Review of 2015 from January to August

A couple of months ago we released our top picks for the first half of the year but, with the summer season finishing, we’ll give an overview of the year’s films from a commercial and critical perspective.

Film: Taken 3
Director: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Dougray Scott
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 9%
Budget: $48 million
Opening weekend: $39 million
Box-office: $325 million
Summary: The second highest grossing outing in the series is thankfully the last. There’s been growth since Taken ($226 million) but less than Taken 3 ($376 million).

Film: Blackhat
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Leehom Wang, Ritchie Coster, Holt McCallany, Viola Davis
IMDb/RT: 5.4/10 – 34%
Budget: $70 million
Opening weekend: $4 million
Box-office: $18 million
Summary: The star of Thor ($644 million) and Rush ($90 million) and the director of Heat ($187 million) and Collateral ($217 million) should have been a match-up to enjoy but somehow Blackhat flopped.

Film: The Wedding Ringer
Director: Jeremy Garelick
Starring: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuco Sweeting, Alan Richson, Jorge Garcia
IMDb/RT: 6.7 – 27%
Budget: $23 million
Opening weekend: $20 million
Box-office: $79 million
Summary: A slip up in comparison to Kevin Hart’s 2014 hit Ride Along ($154 million).

Film: Mortdecai
Director: David Koepp
Starring: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Paul Bettany
IMDb/RT: 5.5/10 – 12%
Budget: $60 million
Opening weekend: $4 million
Box-office: $30 million
Summary: This disastrous caper is proof of former superstar Johnny Depp’s dwindling popularity outside of Pirates.

Film: Jupiter Ascending
Directors: Andy and Lana Wachowski
Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Terry Gilliam
IMDb/RT: 5.5/10 – 25%
Budget: $176 million
Opening weekend: $18 million
Box-office: $182 million
Summary: This effort from the creators of The Matrix ($463 million) suffered from its release delays and ridiculously overpriced budget.

Film: Fifty Shades of Grey
Director: Sam Taylor Johnson
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eloise Mumford, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden
IMDb/RT: 4.2/10 – 25%
Budget: $40 million
Opening weekend: $85 million
Box-office: $570 million
Summary: Being critically reviled didn’t get in the way of this erotic drama.

Film: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Sophie Cookson, Mark Strong
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 75%
Budget: $81 million
Opening weekend: $35 million
Box-office: $406 million
Summary: The spy thriller from Kick-Ass ($96 million) Vaughn turned out to be his most acclaimed and profitable yet, even out grossing the likes of The Bourne Legacy ($276 million).

Film: Focus
Director: Glenn Ficara, John Requa
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney, BD Wong
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 57%
Budget: $50 million
Opening weekend: $19 million
Box-office: $159 million
Summary: A strong performance from Smith renews his popularity after the mediocre After Earth ($243 million).

Film: Chappie
Director: Neill Blompkamp
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Die Antwoord
IMDb/RT: 7.0/10 – 30%
Budget: $49 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $102 million
Summary: A let down in comparison to Blomkamp’s more lucrative works – District 9 ($210 million) or Elysium ($286 million).

Film: Cinderella
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard, Helena Bonham Carter
IMDb/RT: 7.1/10 – 85%
Budget: $95 million
Opening weekend: $68 million
Box-office: $542 million
Summary: Branagh’s lavish take on the period fantasy romance has successfully found a new following for the fairy tale.

Film: Insurgent
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Kate Winslet
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 30%
Budget: $110 million
Opening weekend: $53 million
Box-office: $295 million
Summary: The Divergent series has quickly turned out to be the inferior of The Hunger Games.

Film: Home
Director: Tim Johnson
Starring: Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Jones, Steve Martin
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 45%
Budget: $135 million
Opening weekend: $52 million
Box-office: $387 million
Summary: Dreamworks are struggling to stand out with their new properties in a market dominated by the likes of Warner Bros’ The Lego Movie or Disney’s Frozen.

