Ant-Man review

Director: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, Tip Harris, David Dastmalchian, Martin Donovan, John Slattery, Hayley Atwell

The production of Ant-Man is the most troubled in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s history: the departure of fan favourite director Edgar Wright seemed to leave an irreplaceable hole in the superhero production. His replacement – rom-com filmmaker Peyton Reed who’s credits include the mediocre Bring It On, The Break-Up and Yes Man – didn’t inspire a great amount of confidence but the flick might have been able to overcome its rough road to the big screen.

Low level thief Scott Lang (Rudd) is released from prison and attempts to fund his estranged daughter (Ryder Fortson) by breaking into the house of an old inventor/businessman Hank Pym (Douglas) and stumbles across a suit that can shrink its user to the size of an ant. Pym then recruits and trains him to pull off a heist to prevent Pym’s former pupil and successor of his company from using that technology for evil.

Despite concerns, Peyton Reed has managed to pull off an accomplished superhero adventure even though he was only drafted into the project just over a year ago. The studio’s trick of banking on a risky candidate for the director’s chair (Joss Whedon in Avengers, Anthony and Joe Russo in The Winter Soldier, James Gunn in Guardians of the Galaxy) often pay off more frequently than films from seasoned filmmakers (Joe Johnston in The First Avenger, Kenneth Branagh in Thor).

While sequels such as Avengers: Age of Ultron seek to take the action to new heights in scale and stakes, Ant-Man cleverly brings the action to a smaller stage to make some of the more preposterous events more relatable. However because of that it often feels more like a charming sidenote to the films that are actually developing and expanding the MCU. The film still impresses off of its conservative $130 million budget (less than half the cost of this year’s Age of Ultron) but the special effects, while far from second rate, are also far from the groundbreaking likes of the similarly budgeted Rise of the Planet of the Apes or Life of Pi.

The film’s ensemble of performances are decent but never prove to be as engaging as the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson or Chris Pratt. Anchorman star Paul Rudd’s portrayal of Scott Lang is likable the first act, bringing Rudd’s trademark flair and charisma but also being far more down to Earth than either his previous work or various other heroes in the MCU. Sadly, later on in the film, he struggles from the same problem of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man: once Lang is in the suit he’s hard to appreciate as a character and sinks to just being a vehicle for the action, a problem that Downey Jr’s Iron Man easily overcame with the in-suit camera to capture Stark’s typically arrogant persona in the midst of an epic fight sequence.

Two time Oscar winner Michael Douglas’ aging inventor Hank Pym who becomes Scott’s mentor exists as this film’s venerable-actor slot (previously occupied by Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford or Samuel L Jackson). His performance is distinctly standard as the world weary original Ant-Man, a 1970s SHIELD project that turned sour after a fatal final mission. Pym’s infamous temper and checkered past are alluded to but never actually deepen the character or effect the plot.

Similarly, Lost alumni Evangeline Lilly’s role as Pym’s hard edged daughter Hope is one of the better aspects of the cast but is frustratingly written out of the finale and never significantly contributes to the action. A post credit scene teases the future of the character of Wasp but the filmmakers disappointingly missed out on not providing a platform for the fan favourite sooner.

House of Cards star Corey Stoll manages to prove why Marvel’s villains are some of the weakest around. Crooked businessman Daniel Cross is sadly one of the more generic, cookie-cutter stock villains in the MCU so far; his motivations are never explained until they’re no longer relevant to the plot and he becomes an attempted child murderer and terrorist, besides the unconvincing implication of his disappointment in Hank in a mentor. Too many elements of his story tread on the toes of Obadiah Stane (a wealthy sucessor of a protagonist’s business who turns his power and technology to terrorism) and Loki (a spoiled protegee who turns on his disappointment of a father figure). Despite the success of James Spader’s Ultron earlier this year, Marvel’s issue with bad guys appears to be ongoing.

The main gem among the ensemble is Michael Pena’s performance as Lang’s hyperactive, fast talking and eternally optimistic partner in crime, Luis. The role is one of the best original characters in the series so far and Pena’s electric double act with Rudd is one of the few pairing’s in the film with a tangible dynamic. Sadly, the other members of Lang’s crew don’t match up: two outdated racial stereotypes played by David Dastmalchian and rapper T.I.

