Dwayne Johnson to join Big Trouble remake, Arcel to direct Dark Tower and first Good Dinosaur trailer

1986’s action adventure cult classic Big Trouble in Little China was one instalment in the seminal pairing of star Kurt Russell (Death Proof) and director John Carpenter (Halloween). Despite the odd flop on his resume (see Southland Tales, Race to Witch Mountain, Tooth Fairy), Dwayne Johnson has been appointed as the star to play the new Jack Burton. The Fast Five, Hercules and San Andreas star has been appointed by Universal whose reboot attempts have culminated in X-Men: First Class’ Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller working on the script.

Stephen King’s horror Western novel series The Dark Tower has gathered a long running traction to be turned into a film and it has now taken a step by looking to hire Danish director Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair). The project was once nearly adapted by Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Rush) but could soon change hands.

According to many, Pixar are currently out of form. The animation powerhouse conjured hits such as The Incredibles, WALL-E, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Up and the Toy Story trilogy but Brave remains divisive and both Monsters University and Cars 2 missed the spot. Their latest (Inside Out) is currently making strides and Cannes but their second film of the year, pre-historic adventure The Good Dinosaur, just debuted its first trailer. The film is directed by Peter Sohn and stars Lucas Neff (Raising Hope), Neil Patrick Harris (Gone Girl), Judy Greer (Archer), Bill Hader (Trainwreck), John Lithgow (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading).

The Good Dinosaur – November 27th

The Dark Tower – 2018?

Big Trouble in Little China – 2018?

Interstellar review

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Matthew MacConaghey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, David Gyasi, Michael Caine, Bill Irwin, Casey Affleck, Mackenzie Foy, Timothee Chalamet, Wes Bentley, John Lithgow, Topher Grace, David Oyelowo, Ellen Burstyn

These days a blockbuster could take years to come into existence, setbacks including casting difficulty and constant rewrites of the script. Christopher Nolan is one of those few directors who no one can say no to when offered a gig. His new passion project, Interstellar, was announced just early last year and instantly went to shooting but a mix bag of critical responses question if the Brit has pulled it off again.

In a near future where blight ravages the world, former engineer and single father Cooper (MacConaughey) investigates a gravitational anomaly is the bedroom of his young daughter, Murphy (Foy). This leads him to a secretly ongoing branch of NASA, led by Brand (Caine), who recruit him as part of a four man crew to enter a newly emerged wormhole in hopes of finding a sustainable replacement to Earth.

Pushing a risky 170 minute runtime, this has to be one of the most ambitious efforts ever committed to film, and in this case it actually was. Scrapping digital reinforces the theme of a second hand, dirtied world. This is a production completely unchained and unlimited in scope; not a shot is out of line from the near-barren plains of the mid-west to the genuinely stunning landscapes of distant planets.

Sound, design and cinematography (a first collaboration with Hoyte van Hoytema) are all note perfect but the driving force is Chris Nolan. It’s his unrivalled amounts of innovation that sets Interstellar apart. Scene after scene showcases a rare cinematic magic: a tear filled MacConaughey leaving through the fields as the countdown begins; the journey through the wormhole; the colossal threats of Miller’s planet. These stark images are craftsmanship of the highest standard from a remarkable mind.

The other major technical contributor is composer Hans Zimmer who shines with a compelling and numbing organ-based soundtrack. This is far from his best work though, greatly deprived of his iconic use of percussion. Its main purpose is as an audio aid to the blistering visuals.

The narrative, initially instigated by physicist supervisor Kip Thorne but helmed by Chris and Jonathan Nolan, isn’t to the same vein of the unravelable puzzles of Memento and Inception but it still requires the same ongoing dissection. Unlike the two aforementioned works, this doesn’t build upon its own established but a mixture of scientific fact and theory. The phrase mind-boggling falls short of describing Thorne’s concepts, in particular the different passing of time. There’s now doubt that the science works out but this culminates in a more fantastical ending that may not stand up to more rigorous scrutiny.

