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

Damon in new rumour for Bourne 5, first trailer Downey Jr’s Judge, Dawson joins Daredevil and director confirmed for Star Wars 8

It’s been well established that the Bourne franchise, a series that began with a trio of action masterclasses (Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum) from Doug Liman and then Paul Greengrass with star Matt Damon (Saving Private Ryan, Green Zone, Good Will Hunting) as Jason Bourne before Tony Gilroy turned it into an unintelligent mess in The Bourne Legacy with Jeremy Renner (The Avengers, The Hurt Locker, The Town) as all new spy Aaron Cross, will soon be continuing with its fifth instalment. The film was, however, pushed back till 2016 and its now rumoured that the delay was to accommodate for returning star Damon. While we’d love this to happen, its unlikely as the Oscar winner only expressed interest in reprising the role should he do it with Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) directing. I’d bet that the film’ll go on without them.

It’s hard to make early predictions for the next years awards season as so very few of the Oscar contenders by been seen by any audience, although Before I Go To Sleep, Magic in the Moonlight, Foxcatcher, Fury, The Birdman, Big Eyes, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Gone Girl and Interstellar are proving popular options. We’ve got our eyes on The Avengers/Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr’s return to drama in the hotly tipped The Judge. With director David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, Clay Pigeons) and acting ensemble of Robert Duvall, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vera Farmiga and Billy Bob Thornton, it sees a successful lawyer returning to his hometown to find his father, the local judge, at the centre of a murderous conspiracy whist the two try to bond. Find the first trailer here.

It’s awesome to see that Marvel and Netflix’s new collaboration on comic book adaptation Daredevil is building up a truly awesome cast of film stars. Charlie Cox (Broadwalk Empire, Stardust) portrays the titular blind lawyer, inheriting the role from the disastrous Ben Affleck, while Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket, Jurassic World) will take on the villainous Kingpin. Showrunner Stephen S DeKnight has now cast Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds, Trance, Sin City) in an unconfirmed role and suggestions from Marvel fans are stretching from Misty Knight to Karen Page to Elektra. We’ll be bringing you all the latest from Daredevil and the rest of The Defenders very soon.

2012’s genius time travel gangster thriller Looper currently ranks as our second favourite sci-fi film of the decade so far, only just beaten by Inception. Its director Rian Johnson (who also wrote and directed Brick, The Brothers Bloom and numerous episodes of Breaking Bad) has been heading for the big leagues for some time and he’s now landed his biggest gig of career yet. He’s officially been appointed to helm Star Wars: Episodes VIII and IX.

We couldn’t be more thrilled with the hiring. This follows the excellent appointments of JJ Abrams (Super 8, Star Trek Into Darkness), Josh Trank (The Fantastic Four, Chronicle) and Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) for Episode VII and the untitled spin offs. Abrams fans need not worry as he’ll still scribe the new trilogy just with the assistance of Johnson, Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back) and Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3). The rebooted series will star Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Domnhall Gleeson, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Peter Mayhew, Gwendoline Christie, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels, Oscar Isaac, Max Von Sydow, Lupita Nyong’o and Andy Serkis.

Daredevil – 2015

Star Wars: Episode VII – December 18th 2015

The Judge – October 24th

The Bourne Betrayal – July 15th 2016

Marc Webb will direct Amazing Spider-Man 3 and Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga confirm Conjuring 2

The sequel to the blockbuster reboot The Amazing Spider-Man arrives in about two months time and it’ll further set up Sony’s ongoing superhero universe with Venom, The Sinister Six and The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4. The latter two projects seem to be making less progress than the others but today the first two film’s director Marc Webb was confirmed for the third. This instalment will probably star Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Martin Sheen, Shailene Woodley and Sally Field while the villainous tales of Venom and The Sinister Six will be brought to us with a writing/directing amalgamation of Drew Goddard, Alex Kurtzman, Ed Solomon and Roberto Orci. We’ve also been informed that Sony’s attempts to build an Avengers like universe will bring us one Spider-Man film every year so there’s plenty of webswinging action to come.

James Wan’s The Conjuring was the horror smash hit of 2013 taking $318 million from a remarkably small budget while winning the hearts. Its stars, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, have been added to the sequel’s cast confirming the follow ups production. So far, plot details are pretty much non-exitstent but we know that their characters, Lorraine and Ed Warren, will be caught up in a new terrifying poltergeist case. As well as this, there’s a planned spin-off/prequel titled The Annabelle Story which sees the titular creepy doll causing terror of a trio of flatmates. The Conjuring’s cinematographer John R Leonetti will direct that one but I doubt James Wan will return in any way for either of these projects as he’s busy on Fast and Furious 7 (arriving April 10th 2015).

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – April 4th

The Amazing Spider-Man 3 – May 17th 2016

The Sinister Six – 2017

The Amazing Spider-Man 4 – 2018

Venom – 2017/18

The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist – October 2015

The Annabelle Story – October 3rd