Edgar Wright reveals his Top Ten of the Year and new images of Vision in Age of Ultron

Critics and fans alike tend to dictate what goes down as the year’s best films; the year’s leaders would have to be Interstellar, Boyhood, Guardians of the Galaxy, Birdman, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Babadook, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Godzilla, The Imitation Game and The Lego Movie. A more interesting pick comes from the filmmakers themselves (Tarantino shocked the world by announcing The Lone Ranger among his) and British director Edgar Wright (The World’s End, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Shaun of the Dead) has revealed his own top ten. In no particular order, his selection was.

• Boyhood – Director: Richard Linklater – Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke
• The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson – Ralph Fiennes, Adrien Brody, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray
• Birdman – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Zack Galifianakis
• Snowpiercer – Joon-ho Bong – Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, Ed Harris
• Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Casey Affleck, Mackenzie Foy, Bill Irwin
• Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy – Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed
• Under the Skin – Jonathan Glazer – Scarlett Johansson
• The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Charlie Day, Alison Brie, Will Arnett
• Whiplash – Damien Chazelle – Miles Teller, JK Simmons
• Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton

In the mammoth release of the trailer for Firefly, Buffy and Toy Story writer Joss Whedon’s superhero sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron there wasn’t any look at one of the major characters, Vision (played by A Beautiful Mind’s Paul Bettany). A new image reveals a better look at him than before. Age of Ultron also stars Robert Downey Jr (The Judge), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Stellan Skarsgard (Pirates of the Caribbean), Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and James Spader (The Blacklist).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – May 1st

Weekend box-office – 28th of June to 4th of July 2014 – can Jump Street take Dragon and Think Like a Man too?

It’s not usual for a box-office showdown to be contended by three comedy sequels but that exact battle is taking place in the US this weekend. First off is How to Train Your Dragon 2 which was left slightly deflated by its second place entry last week but was hoping for the legs that often tread with films aimed at younger audiences. Next up was 22 Jump Street whose combination of modern wit and knowing with supreme ’80s silliness is proving massively popular for the 15+ male audience. Finally, brushing off its critical thrashing and hoping the US can look past that is Think Like A Man Too which could thrive off the largely empty weekend and Kevin Hart’s popularity. Last week we predicted that Dragon would creep up one place to the top but last find out what really went down.

US:

1. Think Like a Man Too – Director: Tim Story – $29.2 million
2. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – $27.5 million
3. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois – $24.7 million
4. Jersey Boys – Clint Eastwood – $13.3 million
5. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – $13 million

UK:

1. The Fault in Our Stars – Josh Boone – £3.4 million
2. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – £1.5 million
3. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – £1 million
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – £0.6 million
5. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – £0.5 million

Think Like a Man has inexplicably defeated a pair of rare critically lauded comedy sequels but any further success will be shunted down by next week’s big release. Lord and Miller meanwhile are on fine form with the two biggest comedy hits of the year (Jump Street and Lego Movie) but we’ll have to wait and see if Dreamworks’ Dragon sequel can make a worldwide impact. Clint Eastwood’s musical flick Jersey Boys made a flat entry but in the UK teen drama Fault in Our Stars has has proved to be a modest success. This week I scored a disappointing 2/10.

US:

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Michael Bay
2. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois
3. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
4. Think Like a Man Too – Tim Story
5. Snowpiercer – Joon-ho Bong

UK:

1. The Fault in Our Stars – Josh Boone
2. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
3. Chef – Jon Favreau
4. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg
5. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer

Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley in The Fault in Our Stars, this week’s UK number one.

Kevin Hart in Think Like a Man Too, this week’s US number one.