Honorable Mentions
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| Fantastic Four |
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| Mad Max: Fury Road |
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| Tomorrowland |
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| Ted 2 |
10. Crimson Peak
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, Tom Hiddleston
A Guillermo del Toro horror movie that centers on a haunted house is very
intriguing to me. I really enjoy a well done psychological horror film, and del
Toro is a director who can accomplish that. With this great cast, I believe
this could be one of the best horror movies we have seen in a while.
9. Ant-Man
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
As
Marvel continues to pump out movies, they continue to reach deeper into their
catalogue of super heroes. Ant Man is definitely one of the most obscure heroes
to be put on screen, but that didn’t stop “Guardians of the Galaxy” from owning
the box office last year. However, “Guardians” was very well executed, and that
remains to be seen with Ant Man. Edgar Wright was the original director/writer,
but eventually dropped out late after disagreements with Marvel. After
re-writes and scrambling to find a new director, they ended up getting Peyton
Reed, which worries me. All in all though, it’s hard to not trust Marvel with
their track record of good films, especially their last two (“Captain America:
The Winter Soldier”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”). I was actually more excited
about this movie until I saw the trailer. I was pretty disappointed with the
trailer because it seemed like a cookie cutter comic book movie and wasn’t the
tone I was expecting. Regardless, I’m excited to see Paul Rudd and Michael
Douglas in this world, and see how this story fits into the overall Marvel
Cinematic Universe. Also, Marvel does pretty well with placing their movies
into sub-genres within the superhero movie category. This movie will have the
feeling of a heist movie, and that’s something different and exciting to look
forward to.
8. Spectre
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz
Daniel
Craig and the same director as “Skyfall” will be returning for the 24th
installment in Bond franchise. I thought “Skyfall” was great, and was actually
my favorite film of the ‘Daniel Craig Era’. Additionally, the villain in this
film will be portrayed by another Academy Award winning actor (Christoph Waltz),
so it’s hard not to be excited about this film. I really enjoyed the action and
darkness of “Skyfall” and I believe this movie will follow that same path. They
will be able to build on what worked for them previously, and hopefully come
out with a great film. Not just a great Bond film.
7. The Reverent
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter
From the director of my favorite movie of 2014, ‘Birdman’, this is definitely
one movie you should look out for. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.
It follows a frontiersman (DiCaprio) in the 1820s who was
left for dead by his friends after a bear mauling, and is now on a path of
vengeance. With a great director and those phenomenal actors, I can’t see this
one not turning out well.
6. Jurassic
World
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard
We’re back at Jurassic Park, and what looks like to be a promising
sequel. In this film, the park is open and has been running successfully for a
while. I like that the story will start there, and we will be able to see the
vision of the first movie come to life. Visually everything looks great in the
trailer, and Chris Pratt is riding a motorcycle next to Raptors, pretty hard to
beat that. Speaking of Chris Pratt, I’m interested to see him in a leading role
that will show off his dramatic chops, instead of just the loveable goofball we
all know him for. The plot seems a little predictable, but I’m hoping to be
surprised when I see the film.
5. The Hateful
Eight
Starring: Channing Tatum, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell
Quentin Tarantino is back to direct the eighth film (go figure) of his
career. He is not straying too far from his last film “Django Unchained”,
because this will be another bloody Western. I really enjoy Tarantino as a
director, and think he rarely misses when it comes to making a film. This movie
was almost cancelled by Tarantino due to the script being leaked. However,
after some re-writes, Tarantino decided to go through with it and I’m glad he
did. “Django Unchained” was one of my favorite movies of 2012, so if this lives
up or even surpasses that, I will definitely be satisfied.
4. Chappie
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Sharlto Copley
If
you’ve noticed any common thread here, it’s probably that most of the movies in
my top 10 are here because of the directors in charge of them. When you don’t
know a lot about a film coming up, it’s nice to able to know that you can trust
the talent behind the camera. “Chappie” is no exception. Its director, Neil
Blomkamp, directed one of my favorite movies of all time, “District 9”. His
most recent film, “Elysium” did not receive much critical acclaim but I still
believe he can recreate what he did with “District 9”. That movie was a great
Sci-fi film that had a lot of heart and depth. “Chappie” has the potential to
be that same kind of movie because all of the elements are there. It deals with
a somewhat-distant-future deadly A.I. that starts to learn human emotions and
becomes something more than what he was programmed to do. I believe Chappie
will be a very sympathetic character that the audience will gravitate towards,
and this movie will put a new spin on how we view the world.
3. Inside Out
Starring: Amy Poehler, Diane Lane, Mindy Kaling
Pixar is back with an original idea that is one of the most creative concepts I’ve
heard of. Pixar has been putting out/announcing a lot of sequels lately, so I
am glad they coming out with a brand new story. Pixar very rarely makes sub-par
movies, and most of the time, they are amazing. [If you do not know, just look
up the list of every Pixar movie]. This movie will showcase the different
emotions inside people’s heads, and how they react to different situations. We
will see the emotions from a kid’s point of view, as well as the parents. Pixar
always does a great job of making movies that both adults and kids can thoroughly
enjoy. There have been rumors that Pixar believes this will be the funniest
movie they have ever come out with. That is not too surprising to hear because
of the cast they were able to get for this film. Expect a classic Pixar film
that can be enjoyed by anyone.
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth
Following the critically acclaimed and third highest grossing movie of all time
“The Avengers”, “Age of Ultron” looks like the sequel that I had hoped for. I
really enjoyed “The Avengers” and seeing all of those characters come together,
however, I did feel there were some flaws. As I mentioned before though, Marvel
has a great track record and their last two movies have been their best yet. I’m
glad they are going with a darker tone in this film, and we get to see the
heroes in a more realistic struggling to win. This was definitely shown in the trailer, and I hope it's something
that carries throughout the film. (Obviously still having some of the Marvel
humor we've come to love). In the broader sense, this movie will drastically
change the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which excites me. This
looks like a logical next step in the series, and a situation we want to see
our heroes in. Hopefully Joss Whedon can improve even more from the first, and
amplify what makes this concept so great.
1. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford
Not much I can say here. The trailer looked great, and I
feel J.J. Abrams is the perfect person to direct this movie. The cast is full
of strong young actors, and they will be able to carry this franchise into a
new generation. The original cast will also be returning, so I am interested to
see how big their roles will be. The movie will take
place 30 years after the original trilogy, so there is a lot that can be
explored. Brining “Star Wars” into this era of filmmaking will be amazing, and
definitely the best Christmas present I will be receiving this year.
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