Just
like every other year that has gone before it, there are a plethora
of new releases that I am looking forward to seeing in 2015. Within
the next few weeks, 2014's big releases all finally get released in
Australia so I will finally catch up with such films as “Inherent
Vice”, “Big Eyes”, “Into The Woods”, “Birdman”, “Wild”,
and “American Sniper”, so there is no point in listing these
titles. I believe that 2015 has the potential to be the biggest
money making year in history for the simple fact that there are a lot
of “massive” movies being released such as “Star Wars: The
Force Awakens”, “The Avengers: Age of Ultron”, “Jurassic
World”, and “Terminator Genisys”. Amazingly none of these make
the short list for my most anticipated films of 2015. With the
exception of one title, my list consists of relatively smaller type
films. However, lets start with that big one on my list:
I
must admit that I never thought I would have a James Bond film as one
of my most anticipated films of any year, no matter how much I enjoy
the franchise. However the previous Bond film, “Skyfall”, was
such a great film and arguably the best of the entire franchise that
there is a curiosity to see if they can keep the momentum going with
this latest entry. They have a damned good chance though with
“Skyfall” director Sam Mendes returning for “Spectre” and
even the most casual Bond fan understands how important Spectre is to
the franchise. The casting of Christoph Waltz as the film's villain
and Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux as the Bond girls just adds to
the excitement of the new film. The only sad note is that
cinematographer Roger Deakins is not returning this time around but
Hoyte Van Hoytema is a good choice as replacement.
This is the latest film from director Jeff Nichols who
many times I have described as the best and most important new
American director of the past decade. Being as “Midnight Special”
will be his fourth feature, it may be wrong to still be calling
Nichols a new director. Accomplished director would be a more apt
label because his previous three films, “Shotgun Stories”, “Take
Shelter” and “Mud” have all been fantastic. Little is known
about his latest film except that it is a chase film that revolves
around a father and son being on the run after the dad learns his son
has special powers. This is quite a departure from the reality based
films he has previously made, but Nichols says that the film is
similar in tone to John Carpenter's “Starman”. He once again has
cast Michael Shannon in a role, with Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst,
and Adam Driver filling out the cast.
It has been six years since Alejandro Amenabar's last
film (the little seen, “Agora”) and a massive fourteen years
since he tackled a genre project (his superior ghost story, “The
Others”). “Regression” changes all that because, while little
is known about the film, it has been revealed that the film is a
thriller. Other than that, the only details in regards to plot that
have been released are that it is about a father who is accused of a
crime that he has no memory of committing. Emma Watson and Ethan
Hawke are the stars of “Regression” with David Thewlis filling a
role of a professor.
This is the latest film from the now prolific Terrence
Malick and just from judging from the trailer, it appears that he is
tackling new ground with “Knight Of Cups”. The film also looks
quite sexy which is something I never thought I would say or hear
about a Malick film. Apparently like all of the films on this list,
still not much is known about this film or which actors made the
final cut but we wont have to wait too long because the film
premieres at the Berlin Film Festival in February. What we do know
is that Emmanuel Lubezki is back on cinematography duties (and
judging from the trailer, the images are as beautiful as anything he
has shot for Malick) and Jack Fisk is again doing production design.
Christian Bale is definitely the star of the film, with Natalie
Portman, and Cate Blanchett confirmed as making the final cut. The
title of the film refers to the “Knight Of Cups” tarot card, but
what that has to do with the film no one knows yet.
Ok,
so Guillermo Del Toro's last film, “Pacific Rim” really sucked,
but to be honest, I never thought it was going to be that great to
begin with. However his latest film, “Crimson Peak”, is his
first foray into horror since 1997's “Mimic” and the director
himself has stated that this is his first English language Spanish
film. What he means by this is that “Crimson Peak” will be told
in the style and tone of his smaller Spanish films, but obviously in
English. What makes me really excited about the film though (besides
the casting of Jessica Chastain) is that it is actually an old school
gothic horror film that is mixed with some good old fashioned
romance. I can already imagine the atmosphere of this film and the
house. From the IMDB comes this synopsis of the film: “In
the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between
love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious
outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away
to a house that breathes, bleeds...and remembers”. Sounds great
and so up my alley too. Aside from the aforementioned Jessica
Chastain, the other members of the cast are Tom Hiddleston, his “Only
Lovers Left Alive” castmate Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Hunnam (who
is the only one I'm worried about, because he was terrible in
“Pacific Rim”). This is also the first time since 2002's “Blade
II” that Del Toro isn't working with his regular cinematographer
Guillermo Navarro, so it will be interesting to see if that will have
an effect on the film. Either way October cant come soon enough to
find out.
This should come as no
surprise because whenever Quentin Tarantino has a new film out, it
will normally be my most anticipated of the year, and “The Hateful
Eight” is my most anticipated film of 2015. This will be
Tarantino's second western in a row although this one is apparently
set for the majority in one location. The plot line on IMDB reads as
such: “In
post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunters try to find shelter during a
blizzard but get involved in a plot of betrayal and deception”.
Sounds intriguing. It is well known that the script for this movie
leaked onto the internet long ago, but I have no interest in reading
it because as always I want to know as little as possible when going
into a Tarantino film. Unsurprisingly he has an amazing cast the
likes of Bruce Dern, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt
Russell, Michael Madsen, Channing Tatum and he finally reunites with
Tim Roth for their first collaboration since “Pulp Fiction”.
Robert Richardson returns as cinematographer but the big news about
“The Hateful Eight” is that Tarantino is shooting on 70mm film.
The only downside is that the film is not due out in the States until
mid-November so it is a bit of a wait, but I'm sure it will be worth
it.
Well, that is it.
My enormous round up of the year that was 2014 is finally over.
Hopefully you enjoyed reading it and got something out of it, but how
about we go back to watching some new films now?
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