Every James Bond film ranked from best to worst

With Spectre (the twenty fourth Bond film) coming soon, we felt it was time to rank each instalment so far, starting at the worst.

23) Octopussy (1983)

Director: John Glen
Starring: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jordan
Box-office: $183 million
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 42%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: “All Time High” by Rita Coolidge
Summary: Moore’s Bond embraces camp with horrifically formulaic results.

22) Diamonds are Forever (1971)

Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Sean Connery, Jill St John, Charles Gray
Box-office: $116 million
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 65%
Oscar noms: 1 (Sound)
Song: Diamonds are Forever by Shirley Bassey
Summary: A bitterly disappointing end to Connery’s time in the role that foreshadowed the direction that his replacement Moore would take.

21) Die Another Day (2002)

Director: Lee Tamahori
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike
Box-office: $431 million
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 57%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: Die Another Day by Madonna
Summary: If it hadn’t already been proved that sci-fi was a bad move for Bond, this may have been forgivable.

20) Moonraker (1979)

Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Richard Kiel
Box-office: $210 million
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 62%
Oscar noms: 1 (Visual Effects)
Song: Moonraker by Shirley Bassey
Summary: Catching the fever of mega-hit Star Wars, space wasn’t the start of a new Bond frontier. Also, it ruined Jaws.

19) For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Director: John Glen
Starring: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Julian Glover
Box-office: $194 million
IMDb/RT: 6.8/10 – 73%
Oscar noms: 1 (Original Song)
Song: For Your Eyes Only by Sheena Easton
Summary: Trying to reapproach the series’ roots only ended up with one of the weakest and unmemorable instalments.

18) The World is Not Enough (1999)

Director: Michael Apted
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards
Box-office: $361 million
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 51%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: The World is Not Enough by Garbage
Summary: Decently well crafted action but the over-sexualisation starts to become too creepy for the turn of the century.

17) A View to a Kill (1985)

Director: John Glen
Starring: Roger Moore, Grace Jones, Christopher Walken
Box-office: $152 million
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 36%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: A View to a Kill by Duran Duran
Summary: Walken shines and the Golden Gate Bridge sequence is thrilling but the premise (destroying Silicon Valley with an earthquake) is too much.

16) Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Pryce
Box-office: $333 million
IMDb/RT: 6.5/10 – 57%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: Tomorrow Never Dies by Sheryl Crow
Summary: Slightly more grounded but oddly flat and impersonal.

15) Licence to Kill (1989)

Director: John Glen
Starring: Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi
Box-office: $156 million
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 76%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: Licence to Kill by Gladys Knight
Summary: Some significantly darker moments but sometimes dull and cliched.

14) You Only Live Twice (1967)

Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Sean Connery, Donald Pleasance, Mie Hama
Box-office: $111 million
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 72%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: You Only Live Twice by Nancy Sinatra
Summary: Writer Roald Dahl applies some imagination in gadgetry to Fleming’s work and without some of the more ridiculous moments we’d never have Dr Evil.

13) Live and Let Die (1973)

Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Roger Moore, Jane Seymour, Yaphet Kotto
Box-office: $161 million
IMDb/RT: 6.8/10 – 66%
Oscar noms: 1 (Song)
Song: Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney and Wings
Summary: An entertaining adventure bogged down by date racial overtones.

12) The Living Daylights (1987)

Director: John Glen
Starring: Timothy Dalton, Maryam D’Abo, John Rhys Davies
Box-office: $191 million
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 75%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: The Living Daylights by A-ha
Summary: The grittier elements are welcome but lack’s Connery’s style.

11) The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland
Box-office: $97 million
IMDb/RT: 6.8/10 – 46%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: The Man with the Golden Gun by Lulu
Summary: Late great Christopher Lee steals the show as the titular marksman.

10) Quantum of Solace (2008)

Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric
Box-office: $586 million
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 64%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: Another Way to Die by Jack White and Alicia Keys
Summary: It comes across as blunt sometimes but we can appreciate the grim intentions.

