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

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit review

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Chris Pine, Kiera Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, Lenn Kudrjawiziki, Nonso Anonzie, Gemma Chan, Elena Velikanova, Colm Feore, Mikhail Baryshnikov

Esteemed director Sir Kenneth Branagh, a legend multiple Shakespeare adaptations, see Henry V and Hamlet, who more recently had a fairly succssful stab into action with Slueth and Thor, steps into what should be his breakout action role. Picking up from a well established series and signing an all star cast including the ever charismatic Chris Pine (Star Trek), you’d think this’d be a lot more fun than it was.

Based upon the series of novels by the late Tom Clancy, the Jack Ryan series might be America’s closest franchise to James Bond, although Jason Bourne may protest that. It began with The Hunt for Red October, a tense submarine based thriller, which actually won an Oscar, in which Sean Connery’s potential villain takes the lead over Alec Baldwin’s Ryan. Harrison Ford then took up the mantle with less successful Patriot Games, 1992, and Clear and Present Danger, 1994. The series went further downhill when Ben Affleck attempted the role in The Sum of All Fears, 2002. Being a reboot of these big box office hits, you’d hope Shadow Recruit would perhaps be a huge success but, while it’s not a flop by any stretch of imagination, it’s barely scratched its way past the $100 million mark.

Jack Ryan (Pine) is an ex-marine turned CIA analyst who’s now a covert in Wall Street. He’s assigned for a mission in Moscow to investigate the suspicious dealings of tycoon Viktor Cherevin (Branagh). However, things turn violent: Cherevin’s shocking plot is uncovered; Ryan’s former mentor Jack Harper (Costner) is called in; Ryan’s girlfriend Cathy (Knightley), who has no idea of his true job, gets suspicious and is on the scene.

There’s multiple key issues with the film. Firstly, the excessive opening tries to give Ryan as many backstories as possible. First he’s an honest American, studying economics in London, who’s inspired to search for justice after 9/11. Then he’s a heroic marine. Then he’s crippled man in therapy. Then he’s a spy in Wall Street! Seeing as this is a franchise, why not just carry on from where we know Ryan to be. Or just pick one of the above.

By the time every inch of Ryan’s back-story is covered, there’s little time for the actual plot, which fairly unconnected to the opening minutes.The plot’s remarkably thin, perhaps unadventurous, and never allows any space for humour,  shame as that is one of Pine’s strong suits (see Into Darkness – Never Trust a Vulcan). The dialogue’s pretty un-energetic which, when mashed with the gaping lack of chemistry between Pine and Knightley – and Pine and Costner – , leads to some dull and distancing sequences.

Additionally, the plot is hugely outdated. Lazily chucking in references to 9/11 doesn’t modernise the story and Cherevin is a poorly constructed character. While Branagh does put in some amounts of menace and passion into the villain he never fleshes him out or layers Viktor enough to constitute the permanent steel faced businessman look. Also, a Western actor as the Russian, power hungry, world-domination lusting bad guy is a long lost relic of the Cold War era of films. It has no place in the modern spy thriller. If Bond and Bourne can move on, why can’t Ryan?

The film does display a lot of themes and aspects well though. Pine’s portrayal certainly conveys Ryan’s sickening of the death around him. Plus the action is crackingly good entertainment. The excellent cinematography adds to Branagh’s brilliant build up of tension for some electric fights and chases, the highlight being the brilliant final sequence. It’s easy to criticize but but there’s an awful lot to like.

7/10

“You Russians like to think you’re poets. Perhaps you’re just touchy.”

The Super-Bowl 2014 Trailers special: Transformers 4, Noah and more!

We’re not venturing into sports just yet but the American Football extravaganza known as Superbowl is a huge event for advertising. With well over 100 million Americans watching, companies have to pay the whopping sum of $8 million dollars just for a one minute advertising slot. Only the biggest of big budget, big star blockbusters can afford to make the cut so you may be quite surprised when I tell you that among the nine titanic efforts trailered last night is the new project from Darren Aronofsky!

But before we get to that, we have the matter of a movie I recently predicted to make over a billion dollars. I speak of the fourquel of a monster series – Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Director Michael Bay (Armaggedon, Pearl Harbour, Bad Boys) returns to the series after a quick, and unsuccessful, break to make Pain and Gain. The franchise hopes to continue it success with an new human cast with Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor, replacing the old guard of Shia LaBeaouf, Rosie Huntington-Whitley and Megan Fox. This time, the Autobots are at battle with the villainous Dinobots and the technology tycoon Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), the former is revealed in the very first trailer. The film also stars Stanley Tucci and Peter Cullen. July 10th.

