Ten Most Anticipated Movies of 2015: C.C.C. Issue #36

Top Ten Most Anticipated Movies of 2015

2015 is on the horizon, and there are some huge movies due for release in the New Year. Exciting remakes, intriguing originals, but most exciting of all, are some of the sequels. Will they deliver? Will they disappoint? Only time will tell.

10. The Jungle Book

First off is another one of Disney’s live-action remakes. This year we got Maleficent, and next year we’ll be getting Pan and Cinderella as well. There are a few reasons I’m most excited about this film, mainly because the original animated Jungle Book is one of my favourite Disney films ever, and it’s been long enough since its release that I don’t mind seeing a new spin on Rudyard Kipling’s source novel. It’s from director Jon Favreau, who brought us Iron Man and set the tone for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe with that first film. Clearly he has a good handle on visual effects and action, and with the advances in motion capture technology, I can’t wait to see characters like Baloo the Bear, Shere Khan the Tiger, and King Louie the Orangutan come to life. And what a cast to bring these characters to life! Christopher Walken, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, and many more are set to star. I haven’t seen any trailers or heard anything more than the cast list, but knowing the source material and who is involved is enough to make me seriously intrigued. The Jungle Book is set to be released October 9^th.

9. Terminator Genisys

This movie should be way closer to the top of my list, but there are two reasons it’s not. 1: 2015 is filled with THAT many big movies. Terminator, though one of my all-time favourite film franchises, is just not as important as some others this year. 2: history repeats itself. What I mean by that is, I haven’t seen a truly good Terminator film since T2: Judgement Day. Terminator 3 was terrible, despite what some people say, and Terminator Salvation, though an improvement in some ways, was even worse in others. It’s obvious the studio doesn’t know what to do with Terminator anymore, because (judging from the trailer) this new movie is trying to be a sort-of-reboot/remake by going back to events from previous films, while also showing us things we never saw before that still happened, like the future war, time travel, etc. and also changing the timeline and altering events. Regardless of how this new film turns out, I’m going to be in that theater seat opening night, because it’s still Terminator, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is back, and I just hope it turns out to be at least a fun time. Terminator Genisys comes out July 1^st.

8. In the Heart of the Sea

Chris Hemsworth takes a break from defending Asgard as Thor to pick up a harpoon and hunt down a giant white whale in Ron Howard’s latest film epic, based on a story that inspired Moby Dick, not the actual novel Moby Dick. This film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name that details the sinking of the whaling ship Essex when it was attacked by a giant sperm whale. It’s cool that instead of doing just a remake/retelling of Moby Dick, the filmmakers are actually telling an original true story, that is still essentially the same sort of movie. I’ve seen many film adaptations of Moby Dick—some better than others—but none have managed to capture the sheer adventure and drama of the novel, and I have a feeling this film might be able to do it in a way we’ve never seen before. The first trailer showed off some impressive visual effects, and the poster is what first grabbed my attention. Acting alongside Chris Hemsworth is Cillian Murphy, who is reliably excellent as well. It sounds like this could shape up to be one of the most epic sea-faring films in quite some time. In the Heart of the Sea comes out March 15^th.

7. Ant-Man

Marvel proved to everyone in 2014 that tertiary superheroes can still pull off their own films without the help of other big name heroes or connections to other films. Guardians of the Galaxy seemed like a big risk when it was first announced, but after seeing how successful it was, Ant-Man seems like less of a gamble and more of a sure thing. It was disappointing to hear Edgar Wright, who worked on the script and was attached to direct, left the project, but then they got another director, the lesser known Peyton Reid, to take over, and the reason Wright left was because Marvel wanted the film to have stronger ties to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is what fans (including me) want to see anyway. Ant-Man has been described as a heist film, and that has me very intrigued. Captain America: The Winter Solider was a spy thriller, Guardians of the Galaxy was a space adventure, and now Ant-Man is going to be something completely different once again. Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, both newcomers to superhero films, will both be playing Ant-Man, and I can’t wait to see them interact. Coming off the heels of another huge Marvel film (which I will discuss soon) and finishing off Phase Two, there’s a lot of anticipation that I hope Ant-Man can live up to. Ant-Man comes out July 17^th.

6. Crimson Peak

This one I know pretty much nothing about. Here’s what I do know. It’s from Director/co-writer Guillermo Del Toro, visionary director who brought us Pan’s Labyrinth, both Hellboy films, Pacific Rim, and co-created the FX series The Strain. This latest project of his is a horror film, set in a creepy mansion. Del Toro has proven again and again that he knows how to do horror, so it’s exciting to see him return to a genre he has such a passion for. The cast includes Tom Hiddleston, famous for playing Loki in Thor and The Avengers, and I’m excited to see him do something different from Loki, because even though he is great in that role, I think he’s really talented and has a lot more to offer. I can’t wait to see a poster, a trailer, or any promotional material, but most of all, I can’t wait to see a horror movie in October that I’m actually excited about. Crimson Peak is due to be released October 16^th.  