The film struggles to find use of the talents of Judy Greer (Archer) and Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine) as Scott’s estranged ex-wife Maggie and her new husband/cop Paxton but there was a surprisingly likeable performance from newcomer Abby Ryder Fortson as Scott’s young daughter Cassie. Overall, too many members of the ensemble are stand-ins (only present to advance the plot or fill time) with no real emotional connection to the story or the audience.

However, Ant-Man thrives in other moments: the shrinking sequences (while hardly groundbreaking) are entertaining and well executed and thankfully Marvel’s formula of the finale setting up the heroes to defend a city from an aerial threat is finally retired with one of the studio’s most funny thrilling and refreshing endings in years. Additionally, Lang’s close encounter with an Avenger is a hilarious highlight. Aside from the action, the humorous elements suffice (“Baskin Robbins always finds out.”) but never reach the erudite heights of Joss Whedon’s zingers in Avengers or James Gunn’s iconic dialogue in Guardians of the Galaxy.

While it’s unquestionably enjoyable, exciting and action packed, years from now Ant-Man will most likely go down as one of the more lightweight and less revolutionary flicks in the Marvel cannon. Far from disappointing, Peyton Reed has done a fine job considering his short amount of time at the helm of the film but (with the exclusion of Edgar Wright) many fans will leave wondering what could have been.

7/10

“Scott, I need you to be the Ant-Man.”

“One question…is it too late to change the name?”

Jurassic World review

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus, Omar Sy, BD Wong, Judy Greer, Andy Buckley, Katie McGrath, Brian Tee

Steven Spielberg was the driving force behind 1993’s Jurassic Park, the adaptation of Michael Chrichton’s techno-thriller novel, but even his presence didn’t rescue the disappointing sequel The Lost World. The franchise went into development hell the further it strayed from the books with various story proposals including Dr Grant investigating dino-related murders. Indie director Colin Trevorrow is behind exhuming a sequel 65 million (or 22) years in the making.

Twenty years after the “InGen Incident” on Isla Nublar, the island has been successfully transformed into a functioning dinosaur theme park experience. As her nephews (Simpkins, Robinson) pay a visit, park manager Claire Dearing (Howard) is set to unveil the latest attraction – a genetically modified creature named the Indominus Rex. Meanwhile, Velociraptor trainer Owen Grady (Pratt) resists the offer from security head Vic Hoskins (D’Onofrio) to weaponise his animals. When the Indominus escapes, Owen and Claire must track it down before it makes its move on the park’s attendees.

Easily the best decision made on this sequel is to properly address what brought its predecessors to a crushing low. Both the second and third instalments purely focus on a group of humans alone in a dino-infested jungle without the wonder of the park itself. The addition of the awe of the original concept in many ways contrasts with and exaggerates the terror.

While Trevorrow’s CV only extends to the indie sci-fi drama Safety Not Guaranteed (a film that nails its depiction of the relationship of its lonely lead protagonists and remains without flashy camerawork), he brings a stunning level of spectacle and visual bombast to the picture with perfect sense of timing and suspense in one of the best indie to mainstream step ups since the Wachowskis released The Matrix.

With the exception of the original film’s Henry Wu (BD Wong), an entirely new cast has been drafted in to replace the likes of Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill. At the centre of the Jurassic mayhem is the odd-couple pairing of laddish ranger Owen Grady (Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy) and manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard, The Help). The portrayal of the couple came under fire, especially from Buffy creator Joss Whedon who labelled it as “’70s level sexism.” with the free spirited man charming the uptight woman. While Trevorrow unashamedly bases the characters on the leads of 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1980’s Empire Strikes Back or 1984’s Romancing the Stone, there’s just as much of a likeness to classic romances such Whedon/Shakespeare’s verbally sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick in 2013’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Also at the heart of the action are Dearing’s estranged nephews, played by rising stars Ty Simpkins (Insidious) and Nick Robinson (The Kings of Summer). Gray and Zach have a fractured relationship with each other and their aunt due to their parents’ impending divorce making them engaging if standard chase fodder.