The plot itself follows Cooper, a weary Mid-West single father and former engineer. He raises the educationally fledging Tom, an fiercely underdeveloped character, and the prodigious Murphy with their grandfather Donald (John Lithgow). Cooper may well be the nondescript American hero (with a perhaps indecipherable accent to suit) but the scene in which he numbly watches twenty years of family history within minutes before breaking down both redeems MacConaughey and proves him as the capable leading man he is.

Although he is the leading man, the plot obviously hinges on his daughter Murphy, a budding scientist taken under the wing of Michael Caine’s ageing Professor Brand. The young Mackenzie Foy in superb as an abandoned girl naively believing that her father will return. She morphs into Jessica Chastain, a cynic who comes the the realization that Cooper is lost and that humanity’s survival lies with her. With cunning, smarts and deep rooted inner complications, Murphy has to be the heroine of the year so far.

The film’s other key relationship is between Brand and his daughter Amelia, excellently played by Anne Hathaway, but this doesn’t quite pack the same emotional impact as the other – the two share very little screentime. The two perform greatly as individuals though: Caine plays a fabled Moses type character weighed down by his responsibilities and compromised by his cold approach to humanity’s future but alternatively Amelia is thrown by her own emotional attachments. It’s a grave comparison from the Coopers’ bond to this paternal fragility and it’s great to see scientists portrayed not as eccentrics but characters with very human contradictions and faults.

Beyond these central roles and fairly nondescript popups from Murph’s husband Topher Grace and dull astronaut Wes Bentley, there are the odd stand out roles. Relative newcomer David Gyasi is superb as Romilly, the crew member left behind on the Endurance while the others embark to the first planet for however many years it takes. His traditional performance isn’t a scratch however on Bill Irwin’s wry portrayal of TARS, a helper robot who adds a rare bit of warmth and humour (the new Eames?) that Nolan perhaps needs. The design itself is more practical than iconic but it still becomes a root-worthy supporting player.

One star sourly undernourished on screen is Casey Affleck as Tom, the near-forgotten son of Cooper. Starting off as a well mannered teen destined for a fortune lesser than his sister’s and suddenly becoming a domestic monster imprisoning his endangered family, He has one of the film’s most starling transformations but skips the transition period: there’s beginning, cause and aftermath but no gradual development. The Assassination of Jesse James’ brilliant Oscar nominated star could have made something special out of the role but it sinks into a standard backing appearance.

Despite this none of the performances actually let down in quality, just quantity. Its quantity in visual scope, emotional depth and mass of content however won’t bore but permits a chance to revel for even longer in sheer brilliance. While the scientific dialect will baffle some, the dialogue itself isn’t quite the complex maze of Memento, as slick as Inception or as iconic as The Dark Knight trilogy and there are the odd dud lines (Hathaway’s “love transcends the universe” speech falls short). The opening scenes are packed with poor exposition, especially a meeting between Cooper and school principal David Oyelowo in which they awkwardly cover history leading to these events.

There was a fair amount of criticism of the supposed anti-agrarian message mixed with elitist ideals of otherworldly ambition but what Interstellar superbly evokes is the most raw of emotions: selfishness, selflessness, survival and sentimentality. In the far reaches of space Nolan masterfully crafts his most human picture yet. Perhaps inferior to Inception, this is one awe inspiring and phenomenally acted ode to life, the universe and everything.

10/10

“We must reach far beyond our own lifespans. We must think not as individuals but as a species. We must confront the reality of interstellar travel.”

Birdman tops Indie Spirit nominations and Andy Serkis discusses Age of Ultron

Andy Serkis is one of Britain’s great innovative actors of the century, providing the iconic roles of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit’s Gollum, Rise/Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Caesar and King Kong. While also starring in the flesh in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, he’s still by far best known for his legendary motion capture work but its unclear which format he shall take for his upcoming works, an unspecified role in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, directing and starring as Baloo in Jungle Book: Origins and a mystery shrouded appearance in Marvel’s blockbuster sequel.