Film: Get Hard
Director: Etan Cohen
Starring: Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Alison Brie, Tip Harris, Craig T Nelson
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 29%
Budget: $40 million
Opening weekend: $34 million
Box-office: $106 million
Summary: The combination of these celebrated comics ought to have been special but didn’t come close.

Film: Furious 7
Director: James Wan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham
IMDb/RT: 7.4/10 – 81%
Budget: $190 million
Opening weekend: $147 million
Box-office: $1.512 billion
Summary: The blockbuster sequel made seven times more than the original did 14 years ago ($207 million) but the series might not have much room to grow into for film eight.

Film: The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, James Spader
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 74%
Budget: $280 million
Opening weekend: $191 million
Box-office: $1.401 billion
Summary: A slight slip up from 2012’s Avengers Assemble ($1.520 billion), the sequel still delivered the goods for the fans.

Film: Pitch Perfect 2
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Elizabeth Banks
IMDb/RT: 6.7 – 67%
Budget: $29 million
Opening weekend: $69 million
Box-office: $285 million
Summary: Pitch Perfect is quickly rivaling Jump Street and Bridesmaids to be the best comedy of the decade so far, while growing from the original’s $115 million.

Film: Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Rosie Huntington Whitely, Zoe Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult
IMDb/RT: 8.3/10 – 98%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $45 million
Box-office: $374 million
Summary: A stunningly successful return from the road warrior.

Film: Tomorrowland
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Hugh Laurie
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 50%
Budget: $190 million
Opening weekend: $33 million
Box-office: $208 million
Summary: While it polarized critics, concealing many secrets during marketing may have been the financial downfall of the underrated sci-fi adventure and another disappointment for Disney after John Carter ($284 million) and The Lone Ranger ($260 million).

Film: San Andreas
Director: Brad Peyton
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Paul Giamatti
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 50%
Budget: $110 million
Opening weekend: $55 million
Box-office: $469 million
Summary: The disaster thriller was a success but not a 2012 ($769 million) style smash hit.

Film: Spy
Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Jude Law
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 94%
Budget: $65 million
Opening weekend: $29 million
Box-office: $236 million
Summary: After striking big with Bridesmaids ($288 million) and The Heat ($229 million), Paul Feig is continuing to put himself on a good track for the Ghost Busters reboot.

Film: Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, Vincent D’Onofrio
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 71%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $208 million
Box-office: $1.642 billion
Summary: With a sequel coming in 2018, the franchise (dormant for fourteen years) is now set for big things.

Film: Inside Out
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Kyle MacLachlan
IMDb/RT: 8.6/10 – 98%
Budget: $175 million
Opening weekend: $90 million
Box-office: $701 million
Summary: Inside Out has become Pixar’s third biggest original feature.

Film: Ted 2
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Stewart
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 46%
Budget: $68 million
Opening weekend: $33.5 million
Box-office: $180 million
Summary: A very disappointing follow up to 2012’s Ted ($549 million). After the mediocre performance of MacFarlane’s western A Million Ways to Die in the West ($86 million), there’s increasing doubt in the Family Guy creator’s popularity.

Film: Terminator Genisys
Director: Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, JK Simmons
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 26%
Budget: $155 million
Opening weekend: $27 million
Box-office: $352 million
Summary: While it was a healthy opening but the franchise has long lost its previously stellar hype. Still not an improvement on 2009’s Terminator Salvation ($371 million).

Film: Magic Mike XXL
Director: Gregory Jacobs
Starring: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 65%
Budget: $14 million
Opening weekend: $123 million
Box-office: $117 million
Summary: The progressive stripper comedy sequel has decreased from Steven Soderbergh’s 2012 original ($167 million) and other raunchy blockbusters have been more profitable – for example Fifty Shades of Grey ($569 million) – but it’s still an impressive tally.

Film: Minions
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Pierre Coffin, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Geoffrey Rush
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 54%
Budget: $74 million
Opening weekend: $115 million
Box-office: $1.004 billion
Summary: This triumphant spin off managed to surpass and compete with the previous instalments of the beloved Despicable Me franchise ($543 million – $970 million).

