April 10th 2015

Results for Eddies and ADGAs and Ed Skrein is the new Transporter

It was recently reported that Jason Statham’s The Mechanic was to be issued a sequel with he as the main star once more. Now, another confirmation has come in stating that another Statham franchise was to be rebooted with a new star!

The Transporter trilogy is probably the Stath’s most iconic and well known performance, alongside Crank, Switch and Lock Stock, and is probably his best selling, with the blockbusting third instalment boosting the series total to about $220 million, but he’s not to be included in the new prequel/reboot. Variety has confirmed that Ed Skrein will be replacing Statham as the younger Frank Martin in an origin tale. The London born Skrein is notably fastened into the hard-edged, gangster role after his work on Ill Manors and The Sweeney as well as playing Daar Naharis in Game of Thrones. The producers’, among them Luc Besson, next stop will be hiring a director.

A win in Best Editing can always be a sign for a Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards. Nearly all of the awards focus this year has been on visually stunning, space-set epic Gravity and period drama of struggle and injustice 12 Years a Slave. However, the American Cinema Editing Awards (or Eddies) have announced three surprising winners. Best Editing in Drama was received by Paul Greengrass’ electrifying hostage thriller Captain Phillips and Best Editing in Comedy was won by David O’Russell’s star studded gangster tale American Hustle. Best Editing in Animation went to Disney’s family fantasy adventure Frozen, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Meanwhile at the Art Directors Guild for Excellence in Production Design awards went to cyber love story Her and Baz Luhrmann’s exuberant, jazz-age drama The Great Gatsby.

Transporter/The Transporter/Transporter 4 – 2017?

Bettany cast as Marvel’s Vision and Statham signs on for Mechanic 2

Paul Bettany is perhaps an actor who works best in a supporting role. He picked up a BAFTA nominee for his work on Master and Commander and gained critical acclaim for Margin Call and A Beautiful Mind but his two main lead roles, Priest and Legion were both disastrous. He’s not best known for it but his biggest claim to fame is as the voice of Tony Stark’s AI Jarvis in Marvel’s Iron Man and Avengers films. It’s now apparent that JARVIS’ role will be extended to that of legendary Marvel hero Vision for Joss Whedon’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Vision is an android created by Ultron (James Spader), a creation of Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), to help him in the quest for cyber dominance. Anything more about the character could potentially spoil some of Age of Ultron’s twists and turns but, in some comic book iterations, he gets married to Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). The film also stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Samuel L Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Don Cheadle (Iron Patriot), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Quicksilver) and Thomas Kretschmann (Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker). With a casting nailed in, can we suggest Vision as a Marvel solo movie in for 2017? It may have to compete with Cap 3, Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for the two coveted spots.

Jason Statham action vehicle The Mechanic was released in 2011 and, while it was particularly groundbreaking, it did receive a decent reception. Three years on, it’s transpired that Statham (Transporter, The Expendables, Hummingbird) is in line for the sequel. The film is yet to get a greenlight from the studios but his presence should convince the money men. Dennis Gansel, acclaimed German director of Before the Fall and The Wave, has been announced to be directed the sequel too.

Vision – 2017?

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – May 1st 2015

The Mechanic 2 – 2016?

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

SPECTRE and Blofeld could return in Bond 24, new pic from Fast and Furious 7 and update on Deadpool

Click here to find the new still of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the new action sequel Fast and Furious 7. He plays hero Lucas Hobbs in the new instalment which sees the team seeking revenge on the murderous Ian Shaw. Joining The Rock, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker and Lucas Black is Jason Statham who’ll act as the franchise rebooter, as the Rock did in 2011. James Wan, The Conjuring, Saw, will be taking over directing duties from series regular Justin Lin.

The on-and-off story of a solo film for superpowered mutant Wade Wilson, or Deadpool, has now taken a new twist. The two pioneers in the production of the X-Men prequel are star Ryan Reynolds and potential director Tim Miller. “We will never give up!” Miller raved to Clever Movies. “Deadpool is still alive and we’re just waiting for the studio to embrace what an amazingly awesome film this would be. Ryan is ready, I am ready, the fans are more than ready, we just need that elusive green light!” Meanwhile, Reynolds told Yahoo that “Within the last couple of weeks we’ve taken a few very, very small tiptoes forward.”

There’s been the elusive Silva (Skyfall), the iconic Jaws (Moonraker) and the unforgettably powerful performance by Mads Mikkelson as Le Chiffre (Casino Royal). Despite these, and many more, excellent Bond villains (Dr No and Goldfinger were title characters) the most influential and best known is Ernst Stavro Blofeld. He had small appearances as SPECTRE’s mysterious string puller in From Russia With Love and Thunderball before he stepped into centre stage in You Only Live Twice. That was followed by roles in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever and For Your Eyes Only. Besides Bond parodies, we haven’t seen Blofeld on the big screen for thirty years so a return is overdue.

Now into the story walks the incoming sequel to James Bond/Sam Mendes’/Daniel Craig’s $1 billion smash hit Skyfall. Craig, Mendes, Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes are expected to return but Blofeld and/or SPECTRE could be joining them. They’ve rolled M and Moneypenny into place so Blofeld seems like the next logical step for the yet untitled Bond 24. They could of coarse plot an epic storyline spanning over Bonds 24 and 25, both of which we can confirm to be in production. This rumour comes out of the fact that MGM just acquired several rights, including SPECTRE, from games company Danjaq.

So far, the current casting favourites are Bryan Cranston, Kevin Spacey and Mark Strong but that’s the same list everyone drew up for Lex Luther in Batman/Superman and a Star Trek Next Generation reboot. Mendes needs to find someone who we wouldn’t think of first just because their bold. He needs a great Blofeld, even if they don’t look the job.

Bond 24 – October 23rd 2015

Bond 25 – 2017?

Fast and Furious 7 – July 25th 2014

Deadpool – 2016?