The second instalment in this nine-part epic is Marvel’s very own Captain America: The Winter Soldier. We’ve seen footage from this before but Superbowl unveiled the second trailer, which offers more in depth look at new antagonist The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). The plot pitches Captain America (Chris Evans) still adjusting to life in the 21st Century as well as working with SHIELD Agents such as Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Crossbones (Frank Grillo) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) to bring down a new menace who’s terrorising Washington. Cap 2 also stars Emily VanCamp, Samuel L Jackson, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Attwell and Toby Jones and is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. March 28th.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is next. Marc Webb returns to direct the sequel which increases the stakes for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) who has to balance life between his superhero alter ego Spider-Man, who’s battling Electro (Jamie Foxx), Rhino (Paul Giamatti) and the sinister father/son double act of Oscorp (Dane DeHaan as Harry and Chris Cooper as Norman), and normal life with the grieving Gwen (Emma Stone) and lonely Aunt May (Sally Field). The new trailer can be found here. To be honest, I’m not that impressed. April 18th.

Following on from their “Across the Internet” campaign, Muppets Most Wanted has launched a new ad in which the new doppelganging villain Clementine literally reaches out to us Across the Internet. Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Stanley Tucci, Ricky Gervais, Lady Gaga, Tom Hiddleston, Salma Hayek, Christoph Waltz and Danny Trejo make up the human cast alongside the classic Muppets such as Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Sam the Eagle, Beaker, Dr Honeydrew, Walter and Animal. Flight of the Conchords/The Muppets’ James Bobin directs. March 28th.

With a premise of no CG, just expensive cars going ridiculously fast, video game adaptation Need for Speed is actually in good shape. It sees newly released ex-con Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul – Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman) getting back into the dragraces that got him locked up for a year. Upon hearing the news, Marshall’s ex racing partner Dino (Dominic Cooper – Marvel’s Howard Stark) puts a bounty on his head. Scott Waugh (Act of Valour) directs a huge cast including Michael Keeton, Dakota Johnson, Scott Mescudi and Imogen Poots. The superbowl spot can be found here. March 12th.

We return to the aforementioned Darren Aronofsky who, after impressing with the likes of Black Swan, The Wrestler, Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, makes his comeback with a huge budget and cast list for his new epic picture Noah. The new trailer is available but I’m shocked that a director as prestigious as Aronofsky would fall to the depths of a Twitter hashtag; this time it’s “#TheFloodIsComing”!. The film stars Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Ray Winstone, Kevin Durand, Douglas Booth, Nick Nolte and Frank Langella. April 4th.

Pompeii seems to me like one of the potential box office clunkers of the year with a decent cast list which doesn’t match its huge budget but director Paul WS Anderson (Event Horizon, Resident Evil) may prove me wrong. The new trailer unveils a fair bit of spectacle so the film won’t rely on the cast of Kit Harrington, Carrie Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Jessica Lucas, Kiefer Sutherland, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jared Harris and Jessica Lucas alone. May 2nd.

3 Days to Kill launched a new trailer too. McG (This Means War, Terminator: Salvation, We Are Marshall, Charlie’s Angles) directs this new action thriller starring Kevin Costner as an dying agent who teams up with his daughter for one last assignment which get him the life saving drug he needs. Also starring Amber Heard, Connie Nielson and Hailee Steinfeld. February 21st.

Lastly, we have another Kevin Costner project. Draft Day sees the manger of American Football’s Cleveland Browns who’s struggling to find the number one draft pick for his team. Costner will star alongside Terry Crews, Jennifer Garner and Ellen Burstyn while director Ivan Reitman (Ghost Busters, No Strings Attached). April 11th

Ronan talks Star Wars, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit trailer and American Hustle posters

Saorise Ronan and others have been confirmed to have auditioned for an unspecified role in JJ Abrams’ epic reboot Star Wars: Episode VII. Chatting to the Empire Podcast, Ronan talked more about the extraordinarily secretive project. She previously explained how Disney would “cut of her head with a lightsaber” if she revealed anything. That embargo may not have been lifted recently though.

“Yeah, I did,” she says of the question don’t know whether I should have said that now! I mean, everyone did. Everyone has auditioned for it. So many people I know have gone in for the part I’ve gone in for, and guys who’ve gone in for a particular part, so I’d imagine JJ is probably just scanning the earth to find the people that he needs.”

“But nobody has a clue what it’s about, and nobody’s read the script. So I’ve gone in and read for it, but I have to say, I think it’s the only time I’ve ever thought, ‘You know what? Even if I don’t get it, I had so much fun auditioning, pretending to take out a lightsaber – out of a bag, kind of inspect it and not know what it is. That was… that was great. A lightsaber! Star Wars!”