Any and all human villains are traditionally overshadowed by their scaly counterparts in this series and Jurassic World is no exception. Here the duties of the most venerable actor on the call sheet (an honour previously awarded to acting greats such as Richard Attenborough or Pete Postlethwaite) fall to the excellent and criminally underrated Vincent D’Onofrio – last seen as the villain Kingpin in Netflix’s Daredevil. Sadly, this is one of his weaker performances as the militaristic security head Vic Hoskins who fails to conjure menace or believability.

Rounding off the supporting cast is a hilarious Jake Johnson (TV’s New Girl), finally giving a better name to Isla Nublar’s technicians while still maintaining the morbid sense of humour of Samuel L Jackson and Wayne Knight. Seeing as the talent of Omar Sy and Judy Greer are written out into smaller parts, the only other significant lead is Irrfan Khan’s billionaire investor Simon Masrani who never truly contributes a great amount to the plot.

While the dinosaur exhibits do easily outperform their human inferiors, their portrayal isn’t entirely perfect. As terrifying as newbie the Indominus Rex is (as well as being stunningly brought to life by some truly photorealistic effects), the film insists on not updating on any dinosaur knowledge garnered since 1993 – IE denying the accepted fact of feathered dinosaurs.

The film lacks an unforgettable iconic moment such as the shaking water upon the arrival of the T-Rex but Jurassic World strives when its dinosaurs are at their most awesome: the suspense of the jump scare as the Indominus Rex stalks its prey was a delight; a sequence in which Grady leads his velociraptor pack on a chase is stunning; the brutal attack of the ptersaurs on Jurassic World’s main street evokes memories of the gleeful carnage of Gremlins.

Overall tonally different to its predecessors. Much like the geneticists did with the Indominus Rex, Trevorrow and his co-writers Derek Connolly, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver have engineered a new breed of Jurassic Park packed with as much excitement as there is dark humour. On occasion the scripting and characters are clunky and off key but on the whole this is a stupendous thrill ride of a summer popcorn action flick.

9/10

“Monster is a relative term. To a canary, a cat is a monster. We’re just used to being the cat.”

Paul Rudd in new Ant-Man poster, Emily Blunt in Sicario trailer and Kick-Ass sequel talk

Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Layer Cake, Stardust, X-Men: First Class) most celebrated film was the ingenious superhero satire Kick-Ass. As well as brilliant turns from Aaron Taylor Johnson, Christopher Mintz Plasse and Mark Strong, the most outstanding performances came from Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas, Lord of War) and Chloe Grace Moretz (Hugo, Clouds of Sils Maria) as the duo of superheroes Big Daddy and Hit Girl. The disappointing Kick-Ass 2 had Jeff Wadlow in place of Vaughn and seemed to derail the franchise.

Vaughn has now revealed that he’s developing a Big Daddy/Hit Girl based spin off as well as a straightforward sequel. “We’re working on an idea for a prequel of how did Hit-Girl and Big Daddy become Hit-Girl and Big Daddy,” he said. “If we make that, hopefully that will be the sorbet for the people that didn’t like Kick-Ass 2 and then we can go off and make ‘Kick-Ass 3’ I think we’ve got to do this prequel to regain the love that we had with ‘Kick-Ass.” We expect the prequel to star Cage and Moretz and Kick-Ass 3 to star Aaron Taylor Johnson (Godzilla, The Avengers: Age of Ultron).

The unimpressive first poster for Ant-Man may have put some off the Marvel sci-fi blockbuster but it seems to be getting its marketing right in these stylish new shots. Peyton Reed (Yes Man) directs the cast of Paul Rudd (Anchorman, Knocked Up), Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Salt), Michael Pena (End of Watch, American Hustle), Judy Greer (Archer, Jurassic World), Bobby Cannavale (Chef, Blue Jasmine) and Michael Douglas (The Game, Falling Down).

After receiving acclaim at Cannes, the Oscar-tipped action thriller Sicario has debuted its first trailer in breathtaking style. Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, Prisoners) directs the cast of Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, Into the Woods, Looper), Benicio Del Toro (Guardians of the Galaxy, Traffic, The Usual Suspects), Jon Beranthal (Fury, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Wolf of Wall Street) and Josh Brolin (American Gangster, Inherent Vice, No Country for Old Men).

Ant-Man – July 17th

Sicario – September 15th

Hit Girl – 2018?

Kick-Ass 3 – 2019?

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?

