2015 will be a year to remember in more ways than one. One reason is because none of your Back To The Future fantasies will be coming true. And secondly, because cinemas around the world will be packed due to the plethora of cinematic gems that are to be released this year. Now before I put too much thought into it, here are a list of movies in 2015 that I’m looking out for.
Special mentions (Because it’s impossible to cover every interesting movie this year): Seventh Son, Shaun the Sheep Movie, Chappie, In the Heart of the Sea, Cinderella, Insurgent, Get Hard, Child 44, Mad Max: Fury Road, Pitch Perfect 2, Terminator Genisys, Ratchet & Clank, Pixels, Grimsby, Regression, Masterminds, Black Mass, Hotel Transylvania 2, Spectre and The Good Dinosaur
Strange Magic (January 23, 2015)
Why: A George Lucas original inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Uh, yes please.
Apart from a few glaring mistakes in his life, G. Lucas has largely been known for his ability to set an amazing story in his films. Star Wars and Indiana Jones have largely eclipsed all his other work and there’s a good reason why. Strange Magic is an animated musical comedy about goblins and elves. Also, there’s Alan Cumming. If you’re like me, then you’ll probably remember him from his role as Fegan Floop in Spy Kids.
I think he’s going to be perfect for the role of troll king.
Here’s the trailer for the movie:
Project Almanac (January 30, 2015)
Why: Found footage film about a time machine.
I’m a sucker for any story that involves messing with the fabric of time. Only thing I’m a little iffy about is the fact that Michael Bay and Bradley Fuller are involved in its production. This could either be a complete disaster or a mitigated disappointment. Am I being pessimistic here?
I’m not sure how to feel about this.
Jupiter Ascending (February 6, 2015)
Why: The Wachowskis
I can’t get enough of these two. Granted, the Matrix trilogy may have been best left as not a trilogy, but I really look forward to movies made by the duo. This is largely due to the fact that their movies tend to have very extreme polar reactions by the general viewing audience. V for Vendetta and Cloud Atlas sure proved that much to me. Jupiter Ascending is slated to be a space opera film and the leading stars are Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis. Also there’s Sean Bean somewhere.
Spoilers: He’s going to die.
Here’s an equally vexing trailer for the movie, complete with anti-gravity beams:
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (February 6, 2015)
Why: SpongeBob, obviously.
SpongeBob and co. transform into superheroes to protect the Krabby Patty recipe and save Bikini Bottom. Antonio Banderas voices the villain and there’s Slash in it. Need I say more?
Nope.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (January 29, 2015)
Why: Would it be wrong to say Samuel Jackson?
Okay, so maybe not just him. It’s directed by Matthew Vaughn who also directed Kick Ass and X-Men: First Class. I saw the trailer last year and it looked like a promising film. Can’t wait to watch this one.
Edited: Can’t wait for him to drop an F bomb.
Home (March 27, 2015)
Why: Dreamworks
There are just way too many animated films coming out this year that I do not want to miss. Home is just one of them. Not only does the story seem perfect for a Dreamworks Animations movie, but the lead voice actors are Jim Parsons and Rihanna. How does that not tickle one’s curiosity?
Starring Sheldon Cooper as an alien who nobody understands.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1, 2015)
Why: The continuation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
So its pretty obvious why this would be included on my watchlist. I’m a comics fan and Ultron is one of the most interesting supervillians in Marvel. Also it has nothing to do with the fact that we’ll be getting to see the Hulkbuster armor in action.
Nothing at all.
And I know this has been plastered all over the internet already, but here we go again:
Do note the Pinnochio soundtrack in the background if you haven’t already.
Jurassic World (June 12, 2015)
Why: Mother of all Velociraptors
When will these people ever learn? If there’a anything the previous movies should have taught us, its that dinosaurs and theme parks do not go well together. And now they’ve decided to put together a whole new kind of dinosaur. Because why not? And it seems even Velociraptors are afraid of it.
Velociraptors. How do you even combat something like that?
Running is good. Please run.
The advice mom gives in the first scene is just lovely though. Like I would ever send my kids out to a theme park with living, breathing dinosaurs in the first place.
You have to be tripping on four different kinds of drugs to be crazy enough to not want to go.
Inside Out (June 19, 2015)
Why: Pixar
Pixar Animation is my childhood. I grew up watching Pixar films and I will be damned if I don’t squeal in excitement every time they announce a new movie. Inside Out is a story of a young girl and her five emotions – Anger, Fear, Disgust, Sadness and Joy. I love the concept of the emotions personified and working together (together being a loose term here) as I too once believed the emotions in my head were independent beings.
I like to think I have three more inside my head. Two of them control sarcasm and the third is in charge of not caring.
Minions (July 10, 2015)
Why: Minions, Minions and more Minions.
This was a no-brainer for Universal. Despite Gru being the main character of the Despicable Me series, it was undoubtedly the Minions who were the stars of the movies. Creating a spin-off movie for them was the logical next step. How else can they profit off of the franchise?