Film: Ant-Man
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Michael Douglas
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 79%
Budget: $130 million
Opening weekend: $57 million
Box-office: $363 million
Summary: It’s an underperformance in comparison to Marvel’s fellow Phase 2 superhero flicks such as Iron Man 3 ($1215 million), Thor: The Dark World ($644 million), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714 million) or Guardians of the Galaxy ($774 million) but is a worthy reception for the kings of summer blockbusters.

Film: Trainwreck
Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, John Cena, Tilda Swinton
Budget: $35 million
Opening weekend: $30 million
Box-office: $123 million
Summary: A traditional fooled-around-and-fell-in-love rom-com might have sank but the presence of rising star Amy Schumer has elevated this to the likes of Apatow’s The 40 Year Old Virgin ($177 million) or Knocked Up ($219 million).

Film: Pixels
Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage
IMDb/RT: 5.6/10 – 17%
Budget: $88 million
Opening weekend: $24 million
Box-office: $174 million
Summary: This sci-fi adventure’s financial reception didn’t live up to the premise but a budget half the size of Tomorrowland’s means that it may actually breakeven at the box-office.

Film: Southpaw
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Oona Laurence, Naomie Harris, Rachel McAdams
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 60%
Budget: $25 million
Opening weekend: $17 million
Box-office: $67 million
Summary: This sport drama failed to rekindle the mass popularity of boxing flicks such as Rocky ($225 million).

Film: Paper Towns
Director: Jake Schreir
Starring: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Halston Sage, Jaz Sinclair, Austin Abrams
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 55%
Budget: $12 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $75 million
Summary: A decent opening for the young adult romantic drama but well off the other John Green adaptation The Fault in Our Stars ($307 million).

Film: Vacation
Directors: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Starring: Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Leslie Mann, Chris Hemsworth, Chevy Chase
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 26%
Budget: $31 million
Opening weekend: $15 million
Box-office: $69 million
Summary: The comedy reboot of the adored Chevy Chase franchise didn’t inspire a great amount of nostalgia for fans of the originals.

Film: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 93%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $56 million
Box-office: $445 million
Summary: The Cruise action vehicle builds off the wobble of Edge of Tomorrow ($369 million). The spy series returned in style and will grow throughout the summer.

Film: Fantastic Four
Director: Josh Trank
Starring: Miles Teller, Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara, Toby Kebbell
IMDb/RT: 4.0/10 – 8%
Budget: $120 million
Opening weekend: $26 million
Box-office: $134 million
Summary: A superhero reboot full of hope and promise morphed into the year’s most depressing car crash. It was even a decrease from the 2005 film ($330 million) and its sequel ($289 million).

Film: Straight Outta Compton
Director: F Gary Gray
Starring: O’Shea Jackson Jr, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Aldis Hodge, Paul Giamatti
IMDb/RT: 8.4/10 – 89%
Budget: $28 million
Opening weekend: $60 million
Box-office: $125 million
Summary: The musical biopic has become one of August’s biggest hits but did smaller numbers than 2002’s Eminem effort 8 Mile ($242 million).

Film: The Man From UNCLE
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Grant
IMDb/RT: 7.6/10 – 67%
Budget: $75 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $57 million
Summary: The star studded spy thriller from the director of the Sherlock Holmes films ($524 million – $545 million) has struggled to find a home with fans.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron review

Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Andy Serkis, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Thomas Kretschmann, Linda Cardellini, Anthony Mackie, Julie Delpy

It’s fair to say that Joss Whedon’s 2012 superhero smash hit Avengers Assemble has reached phenomenon status. With $1.5 billion hauled in at the international box office, the film paved the way for a massive cult following as well as consecutive hits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second phase including The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Whedon is now reassembling the team for a sequel that has anticipation and dread at fever pitch.

The Avengers – arms dealer Tony Stark (Downey Jr), war veteran Steve Rogers (Evans), ex-spy Natasha Romanoff (Johansson), split-personality scientist Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), expert archer Clint Barton (Renner) and alien prince Thor (Hemsworth) – return to combating Earth’s biggest threats their days may be numbered. When Stark and Banner harness the power of the Infinity Stone from Loki’s sceptre, they use as the basis of an advanced AI to shield Earth from extra-terrestrial threats. However, the machine they create, Ultron (Spader), sees evil in humanity and views them as the threat in need of extinction.