New poster for Marvel’s Ant-Man

Marvel Studios took a major gamble last year with Guardians of the Galaxy, a sci-fi action that picked up on one of the comics’ little known properties, and gained one of their biggest ever hits. Ant-Man seems even riskier with various dropouts from director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), composer Steve Price (Gravity) and supporting star Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) seemingly plaguing the film. The new poster however is significantly more promising than the last.

Ant-Man stars Paul Rudd (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Knocked Up), Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, The Strain), Bobby Cannavale (Danny Collins, Blue Jasmine), Judy Greer (Archer, Men Women & Children), Michael Pena (End of Watch, American Hustle) and Michael Douglas (The Game, Wall Street).

Ant-Man – July 17th

Marvel double bill: new Spider-Man director shortlist and poster for Ant-Man

Spider-Man has been absorbed into the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it appears as if the casting of Peter Parker is in place – either Hugo’s Asa Butterfield or The Impossible’s Tom Holland one of whom will debut the role in next year’s Captain America: Civil War. We reckoned that the newly announced Cap’ 3 cast member Martin Freeman (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Sherlock, Fargo) will play villain Norman Osborn. We also thought that The Cabin in the Woods’ Drew Goddard would helm the film but Marvel had produced an alternative director’s shortlist.

The lineup includes Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies), Ted Melfi (St Vincent), Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and the duo John Francis Daley & Jonathan M Goldstein (Horrible Bosses). Honestly, none of the names are especially exciting considering that Marvel have let names like Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) and Patty Jenkins (Monster slip by in the past. We’d rather see a classier hiring like Nikoaj Arcel (A Royal Affair), who nearly made Doctor Strange or someone with a Sam Raimi-like horror heritage like Aussie newcomer Jennifer Kent (The Babadook).

Our final item today is the first major poster for Marvel’s other upcoming sci-fi action Ant-Man and we can best describe the one sheet as truly awful. The first point of business is the remarkably dull colour scheme, which is highlighted in all its horror when you compare it to the colourful shots for Guardians of the Galaxy (below).

Next, while it’s good to see two time Oscar winner Michael Douglas adding some class to proceedings his on screen daughter, Evangeline Lilly who played an eternally youthful Elf in The Hobbit films, looks like an aged version of Cate Blanchett’s woeful Ukrainian explorer Irina Spalko from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There’s good points with the suit making a guy called Ant-Man actually appear cool and new villain Darren Cross looking very sinister (or unhappy, still undecided) in the bottom left corner but Cross’ unfathomably generic sun-bespectacled henchman and two guys called Paxton and Luis on the right looking like they’ve been pulled off the set of a dull economic drama make this poster, overall, a hideously constructed disaster.

Ant-Man is directed by Peyton Reed and stars Paul Rudd (Anchorman, Knocked Up), Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, The Strain), Michael Pena (American Hustle, The Lincoln Lawyer), Judy Greer (Archer, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Bobby Cannavale (Danny Collins, Blue Jasmine) and Michael Douglas (The Game, Wall Street, Behind the Candelabra).

Ant-Man – July 17th

Spider-Man – July 28th 2017

Carell Vs Stone in tennis drama, McGregor joins Beauty and Beast and new posters for Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland

Documentaries are often becoming the base of new dramatic films: similar ground in 2010’s multi-BAFTA-winning Senna in covered in Ron Howard’s equally lauded Rush while Oscar winners Man on Wire and Citizenfour are soon to be adapted into Robert Zemeckis’ tightrope adventure The Walk and Oliver Stone’s NSA thriller Snowden (both, coincidently, starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. It received far less exposure than the aforementioned films but the 2013 documentary The Battle of the Sexes told the true story of the 1973 tennis match between women’s Wimbledon winner Billie Jean King and retired male champ Bobby Riggs and the underlying sexual politics that the game represented.

The lead stars of the new adaptation are the Crazy Stupid Love costars and recent Oscar nominees Steve Carell (Despicable Me, Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin, The Office, Foxcatcher) and Emma Stone (The Help, Easy A, The Amazing Spider-Man, Zombieland, Birdman). The directors are Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks) and is written by Oscar winner Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire).