9) The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Richard Kiel
Box-office: $185 million
IMDb/RT: 7.1/10 – 78%
Oscar noms: 3 (Art Direction, Song, Score)
Song: Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon
Summary: The lighter moments are made all the more charming by some genuine suspense from Jaws, cinema’s most iconic henchman

8) From Russia with Love (1963)

Director: Terence Young
Starring: Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Robert Shaw
Box-office: $78 million
IMDb/RT: 7.5/10 – 96%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: From Russia with Love by Matt Monro
Summary: Bond evolves into a Hitchcockian euro-caper with serious action.

7) Dr No (1962)

Director: Terence Young
Starring: Sean Connery, Joseph Wiseman, Ursula Andress
Box-office: $59 million
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 98%
Oscar noms: 0
Summary: The first ever Bond set an exciting and iconic foundation for the franchise.

6) GoldenEye (1995)

Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen
Box-office: $352 million
IMDb/RT: 7.2/10 – 82%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: GoldenEye by Tina Turner
Summary: A playful and action packed debut for Brosnan (form that he didn’t keep up in later films).

5) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Director: Peter Hunt
Starring: George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas
Box-office: $64 million
IMDb/RT: 6.8/10 – 81%
Oscar noms: 0
Song: We Have all the Time in the World by Louis Armstrong
Summary: The re-casting and controversially brutal ending infuriated fans at the time. Sadly, Lazenby was never truly given the time to become Bond but – on a technical level – OHMSS is one of the series’ best.

4) Thunderball (1965)

Director: Terence Young
Starring: Sean Connery, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi
Box-office: $141 million
IMDb/RT: 7.0/10 – 85%
Oscar noms: 1 (winning Visual Effects)
Song: Thunderball by Tom Jones
Summary: The underwater sequences may have aged but the film’s design and creativity remains stunning.

3) Skyfall (2012)

Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Berenice Marlohe
Box-office: $1.108 billion
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 92%
Oscar noms: 5 (Cinematography, Score, winning Song) – 8 BAFTAs (Supporting Actor/Actress, winning British film)
Song: Skyfall by Adele
Summary: Oscar winner Sam Mendes’ take on Bond was bold, provocative and suspenseful with series best performances from Craig and Bardem

2) Goldfinger (1964)

Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Gert Frobe
Box-office: $124 million
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 96%
Oscar noms: 1 (winning Sound)
Song: Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey
Summary: Stylish and inspired, Goldfinger remains one of the most masterful thrillers of all time.

1) Casino Royale (2006)

Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelson
Box-office: $600 million
IMDb/RT: 8.0/10 – 95%
Oscar noms: 0 – BAFTAs 8 (Actor, Editing, Cinematography, Screenplay, British Film)
Song: You Know My Name by Chris Cornell
Summary: The Dark Knight of Bond, it’s a slick, dynamic gut-punch of an action flick that could have been very different: Quentin Tarantino nearly, considered for Vesper Lynd were Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron and Audrey Tautou while Bond was almost Karl Urban, Sam Worthington or Henry Cavill.

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

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

Pixar!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next up…

Disney Animation!

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

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

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

Following that was…

Disney live action (aka Worlds, Galaxies and Universes)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marvel

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

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

Star Wars

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

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

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

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

Brolin and Clooney join Hail Caesar, Sigourney Weaver confirmed for Avatar 2 and Saldana stars in new Guardians poster

Three sequels have been confirmed for the brilliant cult sci-fi phenomenon Avatar, the highest grossing film of all time at $2.8 billion. We weren’t at all shocked to find Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation, Clash of Titans) and Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness, Guardians of the Galaxy) to be reprising their roles of Jake Sully and Neytiri but a big shock came when Stephen Lang (Gettysburg, The Men Who Stare at Goats) was announced to be returning as the villainous Colonel Quaritch. We’re now even more confused now that three time Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver (Aliens, Ghostbusters, Galaxy Quest) has been confirmed to appear in Avatar 2.