The highest compliment one can give Age of Ultron is that Whedon revives the character-driven, quotable dialogue that makes spies, robots, monsters and gods as human and grounded as possible. Each and every ingenious gag and one liner fleshes out the Avengers from mere heroes to a band of characters as iconic, engaging and lovable as his previous creations such as Buffy and her vampire slaying troop or the crew of the Serenity.

His directorial flair also comes to light in some fantastically constructed action sequences with the excellent special effects we’ve come to expect from Marvel, even if they don’t quite reach the epic or thoroughly detailed levels of Godzilla or Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Sadly the finale resorts to the series’ cliche of the heroes defending a city from an aerial threat but at least this applies the twist of the city itself being the threat. Overall the ridiculousness of the action only serves as an uncanny reflection of the comic’s brash, adventurous tone.

Reinforcing the incredible character dynamic is a brilliantly acted ensemble that may be the films curse as well. We get to witness Stark’s decaying assurance as his own brainchild becomes his downfall in a series best performance from Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr. Snowpiercer’s Chris Evans and Lucy’s Scarlett Johansson excellently revive their likeable charisma to roles that could easily be annoying as Captain America and Black Widow respectively. There’s nothing wrong with Rush’s Chris Hemsworth performance but the character of Thor struggles with a lack of purpose without his brother Loki driving the plot.

The standouts really are Shutter Island’s Mark Ruffalo (who harnesses the power of donning motion capture to make his Hulk the best and most emotional depicted on screen) and The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner. The latter finally brings in the wise-cracking class that Hawkeye missed out on last time and re-establishes him as the everyman who rallies the team in their time of need.

There’s of coarse some new blood to shake up the lineup. The Blacklist star James Spader brings menace, malice and unnerving showmanship to Ultron, a villain distinguishing himself by being taken far more seriously. Ultron resembles and manifests every Avengers’ fear of an opponent who is more of a frightening concept of their hopelessness rather than a straight forward villain. His recruits are twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (AKA Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver). Accents aside, Wanda is an engaging, powerful character to watch tanks to the agency of Elizabeth Olsen’s first rate performance but Aaron Taylor Johnson’s Quicksilver is far less fun or interesting than the Evan Peters incarnation seen in last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the filmmakers know this.

The roster doesn’t end there. Paul Bettany expands his long running role as Stark’s digital personal assistant JARVIS into Vision, a synthetic android whose deeds will have fans raving for months to come. The likes of Samuel L Jackson, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie and Stellan Skarsgard all reprise their roles from various MCU films while Andy Serkis, Thomas Kretschmann, Linda Cardellini and Claudia Kim join the fun plus there’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em cameos from Julie Delpy, Idris Elba and more. With fifteen plus principal characters, there’s a clear flaw in messy overcrowding.

There’s a possibility that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting too big for its shoes with overpopulation and the increasing pressure to go even bigger than last time. And so its fitting that (alongside bonkers comic book spectacle) Age of Ultron thrives in its smaller moments, It’s a hilarious, extravagant, worthy sequel to a film whose cult status is only boosted by the follow up.

8/10

“The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims! But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no…wounded screams…mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and… gout.”

The Avengers return in awesome new Age of Ultron posters

In one of the coolest marketing strategies of the year, Marvel have put online four incredible new posters for the IMAX release of Avengers: Age of Ultron and are putting it to the fans to vote for the best one. The first is a very retro and colourful of the team in the jaws of their new robot nemesis. Option two has the split panels similar to that of the recent Child 44 posters. Three highlights the apocalyptic destruction one might associate with The Road while four has the shredded paper style resembling one of Argo’s one sheets.

