Oscars 2016 first predictions: Spielberg! Tarantino! Del Toro! Stone! Boyle! Star Wars! Bond! Pixar! Mad Max!

There’s a good seven or so months until the Oscars really kick off but even now we might be able to make a few early predictions for some of the big hitters. This list will be rapidly changing over the coming months depending on the reception of some of these films. Gus Van Sant/Matthew MacConaughey drama The Sea of Trees seemed like a viable candidate until its Cannes flop. In some cases, we’re basing the predictions off their critical reception, festival buzz and hype and in other cases the popularity of a filmmaker involved. We’re ranking the selections in order of likelihood.

Best Picture:

40) The Good Dinosaur

Director: Peter Sohn (Partly Cloudy)
Starring: Anna Paquin (True Blood), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club), Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading)
Premise: An epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.
Odds: Pixar’s second effort of the year may get overshadowed by their first but the studio’s good form might transfer into this look at an alternate history.

39) Creed

Director: Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station)
Starring: Michael B Jordan (Chronicle), Tessa Thompson (Dear White People), Sylvester Stallone (First Blood)
Premise: The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Creed, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
Odds: The Rocky franchise had seriously drifted after the Best Picture winning original but, by shifting Stallone into and supporting role and bringing new hero Adonis Creed to the foreground, we might have a contender.

38) Secret in Their Eyes

Director: Billy Ray (Breach)
Starring: Julia Roberts (Erin Brockivich), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Nicole Kidman (The Hours)
Premise: A tight-knit team of FBI investigators, along with their District Attorney supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.
Odds: The Argentinian adaptation of the same book won an Oscar for Foreign Language in 2009 but this might turn ought to be another unpopular remake.

37) By the Sea

Director: Angelina Jolie (Unbroken)
Starring: Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Melanie Laurent (Beginners)
Premise: Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer, and her husband Roland, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner.
Odds: Jolie hasn’t yet cemented her position as an accomplished director but last year’s Unbroken got three Oscar nods meaning that By the Sea might follow suit.

36) Trumbo

Director: Jay Roach (Meet the Parents)
Starring: Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Helen Mirren (The Queen), John Goodman (Argo)
Premise: The successful career of Hollywood screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, comes to an end when he is blacklisted in the 1940s for being a Communist.
Odds: The Oscars have a track record of stories about Hollywood and redemption and Bryan Cranston should shine in the role but communist sympathies might not sit too well with the Academy.

35) Spectre

Director: Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition)
Starring: Daniel Craig (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Premise: A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind Spectre.
Odds: Prior to 2012’s Skyfall, Bond hadn’t had a Oscar win in nearly 50 years. If Spectre is an improvement, than the series may be on the way to a first ever Best Picture nomination.

34) Legend

Director: Brian Helgeland (42)
Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Taron Egerton (Kingsman), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind)
Premise: The film tells the story of the identical twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray, two of the most notorious criminals in British history, and their organised crime empire in the East End of London during the 1960s.
Odds: The main Oscar buzz about the film surrounds Tom Hardy’s performance(s) but the crime biopic might be a dark horse in the contest.

33) The Martian

Director: Ridley Scott (Blade Runner)
Starring: Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Premise: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Odds: After back to back success with Gladiator and Black Hawk Down followed by the snubbing of American Gangster, acclaimed director Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic The Martian may have the goods to put him back on top.

32) Beasts of No Nation

Director: Cary Fukanga (True Detective)
Starring: Abraham Attah (Out of the Village), Ama K Abebrese (The Cursed Ones), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim)
Premise: A drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Odds: The Academy may take a big step by nominating a Netflix original production for the first time

31) Everest

Director: Baltasar Kormakur (Contraband)
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaald (Nightcrawler), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty)
Premise: A climbing expedition on Mt. Everest is devastated by a severe snow storm.
Odds: A traditional disaster flick will hopefully be elevated by the fantastic ensemble.

30) Concussion

Director: Peter Landesman (Parkland)
Starring: Will Smith (Ali), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle), Alec Baldwin (The Hunt For Red October)
Premise: The story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in professional football players.
Odds: It’s been years since Smith’s last major critical success but the more serious tone surrounding this true life thriller may lead it Oscar bound.

29) The Walk

Director: Robert Zemeckis (Cast Away)
Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt (Looper), Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island), Charlotte Le Bon (Mood Indigo)
Premise: The story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s attempt to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
Odds: The fact that the same story was turned into an Oscar winning documentary (Man on Wire) several years ago proves that the premise is more Academy friendly than blockbuster cool but the fact that the story has been visited successfully before may also hinder it.

28) Freeheld

Director: Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist)
Starring: Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire), Ellen Page (Juno)
Premise: New Jersey police lieutenant, Laurel Hester, and her registered domestic partner, Stacie Andree, both battle to secure Hester’s pension benefits when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Odds: Moore is on fine form after her win for Still Alice but there hasn’t yet been a remarkable amount of Oscar buzz surrounding it.

27) 45 Years

Director: Andrew Haigh (Weekend)
Starring: Charlotte Rampling (Melancholia), Tom Courtenay (Doctor Zhivago), Geraldine James (Gandhi)
Premise: In the week leading up to their 45th wedding anniversary, a couple receive an unexpected letter which contains potentially life changing news.
Odds: The low key British drama might prove to be a contender but given the recent snubbing of Mike Leigh’s Mr Turner, the Academy may have turned away from that genre the larger scale Brit flicks such as The Imitation Game

26) The Danish Girl

Director: Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)
Starring: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Alicia Vikander (A Royal Affair), Ben Whishaw (Skyfall)
Premise: The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
Odds: The Danish Girl has all the makings of a Best Picture winner – lavish period setting, Oscar friendly cast and director – but it’ll have to overcome its so far mixed-negative reception.

25) Straight Outta Compton

Director: F Gary Gray (Friday)
Starring: Jason Mitchell (Contraband), Corey Hawkins (Non-Stop), Paul Giamatti (Sideways)
Premise: The group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Odds: Sharing its name with the rap sensation, this unlikely candidate surprised critics and was a smash hit with audiences but that won’t necessarily translate into Oscar success for the musical biopic.

24) Macbeth

Director: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown)
Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Marion Cotillard (Inception), Paddy Considine (Dead Man’s Shoes)
Premise: Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
Odds: Kurzel might not be experienced with this scale of filmmaking but injecting a flavour of war epic to Shakespeare’s classic should shake things up, not to mention the roles Fassbender and Cotillard were born to play.

23) The Program

Director: Stephen Frears (The Queen)
Starring: Chris O’Dowd (Calvary), Ben Foster (Lone Survivor), Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man)
Premise: An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong’s performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.
Odds: The events depicted might be considered too recent to have a major effect on voters and O’Dowd (while talented) hasn’t yet reached Oscar appeal but Frears’ impressive back catalogue should accelerate hype.

22) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Director: Alfonso Gomez Rejon (The Town that Dreaded Sundown)
Starring: Thomas Mann (Project X), Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel), Nick Offerman (The Kings of Summer)
Premise: High schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
Odds: The Fault in Our Stars for the Kings of Summer audience. This charming romance with undoubtedly win the hearts of fans and critics but it might be too low key for the Academy.

21) Snowden

Director: Oliver Stone (JFK)
Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt (Inception), Nicolas Cage (Face/Off), Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)
Premise: CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press.
Odds: Snowden’s story was told recently in the Oscar winning documentary Citizenfour meaning the source material has awards-friendly buzz but all of Oliver Stone’s recent work (Alexander, Money Never Sleeps, Savages) has been a let down. However, anti-American undertones didn’t do Zero Dark Thirty any harm.

20) Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Director: JJ Abrams (Stark Trek Into Darkness)
Starring: John Boyega (Attack the Block), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Premise: New heroes must fight the rising threat of the New Order.
Odds: While the reboot of a franchise that hasn’t been good since 1983 may make the Oscars treat The Force Awakens as Bantha fodder, it seems to possess the game changing level of effects that brought Avatar to success and made the original Star Wars a Best Picture nominee.

19) Hail Caesar

Directors: Joel and Ethan Cohen (The Big Lebowski)
Starring: Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), George Clooney (Gravity), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
Premise: A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio’s stars in line.
Odds: With four Oscar wins, the Coens are probably the most acclaimed screenwriters of our time but Inside Llewyn Davis’ snubbing might mean trouble for the pair’s more quirky efforts.

18) Silence

Director: Martin Scorsese (The Aviator)
Starring: Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Tadanobu Asano (Thor). Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List)
Premise: In the seventeenth century, two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity.
Odds: Silence seems Oscar bound but production delays and rumours that it’ll debut in Cannes 2016 suggest that the film might not be in competition until the 2017 Oscars.

17) The End of the Tour

Director: James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now)
Starring: Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Anna Chlumsky (In the Loop), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Premise: A magazine reporter recounts his travels and conversations with author David Foster Wallace during a promotional book tour.
Odds: The new Almost Famous? Segel and Eisenberg’s pairing will undoubtedly pick up a cult following but might be a bit abrasive for the Oscar crowd.

16) In the Heart of the Sea

Director: Ron Howard (Apollo 13)
Starring: Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges)
Premise: Based on the 1820 event, a whaling ship is preyed upon by a sperm whale, stranding its crew at sea for 90 days, thousands of miles from home.
Odds: Ron Howard has experienced mass success with the disaster thriller genre but the merciless snub of his brilliant racing drama Rush hints at an anti-Howard agenda.

15) Mad Max: Fury Road

Director: George Miller (The Road Warrior)
Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Charlize Theron (Monster), Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies)
Premise: In a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.
Odds: This bold action sequel received rave reviews but the fact that its plot can be sketched out on a napkin might put off some of the more traditional Academy voters.

14) Joy

Director: David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Robert De Niro (Casino)
Premise: The story of a family across four generations and the woman who rises to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty.
Odds: Russell has a surprising three consecutive Best Picture nominees but the flop of his abandoned rom-com Accidental Love earlier this years prevents Joy from being his fourth.

13) Brooklyn

Director: John Crowley (Is Anybody There)
Starring: Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Julie Walters (Billy Elliot)
Premise: In 1950s Ireland and New York, young Ellis Lacey has to choose between two men and two countries.
Odds: This star studded effort could be a major contender so long as it avoids the pitfalls of a procedural romantic drama (IE Anna Karenina).

12) The Lobster

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth)
Starring: Colin Farrell (In Bruges), John C Reilly (Chicago), Rachel Weisz (Enemy at the Gates)
Premise: In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods.
Odds: Merging comedy, romance and sci-fi with a bonkers concept from a Greek director making his English language debut. The Gilliam-esque level of weirdness will attract a lot of attention but may also backfire.

11) Youth

Director: Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty)
Starring: Michael Caine (The Dark Knight), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
Premise: Fred and Mick, two old friends, are on vacation in an elegant hotel at the foot of the Alps. While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. But someone wants at all costs to hear him conduct again.
Odds: Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty picked up a triple with Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globes in the Foreign Language category so Youth should continue form but Sorrentino’s only other English language feature, This Must Be the Place, was one of his weakest.

10) Suffragette

Director: Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane)
Starring: Carey Mulligan (Drive), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd)
Premise: The foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal state.
Odds: The all-female writing directing team may face the snubs that Ava DuVernay suffered with Selma last year but the feminist story may tie into the Academy’s own changing times.

9) Black Mass

Director: Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart)
Starring: Johnny Depp (Public Enemies), Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Premise: The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.
Odds: A dark and intense modern gangster thriller akin to The Departed and Donnie Brasco. Hopefully, Pirates star Johnny Depp will prove his worth for the first time in years. The massively positive early response is greatly promising.

8) Crimson Peak

Director: Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth)
Starring: Mia Wasikowska (Stoker), Tom Hiddleston (War Horse), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Premise: In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds…and remembers.
Odds: A lavish Gothic mood will elevate Crimson Peak from repetitive formulaic horror (The Conjuring, Insidious, Sinister, Annabelle) or even hits like the Carpenter-esque It Follows and indie smash The Babadook. Del Toro might exceed Pan’s Labyrinth’s three Oscar wins while busting the myth that horrors are Oscar immune (see Jaws, The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, Aliens, The Silence of the Lambs).

7) The Hateful Eight

Director: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)
Starring: Samuel L Jackson (Jurassic Park), Kurt Russell (The Thing), Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Premise: In post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunters try to find shelter during a blizzard but get involved in a plot of betrayal and deception. Will they survive?
Odds: Tarantino’s three Best Picture nominations may well be added to with this Western thriller. It’d be unlikely for this not to be an seventh consecutive hit for the filmmaker.

6) Carol

Director: Todd Haynes (I’m Not There)
Starring: Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Kyle Chandler (Super 8)
Premise: Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Odds: Carol has been the bookies’ favourite from the start but more recently more praise has gone towards its stars than the film itself.

5) Sicario

Director: Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners)
Starring: Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men)
Premise: An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by an elected government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
Odds: American Sniper, Argo, Captain Phillips, District 9, Gravity, The Hurt Locker, Inception and Zero Dark Thirty have redefined the Oscar’s favour for the action thriller genre.

4) Inside Out

Directors: Pete Docter (Up), Ronaldo Del Carmen
Starring: Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), Bill Hader (Trainwreck), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks)
Premise: After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.
Odds: The animation has gained the best reception of any of Pixar’s work since 2010’s Toy Story 3 but it has been five years since the studio has had a major nomination besides Animated Feature.

3) Bridge of Spies

Director: Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List)
Starring: Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Amy Ryan (Birdman), Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall)
Premise: An American lawyer is recruited by the CIA during the Cold War to help rescue a pilot detained in the Soviet Union.
Odds: Spielberg’s career has had nine Best Picture films (including Jaws, The Colour Purple, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse and Lincoln) and 118 Oscar nods are most likely to be added to but the acclaimed director isn’t immune to snubs (Catch Me if You Can, Jurassic Park). Also, Hanks hasn’t had an Oscar nod since 2001’s Cast Away and even his career best in Captain Phillips didn’t sway the Academy.

2) The Revenant

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio (Inception), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises)
Premise: The frontiersman, Hugh Glass, who in the 1820s set out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
Odds: Considering the grueling shoot and huge budget, the civil-war era epic could be the new Dances With Wolves (multi-Oscar winner with Kevin Costner) or the new Heaven’s Gate (world renowned flop with Jeff Bridges). Either way, the footage is incredible.

1) Steve Jobs

Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Seth Rogen (Knocked Up), Kate Winslet (Titanic)
Premise: The true story of the life of visionary Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Odds: While it suffered major development issues – loss of cast members (Christian Bale, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Leonardo Di Caprio, Ben Affleck, Tom Cruise, Matthew MacConaughey, Charlize Theronl, Jessica Chastain, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman) and director David Fincher – we reckon Steve Jobs is your next Best Picture winner.

Here’s a quickfire of the directors and stars we reckon will make the cut.