Returning (three time Oscar winner) director James Cameron (Titanic, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, True Lies, The Abyss) explains how but beware that this paragraph does contain spoilers for the first film, for the eight people who haven’t seen it. “Sigourney and I have a long creative history, dating back to 1985 when we made Aliens. We’re good friends who’ve always worked well together, so it just feels right that she’s coming back for the Avatar sequels. Her character of Grace Augustine, as fans know, died in the first movie, so she’s playing a different and in many ways more challenging character in the upcoming films. We’re both looking forward to this new creative challenge, the latest chapter in our long and continuing collaboration.” There’s no hint who Weaver will be playing but I’d bet on a personification of Mother Eywa, the mother nature of Pandora.

The phenomenal writing\directing duo of Joel and Ethan Coen has brought us numerous cult classics, True Grit, A Serious Man, Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Man Who Wasn’t There, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Big Lebowski, Fargo and No Country For Old Men to name just a few of their works. There’s now an understandable amount of hype for their new noir comedy Hail Caesar which seems to be roping in previous Coen starrers. O Brother/Intolerable Cruelty’s George Clooney (also known for Oceans, Gravity, The Descendants, Up in the Air and Syriana) and True Grit/No Country’s Josh Brolin (The Goonies, Milk, W., American Gangster) have been confirmed as part of the cast. All we’d need now is Jeff Briges, Javier Bardem and Frances McDormand and we’d have a full on Coen reunion, unlikely though.

Finally today we’ve got the second character banner for Marvel’s upcoming space adventure Guardians of the Galaxy which today features the silent green assassin Gamora. We’ll bring up the full gallery at the end of the week. James Gunn (Super, Slither) directs the cast of Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, John C Reilly, Glenn Close, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin.

Guardians of the Galaxy – July 31st

Avatar 2 – December 2016

Hail Caesar – 2015

Gal Gadot elaborates DC contract, Hedlund hooked for Pan and first poster for Hunger Games: Mockingjay

You’ve probably heard the recent news that Zack Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman has been delayed into 2016. The sequel to Man of Steel, as well as featuring Henry Cavill, Diane Lane, Amy Adams and Laurence Fishburne, will see the debuts as Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and may introduce Jason Momoa and Joaquin Phoenix. However, Gadot’s (Fast and Furious’ Giselle) role is today’s focus. Speaking to Israeli, her home country’s, press, she announced that she’s signed a three movie deal, which sparked a lot of speculation.

We predict that this trio of pictures will begin in 2016 before moving on to an Avengers style teamup in 2018 before Wonder Woman, so long as Gadot’s portrayal is popular, could receive her own spinoff. You may think that this is a little far fetched considering the latter of the trilogy could be as far off as 2020 but bare in mind that, last year, Robert Downey Jr signed a deal for Avengers 2 (2015) and Avengers 3 (2019). Mega franchises such as this need to book their stars early as six years is a long time to drift into other projects.

We move onto news from the production that replaced B’man v S’man in 2015. That would be Pan, Fox’s new prequel to the animated Disney classic Peter Pan. Joe Wright, who called the shots on Atonement, period dramas such as Pride and Prejudice and Anna Karenina as well as the brilliantly brutal action thriller Hanna, is directing and both Hugh Jackman and Javier Bardem have been rumoured to be playing Blackbeard for some time but the role of Hook has been cast with the announcement of the young Garrett Hedlund, who reportedly beat Ezra Miller and Jack Huston to the role.

In this new iteration, Hook is one of the many members of Blackbeard’s crew, who are encountered by Pan – I sense mutiny afoot. Hedlund seems a strong casting. He stuck it big and mainstream with Tron: Legacy, Four Brothers and Troy but, over the last three years or so, established himself as a more critically appealing star with Country Strong, Inside Llewyn Davis and On the Road.

Finally, we’ve got the very first poster for 2014’s biggest sequel. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 will be directed by Francis Lawrence (I am Legend, Catching Fire) and will star Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Clafin, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Josh Hutcherson, Lily Rabe, Natalie Dormer, Jena Malone and Stef Dawson but the basic first banner just shows the Mockingjay, metaphorically, taking flight.

Kasdan writing Boba Fett? Spielberg and Bardem for Montezuma?