The film itself is directed by Joss Whedon (Serenity) and will star Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac), Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes), Scarlett Johansson (Her), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), James Sapder (The Blacklist), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Cobie Smudlers (How I Met Your Mother), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind), Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong), Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings) and Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Alexandre Desplat will score Rogue One and Ultron’s new Avengers 2 posters

When it was announced that JJ Abarms was directing Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens we were hoping that Michael Giacchino would be the film’s composer after the great work he did for Abrams on the latest Star Trek films as well as his achievements in Super 8, Up and The Incredibles. In the end the job, wisely, went to the original’s John Williams (Schindler’s List, Harry Potter, Jaws) but an alternative approach is being taken for the spin off Rogue One, which is already the coolest film in 2016. The film’s music comes from Alexandre Desplat, the Oscar winning maestro of The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, The King’s Speech, Argo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Tree of Life, for his Godzilla collaborator, British director Gareth Edwards. Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) will star.

Marvel have one by one been releasing character posters for their upcoming blockbuster The Avengers: Age of Ultron and now it it the turn of the titular robotic villain and his two minions, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. We’ll show them with the whole cast.

Joss Whedon (Serenity) directs the cast of Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island, Foxcatcher), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Lucy), Robert Downey Jr (Chaplin, Sherlock Holmes), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, American Hustle), Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Cabin in the Woods), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Margin Call), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene, Godzilla), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass, Nowhere Boy), Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park) and James Spader (The Blacklist).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Rogue One – December 26th 2016

Jackson, Johansson and Hemsworth in Avengers shots new Blade Runner developments

We begin today with a tip of the Starfleet Captain’s cap to Leonard Nimoy, best known as Spock – the most iconic and beloved science fiction character of all time. 1931-2015.

Another sci fi great is Ridley Scott’s android thriller Blade Runner but sadly Sott, who is still developing a sequel to Prometheus, won’t be a part of the now confirmed sequel. Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars) will reprise his role as the detective Rick Deckard but instead for the director Denis Villeneuve. The Canadian was behind the Oscar nominated Incendies and 2013’s acclaimed Hugh Jackman/Jake Gyllenhaal thriller Prisoners. Plot details are yet to emerge but we might hear some more over the coming months.

We’ve had glimpses at Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes, The Judge, Chaplin) as Iron Man and Mark Ruffalo (Now You See Me, Shutter Island, Zodiac) as Hulk but now the likes of Chris Hemsworth (Rush, In the Heart of the Sea, The Cabin in the Woods), Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin, Her, The Prestige) and Samuel L Jackson (The Incredibles, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction). We hope to see fellow Avengers Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, The Iceman, Scott Pilgrim VS The World) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, American Hustle, The Bourne Legacy).

Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Joss Whedon also helms the cast of James Spader (The Blacklist), Andy Serkis (The Hobbit), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Stellan Skarsgard (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Thomas Kretschmann (Wanted), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau) and Paul Bettany (Master and Commander, A Beautiful Mind).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Blade Runner 2 – 2017?

First look at Dave Bautista and Lea Seydoux in Spectre plus new look at Ruffalo’s Hulk

Be it Spectre, SPECTRE or S.P.E.C.T.R.E., Bond’s twenty fourth outing is attracting a lot of press attention and Empire has been tracking production from London to Berlin to the Austrian Alps. Their major new unveiling of the film kicks off in this weekend’s issue. As a sneak peak, we now have our first look at two of the film’s villains. Firstly the enforcer Hinx, played by Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista, and the mysterious doctor Madeleine Swann (Blue is the Warmest Colour star Lea Seydoux) – pictured with director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Skyfall).

This pair are working for our main villain Oberhauser, two time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Carnage). This time round, our Bond is Daniel Craig (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), our Bond girl is Monica Bellucci (Irreversible), Moneypenny is Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Ben Whishaw (Paddington) is Q and Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Harry Potter, Schindler’s List, In Bruges) is M. Rory Kinnear (The Casual Vacancy, The Imitation Game) and Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Pride) also take places on the cast.

Yesterday, we got a suited up Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) in the first character one sheet but Shutter Island, The Kids Are All Right and Foxcatcher star Mark Ruffalo dons his motion capture outfit for his Hulk close up. Banner will be posing a greater danger than ever before as the Scarlet Witch begins her mid games.