Disney’s new liveaction adaptation of their classic animation Beauty and the Beast has already garnered an incredible ensemble. Bill Condon (Kinsey, Dreamgirls, Mr Holmes) will be helming the cast of Emma Watson (Harry Potter, My Week Marilyn), Luke Evans (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Fast & Furious 6), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, The Guest), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle, Jupiter Ascending), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks, Sense and Sensibility), Josh Gad (Frozen, The Wedding Ringer), Audra McDonald (Private Practive), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda, Cry Freedom) and Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, X-Men). The newest addition is Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Big Fish) who’ll play the talking candle Lumiere, famed for the iconic Oscar nominated number Be Our Guest.

Tomorrowland (sometimes known as A World Beyond) is a new Disney science fiction mystery adventure that was plucked right off the drawing board of Walt Disney himself. Brand new posters for the film have been revealed. Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, The Incredibles) directs the cast of George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven, Syriana, Gravity), Britt Robertson (The Longest Ride, Under the Dome), Judy Greer (Archer, Men Women & Children) and Hugh Laurie (House).

Tomorrowland – May 22nd

Beauty and the Beast – 2017

Battle of the Sexes – 2017

Sigourney Weaver discusses Alien 5 and new poster for Tomorrowland

Control of the Alien franchise has passed through various great directors: firstly Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator) then James Cameron (Avatar, Terminator, Titanic) and a disastrous debut for David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, Social Network). Not counting the AVP or Prometheus spin offs, the fifth film in the series will be helmed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9) and, during promotion for his new robo-thriller Chappie, he offered a bit of insight on the project.

“I had a bunch of different ideas for different films. My favourite, on a gut instinct, artistic level, was Alien, by a long way. But I had this inhibiting mental roadblock about wanting to work on my own stuff – and not being held accountable, whether it’s by a studio or by fans, or whoever, I just wanted to be left alone to do my stuff. That’s kind of a big deal for me. If you go back even three or four years, I’ve wanted to make a film in that genre, in that franchise. I’d come up with an idea, and when I met Sigourney (Weaver) on the set of Chappie, I presumed that she would never want to play Ripley again. Rightly or wrongly, I had that in my head. I also didn’t know where you could go with her, given Alien 3 and 4.

“So when I started speaking to her, I just wanted to know more about the process of making the first two films. The first two are the ones that I care about. Then I started to realise there was a whole film – at least a film, if not more – that still contained Ripley, which I was really surprised by.” Weaver herself has approved the South African filmmaker. “I can’t think of a better director. He’s a real fan. I think he’ll be true to the world and take it in unexpected directions. It’s got a lot of sinew in it. It will certainly stand up to the others and probably break a lot of new ground as well.”

Its been one of 2015’s most secretive films but the brand new poster for Tomorrowland may have fans scouring for clues. The film, directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) sees a young woman and a reclusive scientist discovering a hidden metropolis where science can do the work of magic. It’ll star George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven, Gravity, The Descendants), Britt Robertson (Under the Dome), Judy Greer (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and Hugh Laurie (House).

Tomorrowland – May 22nd

Alien 5 – 2017?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 2015 Preview Issue

2015 is the new 2012 (The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall, The Hunger Games, The Hobbit), which itself was the new 1999 (The Sixth Sense, The Phantom Menace, The Matrix, Two Story 2). Its releases should not only be huge financial successes but promise to be delightful watches as well. Here’s what we reckon will be topping the year’s box office in twelve months time.

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Director: Joss Whedon – $1.7 billion
2. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens – JJ Abrams – $1.4 billion
3. Spectre – Sam Mendes – $1.2 billion
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – $925 million
5. Furious 7 – James Wan – $875 million
6. Minions – Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin – $800 million
7. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – $775 million
8. Inside Out – Pete Docter – $725 million
9. Mission: Impossible 5 – Christopher McQuarrie – $700 million
10. Ant-Man – Peyton Reed – $675 million
11. The Good Dinosaur – Peter Sohn – $625 million
12. Ted 2 – Seth MacFarlane – $600 million
13. Terminator Genisys – Alan Taylor – $575 million
14. The Fantastic Four – Josh Trank – $550 million
15. Tomorrowland – Brad Bird – $525 million

We reckon The Avengers sequel will edge Star Wars seeing as the former series’ commercial success is actually growing. Pixar’s double-billed return to original storytelling with Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur should score them impressively but Minions will triumph on the animation front. The only other original work we expect to see doing well is sci-fi adventure Tomorrowland. The race in the new crop of reboots will be won by Jurassic World, beating off competition from Terminator and Fantastic Four. Close to gracing the Top 15 will be sequels to YA franchises (The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials, Insurgent) and there might be an upset for Chris Columbus/Adam Sandler comedy Pixels and Joe Wright/Hugh Jackman fantasy adventure Pan. Should it finally get a major release, The Interview may well be a smash hit.

