With 2014 past us, and the Oscars set to air this Sunday, I
thought now would be the best time to finally reveal my list of my most
anticipated films of the year. 2014 wasn’t all that impressive of a year to me,
despite three fantastic movies that were each fiercely battling it out with
each other to be my favorite film of the year. However, if you were
underwhelmed with the number of stellar films, then 2015 should bring
incredible promise.
2015 is going to be LOADED with potentially fantastic films,
from smaller and creative independent fare, to bigger and possibly wildly fun
blockbusters. There are so many films that look great coming out this year that
I found it uncommonly difficult to narrow down a list of what films I’m most
looking forward to. For this reason, rather than narrow it down to ten, to
include all the films I’m excited for, I made a list of my top fifteen most
anticipated films, along with ten honorable mentions… And believe me, there
were STILL movies I wanted to include here.
Anticipation can often be a dangerous thing, because we’re
never necessarily sure if these movies will live up to expectations, if they’ll
be good, or if they’ll suck. In fact, some movies may not even be released this
year at all. Sometimes, smaller films can even swoop in with little fanfare and
steal anticipation away from another film, much like films like Birdman and
Whiplash which made huge splashes in the festival circuit. So for these
reasons, this list is merely how it stands at the present, and films could
likely swap places as time goes on. Also, I neglected to include films that
aren’t guaranteed to be released this year, such as David O. Russell’s Joy.
As always, this list is based on my own personal preferences
and taste, so if a film you’re anticipating isn’t on here, it means I haven’t
yet heard of it, I’m anticipating it but not enough to put it on the list, or
I’m simply not looking forward to it at all. So if you were hoping to see Mad
Max: Fury Road in here somewhere, I apologize in advance for the
disappointment.
Anyway, let’s start off with the films that didn’t quite
make it in the top 15.
Honorable Mentions include:
25. The Stanford Prison Experiment
24. Ant-Man
23. Equals
22. Everest
21. Knight of Cups
20. Tomorrowland
19. Jane Got a Gun
18. Dark Places
17. In the Heart of the Sea
16. Freeheld
And with those addressed, let’s get to the real list.
15. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
For all the flak I give to young adult novel adaptations, I
won’t deny when there’s a series I actually like. Such is the case with The
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This series has always shown a great level of
intelligence lacking in numerous imitators and cash cows, and this final
installment could potentially be the best film in the series. Many are assuming
this will be nothing but a feature length action sequence, but that is
absolutely not the case, for should this film follow the book faithfully, it
will be a very eventful and emotionally potent experience.
14. The Good Dinosaur
There seems to be a consistent worry that Pixar have lost
their touch when it comes to making great movies. Perhaps their two year
absence is what they needed to get back on track, for they’ll be back with not
one, but two movies in 2015. One of these is The Good Dinosaur releasing in November, which
features a creative premise, and will see Pixar taking on dinosaurs, which is
something I’ve always wanted to see them tackle. I could easily have tacked it
alongside Inside Out, but it’s lower on this list because, frankly, its
production problems (including the decision to drop Bob Peterson as director)
are very worrisome. Hopefully things work out for the better.
13. Steve Jobs
We’ve already had one biopic about famed Apple founder Steve
Jobs, albeit with a horrible vehicle for Ashton Kutcher. We got a tremendous
upgrade when it was announced Aaron Sorkin (of The Social Network and West Wing
fame) would be writing his own Jobs biopic. Unfortunately, David Fincher was
not available to direct, but we got an equally great director with Danny Boyle,
and with Michael Fassbender and Seth Rogen set to co-star respectively as Jobs
and co-founder Steve Wozniak, it looks to be exactly what the Kutcher film
could never have been in its wildest dreams.
12. The Revenant
The Revenant will be the latest film from Alejandro Gonzalez
Innaritu, fresh off of my favorite movie of 2014, Birdman. The film is a
western starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a man seeking vengeance against three
friends that rob him and leave him for dead. It’s not often nowadays that we
get truly great and original westerns, and to see Innaritu take on the genre,
as well as DiCaprio and a group of fantastic actors attached, gives me more
than enough reason to be eager.
11. The Walk
After watching James Marsh’s incredible 2008 documentary Man
on Wire, detailing the nail-biting process of how Phillipe Petit walked on a
tightrope between the World Trade Center, I remember telling myself “This would
make a great biopic.” It seems that waiting for it to get made might have finally
paid off. Director Robert Zemeckis spent several years specializing in his
doomed ImageMovers motion capture based films, and this marks his second film
in live action since then, and has Joseph Gordon-Levitt set to star in the
lead role. The trailer for this film promises great things to come, and I’ve no
doubt that the film will deliver on its potential to leave the palms of
audiences sweating.
10. Jurassic World
Many may assume this to be obvious given that the original
is my all time favorite film, but a year ago, I’d have laughed this movie off
without a second glance. My heated disdain for the sequels is on record, but
now that I’ve gotten to see new details, as well as the committed and talented
cast and crew that the movie has attracted, as well as a smart marketing
campaign, I couldn’t be any more excited to relive the nostalgia of Isla
Nublar. However, I’m intentionally hampering my expectations, and bracing
myself for the possibility that the movie is awful. Hopefully those fears turn out to be without merit.
9. Crimson Peak
Guillermo del Toro has mostly kept behind the scenes in the
years following Pan’s Labyrinth, only coming back to the director’s chair for
Hellboy 2 and Pacific Rim. In 2015, he looks to be going back to his horror
roots with Crimson Peak, which will see the director tackling a potentially
fascinating ghost story. Not much is really known about the film, and what
we’re to expect, but perhaps some movies are best experienced not knowing much
about them. Hopefully del Toro will deliver on the great promise of this movie.