Best Director:

1. Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies
2. Denis Villeneuve – Sicario
3. Danny Boyle – Steve Jobs
4. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – The Revenant
5. George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
6. Oliver Stone – Snowden
7. Guillermo Del Toro – Crimson Peak
8. JJ Abrams – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
9. Scott Cooper – Black Mass
10. F Gary Gray – Straight Outta Compton
11. Paolo Sorrentino – Youth
12. Ron Howard – In the Heart of the Sea
13. Sarah Gavron – Suffragette
14. David O. Russell – Joy
15. Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight

Best Actor:

1. Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs – Steve Jobs
2. Michael Caine – Fred Ballinger – Youth
3. Leonardo Di Caprio – Hugh Glass – The Revenant
4. Johnny Depp – Whitey Bulger – Black Mass
5. Tom Hanks – James Donovan – Bridge of Spies
6. Jason Segel – David Foster Wallace – The End of the Tour
7. Bryan Cranston – Dalton Trumbo – Trumbo
8. Eddie Redmayne – Lili Elbe – The Danish Girl
9. Ian McKellen – Sherlock Holmes – Mr Holmes
10. Jake Gyllenhaal – Billy Hope – Southpaw
11. Tom Hardy – Ronald/Reginald Kray – Legend
12. Joseph Gordon Levitt – Edward Snowden – Snowden
13. Colin Farrell – David – The Lobster
14. Tom Hardy – “Mad” Max Rockatansky – Mad Max: Fury Road
15. Tom Hiddleston – Hank Williams – I Saw the Light

Best Actress:

1. Rooney Mara – Therese Belivet – Carol
2. Marion Cotillard – Lady Macbeth – Macbeth
3. Alicia Vikander – Gerda Wegener – The Danish Girl
4. Emily Blunt – Kate Macer – Sicario
5. Jennifer Lawrence – Joy Mangano – Joy
6. Cate Blanchett – Carol Aird – Carol
7. Charlotte Rampling – Kate Mercer – 45 Years
8. Saoirse Ronan – Ellis Lacey – Brooklyn
9. Juliette Binoche – Maria Enders – Clouds of Sils Maria
10. Carey Mulligan – Maud – Suffragette
11. Mia Wasikowska – Edith Cushing – Crimson Peak
12. Charlize Theron – Imperator Furiosa – Mad Max: Fury Road
13. Julianne Moore – Laurel Hester – Freeheld
14. Angelina Jolie – Vanessa – By the Sea
15. Amy Schumer – Amy – Trainwreck

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Seth Rogen – Steve Wozniak – Steve Jobs
2. Harvey Keitel – Mick Boyle – Youth
3. Benedict Cumberbatch – Bill Bulger – Black Mass
4. Benicio Del Toro – Alejandro – Sicario
5. Mark Rylance – Rudolf Abel – Bridge of Spes
6. Jesse Eisenberg – David Lipsky – The End of the Tour
7. Robert De Niro – Rudy Mangano – Joy
8. Christoph Waltz – Hans Oberhauser – Spectre
9. Samuel L Jackson – Marquis Warren – The Hateful Eight
10. Tom Hardy – John Fitzgerald – The Revenant
11. Chris O’Dowd – David Walsh – The Program
12. Josh Brolin – Matt – Sicario
13. Tom Hiddelston – Thomas Sharpe – Crimson Peak
14. Will Poulter – Jim Bridger – The Revenant
15. Harrison Ford – Han Solo – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Rachel Weisz – Lena Ballinger – Youth
2. Kate Winslet – Joanna Hoffman – Steve Jobs
3. Shailene Woodley – Lindsay Mills – Snowden
4. Amy Ryan – Mary Donovan – Bridge of Spies
5. Ellen Page – Stacie Andree – Freeheld
6. Jessica Chastain – Lucille Sharpe – Crimson Peak
7. Jane Fonda – Brenda Morel – Youth
8. Kristen Stewart – Valentine – Clouds of Sils Maria
9. Julie Walters – Mrs Kehoe – Brooklyn
10. Melissa Leo – Laura Poitras – Snowden
11. Rachel McAdams – Maureen Hope – Southpaw
12. Helen Mirren – Hedda Hooper – Trumbo
13. Anna Chlumsky – Sarah – The End of the Tour
14. Helena Bonham Carter – Edith New – Suffragette
15. Jennifer Jason Leigh – Daisy Domergue – The Hateful Eight

Best Original Screenplay:

1. Youth – Paolo Sorrentino
2. The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino
3. Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronald Del Carmen, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
4. Bridge of Spies – Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen, Matt Charman
5. Ex Machina – Alex Garland
6. Joy – David O. Russell, Annie Mumulo
7. Sicario – Taylor Sheridan
8. Hail Caesar – Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen
9. Demolition – Bryan Sipe
10. The Good Dinosaur – Enrico Casarosa, Bob Peterson
11. Suffragette – Abi Morgan
12. Trainwreck – Amy Schumer
13. Southpaw – Kurt Sutter
14. Crimson Peak – Guillermo Del Toro, Matthew Robbins
15. Irrational Man – Woody Allen

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1. Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin
2. Carol – Phyllis Nagy
3. The End of the Tour – Donald Marguiles
4. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – Jesse Andrews
5. The Revenant – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Mark L Smith
6. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
7. Silence – Jay Cocks
8. Snowden – Oliver Stone, Kieran Fitzgerald
9. Brooklyn – Nick Hornby
10. The Danish Girl – Lucina Coven
11. Spectre – John Logan, Neil Purvis, Robert Wade
12. Macbeth – Jacob Koskoff, Todd Louiso
13. Black Mass – Scott Cooper, Mark Mallouk
14. The Martian – Drew Goddard
15. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan

Sam L Jackson, John C Reilly and more in talks for Kong: Skull Island

With the director Jordan Vogt Roberts (The Kings of Summer) and star Tom Hiddleston (Avengers Assemble, Crimson Peak), fantasy reboot Kong: Skull Island seemed set for a smooth preproduction before the supporting stars JK Simmons (Whiplash, Spider-Man) and Michael Keaton (Birdman, Batman) both quit. Since then some progress has been made with the casting of Brie Larson (Short Term 12, 21 Jump Street) and Corey Hawkins (Non-Stop, Straight Out of Compton) and a rumoured role for Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) putting the film back on track but three new major stars have entered negotiations.

Cult hero Samuel L Jackson (Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, The Incredibles, Django Unchained, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Kingsman: The Secret Service) is in talks alongside fellow acting greats and Oscar nominees John C Reilly (Boogie Nights, Chicago, The Aviator, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Wreck-It Ralph, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Tom Wilkinson (Shakespeare in Love, Batman Begins, Michael Clayton, Belle, Selma, The Grand Budapest Hotel). This presumably means that Crowe’s involvement in the project is no more.

Kong: Skull Island – March 10th 2017

Mission: Impossible 5 posters, James Gunn teases Guardians 2 title and Star Wars director rumours

The new Disney-owned Star Wars franchise has assembled a brilliant set of filmmakers including writers Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) and Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past), producer Kathleen Kennedy (Lincoln) and directors JJ Abrams (Super 8), Rian Johnson (Looper) and Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). When Josh Trank (Chronicle) departed the second spin off film he left a vacancy that’s looking to be filled. The latest rumour indicates that the two directors in contention for the job are Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Zathura, Elf, Chef). Thematically, Favreau is more in tune with the Star Wars spirit but Vaughn’s consistency gives him the edge. The current rumours on this spin off are that it’ll focus on an adventure involving Han Solo and Boba Fett.

Marvel’s entries tend to vary between having a subtitle or not. In one camp there’s the Iron Man trilogy, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Avengers Assemble and the upcoming Ant-Man and on the other there’s Captain America: The First Avenger, The Winter Soldier and Civil War, Thor: The Dark World and Ragnarok and the recent Avengers: Age of Ultron. We’d assumed that the follow up to last year’s smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy would simply be titled Guardians of the Galaxy 2 but in a recent tweet director James Gunn (Slither, Super), who has just finished the script, suggested that there’d be a new title:“No spoilers – not even the title.” We’d suspect that the title will give away a key villain or location in the film.