Dalton Trumbo was an accomplished screenwriter in the ’60s ’70s who worked on Spartacus and Papillon as well as picking up two Oscars and, due to patriotic controversies, landed eleven months in prison. In 1965, he wrote a draft script for a project called Montezuma, the true tale of an epic feud between invading Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez and titular Aztec leader Montezuma, which was handed to Kirk Douglas but the development came to a stop. Now nearly 70 years on, the world’s most famous film director, who still  has street-cred thanks for still making personal movies and being part of the Palme D’Or judging panel, and a lead star seems to be in the bag already.

Javier Bardem is the Oscar winning star of No Country For Old Men, Skyfall and The Sea Inside who’s been scouted for the role of Cortez for Montezuma who’ll be joining Spielberg (director of Jurassic Park, Lincoln, War Horse, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Munich, War of the Worlds, The Terminal, Catch Me if You Can, Minority Report, Artificial Intelligence, Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, Schindler’s List, Empire of the Sun, The Colour Purple, ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Jaws as well as sixteen time Oscar nominee) on Montezuma, which may be several rewrites from the greenlight but Spielberg needs to work on something soon after Robopocalypse and American Sniper respectively fell out of production.

We move on to a big story concerning the Star Wars universe. We all know that JJ Abrams will take over the franchise with Episodes VII (2015), VIII (2017) and IX (2019) and that a new instalment, likely spin offs or prequels/origin stories, will come in every year inbetween, and possibly after. Our favourite to be first up was Yoda, with other rumours stating Jabba or Han and Chewy or, sigh, Jar Jar Binks. However, Star Wars’ screenwriting legend Lawrence Kasdan is now rumoured to be writing a standalone adventure for bounty hunter supreme Boba Fett, although Jon Schnepp is convinced that this is true.

Schnepp, director of Metalocalypse, makes huge claims. “I know they haven’t announced it,” he told AMC, “I know. I know for a fact. I will never reveal my source, but it is the one written by Lawrence Kasdan.”

Star Wars Origins: Boba Fett/Star Wars Origins: Yoda – 2016?

Montezuma – 2016?

The Must Sees of November 2013

This one comes a few days late but we need a round up of November’s huge releases. First up, we’ve got the new film from Stephen Frears (two time Oscar nominated director famed for The Queen and High Fidelity). Philomena is the true story of a pregnant Irish teenager who’s child was stolen by nuns and put up for adoption in America. Decades on in the present day, the old woman’s (Judi Dench – Skyfall, Shakespeare in Love, Iris) story is found by political journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan – Alan Partridge, The Look of Love, Despicable Me 2) and they set out to America to find Philomena’s son. This bitter comedy is sweeping up recognition from everywhere, BAFTAs are certain and Oscars are a possibility, and opens November 1st.

Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall and Jim Broadbent star in Closed Circuit. John Crowley is the director of this mystery thriller which sees a regular court case uncovering a huge terrorist plot (Nov 1st). Zac Efron, Marcia Gay Harden, James Badge Dale and Paul Giamatti play characters in their response to the death of President John F Kennedy in 1963 for the new drama Parkland from director Peter Landesman (Nov 8th). Last Vegas is the new big billing comedy. The premise is four sixty something guys (played by four Oscar winners – Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Kevin Kline) hitting Vegas for the final bachelor party of their lives as the last on of them ties the knot. Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) is the director (Nov 8th).

The biggest release of the month has got to be Gravity. It’s burst into IMDB’s Top 250 films of all time and sits at about 50th. Alfonso Cauron (Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) is the director of what’s being praised as one of the most technically astonishing films of all time. Sandra Bullock plays Dr Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first trip to space. She’s on a spacestation with veteran Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) when debris crashes into them leaving them stranded and tumbling towards Earth (Nov 7th).

Kill Your Darlings is the new biography drama set in 1944. A murder draws in great Beat poets like Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William Burroughs (Ben Foster). Also with Dane DeHaan, Elizabeth Olsen, David Cross and director John Krokidas (Slo-Mo) (8th). Shia LaBeouf (Lawless, Transformers) is the titular character Charlie Countryman. Rupert Grint, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelson, Melissa Leo, James Buckley and John Hurt. Countryman is an American traveller who falls for a Romanian criminal. Frederick Bond is the director (Nov 8th).