8. Inside Out
Set to debut in June, this is Pixar’s other big release of
the year. Directed by Pete Doctor of Up and Monsters, Inc. fame, this film
takes a very simple, but inspired concept of a young child’s emotions running
wild due to the hardships and pressures of a new environment. The film looks to
feature Pixar’s signature blend of mature real world themes and razor sharp
hilarity, and looks to be the studio at their… Pixariest. Many people may seem
to think Pixar is in a slump, but this looks to be the film that will make them
rebound. Big time!
7. Sicario
2013 saw Denis Villeneuve take on his first English-language
film with the Fincher-esque thriller Prisoners. He also had 2014’s Enemy to his
credit (although I haven’t seen it), but I’m happy to see that he’ll be getting
back to the thriller genre for Sicario. The film will star Emily Blunt – whose
recently been making a career out of great, tough as nails women – as an
officer who crosses the border to Mexico in order to track down a drug lord, and
with a great cast and the legendary Roger Deakins shooting the film, I’m pumped
to see it already.
6. Brooklyn
This was one of the latest inclusions on my list, as it
recently played at the Sundance Film Festival, and was the recipient of
enthusiastic reviews, eventually being bought by Fox Searchlight Pictures. The
premise itself sounds great, and the talent involved is wonderful, but the one,
simple reason that this film is on my list… is Saoirse Ronan. Ronan has quickly
become one of my favorite actresses working today, and after an unfortunate
string of critically derided films in 2013, I’m glad to see she’ll be getting
back on track with great roles again, and with Brooklyn, is even potentially
in the race for her second Oscar nomination. Even if I don’t end up liking the
actual film, I’ve no doubt that she is going to be amazing, and that’s enough
for me.
5. Avengers: Age of Ultron
The second phase of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe came to a
heated boil last year with the critically acclaimed Captain America sequel and
Guardians of the Galaxy, and with Age of Ultron, the company is intent on
finishing off this portion of the ongoing series in style. Given that
the first Avengers still stands as the studio’s best film (with fierce
competition from Guardians), I’ve no idea how this film is going to top it. The
company has been running a smart marketing campaign (even in the face of
trailers getting leaked), the film will feature several great new cast members,
and if director Joss Whedon can retain the same great character interactions,
sense of fun, and the epic scope that made the previous Avengers film work, as
well as move the characters forward without rehashing older bits, this will
likely be the studio’s best and most exciting film yet.
4. The Hateful Eight
Rule of cinema #1: If a film from Quentin Tarantino is being
released in any given year, it will automatically rank highly on your list.
Quentin Tarantino likes to take his dear sweet time in between each movie he
makes, and the high quality of each one always makes the wait well worth it.
Initially scrapped by Tarantino since the script had leaked online, the film
eventually got back on track, and will see the man taking on his second western
after Django Unchained. The film features a huge and talented cast (including
but not limited to Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern, and
Tarantino staple Samuel L. Jackson), and considering that no one writes
dialogue more engaging than Tarantino does, expect numerous extended, but
utterly enthralling conversations between characters. BRING IT ON!
3. St. James Place
Rule of cinema #2: If a Steven Spielberg film is being
released in any given year, it too shall automatically rank highly on your
list. It’s been three years since Spielberg brought us his last directorial
effort with Lincoln, and while his directorial output is starting to get fewer
in numbers recently, it hasn’t hurt the quality of his films in the slightest.
St. James Place is a Cold War thriller that will see him teaming back up with
actor Tom Hanks, and working from a script authored by the Brothers Coen. The
writing duo had an unfortunate snag with Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken (which
lacked the unique personality you expect to see from them due to having four
writers), but with no heavy interference from other writers, and Spielberg at
the helm, my worries for this movie are non-existent.
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
It’s a Star Wars movie! It’s on my list merely for existing,
but if that’s not reason enough, let me go more in depth. Much of this movie
has been kept in secret in its marketing and has fascinated everyone across the
world, the film is bringing back the original cast members of the classic
trilogy and mixing them with spectacular newcomers, John Williams is attached
to it, the teaser trailer for the film was mind-blowing, but best of all is
that the film is directed by J.J. Abrams, the man responsible for the rebooted
Star Trek film series. If he can bring the same style and broad appeal to
newcomers and die hard devotees to this film that he brought to the Trek
movies, then there’s no way this movie can fail.
1. Spectre
Where do I even begin? It’s long been established that I am
a die-hard fan of the James Bond films (See my retrospective that I did for
more on that), and after Sam Mendes gave us – in my opinion – the single
greatest Bond film ever with Skyfall in 2012, the fact that the studio brought
him back on for this new film is reason enough to be hyped. Of course, Daniel
Craig is back, Mendes will be working with an incredible cast and top notch
technicians, but I’m most curious about how the story will ultimately unfold. I’m
quite fascinated to see how they’ll update Spectre for the 21st
century (and how they’ll be able to wrap up the Quantum storyline, seeing as
how that organization already felt like a modern day Spectre), but I’ve no
worries that the film will pull it off. This movie is doing exactly what I
think it should do. It looks to return to the classic style of Bond, but still
looks to do new and creative things with the customs and Bond’s character in
the process. How Mendes is supposed to top arguably his greatest film to date
is a question yet to be answered, but you can be sure that being the Bond
fanatic I am, I’ll be one of the very first in line to support this movie.
And there you have it. The numerous films I’m looking
forward to in 2015, and who knows how many more great films there could be that
didn’t make it on here. Here’s to a great year, and let’s just hope that none
of these movies get pushed back several years… Looking at you, Seventh Son….
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