In The Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer Serkis’ part was teased in a single shot in which, bearded, he turns toward the camera. He bares a great resemblance to the Marvel villain Ulysses Klaw, which’d make him the lead antagonist in 2017’s Black Panther alongside hero Chadwick Boseman. As well as this he’s assisting with the film’s mo-cap work with the characters Hulk and Ultron. He’s shed some light on that process.

“We did some work on Ultron,” Serkis reveals to Empire on their visit to his Imaginarium Studio. “On the development of Ultron before James Spader came on board. In terms of movement styles: was he gonna be human-like? Was he going to be robot-like? So we worked with a bunch of different people, from body-popping experts to dancers, to this guy called Neil who’s nearly eight feet tall.”

“We gave Mark weights, we had voice projections so he could do his Hulk roar. On screen we could have a virtual representation of the low-resolution avatar of The Hulk, so he could come out and feel that sense of scale.”

Written and directed by Joss Whedon (Serenity, Buffy and the Vampire Slayer, Toy Story), the sequel stars Robert Downey Jr (The Judge, Sherlock Holmes) as Tony Stark, James Spader (Stargate, Lincoln) as Ultron, Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Cabin in the Woods) as Thor, Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Town) as Clint Barton, Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, The Iceman) as Steve Rogers, Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Lucy) as Natasha Romanoff, Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island, Foxcather) as Bruce Banner, Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla, Liberal Arts) as Wanda Maximoff, Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass, Anne Karenina) Pietro Maximoff, Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Margin Call) The Vision, Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) as Maria Hill, Don Cheadle (Crash, Flight) as James Rhodes, Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist, King Kong) as Wolfgang von Strucker, Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting, Melancholia) as Erik Selvig and Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park, The Incredibles, Django Unchained) as Nick Fury.

Followed by Martin Luther King biopic Selma and drumming drama Whiplash, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Birdman, a dark comedy centred on a former but now fledging and arrogant superhero star played by Beetlejuice’s Michael Keaton, is leading the pack in The Independent Spirit Awards with six nominations. The lack of a mention for acclaimed British wartime drama The Imitation Game has caused some controversy (a calculated conspiracy to snub the Brits?). Take a look at the full list.

Best Feature:

Birdman
Boyhood
Love is Strange
Selma
Whiplash

Best Director:

Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Ava DuVemay – Selma
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
David Zellner Kumiko – The Treasure Hunter

Best Screenplay:

Big Eyes
A Most Violent Year
Nightcrawler
Only Lovers Left Alive
Love is Strange

Best Female Lead:

Marion Cotillad – The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi – The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton – Only Lovers Left Alive

Best Male Lead:

Andre Benjamin – Jimi: All is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton – Birdman
John Lithgow – Love is Strange
David Oyelowo – Selma

Best Supporting Female:

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo – Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz – Stand Clear of Closing Doors
Emma Stone – Birdman

Best Supporting Male:

Riz Ahmed – Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Alfred Molina – Love is Strange
Edward Norton – Birdman
JK Simmons – Whiplash

Best Cinematography:

The Immigrant
Birdman
It Felt Like Love
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Selma

Best Editing:

Boyhood
Whiplash
Nightcrawler
A Most Violent Year
The Guest

Best International Film:

Force Majeure
Ida
Leviathan
Mommy
Norte, The End of History
Under the Skin

Robert Altman Award:

Inherent Vice; Director: Paul Thomas Anderson; Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Jena Malone, Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon

Special Distinction Award:

Foxcatcher; Director: Bennett Miller; Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller, Vanessa Redgrave

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – May 1st 2015

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

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

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

Interstellar – November 7th

Fast and Furious 7 – April 3rd 2015

Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool reportedly greenlit, Toby Kebbell joins Ben-Hur, new Agents of SHIELD teaser and (another) Interstellar poster

The marketing team for Christopher Nolan’s secrecy soaked sci-fi Interstellar will be having the time of their lives: across this week, a whole series of posters for the film have been revealed one by one. Today is no exception. This one sheet sees a spacecraft downed in either domestic or alien waters. Nolan, British writer/director behind The Dark Knight trilogy, Memento, The Prestige and Inception, directs the cast of Matthew MacConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, Anne Hathaway, David Oyelowo, Matt Damon, Ellen Burstyn and John Lithgow.

