From Inherent Vice to Jurassic World, we look at the biggest movie releases to come.
The Gambler
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, Jessica Lange, John Goodman, Michael Kenneth Williams.
Based on the 1974 novel by James Toback, Wahlberg does a Christian Bale and loses a whole pile of bodyweight to play a college professor/high stakes gambler who runs afoul of some very bad men while romancing one of his students.
Wahlberg is among the favourites for an Oscar after taking on a role originally intended for Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson.
With a ridiculously oversized cast that makes Ocean’s Eleven look like a Lars von Trier thinkpiece set off the coast of Norway, this is going to be huge.
HUGE.
The plot runs thusly: ‘With S.H.I.E.L.D. destroyed and the Avengers needing a hiatus from stopping threats, Tony Stark attempts to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program with Ultron, a self-aware, self-teaching, artificial intelligence.
‘However, his plan backfires when Ultron decides that humans are the main enemy and sets out to eradicate them from Earth, and it is up to Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, along with support from Nick Fury and Maria Hill, to stop him from enacting his plans. Along the way, the Avengers encounter the powerful twins, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, as well as the familiar Vision.’
One thing is sure, there will be a massive good vs. evil battle throughout a major American city, and you’ll remember nothing about the plot 20 minutes after the credits roll.
Jurassic World
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Judy Greer, Jake Johnson.
A genetically modified hybrid dinosaur gets loose on an island that has been converted to a theme park, and peril is the result.
Colin Trevorrow (us neither) directs, and with crowd pleaser of the moment Pratt on board it’s bound to take in around $670bn at the box office, despite hardly being on first name terms with originality.
This year’s Godzilla, in other words.
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, Gwendoline Christie.
We know about as much as you do, which is the square root of anything remotely solid. It’s all rumour and conjecture at this early point, although we do have a trailer.
Our favourite piece of speculation so far? Han Solo. Son of Yoda.
James Bond – Spectre
Starring: Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Andrew Scott, Monica Bellucci, Christoph Waltz.
It’s not out until next November, so don’t even begin to expect any plot details until the Spring. However, and please keep this to yourselves, we have it on good authority that James Bond is actually the son of Yoda.
Tell nobody.
The Hateful Eight
Starring: Channing Tatum, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Bruce Dern, Michael Madsen, Walton Goggins.
Now you’re talking. Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film focuses on bounty hunters in post-Civil War Wyoming and the nonsense they get up to. It’s all about the cast though – Tim Roth? Michael Madsen? Samuel L. Jackson??? It’s like the last 20 years never happened, can’t wait for this.
Entourage
Starring: Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Ronda Rousey, Alice Eve, Emily Ratajkowski.
Nobody said that Doug Ellin HAD to add Emily Ratajkowski to the most eagerly awaited reunion of the year, but it really can’t hurt.
After all sorts of wranglings over money and shooting schedules and money and finances, the cast finally got their act together and we’ve been keeping an eye on the on-set shenanigans for months now.
Grenier says that the whole thing is filmed, edited and tested and they’re looking at a June 2015 release. Whatever about the four lads (frankly, we’re not that bothered), we’re just dying to see what happens to Ari.
Inherent Vice
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio del Toro, Jena Malone.
Paul Thomas Anderson. Joaquin Phoenix. Sign us up now. While The Master was truly divisive – some here in the JOE office loved it, others thought it was ponderous crap – Anderson remains the best director of truly original, cinematic drama out there.
Inherent Vice stars Phoenix as a Private Investigator seeking clues into the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend.
It looks more light-hearted than much of Anderson’s work, and fairly hard to pigeonhole. We like that.
Terminator: Genisys
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, Matt Smith.
The trailer’s out and perhaps the less said the better. Rehashing the dialogue that made the first two films so successful might bring in the punters, while Arnie’s return is bound to get a few bums on seats, but this does look like it has all the subtlety of a shotgun blast to the face in the middle of a sh*tstorm.
http://youtu.be/62E4FJTwSuc
Ant-Man
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Hayley Atwell, Michael Douglas, John Slattery, Michael Peña.
Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright may have departed the film but we still have high hopes for Paul Rudd’s superhero because… well it’s Paul Rudd.
Marvel have rarely put a foot wrong in their cinematic universe so far and the teaser trailer seems more focused on characters than action set-pieces.
Inside Out
Starring (the voices of): Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan.
The premise of this film sounds incredibly simple yet absolutely brilliant at the same time.
The story is told from the perspective of the emotions inside the mind of a little girl as feelings like sadness, anger and joy collide in a little girl named Riley’s head. There’s no guarantee that any film will be entertaining, moving and funny but Pixar is the closest bet to a sure thing.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Nicholas Hoult
Tom Hardy rarely stars in a bad film; in fact, apart from This Means War, the English actor has been one of the most reliable actors on screen in recent years.
He’ll need to bring the same levels of physicality that he showed in Warrior, The Dark Knight Rises and Bronson to the role of Mad Max but this latest instalment in the post-apocalyptic franchise looks like it could be the sleeper hit of the year.
Brooklyn
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Saoirse Ronan, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Nora-Jane Noone.
Colm Toibin’s book about a young woman who has to choose between two men and two countries is getting the big-screen treatment with some of Ireland’s best on-screen talent attached.
John Crowley, who directed Intermission, is behind the lens while one of JOE’s favourite authors, High Fidelity and Fever Pitch’s Nick Hornby, wrote the screenplay.
Grimsby
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Penélope Cruz, Mark Strong, Ian McShane, Isla Fisher.
Sacha Baron Cohen is always a welcome presence on the big screen and Borat himself is one of the writers of this film, which sees a top spy having to team up with his football hooligan brother. The supporting cast is extremely strong as director Louis Leterrier takes his first steps into comedy.
Ted 2
Starring: Mark Mark Wahlberg, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Morgan Freeman, Seth MacFarlane (voice).
We know absolutely nothing about the plot but if it has a scene as perverse and funny as this then we know what we’ll be watching.
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