Joss Whedon (Firefly) commands the returning cast of Jeremy Renner (American Hustle, The Hurt Locker), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, The Prestige), Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Cabin in the Woods), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Stellan Skarsgard (Melancholia), Paul Bettany (Master and Commander) and Samuel L Jackson (The Incredibles) with the newbies Andy Serkis (The Hobbit), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Godzilla), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong) and James Spader (The Blacklist).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Spectre – October 23rd

Jessica Chastain joins The Hunstman, Avengers 2 character poster and new director and title for Lego Movie 2

By no means a disaster, Snow White and the Huntsman’s lukewarm commercial and critical performance led to a spanner in the works of the intended darker reboot franchise. With Kristen Stewart dropped, the spin off gained the returning cast of Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Avengers) and Charlize Theron (Monster, Prometheus) with new addition Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, The Adjustment Bureau, Looper).

The next new casting is Jessica Chastain, a two time Oscar nominated star of Zero Dark Thirty, The Help, A Most Violent Year, Lawless, The Tree of Life and Interstellar, who’s set to be playing Ravenna’s (Theron) potentially eviller sister. Were she more heroic, we’d be hoping there’s not an overplayed good/bad relationship portrayed, like Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter in Alice and Wonderland.

On the subject of future castings, the first film’s dwarves (Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Johnny Harris, Ian McShane and the late Bob Hoskins) have ruled themselves out and Sam Claflin’s (The Hunger Games’ Finnick) won’t have much to do without his romantic interest. Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) writes for first time director Cedric Nicolas Troyan.

We were disappointed when Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the team of 21/22 Jump Street and the BAFTA winning animation smash hit The Lego Movie, announced that, while they are still writing the latter’s sequel, they’re handing over the director’s keys. We’re now slightly relieved to hear that it’ll be in the hands of Emmy winner Rob Schrab, part of the team of the immensely popular Community. It’s also confirmed to be titled the simple and ingenious The Lego Movie Sequel.

The sequel will likely star Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Elizabeth Banks (The 40 Year Old Virgin), Will Ferrell (Anchorman), Will Arnett (Bojack Horseman) and Liam Neeson (Batman Begins, Taken).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron opened in a big way yesterday with its major one sheet poster. Joss Whedon’s (Serenity) team are kicking off a new character poster series with a shot of a very worried looking Tony Stark. The painted “A” We’ll soon be seeing similar glimpses at Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson), Vision (Paul Bettany), Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Ultron (James Spader).

Age of Ultron will also star Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong), Stellan Skarsgard (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

The Huntsman – April 22nd 2016

The Lego Movie Sequel – 2018

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

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

Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba are set for more Marvel

This week was one dominated by the stellar announcement of Marvel’s Phase Three lineup and we were thrilled by the confirmation of Thor 3. Following the success of The Winter Soldier, Kevin Feige and co were quick to confirm Captain America 3, now titled Civil War, but seemed hesitant with the thunder god, despite The Dark World’s grand takings, but Thor: Ragnarok is now scheduled for a Summer 2017 release.

The presence of Chris Hemsworth (Rush) as Thor and Tom Hiddleston (War Horse) as Loki was immediately announced. The cast is now looking to be expanded as Idris Elba will reprise his role as Asgardians watchmen Heimdall. Elba’s career was built on supporting roles on The Wire, American Gangster and RockNRolla before leads in the likes of Prometheus and Pacific Rim. I’d expect further additions to include Natalie Portman (Leon, Black Swan), Stellan Skarsgard (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Good Will Hunting) and Anthony Hopkins (The Elephant Man, The Silence of the Lambs) as Odin.

The likes of Ultron (James Spader), Ulysses Klaw (maybe Andy Serkis) and Thanos (Josh Brolin) will soon be dominating Marvel’s villain screentime but their beloved Loki is not forgotten. In addition to Ragnarok, the god of mischief’s on screen life has been extended to The Avengers: Infinity War, a two part event beginning in 2018 and likely directed by Serenity’s Joss Whedon.

Thor: Ragnarok – July 28th 2017

The Avengers: Infinity War Part I – May 4th 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War Part II – May 3rd 2019