The Counsellor is Ridley Scott’s new thriller. Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Javier Bardem star in this Oscar tipped feature about a lawyer getting too deep into drug trafficking (Nov 15th). Iain De Caestecker is currently starring on the small screen as one of the Agents of SHIELD. He’s also starring with Alice Englert for In Fear. Jeremy Lovering’s horror sees a young couple thrown into the tormenting of a dark forest after a night out (Nov 15th). Richard Shepard (The Matador) directs and writes his new crime filled comedy Dom Hemmingway where Jude Law has the role of the ex-con titular lead alongside Richard E. Grant and Emilia Clarke (Nov 15th) while Joseph Gordon Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, Looper) directs, writes and stars in edgy rom-com Don Jon about a regular guy struggling to maintain a happy relationship. Also with Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore. Rounding off the stellar releases of November 15th is Blue is the Warmest Colour, winner of the Palme D’Or award earlier this year at the Canne Film Festival after being voted by an elite panel of judges including Steven Spielberg. This foreign language hit is from Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche and is tipped to be this year’s Amour.

Escape Plan sees the 1980s’ two greatest action stars,  Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator, Predator) and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Rambo), teaming up for the first proper time, The Expendables wasn’t really about them. They play two prison experts locked away in the most secure cell on the Earth and devise a route out in this mystery thriller from director Mikael Hafstrom. Also with 50 Cent, Sam Neill and Vinnie Jones (Nov 22nd).

We now have a trio of award contenders. Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones star in The Family. Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) is the director and the story is the one of the Manzoni family, a notorious Mafia clan now hiding out in Normandy, France, but are soon noticed (Nov 22nd). A Most Wanted Man is the story of a Muslim immigrant in Hamburg caught  in the crossfire of the international war on terror. Rachel McAdams, Daniel Bruhl, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright and Phillip Seymour Hoffman all star for director Anton Corbjin, famed for The American, (Nov 22nd). Nicole Kidman is the current Oscar favourite for Grace of Monaco. It’s the true story of legendary actress Grace Kelly who, at the age of 25, has just one her first Oscar and is the rising star of the moment, that moment being 1955. But she gives up her career just as it was taking off she marries the Monacan Prince Ranier III (Tim Roth). Director Oliver Dahan explains frequently that it’s not a biography but an exploration of the reasons behind a seemingly bizarre decision (Nov 29th).

Three other films will finish our November preview. Their all likely to make great box-office hits but two of them are in contention for Oscar noms. Carrie is one of them and I reckon stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore are in the running for an Academy Award shortlist. The story, based on the Stephen king novel and Brian De Palma film, is of the titular teenage girl Carrie who finds herself with strange abilities as she enters puberty. She decides to use them to gruesome effect against her tormentors. Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry which won Hilary Swank an Oscar) is the director (Nov 29th).

Homefront boasts an impressive cast in the form of Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth and Frank Grillo as well as screenwriter Sylvester Stallone and director Gary Fleder (The Express, Runaway Jury). A former DEA officer hopes to start a new life when he moves to a new quiet town with his young daughter but he gets on the wrong side of local meth dealer Gator and violence soon follows. We like to call it: Breaking Dad! (Nov 29th)

Destined for greatness is The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the sequel to last year’s surprise sci-fi success and adaptation of the Suzanne Collins young adult novel. Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) is the director this time as Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) realises that her Hunger Games victory with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) may have sparked the ideals of revolution within the starving people of Panem. Confronted by President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland), she must dampen the rebellious fire before it causes a head on collision with the Capitol. Also with Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Jeffery Wright, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Sam Clafin, Jena Malone, Willow Shields and Phillips Seymour Hoffman (Nov 21st).

Thanks for reading the whole of this one through. It means that you now have November 2013’s releases laid out in front of you for you to pick and that you have a much longer attention span than I d

Tuorhoth’s first predictions for the 2014 Academy Awards

October and November are seeing the releases of some of the huge contenders for the Oscars next year well before award season has begun. We’ve no idea how well any of these films are going to do critically seeing as none of them have actually been released to mainstream audiences. This isn’t an award by award breakdown but we’re giving you a brief guide as to what could be nominated in “the big six” awards at world’s biggest annual movie event. I’m also ranking the potential nominees by their likelihood of winning by colour: red means most likely to win, blue means second most likely and green means I’ve ranked them third.