Notice how they skipped over Hitler.
Ant-Man (July 17, 2015)
Why: Because we finally have an Ant-Man movie
Thanks to the silly stunt Marvel pulled by releasing an “Ant-sized teaser trailer” earlier this month, I am well and fully hyped. Paul Rudd is an amazing actor and I remember first seeing him in Friends, so definitely looking forward to his entry into the Marvel Universe.
Actual trailer is human-sized. Thank you Marvel.
The Fantastic Four (August 7, 2015)
Why: Human Torch?
Reboots are in fashion now as we get another Marvel franchise reboot. I’m not sure why but maybe they’re trying to keep up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and hope to end up merging them all together. Anyways, I digress. Let’s get back to the movie. We know very little about it apart from the main cast and the general idea that its a Fantastic Four reboot. We don’t even have a poster to show off here. That said, the actors themselves seem qualified. I’ve seen both Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan in That Awkward Moment so I don’t expect them to screw up. But I’m not putting too much faith in this reboot. Especially after the debacle that was Galactus.
Not pictured here: A sixty foot tall cosmic being crying due to lack of screen-time.
Update (27/1/2015):
A teaser trailer for the new Fantastic Four movie is out!
Hitman: Agent 47 (August 28, 2015)
Why: Loved the video games
Okay, so video games and movies have had a love hate relationship. Movies love to be made into video games and video games hate being made into movies. Or so it seems from past experience *cough*supermariobros*cough* as well as the reception to the first Hitman movie. But I am cautiously optimistic this time because Zachary Quinto is involved. Please don’t let him down Square Enix.
He does look the part though. But then again, pretty much any bald guy dual wielding pistols can pull of Hitman.
The Jungle Book (October 9, 2015)
Why: JUNGLE BOOK
There are so many reasons why I am excited for this movie even before a trailer has come out. Let me list it out in no particular order. The original Jungle Book is one of my favorite animated Disney movies of all time as a kid. I was a little iffy about a live-action adaptation of the movie for the current generation of cinema, but then I had a look at the cast and director. Jon Favreau was bloody brilliant in Chef, having starred, directed, produced and written it, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings to this movie. And the cast. Oh boy, what a cast! Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o and Giancarlo Esposito. The fact that Idris Elba is voicing my favorite character Shere Khan is enough to make me want to watch this film. And as if that’s not enough, Bill Murray will be singing “Bare Necessities“.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (October 9, 2015)
Why: Katniss Lawrence
Suzanne Collins sure must be happy with the way the movies have turned out, right? But honestly, the only reasons I continue watching them are Jennifer Lawrence, how brilliant the books were and also because I have a tilted curiosity to see how far they are willing to stretch the contents of the book to eke out this Part 2 of a movie. And while I’m on the topic, what is up with all these book to movie series’ and their final book being cut into two parts? Harry Potter was all fine and dandy, but now everyone’s doing it. Even the Divergent series is following suit. At least Wes Ball was nice enough to announce that if he was going to be brought back for the third Maze Runner sequel, he won’t be splitting them up into two parts. Then again, they might not bring him back because of that statement…
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (December 18, 2015)
Why: Because cross-guards are cool.
Oh gosh, where to start? First off, I am not going to lie. The trailer had me shrieking like a little geek. Not much was shown in it, but it was enough to get me excited. More over, to hear that J. J. Abrams was directing it and that John Williams will be returning to set the music for the movie was enough to assure me that the film will be taken care of on those aspects. A few other things that caught my eye were that Stormtroopers are no longer clones (obviously), most of the original trilogy cast are returning, including R2-D2 and C3PO and that new light saber.
All the better to slice hands with, my dear.
Most of you by now would have seen the memes posted regarding the new light saber. If not, here’s a link to a Dorkly post that showcases some of the best ones. In my opinion, the cross-guard is the remnant of an archaic light saber design. Perhaps back then, the plasma containment field for the sabers would slide over each other in the midst of combat, facilitating the need for a guard. Regardless, it looks awesome.
The part with the Millennium Falcon still gives me the chills.
And that wraps up my list of movies I’m looking out for this year. There are a lot more I wanted to add which are mentioned on the top and some which I may have missed out completely, but this will have to do for now. I shall update it a little every now and then when new information comes up. Like a trailer for Fantastic Four. Some day…
Let me know what movies you’re looking forward to the most this year in the comments section below.
Edit: Added Ant-man teaser trailer which released on 7th January, 2015 and added separators for each movie section.
Edit: Added Fantastic Four reboot teaser trailer on 27th January, 2015.
Really good choice of movies :D
Hullo Chaos, you’ve now officially got me interested in movies that I wouldn’t have ever looked at in the past. I believe your work is done here? :P
Glad I could be of help! This post is as much for me as it for all of you, so I can keep track of what movies I need to catch this year. :D
This list sits very close to my list as well! Great post :D
Blackhat is another one. And Bad Santa 2 and the new Friday coming out.