A planned spin off for Ryan Reynolds’ (Safe House, Buried) crazed superhero Deadpool, who made his only, mediocre appearance in the vastly disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine, has been in development hell for the past six years. Most of that time the project has only been kept alive by the comic book character’s ongoing popularity. It has now been reported that Fox have greenlit the film for an early 2016 release. Tim Miller, who for an excruciatingly long time has been attached to the film, is now confirmed as director. My key hope for the film is that it can settle for a 15 rating: any lower and it wouldn’t have the same tone as the often adult comics but higher and the gore would unfairly become the focus.

I was one of many distraught by Toby Kebbell’s casting in the prestigious role of Doctor Doom in next year’s Fantastic Four but the star proved himself greatly going up against Andy Serkis’ Ceasar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. He’s now setting himself up for another villainous role as Messala in the new remake of Ben-Hur. The historical epic already has Morgan Freeman (Batman Begins, The Shawkshank Redemption, Seven) signed on to play mentor Ildarin while Jack Huston (American Hustle, Broadwalk Empire) is negotiating to play the titular hero. 12 Years a Slave’s John Ridley writes while Wanted’s Timur Bekmambetov directs.

Finally today we’ve got an awesome new poster for season 2 of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. The expansion of the multi billion superhero universe got off to a fairly rough start but pulled itself together with an excellent second half to the series. Deduce what you like from the teaser. Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennett, Brett Dalton, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, BJ Britt, Adrianne Palicki, Patton Oswalt, Nick Blood, Reed Diamond, Adrian Pasdar, Kyle MacLachlan and Lucy Lawless will all feature in some way in the new season.

Agents of SHIELD season 2 – this autumn on ABC and Channel 4

Deadpool – February 12th 2016

Interstellar – November 7th

Ben-Hur – February 19th 2016

Kate Mara in Ridley Scott’s The Martian, another Interstellar poster and Benedict Cumberbatch in new Imitation Game teaser

I was one of many who were perplexed when Kate Mara, seen before in mediocre supporting roles in Shooter and Transcendence, was cast as the superhero lead Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four. She’s since proved herself with a recurring role on House of Cards. It’s now rumoured that she’s set for a role in sci-fi thriller The Martian. Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Alien, American Gangster, Prometheus, Black Hawk Down, Blade Runner) directs and has assembled the cast of Matt Damon (Saving Private Ryan, The Bourne Identity), Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) and Jessica Chastain (The Help, Zero Dark Thirty).

Many of next year’s Oscar frontrunners are now just beginning to hit screens at festival’s around the world, months before their general release. Gone Girl, Interstellar, Fury, Inherent Vice, Big Eyes and Exodus: Gods and Kings seem to be keeping their cards close to their chests while Boyhood, Birdman, The Judge and Foxcatcher have gained acclaim from their limited audiences. A dark horse in the awards race is wartime drama The Imitation Game, a character piece centred on tortured codebreaker Alan Turing. A brand new poster has been released online. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness), Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina, Pirates of the Caribbean), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Matthew Goode (Stoker) and Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

You may have noticed our focus on Christopher Nolan’s (Inception, Memento, The Prestige, Insomnia, The Dark Knight trilogy) epic sci-fi mystery Interstellar this week. One by one, awesome new posters have been revealed and today’s is now exception. Nolan’s secrecy shrouded ninth film, set around a century into our future as the Earth begins the deteriorate, sees lowly engineer Cooper (Matthew MacConaughey) recruited by a government figure (Michael Caine) to join a group of explorers (Anne Hathaway, David Oyelowo, Wes Bentley) in entering a recently discovered wormhole. Meanwhile, Cooper’s children (Casey Affleck, Jessica Chastain) grow up alone on Earth. The film also stars John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn and Matt Damon.