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett – The Monuments Men

Cameron Diaz – The Counsellor

Julianne Moore – Carrie

Michelle Pfeiffer – The Family

Kristen Wiig – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips

Benedict Cumberbatch – 12 Years A Slave

Jean Dujardin – The Monuments Men

Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street

Tommy Lee Jones – The Family

Best Leading Actress

Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Nicole Kidman – Grace of Monaco

Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Chloe Grace Moretz – Carrie

Emma Thompson – Saving Mr. Banks

Best Leading Actor

George Clooney – Gravity

Steve Coogan – Philomena

Leonardo di Caprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips or Saving Mr. Banks (undecided)

Ben Stiller – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Best Director

Alfonso Cauron – Gravity

George Clooney – The Monuments Men

Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips

Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

Ben Stiller – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Best Picture

12 Years A Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

The Counsellor

Gravity

The Monuments Men

Out of the Furnace

Saving Mr. Banks

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Wolf of Wall Street

So, these are my beginning of season suggestions for who will be nominated at this prestigious event. We’re now going to talk through those films and actors that I haven’t included but could be major contenders. There’s a huge cast for The Monuments Men which I haven’t fully gone over. I’ve put George Clooney, who I’ve already selected for Best Director for this film, in for Best Leading Actor for Gravity not The MM but he could easily win for both. Stars of The Monuments Men like Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray, Hugh Bonneville and Bob Balaban could squeeze into the supporting actor position that I placed Dujardin in. Dujardin is already popular with the academy after his Lead Actor win in 2012 for The Artist and as likely could get a nomination for The Wolf of Wall Street instead of The Monuments Men.

Wolf of Wall Street could do very well. Jonah Hill may seem like a surprise nominee but remember that he got similar recognition at the 2012 Oscars for Moneyball. I’ve only put Nicole Kidman forward for this film but Grace of Monaco is a noteworthy contender for a Best Pic nomination. American Hustle is only in one award on my list but the stellar cast of Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence (whose already in for Hunger Games 2), Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale. I think it will win Best Original Screenplay however.

Other potential nominees are the aforementioned Bale for Out of the Furnace, for which Casey Affleck and Zoe Saldana could also be in contention. Dame Judi Dench could get into the actress categories for Philomena. Robert De Niro stars in both American Hustle and The Family and could crack into the shortlists. Colin Farrel and Paul Giamatti came close to my lists for Saving Mr. Banks. 12 Years A Slave could through in Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano and Quvenzhane Wallis back into the award scene while The Counsellor could do the same for Fassbender, Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem as well as it’s director Sir Ridley Scott. We can’t rule out other entries like All is Lost with Robert Redford, The Book Thief with Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson or Inside Llewyn Davis (the Coen brothers’ folk tale with Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan). Spike Lee’s mysterious action remake Oldboy could creep in with it’s stars Josh Brolin, Samuel L Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen, Hannah Simone and Sharlto Copley.

It’s not too late to remove this year’s earlier hits like The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann directing Leonardo di Caprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton), Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen directing Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin), Prisoners (Hugh Jackman, Paul Dano, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard and Jake Gyllenhaal in the directing of Denis Villeneuve) and Rush (Ron Howard’s biopic with Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl). Blockbuster action films like the upcoming The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Ender’s Game or 47 Ronin have been known to do well as the Oscars (see The Dark Knight, Inception and a few others) and there’s usually a surprise foreign language film in the mix (like Amour). There’s a whole variety of films that could be next year’s nominees but I think the leaders are: Gravity, Captain Phillips, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Monuments Men and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Find out more about these films at our Future Films pages for 2013 and 2014.

The 86th Academy Awards will be hosted by Ellen De Generes and will be on ABC on March 2nd 2014

Tell us in the comments who YOU think will win big at the 2014 Oscars.