“This is geo-politics not couples’ therapy!”

That’s the great new line from the fresh new trailer for the action packed Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Thor director Kenneth Branagh brings us this thriller that’s based upon the books of the late Tom Clancy. Star Trek’s Chris Pine plays the titular role that he’s reprising from Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck. Ryan is an annalist who’s thrown out into the field by his boss William Harper (Kevin Costner) to face the Moscow residing villain Viktor Cherevin while his wife Cathy (Kiera Knightly) soon morphs into an opposing force to Jack.

Finally, some excellent new posters for American Hustle. Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, Winter’s Bone), Christian Bale (The Dark Knight trilogy, The Prestige), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, Limitless), Amy Adams (Man of Steel, The Master), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy) are the focus of these new character banners and this 80s set drama. David O’ Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees) is directing and is bringing in his previous colleagues Cooper, Lawrence and Robert De Niro from Silver Linings Playbook and Bale and Adams from The Fighter. Michael Pena, Louis CK and Jack Huston also make up the supporting cast.

Star Wars: Episode VII – Christmas 2015

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – 26th December

American Hustle – 20th December

Divergent posters, first Cinderella pic, more Warcraft casting and Radcliffe denies Mercury rumours

Kenneth Branagh (Harry Potter’s Lockhart, Shakespeare regular and director of Marvel blockbuster hit Thor) directs Cinderella, Disney’s live-action adaptation of their animated classic of the same name. The production started recently and the first picture was unveiled.

Lily James (Downton Abbey, Wrath of the Titans, Fast Girls) will play the titular character, whose name is now shortened to Ella. Cate Blanchett (The Lord of the Rings, Blue Jasmine), Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter, The King’s Speech), Stellan Skarsgard (Thor, Good Will Hunting), Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, Doctor Who), Holliday Grainger (The Borgias, Jane Eyre), Sophie McShera (Waterloo Road, Downton Abbey), Hayley Atwell (Marvel’s Agent Carter from Captain America) and Nonso Anozie (The Grey, Conan the Barbarian) are all also going to The Ball. Richard Madden (BBC’s Birdsong and Robb Stark in Game of Thrones) will be giving a very different tone to the often generic Prince Charming.

“It is impossible to think of Cinderella without thinking of Disney and the timeless images we’ve all grown up watching. And those classic moments are irresistible to a filmmaker. “With Lily James we have found our perfect Cinderella. She combines knockout beauty with intelligence, wit, fun and physical grace. Her Prince is being played by Richard Madden, a young actor with incredible power and charisma.” If you can’t wait until 2015 to see Branagh’s work, you’ll be excited about Jack Ryan: Shadow One – a kind of prequel to The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger and various other Jack Ryan films which Branagh directs and plays the villain in, alongside Chris Pine, Kiera Knightley and Kevin Costner.

It was announced yesterday by Duncan Jones (Source Code, Moon and son of David Bowie) that Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) and Colin Farrell (Total Recall, In Bruges) where potential stars of his World of Warcraft film. The new possible stars are Anton Yelchin and Paul Dano. Yelchin starred in Like Crazy, Terminator Salvation and Fright Night as well as playing Chekov in Star Trek: Into Darkness. Dano has just finished promoting new thriller hit Prisoners and 12 Years a Slave and will be known for his roles in Looper, Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood. They amongst a few names that Jones has put into consideration for Warcraft. The others were Travis Fimmel (lead of hit TV series Vikings) and Anson Mount (Jason Statham’s Safe).

Ever since Sacha Baron Cohen’s (Borat, Ali G, The Dictator, Les Miserables, Madagascar, Hugo) leaving of the project, the internet has had much speculation on who will take up his position in the now troubled Freddie Mercury biopic. Daniel Radcliffe was the favourite but he’s been quick to gun down the rumours of him playing the Tanzanian born, glam star and Queen frontman.

“There is no truth to it at all,” he tells Empire, half laughing, “Everyone on the internet who I presume is saying I’m totally wrong for that part is correct. I am completely wrong for that part!”

Finally, we’ve got some new Divergent posters. Neil Burger’s sci-fi follow in the footsteps of other young-adult adaptations hits like Twilight and The Hunger Games as well as this year’s flops The Host, Beautiful Creatures and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Hopefully, Neil Burger’s previous experience, with Limitless, The Asset, The Lucky Ones and The Illusionist on his CV, as well as successful stars like Kate Winslet joining rising stars like Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Zoe Kravitz means he could could it balance right. Here’s the trailer. I do hope this sparks some interest in you for the upcoming big projects.

Cinderella – March 13th 2015

Jack Ryan: Shadow One – December 26th

Warcraft – 2015

Divergent – March 21st 2014