It’s not for us to decide how 2014 will go down in the annals of cinema, but it’s probably not going to be looked back on as the best ever. Boyhood and Birdman aside, it’s been largely dominated by superheroes, remakes and reboots; a worrying trend for aficionados and fedoras everywhere.
Though 2015 looks like more of the same (Ebert would spit if he saw Ant-Man, no doubt), there are still some fantastic-looking films to anticipate on the big screen so we decided to narrow it down to our hot picks for the year. And yes, there are superheroes.
10. Chappie
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel, Sigourney Weaver
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Out: March 6, 2015
Neil Blomkamp went a bit sideways with the forgetful Elysium (I actually had to Google it), a far cry from the brilliance of his debut with District 9. So, he’s done whatever any esteemed director would do and made a comedy with robots and Die Antwoord. Chappie had us at Y0-Landi.
9. Mad Max: Fury Road
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz
Director: George Miller
Out: May 15, 2015
The internet continues to lose its mind when new snippets of Mad Max: Fury Road are released, but it’s not without its cynics. Combine a PG-13 rating with a stumbling, halting production spanned over years and you have a recipe for disaster. I could watch Tom Hardy talk to a bread bin about the politics of shortbread for two hours though.
8. The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron
Starring: Downey Jr, Evans, Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Renner, Johansson, Spader
Director: Joss Whedon
Out: May 1, 2015
I was so pleasantly surprised by the original Avengers film. I was expecting an overblown catastrophe but boy, did the powernerd that is Joss Whedon gladly prove me wrong. Expect Age of Ultron to get very close to the original’s monumental gross at the box office; you might want to start conditioning the kids to James Spadder’s terrifying voice already.
7. It Follows
Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Jake Weary, Daniel Zovatto
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Released: February 27, 2015
Minus The Babadook, 2014 has been complete ass for horror films. That might not be the most editorially sound phrase to use, but it’s apt. Luckily, we have It Follows to look forward to in 2015: “a film which made me think twice before turning out the light as I went to bed” according to James Gates’ early screening review.
6. Crimson Peak
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Out: October 16, 2015
Guillermo del Toro has decided to stop bashing robots together to make a proper film which takes him back to his horror roots. Seemingly as an antidote to the dearth of original scares around (how many found footage films are there?), del Toro is taking things back to the roots of horror with this gothic haunted house tale. And just in time for Halloween! What a coincidence.
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