Now here are our top twenty to one most anticipated releases of the year.

20) The Fantastic Four

Director: Josh Trank
Writers: Josh Trank, Simon Kinberg, Jeremy Slater, TS Nowlin
Starring: Miles Teller, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara, Michael B Jordan, Toby Kebbell
Premise: For a very long time, next to nothing had been revealed about Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot. Star Wars took a similar approach and that sent fans running wild with speculation but no such hype surrounded the FF, exposing a serious lack of interest. Still, Chronicle’s Trank is a promising hope and the the high-end castings of Teller (Whiplash), Bell (Bill Elliot), Mara (House of Cards), Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and Jordan (Fruitvale Station) ought to liven things up.
Release: August 6th

19) Everest

Director: Baltasar Kormakur
Writers: William Nicholson, Mark Medoff, Justin Isbell, Lem Dobbs, Simon Beaufoy
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Robin Wright, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki, John Hawkes, Emily Watson
Premise: An absolute first-rate cast from two teams who embark on an expedition to the peak of the world’s highest mountain, where they also face the world’s toughest terrain. The stills so far reveal some spectacular drama.
Release: October 2nd

18) Mission: Impossible 5

Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Drew Pearce, Will Staples
Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Alec Baldwin, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Ving Rhames
Premise: It’s hard to get excited when all we have to go on is a few on-set snaps but we can still expect a high-end spectacle of action. Uniting Cruise and McQuarrie (star/writer of Edge of Tomorrow) is a solid move and the returning cast of Ghost Protocol (Pegg, Renner, Patton) hints at more franchise continuity than before.
Release: December 26th

17) The Man From UNCLE

Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Guy Ritchie, Lionel Wigram, Jeff Kleeman, David Campbell Wilson
Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Debicki, Jared Harris
Premise: Bond and Hunt are both set in stone in their nationalities but spy reboot The Man From UNCLE pitches a teaming up of the American Napoleon Solo (Cavill) and the Russian Illya Kuryakin (Hammer). With Sherlock Holmes/Snatch director Guy Ritchie helming it ought to be a truly gripping thriller.
Release: August 14th

16) Child 44

Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writers: Richard Price
Starring: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Paddy Considine, Jason Clarke, Dev Patel, Joel Kinnaman, Charles Dance
Premise: In Stalin-era Soviet Union, a detective investigates a series of murder, the complication is that the state believes crime doesn’t exist. The cast alone is enough of a reason to get interested and Daniel Espinosa proved his action credentials in Safe House.
Release: April 17th

15) Minions

Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
Writer: Brian Lynch
Starring: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton
Premise: There are very few well favoured comedy spin offs but the first trailer for Despicable Me’s spawn the Minions looked promising.
Release: June 26th

14) Untitled Steven Spielberg Cold War Project

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Matt Charman, Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring: Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Mark Rylance
Premise: We know nothing more than the title suggests but another collaboration between Spielberg (Jaws, ET, AI, Minority Report, Schindler’s List, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park) and Hanks (Forrest Gump, Captain Phillips, Cast Away, The Green Mile, Road to Perdition) is a huge attention grabber. The pair’s previous collaborations are Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal and Saving Private Ryan.
Release: October 9th

13) Chappie

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writers: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel, Sigourney Weaver
Premise: The director of District 9 takes on a slightly more light hearted venture as Chappie, a discarded robotic cop, us taken under the wing of a group of scientists who teach it. Soon, others realise that Chappie is potentially dangerous.
Release: March 6th

12) The Walk

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Christopher Browne
Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale
Premise: As chronicled in the Oscar winning documentary Man on Wire, stuntman Philippe Petit begins his ultimate accomplishment by wire walking from one Twin Tower to the other. This is the first teaming up of the duo Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Cast Away) and Joseph Gordon Levitt (Looper, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception).
Release: October 2nd