5. The Hateful Eight

Here’s yet another one I know almost nothing about. The important thing to know is this is Quentin Tarantino’s next film. Do I even need to say more? Okay I’ll say a bit more. It’s another western, just like Tarantino’s last film, Django Unchained, which is one of my favourite films he has done. The cast was excellent, especially Leonardo Dicaprio as an evil plantation owner and Christoph Waltz as Django’s teacher. The cast for The Hateful Eight is insane. Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Channing Tatum, and many more. There was something about a script being leaked online and changes being made to the script and a possibility of it being pushed to a later release date, but I haven’t looked into any of that crap. All I care about it that this movie get released in 2015 so I can see it and enjoy the hell out of it. The Hateful Eight is slated to be released November 13^th. 

4. Chappie

Director Neil Blomkamp grabbed everyone’s attention with 2009’s box office and critical hit, District 9. Hailed as one of the best sci-fi films in many years, Blomkamp was put on the map, but his follow up, last year’s Elysium, didn’t impress everyone quite the same way. I for one really enjoyed both Elysium and District 9, and I can’t wait to see what he has in store with Chappie. The story is about a robot, played by Sharlto Copley who was in both of Blomkamp’s previous films, which is gifted with human-like intelligence, but gets captured by gang members. I don’t know much more than that about the plot. The trailer has a mix of humour and seriousness, which I hope plays out in the film, because I loved the dark humour in District 9, and I thought it was lacking a little in Elysium. The visual effects look every bit as great as I expected them to look, and the similarities in design between Chappie himself and the robots from Elysium make me wonder if the two films might be connected in some way. Elysium was set in 2154, and Chappie is set closer to the present. There’s been nothing to confirm this, it’s just me speculating. We will see how it all plays out when Chappie hits theaters on March 6^th.

3. Jurassic World

I wrote a huge prediction article on this film back in November, so check that out for more of my thoughts on Jurassic World. This is not a remake or reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise as many have suspected. This takes place after the first Jurassic Park films, but this time around the park succeeds and people love it. Until they get tired of it. So the scientists start splicing dino DNA to make new nightmarish creatures, and then things go bad. I’m not sure how this story will play out, I’m not sure if the cgi will look better in the final movie than it did in the first trailer, I’m not sure if Chris Pratt is going to be as awesome in the lead role as he was in Guardians of the Galaxy, I’m not sure if director Colin Trevorrow can manage the reboot-ish film to one of the biggest movie franchises ever. I’m not sure about a lot of things regarding this film, but what I am sure about, is I want to see people running away from dinosaurs that are trying to eat them and dinosaurs that are new and scary and captivating and trying to kill each other and running through a park that actually has lots of potential victims in it. Of all the movies coming out in 2015, this is the one I want to like the most, but it’s also the one I’m most worried about and most skeptical of. Jurassic World hits theaters June 12^th.

2. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Just like last year, both of Marvel Studios’ releases are on my most anticipated list. Phase One ended on a foundation shattering high note with The Avengers back in 2012, bringing together the biggest superhero team ever in one movie and becoming the third highest grossing film of all time. The expectations for the second Avengers team up, as well as the second to last Phase Two film, are insanely high. Everyone is back—Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Nick Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye—as well as newcomers Quicksilver, Scarlett Witch, and the Vision, but the one everyone is anticipating the most is the titular villain, played by James Spader. Ultron has the potential to be the best Marvel villain since Loki, and from what we saw and heard in the first teaser trailer, it’s looking like a very real possibility. In fact, that first teaser trailer is one of the best trailers for any film I’ve ever seen (I’ve probably watched it over 20 times) and it only made the anticipation even greater. There is so much that is set to happen—from following up the solo films of Phase Two (Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) to introducing Ultron and the other never before seen characters, to setting up future Marvel films like Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, and Thor: Ragnarok, and delivering a good helping of action, drama, and (hopefully) some comedy like the first Avengers had—only writer/director Joss Whedon could pull it off, and it looks like he will once again. Avengers: Age of Ultron opens May 1^st.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

What did you think would be my number one, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2? The only movie that I’m anticipating more than a new Jurassic Park film, a new Terminator film, and a new Avengers film, is a sequel to what could be the most universally loved trilogy of all-time. Star Wars is back! Forget the misfires that were the George Lucas prequels. This is the beginning of a new saga, following Episode VI: Return of the Jedi! This is the first Star Wars film made by a filmmaker who isn’t George Lucas in over thirty years! It’s being co-written by Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote The Empire Strikes Back, one of the greatest sequels ever made and my personal favourite Star Wars film of all! It’s being co-written and directed by J.J. Abrams, who rebooted Star Trek with the most Star Wars-like Star Trek film ever! It’s being made with lots of practical effects like the original films were, and not with a whole ton of bad/obvious cgi! The cast is filled with legendary actors as well as up and coming stars, including John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Max von Sydow, Andy Serkis, AND, original Star Wars actors/characters Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker! John Williams is back to conduct the score!  The first teaser trailer was phenomenal! I know nothing about the plot and don’t want to until I see it in the theater on opening night with a full crowd of fans young and old in 3D in IMAX! There is surely no other movie more people want to see in 2015 than the newest Star Wars adventure, and I am definitely one of them. Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out December 18^th.