We’re expecting the cast to include Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Quill, Zoe Saldana (Avatar) as Gamora, Vin Diesel (Pitch Black) as Groot, Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) as Rocket, Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) as Thanos, Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) as The Collector, Dave Bautista (Spectre) as Drax, Karen Gillan (Oculus) as Nebula, Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) as Yondu, John C Reilly (Chicago) as Denarian Dey, Glenn Close (Dangerous Liaisons) and Seth Green (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Howard the Duck.

Finally, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation has begun the obligatory character poster campaign. In the spy sequel, Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) directs the cast of Tom Cruise (Edge of Tomorrow, Minority Report), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, Avengers Assemble), Rebecca Ferguson (The White Queen, Hercules), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Stark Trek), Sean Harris (Prometheus, ’71), Simon McBurney (Rev, The Theory of Everything) and Alec Baldwin (Still Alice, 30 Rock).

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – July 30th

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – April 28th 2017

Untitled Star Wars Anthology – May 2018

Andy Serkis’ Star Wars character revealed and Gunn drops GoTG2 villain hints

“There has been an awakening in the Force. Have you felt it?”

This opening line from the now iconic Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer belonged to the disembodied voice of Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, King Kong) but we had no idea who the character was. It’s now revealed that the master of mo-cap is playing Supreme Leader Snoke, who we’re now presuming is evil.

As well as returning favourites Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and ost of the new roles have been revealed: Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year) plays pilot Poe Dameron, Adam Driver (Girls) plays First Order enforcer Kylo Ren, Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) plays villainous commander Captain Phasma, John Boyega (Attack the Block) is ex-Stormtrooper Finn, Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) plays pirate Max Kanata and newcomer Daisy Ridley is scavenger Rey. However, Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina) and Max Von Sydow’s (Minority Report) roles haven’t been revealed.

While Marvel’s sci-fi smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy was undeniably brilliant it could have done with a more iconic villain than Ronin (Lee Pace) and let Thanos (Josh Brolin), Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and The Collector (Benicio Del Toro). After a recent suggestion that the sequel’s villain be Kang the Conqueror or the Shi’ar Empire but director James Gunn (Slither, Super) shot the rumours down. “Shi’ar and Kang are both owned by Fox. All decisions about who is in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 were made a long time ago.” This isn’t entirely promising for the film but it does mean that maybe Fantastic Four are facing Kang in a future instalment. Or the X-Men might use him to set up the Apocalypse Twins storyline to lead on from next years X-Men: Apocalypse.

GotG2 will likely star Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, The Lego Movie) as Star Lord, Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Stark Trek) as Gamora, Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook, American Sniper) as Rocket, Vin Diesel (Fast Five, Pitch Black) as Groot, Karen Gillan (Oculus, Doctor Who) as Nebula, Dave Bautista (Riddick, Spectre) as Drax, John C Reilly (Chicago, Wreck-It Ralph) as Denarian Dey, Glenn Close (Fatal Attractions, Dangerous Liaisons) as Nova Prime, Benicio Del Toro (Traffic, Sicario) as The Collector and Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men, American Gangster) as Thanos.

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens – December 18th

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – April 28th 2017

Jenkins is Wonder Woman director, Gosling in Blade Runner and Cannes lineup revealed: Woody Allen! Pixar! Mad Max?

Warner Bros suffered a major setback on their highly anticipated fantasy reboot of the DC hero Winder Woman. Director Michelle MacLaren, behind some of the best episodes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, pulled out of the film leaving a gap to fill but the replacement has been announced as Patty Jenkins (Monster) is hired. Jenkins was in fact connected to Marvel’s superhero sequel Thor: The Dark World, long before the Edgar Wright/Ant–Man split, and left based on creative differences. Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious) is the Israeli star who’ll bring the new Wonder Woman to the screen.

Gladiator’s Ridley Scott sadly passed on the new Blade Runner sequel but BAFTA nominated director Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, Incendies, Prisoners) is taking his place. Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, The Fugitive) is confirmed to be reprising his role as the futuristic detective Rick Deckard but some new castings are now poised to be made. The latest report shows that Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Ides of March, Crazy Stupid Love, Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines) is in talks for a a so far unspecified role but you can’t deny some likeness to the original’s Rutger Hauer.

Festivals like Cannes are now major platforms for indie films to get the platform they need to campaign their way to the Oscars and the following list might show some early awards favourites, considering last year the films included Foxcatcher, Mr Turner, Two Days One Night, Maps to the Stars, Leviathan, The Homesman, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Force Majeure but also included the massive flop Grace of Monaco. Here’s this years selection, which’ll each be scrutinised by the jury (led by Fargo and No Country For Old Men directors Joel and Ethan Cohen) for the prestigious prize of Palme D’Or.

Film: Dheepan
Director: Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust and Bone)
Starring: Vincent Rottiers, Marc Zinga
Premise: The story of a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who flees to France and ends up working as a caretaker outside Paris.
Nation: France

Film: Marguerite et Julien
Director: Valerie Donzelli (Declaration of War)
Starring: Anais Demoustier, Frederic Pierrot
Nation: France

Film: The Tale of Tales
Director: Matteo Garrone (Gamorra)
Starring: Salma Hayek (Frida), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), John C Reilly (The Aviator), Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Nation: Italy

Film: Carol
Director: Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, I’m Not There)
Starring: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Rooney Mara (The Social Network), Kyle Chandler (Super 8), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story), Cory Michael Smith (Gotham)
Premise: Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Nation: United States

Film: Nie yin niang (The Assassin)
Director: Hsiao Hsien Hou (Three Times)
Starring: Qi Shu, Chen Chang, Satoshi Tsumbuki
Nation: Taiwan

Film: Shan He Gu Ren (Mountains May Depart
Director: Zhangke Jia (Still Life, A Touch of Sin)
Starring: Tao Zhao
Nation: China

Film: Out Little Sister
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda (Nobody Knows, Still Walking)
Starring: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa
Nation: Japan

Film: Macbeth
Director: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown)
Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave), Marion Cotillard (Inception), David Thewlis (The Theory of Everything), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby), Sean Harris (Prometheus), Jack Reynor (What Richard Did), Paddy Considine (The World’s End)
Premise: Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
Nation: United Kingdom, France, United States

Film: The Lobster
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth)
Starring: Colin Farrell (Minority Report), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas), John C Reilly (The Aviator), Olivia Colman (Tyranasour)
Premise: In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods.
Nation: Greece

Film: Mon Roi
Director: Maiwenn (Polisse)
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Louis Garrel
Nation: France

Film: Mia Madre
Director: Nanni Moretti (The Son’s Room)
Starring: Margherita Buy (The Caiman), John Turturro (Barton Fink)
Nation: Italy

Film: La giovinezza (The Early Years)
Director: Paolo Sorrentino (This Must Be the Place)
Starring: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Michael Caine (Batman Begins), Jane Fonda (Coming Home), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs)
Premise: Fred and Mick, two old friends, are on vacation in an elegant hotel at the foot of the Alps.
Nation: Italy

Film: Louder Than Bombs
Director: Joaquim Trier (Oslo August 31st)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Amy Ryan (Birdman), Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards), David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck)
Nation: Norway, France, Denmark, United States

Film: The Sea of Trees
Director: Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting)
Starring: Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar), Naomi Watts (King Kong), Ken Watanabe (Letters Form Iwo Jima)
Premise: A suicidal American befriends a Japanese man lost in a forest near Mt. Fuji and the two search for a way out.
Nation: United States