Interstellar – November 7th

The Imitation Game – November 14th

The Martian – November 27th 2015

Jack Huston confirmed for Ben-Hur, James D’Arcy joins Agent Carter as the new Jarvis and new Interstellar poster

Brit Jack Huston is shaping up to be a potentially great rising star following his recurring gig on Broadwalk Empire and supporting role in as a mobster in American Hustle. He’s now set to be making one great step into stardom with the lead in Ben-Hur. The iconic role, once played by Charlton Heston, will be seen once more in a new remake, courtesy of Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov. Morgan Freeman (The Dark Knight, Seven, Million Dollar Baby, The Shawshank Redemption) is already signed on to play chariot racing mentor Ildarin while you may remember that Tom Hiddleston (War Horse, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Avengers) was previously rumoured to have been attached to the role although it appears as if he’s opted out in favour of Skull Island.

The role of Jarvis in Marvel comics greatly differs to the portrayal seen across numerous film adaptations. Originally, Edwin Jarvis is butler to both Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and, later, The Avengers but on film, where he has been portrayed by Paul Bettany on four occasions, is an AI assistant to Stark’s technological enterprises, named JARVIS, who we only here the voice of. In next year’s Age of Ultron, JARVIS will be animated in the form of the robotic Vision. We thought that’d be all from the non-superpowered character but his original version is working his way onto our screen.

He’ll in fact be portrayed on the small screen by Cloud Atlas’ James D’Arcy in the upcoming Agent Carter, a spin off of the MCU set in SHIELD’s early days after WW2 starring Hayley Atwell. An eight-part first season to the show arrives this winter. Confused? We were too. We’ve now assumed that D’Arcy’s Jarvis will in fact be butler to Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), father of Tony, and will then provide inspiration for Tony’s automated companion later on. Given the significance of this role, we’d expect Cooper to either be a regular on the show or at least looming presence of SHIELD’s activities. It’s possible that younger versions of future SHIELD veterans such as Nick Fury, Alexander Pierce or Hank Pym (played by Samuel L Jackson, Robert Redford and Michael Douglas, respectively, on film) will be seen while, seeing as D’Arcy convinced in the elderly make up in Cloud Atlas, I hope that an older version of this Jarvis may crop up in the films.

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Memento, The Prestige, Inception) writes and directs Interstellar, which may be the defining sci-fi of out generation – not to overhype. After yesterday’s unveiling, another poster has been revealed and it showcases our hero Cooper gazing at the stars, as oppose to traversing them. Matthew MacConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Michael Caine (Alfie), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James), David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), John Lithgow (Terms of Endearment), Ellen Burstyn (The Excorcist) and Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity) all star in a cast of five Oscar wins and an additional fifteen nominations. I leave you both of the posters (note: they are almost identical in layout except for the tagline).

Interstellar – November 7th

Ben-Hur – February 19th 2016

Agent Carter – ABC and Channel 4 this winter

Matt Damon in new Bourne rumour, Tom Hiddleston joins Skull Island and Nolan’s Interstellar gets incredible new poster

The original Bourne trilogy was a paragon of action cinema with Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne becoming an icon of the decade. This was followed by Jeremy Renner’s mediocre spin off The Bourne Legacy. Universal appear to be moving ahead with a Legacy sequel, directed by Fast and Furious’ Justin Lin, but fans are only really after the actual Bourne’s saga to continue. The Bourne Identity’s director Doug Liman has since occupied himself with the smash hit Edge of Tomorrow while Damon (Saving Private Ryan, Good Will Hunting, Ocean’s Eleven, The Talented Mr Ripley, The Departed) has stated that he’d only return to the role should it be with Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum, Green Zone, United 93, Captain Phillips). It’s now been reported that Damon and Greengrass are collaborating once more on the next Bourne instalment. It’s yet to be revealed which story, if any, from the series they will adapt. The shortlist from that features The Bourne Betrayal, Sanction, Deception, Objective, Dominion, Imperative, Retribution and Ascendancy.