11) Ant-Man

Director; Peyton Reed
Writers: Gabriel Ferrari, Andrew Barrer, Adam McKay, Edgar Wright
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Judy Greer

10) Inside Out

Director: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
Writers: Michael Arndt, Pete Docter
Starring: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Lane
Premise: Pixar’s second release of 2015 is the brilliantly madcap concept of emotions, symbolised as the characters above, controlling the emotions within our mind. Unlike The Good Dinosaur, this has a Pixar regular, Pete Docter (Monsters Inc, Up), at the helm as well as Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt.
Release: July 24th

9) Jurassic World

Director: Colin Trevorrow
Writers: Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Omar Sy, Judy Greer, Jake Johnson, Vincent D’Onofrio
Premise: We’re well prepared for a sequel that won’t live up to the original’s same magic. Still, Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) and his new set of leads – Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Howard (The Help), Robinson (The Kings of Summer) and Simpkins (Insidious) – look set to give a fresh rebranding.
Release: June 12th

8) Tomorrowland

Director: Brad Bird
Writers: Damon Lindelof, Brad Bird
Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Judy Greer
Premise: One f the year’s most secretive releases comes from Pixar protogee Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) and, while it is a fairly original prospect, it’s in fact roughly based upon Walt Disney’s own bright and bold vision of the future.
Release: May 22nd

7) Mad Max: Fury Road

Director: George Miller
Writers: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Zoe Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult
Premise: Pleasing the die hard fans of the original will be a tough task but the footage so far revealed for this sequel is phenomenal. It’ll be massively entertaining to see Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Locke) in a rawer action role.
Release: May 15th

6) The Martian

Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Drew Goddard
Starring: Matt Damon, Jessican Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kirsten Wiig, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean
Premise: The film’s tone, either epic or dramatic, has yet to have been established but it sees Damon’s astronaut stranded on the red planet. Still, we’re immediately excited to see what legendary Brit director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Black Hawk Dawn, Alien, Blade Runner) can bring next.
Release: November 27th

5) Spectre

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: John Logan, Neil Purvis, Robert Wade
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jesper Christensen
Premise: After Skyfall became one of the undisputedly great Bond films (rivalling Dr No, Goldfinger, GoldenEye and Casino Royale) and its follow up is hoping to be just as successful. In this new adventure, Bond (Craig) tracks a mysterious signal from a previous mission and finds a secret organisation, led by Waltz’s Oberhauser.
Release: October 23rd

4) In the Heart of the Sea

Director: Ron Howard
Writers: Charles Leavitt, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Charlotte Riley, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson
Premise: Fresh off of smash hit racing drama Rush, Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind) returns with a period thriller based on the true story that inspire Moby Dick. Hemsworth’s whaling crew are stranded in the see for weeks on end as the most fearsome whale they have ever witnessed haunts them. The trailer is awesome, terrifying and truly monstrous.
Release: March 13th

3) Crimson Peak

Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Writers: Guillermo Del Toro, Matthew Robbins, Lucinda Coxon
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, Doug Jones, Burn Gorman
Premise: The masterful Mexican Del Toro, director of Pan’s Labyrinth and Pacific Rim/writer of The Hobbit trilogy, returns to properly gothic horror as aspiring author Edith Cushing (Wasikowska) moves into a new home with her sinister new husband Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston). If it’s what it promises to be, we could have a chilling masterpiece on our hands.
Release: October 16th

2) The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, James Spader, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Samuel L Jackson, Andy Serkis, Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle, Stellan Skarsgard, Hayley Atwell, Thomas Kretschmann
Premise: Stark’s robot peacekeeping program gets out of hand as his creation begins its own global dominations. Marvel’s other properties (Inhumans and Doctor Strange) are being set up elsewhere but this is sowing the seeds of Civil War, Black Panther and Infinity War. Still Whedon’s superhero sequel will be darker, bolder, bigger and better.
Release: April 24th

1) Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens

Director: JJ Abrams
Writers: JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Warwick Davis, Christina Chong, Iko Uwais, Maisie Richardson Sellers
Premise: Besides the setting (30 years on from Return of the Jedi) we know almost nothing but how could anything else be number one? Perhaps it would have been lower down before that trailer landed but it just blew 90% of our worries out the water. We’re equally terrified and excited to what JJ will produce. Others may be surefire hits but this is the one we hope for the most.
Release: December 18th