Film: Sicario
Director: Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Incendies)
Starring: Emily Blunt (Looper), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), Jon Beranthal (Fury), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic)
Premise: A young female FBI agent joins a secret CIA operation to take down a Mexican cartel boss, a job that ends up pushing her ethical and moral values to the limit.
Nation: United States

Films not competing:

Film: Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller (The Road Warrior)
Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Charlize Theron (Prometheus), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class)
Premise: In a post-apocalyptic world, in which people fight to the death, Max teams up with a mysterious woman, Furiousa, to try and survive.
Nation: Australian, United States

Film: Irrational Man
Director: Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris, Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Starring: Emma Stone (The Help), Joaquin Phoenix (Her)
Premise: On a small town college campus, a philosophy professor in existential crisis gives his life new purpose when he enters into a relationship with his student.
Nation: United States

Film: The Little Prince
Director: Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda)
Starring: Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes), Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar), Paul Giamatti (Saving Mr Banks), James Franco (127 Hours), Marion Cotillard (Inception), Jeff Bridges (True Grit), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic), Albert Brooks (Finding Nemo), Ricky Gervais (The Office)
Premise: A pilot crashes in the desert and meets a little boy from a distant planet.
Nation: France

Joaquin Phoenix drops out of Marvel’s Doctor Strange

Guardians of the Galaxy, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker and Vin Diesel, may be one of ten Marvel Cinematic Universe releases but it is the most important yet. Its greatly extended the franchise’s future by both being renewed for a whole trilogy but also proving that Marvel can outlive its original Avengers characters, played by Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L Jackson. The wave of new heroes including Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Vision (Paul Bettany), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), Falcon (Anthony Mackie) Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson) is on the way but the casting for Doctor Strange has proved elusive.

Jared Leto (Requiem For a Dream, Dallas Buyers Club), Tom Hardy (Locke, The Dark Knight Rises), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Ethan Hawke (Before Sunrise, Training Day) have all been seriously named in connection but this summer Joaquin Phoenix (Her, Gladiator, The Master) was confirmed to be in negotiations for the role. These discussions seemed to have been taking far too long and it was suspected that Phoenix, in the peak of his dramatic career, was reluctant to sign on for a comic book role. Our worries have been confirmed as Phoenix has officially dropped out for that reason. This seems a little unjustified; Jeff Bridges, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Kingsley, Robert Redford, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, John C Reilly, Glenn Close and Michael Douglas have already played roles in the series. At the moment, I’d top Ethan Hawke in favour of the role. Scott Derickson (Sinister) directs.

Doctor Strange – July 8th 2016

Guardians of the Galaxy review

Director: James Gunn

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, John C Reilly, Glenn Close, Laura Haddock, Djimon Hounsou

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is undoubtedly the biggest living franchise; in an era where superheroes dominate the box-office, Spider-Man and Man of Steel are underperforming and it takes the X-Men a huge event-movie to grace the annual top 10 but Kevin Feige’s mega-series is at the top of the bunch. So far (discounting the flop of The Incredible Hulk) the MCU has solely relied on its central trio of Thor, Captain America and Iron Man and the combination of them all known as The Avengers but now they’ve diverted from formula to bring the riskiest blockbuster in recent memory. A near $200 million budget fuels the adventure of a talking raccoon and a passive-aggressive tree from a director who, after two feature films, has never seen one of his projects make more than its cost from box office returns. The only chance that Marvel had of making any money was it being the new Star Wars, “an infeasible task” we here you say?

Abducted from Earth as a child, Peter Quill (Pratt) dons the title Star Lord and seeks to become an intergalactic thief and outlaw. After he steals a powerful artefact known as the Orb, vengeful megalomaniac Ronan (Pace) sends assassin Gamora (Saldana) to retrieve it. To evade capture, Quill forms a disharmonious team out of Gamora, two alien hitmen – Rocket (Cooper) and Groot (Diesel) – and berserk warrior Drax (Bautista). However, their clashing egos and criminal intentions threaten both their fragile alliance and the fate of the galaxy.

We’ll readdress Star Wars later on but Guardians is the new sci-fi property to beat. Similarly to The Avengers, the narrative is far short of Lucas’ work, which itself is far more influenced by classic samurai films, but James Gunn and writer Nicole Perlman have crafted a script whose magnificence is far more focused on ingenious dialogue and character interplay, courtesy of five serial scene stealers. There’s a tragic beauty to the fact that they are brought together by the mutual desire to get each other killed, and the fact that they’ve teamed up won’t stop them from having another shot.

Billed as the film’s main star is Chris Pratt, a comedy actor known for his ungroomed best-friend types in films such as Her and Delivery Man as well as the TV series Parks and Recreation. In his portrayal of aspiring outlaw Star Lord, Pratt is of coarse channelling a younger (less clean-cut) Harrison Ford but he’s more subtly got inspiration from Di Caprio by transforming an easily cruel character into an antihero not just engaging but greatly likeable.

The team member many most were excited about was Rocket, who on paper should be unbearable: he’s a walking, talking, gun-toting, foul-mouthed raccoon. In a fantastic collaboration of Bradley Cooper’s incredible voice work, conjuring chemistry with actors he wasn’t on set with, and stunningly detailed visual effects work we’ve gained a certain enduring icon for Marvel’s future.

Sadly, Marvel comics are infamous for poor female characters and a minuscule amount of that has translated into their more recent films. Having a kick-ass heroine equal to our main hero is appreciated but Guardians’ Gamora has gone a step further by having one far superior, despite the predictable yet entertaining will-they-won’t-they with main hero Star Lord. In some of the film’s finest moments, whilst plotting revenge on her former master Ronan, she’s rather distraught to have what may be her final moments with a quartet of imbeciles. Saldana’s performance is one of her best although she occasionally seems narratively outshone by her comrades.

Greatly understated in the film’s build-up and marketing is Drax, a feared warrior who begins the story as a vengeful maniac. We soon learn of his more accessible side with his disregard and general incompetence to both the team’s needs and society in general. Dave Bautista, a former wrestler who earned this (one of his first major acting roles) via auditions, is remarkably impressive with spot on deadpan delivery. Drax also provides the chance for an awful lot of minimalist CG action sequences, continuing the bone-crunching thrills of The Winter Soldier.

Merchandising may well be when of the colder, more corporate, sides of the mainstream film industry but there’ll be no shame for fans wanting to take home their very own Groot, Rocket’s portable houseplant/muscle. Vin “The Iron Giant” Diesel lends his gravelly tones to a character who can transform from a bumbling lovable giant to a vicious, murderous monster within seconds and is only capable of speaking the phrase “I am Groot”, leaving us in the unlikely scenario of naming a passive-aggressive tree as one of the greatest superheroes of our age. Diesel himself applies an extraordinary amount of emotion into just three words while the visual effects teams ensure that both Rocket and Groot have just as much as a presence in the set as the practical creations.

With five fantastic antiheroes introduced, there ought to be a villain in equal measure of quality but instead we have five competing bad guys who don’t quite get the screentime they deserve as a result. The wrong doer in chief is Ronan the Accuser, an extremist of the Kree race planning to break a peace treaty between the Kree and Xandar, who makes a suitably sinister entrance. The Hobbit’s Lee Pace nails Ronan’s fanatical ways but the plot has done him a great injustice, his motives only a passing mention.

This continues Marvel’s reoccurring hitch of mediocre lead villains, following Whiplash, Aldrich Killian and Malekith. These three were overshadowed by their film’s supporting features. Whiplash was compromised when Iron Man 2 ditched his character development and arc in favour of a focus on SHIELD and Avenger assembling; Iron Man 3’s Killian was weak and forgettable after being shoved out of the limelight by the controversial Mandarin; Malekith’s whole show was stolen by Tom Hiddleston’s Loki in Thor: The Dark World. In this case, Ronan is instantly known to be number two to a greater string puller. The studio can no longer be entirely reliant on the heavyweights such as Loki, Ultron or Thanos for the future.