At this year’s Comic Con, it was widely expected that it’d be dictated by Marvel and DC but the surprise victor was Legendary, a sub-branch of Warner Bros who’ve found recent success with some giant creature features. Godzilla and Pacific Rim have proved the relevance of classic B-movie style filmaking today. Legendary’s biggest announcement of many over the Comic Con weekend was the confirmation of Skull Island, a prequel to the legend of King Kong. The iconic ape has seen through three major movies. Generally regarded as the best is the beloved 1933 version, poorly remade in 1976 with Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges. Then came Peter Jackson’s audience divider in 2005, a film which I regard to be an underrated masterpiece, starring Andy Serkis, Adrien Brody, Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Jamie Bell, Colin Hanks, Kyle Chandler and Thomas Kretschmann.

Attack the Block’s Joe Cornish was rumoured to be in the running to direct the film. It’s now been announced that Jordan Vogt Roberts, the director behind last year’s indie hit The Kings of Summer, is signed on to helm the film with an awesome lead star.

The one and only Loki, nemesis of The Avengers, has joined the film in an unspecified lead. Tom Hiddleston, also famed for Midnight in Paris, The Hollow Crown and War Horse, is also rumoured to be joining Morgan Freeman in the new Ben-Hur remake. The role Hiddleston will be playing is up for thorough speculation. He may be the Jeff Bridges/Adrien Brody protector type or the more self serving Jack Black role.

Finally today, we bring you the truly incredible new poster of sci-fi epic Interstellar, debuting today courtesy of Empire. Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia, Following, Batman Begins, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Prestige, Inception) directs the ensemble cast of Matthew MacConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse Jams by the Coward Robert Ford), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), John Lithgow (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), David Oyelowo (Jack Reacher), Wes Bentley (The Hunger Games), Matt Damon (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Michael Caine (Zulu).

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

Christopher Nolan hints for Interstellar and new pics from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and first TMNT trailer

We start with an apology for yesterday’s absence. We’d scheduled it to be the day of my review of Marvel’s thriller Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Our review will arrive on Sunday but today we’re making up for that with some incredibly exciting film news for three of this year’s biggest movies.

In my mind, Christopher Nolan is the single greatest British writer/director of this century. He began his career with the first class thrillers Insomnia and The Following but found his big break with the psychological mystery Memento. That soon lead to him landing the director’s chair on Batman Begins. From there, he confirmed legendary status with The Dark Knight, The Prestige, The Dark Knight Rises and Inception and his technologically stunning and brilliantly written film’s has received a total of 21 Oscar nominations.

So, you won’t be surprised to hear that it is with great excitement and trepidation that we report anything to do with his new film. Still, the ever secretive Nolan has told us very little about it: it’s titled Interstellar, has a greatly impressive cast list and must have something to do with space. He’s finally given a hint at what it’s like to be working with the man who’s currently the biggest actor on the planet: the Oscar winning Matthew MacConaughey. “I needed someone who is very much an everyman, someone the audience could experience the story with,” he says of the Wolf of Wall Street, True Detective and Dallas Buyers Club star. “He’s just a phenomenal, charismatic presence in the movie. His performance is shaping up to be extraordinary.”

Nolan also added a little to do with the styling of the film. “We have spatial interiors. We built closed sets and shot it like a documentary, like they were really there.” Interstellar also stars Anne Hathaway, Casey Affleck, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Topher Grace, Wes Bentley, Mackenzie Foy, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn, David Gyasi and Matt Damon.

Today’s next snippet comes from Empire’s set-pics from the simian sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Cloverfield’s Matt Reeves directs the film which has released some awesome shots of the terrifying apes before their post-production motion capture transformation. The film stars Gary Oldman, Judy Greer, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit McPhee and Andy Serkis.

Today’s final report concerns the release of the very first trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Michael Bay (director of Transformers) produces this reboot of the cult animation while Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans, Battle Los Angeles) directs. The cast list includes of the action adventure includes Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Will Arnett, Danny Woodburn and Whoopi Goldberg.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – October 17th

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – July 17th

Interstellar – November 7th