Ronan commands a pair of henchmen for his cause, Korath (two time Oscar nominee and formerly strong Black Panther contender Djimon Hounsou) and Nebula (Doctor Who’s Amy – Karen Gillan) who also seem fairly undernourished. Neither of them are greatly iconic parts of the comic book franchise and Korath in particular seemed quite irrelevant to the main narrative. I’d have rather seen Nebula play his part as well as her own in the film allowing greater development with her adoptive sister Gamora as well as links to the grander cinematic universe.

Our other two villains meanwhile are a delightful piece of imaginative fantasy. Firstly we have Yondu, the original team’s heroic leader here reinvented as a buck toothed, pirating maniac wielding a whistle controlled arrow. Then there’s a magnificent Benicio Del Toro portraying the flamboyant, obsessive collector Taneleer Tivaan. All of these figures are in pursuit of one of Quill’s possessions: an Orb which Quill handily describes as giving off “a Maltese Falcon, Ark of the Covenant vibe”.

As appose to all of these criminals, an intergalactic law enforcement agency, the Xandarian Nova Corps, are far more focused on preventing the Orb falling to the wrong hands. This allows the introduction some venerable actors such as Glenn Close as Nova Prime and the ever-lovable John C Reilly as Corpsman Dey although they seem to unnecessarily bump up the principal cast list.

With all these parties competing for the Orb, the plot traverses some brilliantly designed fantastical landscapes, such as the geyser infested ruin Morag and Knowhere (the severed head of a giant creature transformed into a vast mining colony), but once more arrives at a formulaic finale with a bad guy’s spaceship looming over a metropolis, cue leaping, crashing and explosions. However, Gunn completely reimagines space cinema, transforming black and white speckled backdrops into vividly beautiful interstellar landscapes.

His greatest achievement may actually be creating something with a genuine timeless sense to it. The soundtrack is laden with a stack of glorious pre-’88 tracks, handily stitched into the plot via Quill’s mix-tape made before his departure from Earth. This may slightly overshadow an otherwise exciting main theme but it’s the central pillar of establishing this as something completely off-the-wall.

Some cast members appear to be suffocating due to the shear size of the ensemble but our Guardians seem destined for cinematic immortality. Time will tell if this’ll ever reach the same heights as Star Wars, most likely not, but I’d rather think that Marvel are completely forgetting what’s gone before and traversed the extra mile to reshape the mould for both the future of superheroes and the whole of science fiction. Marvel’s formula may stress lack of exciting villains but once more exploits its greatest strength: absolute delight.

10/10

“Well now I’m standing. Happy? We’re all standing now. Bunch of jackasses, standing in a circle.”

Comic-Con 2014 – Round-Up – Avengers, Wonder Woman, Thrones, Godzilla and more!

Welcome all to the first big parts of news in our coverage of the 2014 San Diego Comic Con. You can check out yesterday’s various teaser poster reveals in the last post but it’s here that we begin the huge confirmations and castings that make this event so special. First off we ask you to recall an announcement made several months back about Spider-Man/Evil Dead director Sam Raimi announcing his intentions to produce a film adaptation of zombie action drama The Last of Us, widely regarded as one of the greatest games of all time and certainly the most cinematic.

As soon as this story came out, fan speculation rose as to who would be portraying the two lead roles. There were a host of great suggestions for the grizzled Joel, ranging from Josh Brolin to Hugh Jackman, but casting the young icon Ellie was proving more difficult. Ellen Page was a popular option due to her uncanny resemblance to the character but  was probably around ten years above the ideal casting net. From Comic Con, it has now emerged that seventeen year old Brit Maisie Williams, best known as Game of Thrones’ Ayra Stark, has entered early negotiations for the lead of Ellie. Tell us in the comments of what you think of Williams taking on the role as well as who should/could be playing Joel or if a Last of Us movie is a good idea at all. 2017?

Legendary Pictures have released some fantastic films since their first back in 2005 with Batman Begins and have gone onto produce Man of Steel, 300, Godzilla, Watchmen, The Hangover and The Dark Knight trilogy. Their upcoming movies are gaining huge hype and the herds of fans were delighted by their presence at the panel were their various projects were introduced.

Earlier this month we named Christopher Nolan’s new space epic Interstellar as our most hyped movie of this year’s second half. So then you can imagine the immense reaction received when Nolan (Memento, The Prestige, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception) lead a surprise panel for the film, accompanied by his leading man Matthew MacConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club, True Detective, Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street).

MacConaughey arrived first and described his first meeting with the modern legend. “I met with Christopher Nolan for three hours,” McConaughey said of joining the project, “and he didn’t say one word about the film, and I remember leaving thinking: ‘What the hell was that about?’ Anyway, he liked me and a week later the script arrived and I liked it and said, ‘I’m in.’

Nolan himself then graced the stage an shared some remarkable ambition for his project. “The single biggest influence for me was Kubrick’s 2001. I was able to go with my dad and see it in London on the big screen. We have the opportunity to tell a similarly ambitious story. That’s my ambition for the film, and I’m striving towards it.” Interstellar will star MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Casey Affleck, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon and Michael Caine. November 7th

Warcraft, the third directorial feature from Duncan Jones (Source Code, Moon) and adaptation of the legendary online game, is up next and Jones was offering a teaser. In order to respect the fans attending, we can’t show you the footage but we can report what Jones had to say.

“It’ll be an origin story that addresses how war breaks out between orcs and humans on the world of Azeroth.” He also mentions that “The film will be accessible to a wider audience thus, opening the property up to moviegoers unfamiliar with the brand, similar to the approach on past fantasy series such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings.” Warcraft will star Ben Foster, Toby Kebbell, Paula Patton and Dominic Cooper and is out March 11th 2016.

Following this, our first two mega announcements have been made. The first is an all new confirmation of a project Legendary have done a fantastic job of keeping under wraps. According to MTV, the events transpired something like this:

“The short clip raced over a restless ocean, then through the foliage and rocks on a deserted island, before the giant gorilla was finally revealed from the shadows. “Being alone in the wilderness, it had gone mad,” a voiceover intoned. “It looked at you with a vengeful aspect.” The film will explore the fictional island that is the mythical home of King Kong. The title card for the film simply read “Skull Island.””

There’s still no word on directors, stars or plots but we can confirm a November 4th 2016 release.

Following the phenomenal success of both Monsters and Godzilla, Gareth Edwards is proving to be a greatly busy man having been recruited by Star Wars for the first of three spin offs from the franchise. However, fans are desperate for two more Godzilla 2 to become the second act of a monstrous trilogy. Edwards arrived at Legendary’s panel to confirm that he was directing the sequel as well as showing off an awesome teaser containing a trio of huge confirmations that may contain tiny spoilers for those who want the reveal to be saved for the film. According to MTV:

An old-school Monarch film clip was then shown — that’s the group that studies and keeps tabs on the monsters in the rebooted series — that confirmed the existence of…

Rodan!

Mothra!

King Ghidorah!

The Monarch analysis concluded that a battle is inevitable: “Let them fight.” Godzilla 2 – 2017?

Our second preview of a video game adaptation is the action thriller Agent 47, based on the gaming sensation Hitman. Rupert Friend, Zachary Quinto and Ciaran Hinds serve under debut director Aleksander Bach while Total Film has the scoop on how the very first trailer went down.

The trailer opens with a remixed version of ‘Voodoo Child’, with Friend’s antihero handcuffed to the table in an interrogation room. The back of his head (which is stubbly, as opposed to clean-shaven) bears the trademark barcode tattoo, albeit in a slightly redesigned form. Asked for his name, he answers, “47.” His interrogator retorts, “That’s not a name!” “No, but it is mine…”

The action kicks off when 47 shows off his Bourne-esque skills. Jumping up from his seat, he pulls his handcuff-chain into the line of fire of a rifle that’s been mounted on the table and pointed at him. All in slow-motion, naturally.

Also spotted in the trailer is 47 walking through a security gate metal detector, and drawing back his coat to reveal that he’s armed to the hilt with various guns, Matrix-style. A line of dialogue acts as the voiceover, intoning: “He’s an engineered human being: stronger, faster, more intelligent than normal people.”

There’s plenty of slo-mo gunplay, plus a helicopters blades smashing into the side of a skyscraper, as well as the impressive sight of 47’s car being pinned by several grappling wires, which the SWAT team then slide down. It all looked very slick and glossy, with the film’s Berlin and Budapest locations also shown off. March 20th 2015

We don’t usually dip into the world of television unless it’s for something truly huge and Game of Thrones truly fits that bill. We won’t explain the character’s role in the plot in fear of spoiling. Joining the stellar ensemble on the fifth season of the fantasy show are Alexander Siddig (Da Vinci’s Demons) as Doran Martell, Toby Sebastian (After the Dark) as Trystane Martell, Nell Tiger Free (Broken) as Myrcella Baratheon, Deobia Oparei (Dredd) as Areo Hotah, Enzo Cilenti (The Rum Diary) as Yezzan, Jessica Henwick (Silk) as Nymeria Sand, Keisha Castle Hughes (The Nativity Story) as Obara Sand and Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean) as the High Sparrow. We’d expect season 5 to also star Emilia Clarke (Terminator: Genesis), Kit Harington (Pompeii), Maisie Williams (The Last of Us), Peter Dinklage (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Lena Headey (300, Dredd). April 2015

The panel for Dreamworks Animation was one of the first to take place this weekend and, while they’ve got plenty of projects going for them, they put their main focus on Madagascar spin off Penguins. John Malkovich (RED, Being John Malkovich, Burn After Reading, Dangerous Liaisons) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, Sherlock, War Horse, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) both featured in the panel and so, due to the latter’s presence, fans were requested to avoid all questions related to a certain detective although the Hall H attendees weren’t in a hurry to forget a Marvel rumour from earlier this year.

Clearly referring to Doctor Strange, Cumberbatch and co were asked which comic book character they’d like to play and they both had some fun with it. Malkovich confided “Lois Lane” while Cumberbatch teased “Nurse Normal. I’ll let the penny drop that’s a joke about Doctor Strange!” Returning to subject, the voice of Smaug had this to say about his new role, a smooth talking wolf spy named Classified. He claims he prepared for the role by “Working in Yellowstone park as a wolf for awhile. I was accepted by the pack quite quickly. It got a bit hairy, no pun intended, when I became the alpha male. Eventually I realized that two of the other wolves were Christian Bale and Daniel Day-Lewis.” December 5th

Most of the footage shown at Comic Con remains unseen to those who did not attend for several months in order to preserve the exclusives but we are rarely treated to the teasers immediately afterwards. Thankfully that’s exactly what happened with Mockingjay, the third instalment of The Hunger Games. The chilling first trailer is at last online and it’s given us plenty to discuss.

There’s no sign of a lot of key characters here (Peeta, Johanna, Haymitch, Finnick, Caesar, Effie, Prim, Beetee) but we do get glimpses of Julianne Moore as Alma Coin, Liam Hemsworth’s more militaristic Gale and Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final roles. I am Legend’s Francis Lawrence directs the cast of Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Jena Malone, Sam Clafin, Natalie Dormer, Jeffrey Wright, Willow Shields, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Donald Sutherland. November 21st

Proving that the young adult fantasy adaptations are no fad, action mystery The Maze Runner races into cinemas this autumn while it’s Comic Con panel unveiled the all new poster (above) and debut director Wes Ball hinted at the series’ future. “If the first film is a success, shooting on a sequel will begin in the northern fall this year.” The Maze Runner’s sequels are titled The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure and we might be able to expect them in time for 2016. The Maze Runner will star Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf), Kaya Scodelario (Moon) and Will Poulter (Wild Bill). October 10th

Another project we’re massively excited for is the comic book adaptation Kingsman: The Secret Service. It has long been known that Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Arkham City) has been set to make a cameo in the film, similarly to Mark Millar’s comic book, but at the panel he confirmed that his appearance may differ to the original one. In printed form, Hamill himself turns up but in the film he’ll play a character called James Arnold. He’ll have the same effect on the plot. The Secret Service is directed by Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, X-Men: First Class, Layer Cake, Kick-Ass) and will star Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Samuel L Jackson and Michael Caine. October 17th

The long awaited sequel to crime classic Sin City, titled A Dame to Kill For, is mere weeks away from release and, while the main attention was on this second instalment, one or two minds were beginning to consider a third. When asked, director Frank Miller explained “Robert (Rodriguez) and I are already talking about Sin City 3. So you’d better show up for number two or they won’t pay for it.” Sin City 2 will star Joseph Gordon Levitt, Eva Green, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson and Josh Brolin and is released August 25th.

Warner Bros was of the biggest studios to host a panel, in which they introduced four new projects. The first of which was new from the continuation of the DC universe kickstarted last year with Man of Steel. Director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) returns for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice which has at last given its very first look at the all new Wonder Woman, played by Fast and Furious’ Gal Gadot.

In other news for the franchise, Dawn of Justice writer Chris Terrio (Argo) is set to return for 2017’s Justice League however we are yet to receive the Shazam announcement that Dwayne Johnson had teased. A short clip of footage, reportedly of Superman spying a glowing-eyed Batman dusting off the Bat-signal, was briefly leaked but torn down by Warner Bros although this much finished work is a promising sign. Dawn of Justice will star Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Holly Hunter, Scoot McNairy, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane and Jeremy Irons. April 29th 2016

It’s fair to say that we’ve had our doubts about whether director George Miller and star Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) could pull off Mad Max sequel Fury Road but the awesome first trailer could quench any worries. It seems to be promising one long action set piece, similarly to Dredd, which may be greatly difficult to pull off but we’d love to see what they make of it. Fury Road will star Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult and Charlize Theron. May 15th 2015

For the finale to Warner’s presentation, the ensemble cast of The Hobbit’s concluding chapter The Battle of the Five Armies descended upon Comic Con and were granted the chance to share their incredible experiences of bringing Middle Earth to life one final time. “It was a very, very strange experience, ten years on, going back into, to Miramar, to the studios. And it was like nothing had changed,” said Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), who plays Elven queen Galadriel.

“Peter and Fran and Philippa and all of the guys at WETA had made these extraordinarily successful – financially and creatively successful films – but their filmmaking practice hadn’t changed at all. You still felt like you were making an independent film that was ridiculously well-resourced.” Next up was the infamous archer Legolas, portrayed on screen by Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean). “I feel weird. We were just talking today. Peter’s youngest has just turned 18. She was 3 when I arrived in New Zealand, you know. Which is nuts, right? I was 21,

“It’s sad to say goodbye in many, many ways. I felt very lucky to do it actually. I felt like I got a chance to create a backstory for a character that goes into ‘Lord of the Rings.’ And I think this movie will tie up beautifully all of the characters’ stories into a nice little bow so that you’ll be able to go straight in and watch ‘Lord of the Rings.’ You’ll be able to do the whole thing at some point.”

Peter Jackson directs the cast of Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt, Lawrence Makoare, Manu Bennett, Sylvester McCoy, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving.

Finally we get to the big one that we’ve all been waiting for. The Marvel panel stole the show last year with a guest appearance by Loki himself and so they were always going to struggle topping that this year. Our calender of confirmed Marvel projects doesn’t stretch beyond 2016’s Doctor Strange and so we’re hoping that Kevin Feige and co would at last fill in the seven dates with empty spaces for titles. Sadly, we only got one of these seven but I think the simple answer as to why would be that Marvel themselves don’t quite know yet. Also, there’s no official title so far for Captain America 3 there’s still plenty of excitement in store.

It’ll have been almost four years since her on screen debut but Agent Carter (played by Hayley Atwell) at last has her own TV show, set after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger. We sincerely want Dominic Cooper and Toby Jones to reprise their roles of Howard Stark and Arnim Zola respectively for the series but Marvel are going ahead with appointing directors. We knew that Lou D’Esposito, mastermind of many a One Shot short film, would direct the pilot however the MCU’s feature film directors are being recruited. The Winter Soldier’s Anthony and Joe Russo are set for episodes two and three while The First Avenger’s Joe Johnston will tackle ep 4, adding a flavour of the cinematic universe to the show. January 2015

Marvel’s first crack at a huge live action TV series tied into their films was unveiled almost a year ago in the form of Agents of SHIELD. Some found it greatly disappointed but, while there are undeniable issues, MAOS has picked up a strong following – thanks to the shocking twists, betrayals and bumping offs the second half of the series – and season two has got the go ahead. In a panel introduced via video by Patton Oswalt (Eric Koenig), a host of new characters and stars were introduced to pose intriguing predicaments for our Agents.

Lucy Lawless, best known as Xena: Warrior Princess, will play the original character of Isabelle Hartley, a veteran SHIELD agent. Lance Hunter, head of SHIELD’s British counterpart STRIKE (Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies) will be portrayed by Nick Blood (The Bletchley Circle). The uber villainous HYDRA recruiter Daniel Whitehall/The Kraken is under the acting expertise of Whedonite Reed Diamond (Much Ado About Nothing, Moneyball) and finally superhero Bobbi Morse (aka Mockingbird) has been confirmed to be a part of the show but there’s yet to be any word on a star. We’d expect Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Chloe Bennett, BJ Britt and Patton Oswalt while we may expect surprise returns for Ron Glass, Cobie Smulders, Adrian Pasdar, Ruth Negga, David Conrad and J August Richards. This Autumn

Until the shocking departure of Edgar Wright, three main stars and composer Steven Price, Ant-Man was shaping out to be a hugely awesome prospect and the last minute appointment of Peyton Reed may not save an unrecoverable set back for Marvel but the greatly positive reaction to the footage shown is an exciting sign. The main commotion was the announcement of supporting roles. The Hobbit’s Evangeline Lilly will not play Janet Van Dyne as expected but will in fact be Hank Pym’s daughter Hope who we can assume will soon inherit the role of Wasp. House of Cards star Corey Stoll has revealed that he plays Pym’s protoge Darren Cross who attempts to succeed Pym’s company and becomes the villain Yellowjacket. Ant-Man stars Paul Rudd, Corey Stoll, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena and Michael Douglas. July 17th 2015

Now we get back to those seven unannounced projects landing from 2017 to 2019. Marvel will take to space this weekend with the stellar release of Guardians of the Galaxy and it was boldly announced that a sequel would arrive in July 2017. James Gunn (Slither) is already confirmed to be returning while we can expect writer Nicole Perlman and stars Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and Josh Brolin to reprise their roles as Star Lord, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, Drax and Thanos. Supporting stars such as John C Reilly, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Rooker and Glenn Close may also return depending on where Guardians leaves us. July 28th 2017

Director Scott Derickson’s (Deliver Us From Evil, Sinister) extensive search for a casting for Marvel’s Doctor Strange has conjured greatly varied suggestions for who should play the Sorcerer Supreme. Wild accusations of Johnny Depp, Viggo Mortensen and Adrien Brody came up, Jared Leto, Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch were the focus of a shortlist rumour, fans begged for the likes of Jon Hamm and Joel Edgerton while there was a persistent claim that it would be Andy Serkis. However, the search may have ended with the report that Joaquin Phoenix has entered negotiations.

Phoenix is of coarse the three time Oscar nominated star of The Master, Her and Gladiator although the experience of a lead blockbuster action role may be new to him. We’re gonna go ahead and say that we reckon he can pull it off but we want to here what you think of the casting in the comments. July 8th 2016

Finally today we’ve got the biggest possible poster imaginable for mega-sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Marvel are keeping their cards close to their chests this time around but it’s reported that the footage shown unveiled a non-motion capture Andy Serkis.

Joss Whedon (Serenity, Firefly, Toy Story, Buffy) directs the cast of Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, James Spader, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Thomas Kretschmann, Hayley Atwell, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders and Samuel L Jackson.

That’s all for our Comic Con coverage this year and thanks for seeing it out, we know it took a while to publish. Please tell us in the comments who your’re most impressed by: Mad Max, Avengers 2, Dawn of Justice, Godzilla 2, Skull Island, Warcraft, Interstellar or Hobbit 3? Here’s to Comic Con 2015. Bye for now!

The Best Films of 2014 – the Half-Way Point

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

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

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

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

International Box-office Top 10:

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

Tuorhoth’s Top 10:

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

Top 10 Anticipated:

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

Kelsey Grammer talks reprising Beast role, Daniel Radcliffe hints at Batman and new images from Guardians

There were worries that, post-Deathly Hallows, the Harry Potter franchise’s titular star Daniel Radcliffe would never by able to become a credible actor in the shadow of his famous role. He’s yet to star in any blockbuster action but he’s building himself up as a genuine star with roles in indie films such as Horns, What If and Kill Your Darlings. He is set to be returning to the land of mainstream with Victor Frankenstein and Tokyo Vice but he’s now hinting at a far bigger gig.

“If they reboot that again, I’ll do that too,” said Radcliffe of the Batman series. “It’s happening, isn’t it? With Ben Affleck. I could be Robin! I’m perfect.” It’s quite likely that the Brit is teasing the media who so often inflate any loose statement from him into a full blown confirmation. Even if this is reliable, Robin is no longer a credible character so an appearance from Nightwing would be more probable. Zack Snyder’s (300, Watchmen, Man of Steel) sequel Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will star Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Ray Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Jeremy Irons and Laurence Fishburne.

Looking into the future, only certain projects have been confirmed to be expanding (or X-panding) the X-Men universe. They are Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse (focussing on the First Class graduates of Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Channing Tatum and Hugh Jackman) and James Mangold’s Wolverine 3 as well as the in-development X-Force (Jeff Wadlow), Mystique, Gambit and Deadpool (Tim Miller/Ryan Reynolds). One instalment that fans are beginning to cry out for is a follow up for stars of the original trilogy (Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Shawn Ashmore, Ellen Page, Daniel Cudmore, Anna Paquin, Ben Foster and Ian McKellen). Golden Globe winner Kelsey Grammer, who brilliantly portrayed Beast/Hank McCoy in the disappointing The Last Stand, has expressed interest in returning. “I hope to do another,” confirms the star. “I hope they find some way to come up with a new story that involves Beast in my timeline.”

Well X-Men, Godzilla, Lego and Cap have been and gone and it’ll be another few months before Interstellar and Hobbit get to fill our screens so right now Guardians of the Galaxy and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes have our attention for this summer. Today, we’re talking about the former as our buddies from the ever-brilliant Empire have unveiled the very first look at Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Lincoln) flanked by fellow villains Nebula (Karen Gillan – Doctor Who, Oculus) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou – Gladiator, Blood Diamond). James Gunn (Slither, Super) commands the cast of Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, John C Reilly, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin.