We may be nearly half-way into 2015, but it just so happens that none of my top 5 most anticipated films of the year have been released yet. This of course means that unfortunately, Avengers: Age of Ultron isn't one of my top choices, and after seeing the film, I would say rightfully so! I kept that bar low and still left disappointed, but I'll go into that more later with my review. Perhaps then, it may not surprise you that a lot of this year's biggest releases didn't make my list.
When I did my Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies of 2014 last year, Dumb and Dumber To was shockingly the only movie to meet my expectations. I would have thought The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies would have been a safe bet, but boy was I wrong. With any luck, here's to hoping this new top 5 manages to deliver.
When I did my Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies of 2014 last year, Dumb and Dumber To was shockingly the only movie to meet my expectations. I would have thought The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies would have been a safe bet, but boy was I wrong. With any luck, here's to hoping this new top 5 manages to deliver.
5. The Hateful Eight
We still haven't seen any footage of Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, which comes to theaters later this year, but given Tarantino's nearly-perfect track record for making great films, I have no doubt that it's going to be awesome. It features a strong cast that includes Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Channing Tatum, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. While the film is fictional, it is inspired by true historical events (like Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained before it), and it takes place just years after the American Civil War. While plot details are scarce at the moment, the story involves a group of bounty hunters who are seeking shelter from a blizzard. But let's be real here. It's Tarantino, Kurt Russell, and Samuel L. Jackson. What more do you need to know? Surely we can expect this one to be a brilliant and bloody good time.
Release date: Q4 2015
4. 007: Spectre
I've never been the biggest fan of James Bond. Sure, I have a certain level of respect for the character and the series' history, but in all I've probably only seen a few Bond movies from beginning to end. While my dad is well-versed in the franchise, I personally was much more interested in the video games. You can blame the Nintendo 64's Goldeneye 007 for that. Then along came Skyfall, and it blew me away. It was far and away the greatest Bond movie I've ever seen. It's deep, emotional, and exciteful, while feeling perfectly rooted in the the history of the character. It's a Bond for a new age. It does away with the silly gadgets and the hokey villains in favor of something more meaningful and intimate, and it's a stunning success.
Spectre sees the return of Daniel Craig as 007 and looks to delve deeper into his past, where he finds connections to the evil organization known as SPECTRE. 2-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained) joins the cast, along with veteran actress Monica Bellucci, and Dave Bautista. Spectre, like Skyfall, is directed by Sam Mendes. As I said above, I really loved Skyfall, and with the addition of the remarkable Christoph Waltz in Spectre, I'm really excited for this one!
Release date: November 6
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but I have never seen more than a few minutes of any of the Mad Max films. Yet something about the series completely enthralls me, to the point where it feels absolutely criminal for me to have not watched them. First off, it stars Mel Gibson, who is one of my all-time favorite actors. Then it's also got this awesome desert, post-apocalypse setting that I really dig. Plus it's filled with all kinds of crazy stunts and offroad vehicular mayhem. Throw in a bunch of leather-clad lunatic raiders, and have everyone fighting for survival, and you've got my kind of movie. Catching up on the series is high on my to-do list, but it looks like Fury Road will be my first full Mad Max movie.
Mel Gibson may have retired as Mad Max Rockatansky (no doubt one of the coolest character names ever), but they couldn't have found a better replacement than Tom Hardy. That guy is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. He even won my vote for Best Actor of 2014, topping Tom Cruise, no less. Judging from the trailers, Mad Max: Fury Road looks insane and absolutely gorgeous. Plus the Mad Max series creator George Miller is back, so you know it's in good hands. I can't wait for this one!
Release date: May 15
2. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Another Mission: Impossible? You know I'm in. Tom Cruise's biggest franchise returns for a fifth film that sees Ethan Hunt and his crew attempting to take down the Syndicate, an anti-IMF unit. As Jeremy Renner's character Agent Brandt warns in the trailer, this may very well be their last mission together. Though I wouldn't go that far. Tom Cruise has demonstrated that he's far from being too old for this sh... stuff. In the last installment in the series, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Tom Cruise scaled the tallest building in the world, Dubai's Burj Khalifa. While safety harnesses were digitally removed, that's really him climbing it!
Always one to outdo himself and push his limits, Tom Cruise is taking things even further in Rogue Nation by literally hanging out of a plane in-flight and during take-off! He even insisted on doing multiple takes (8 in total), to make sure his dangerous stunt was captured just right and from various different angles! What a guy! To sweeten the deal even further, director Brad Bird has revealed that this plane sequence is only one of two death-defying stunts performed by Tom for the movie.
Yes, that's actually Tom Cruise hanging from the plane. That's the greatest action star who has ever lived risking his life for your entertainment. If that doesn't have you pumped for Rogue Nation, then I'm not sure what will. How about the fact that the last two films were each consecutively better than their predecessors? This series just keeps raising the stakes and getting better and better. With a core lineup of Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, and Simon Pegg, I can't wait to see how the IMF team is going to pull off the impossible once again. If you haven't seen the film's first trailer, do yourself a favor and watch it immediately. If you have already seen it, it's worth watching again. I'd also just like to give a shout-out to the trailer's perfect use of "Ready or Not" by The Fugees. Without a doubt one of my best trailers of the year so far. I could jump on my couch from all this excitement!
Release date: July 31
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Do I really even need to explain this one? It's STAR WARS! Han, Luke, and Leia are back! Chewie, and Artoo, and Threepio too! How cool is that? Even without them, just the thought of a Star Wars sequel set after The Return of the Jedi would have my midichlorean count rising! I am so stoked for this movie that it's borderline a sickness. I grew up practically obsessed with Star Wars. I saw all of the movies in theaters, I played all the video games, I decorated my room with LEGO Star Wars vehicles, I even had a Darth Maul mousepad! Heck, my religious affiliation on Facebook still reads "Jedi"! I still to this day have never dared to watch anything involving Star Trek because I know where my allegiance is. To the Republic! To democracy!
There have been a lot of naysayers when it comes to this movie. The prequels have left a bad taste in people's mouths, and I'll concede that not all of them are very good, namely Attack of the Clones, but I remain enthusiastically optimistic (though I did take some issue with the name of the movie). The primary concern seems to be Disney now owning the series, but I find that almost laughable. Anyone who's ever been on Star Tours at Disneyland knows that Disney has handled the Star Wars series very well. Will it live up to the originals? Is that even possible? Probably not for many. Star Wars is the biggest and most influential movie franchise in history. The original trilogy is practically untouchable, and this long overdue sequel is coming out more than 30 years after Return of the Jedi. Therefore I think it's a bit unreasonable for people to approach it with such impossibly high expectations. I must say, though, from what we've seen, it's looking like it's going to be incredible.
Just seeing an older Han Solo alongside Chewbacca fills me with a burst of nostalgia. Being able to relive all those wonderful memories with the return of the original cast is sure to be an unforgettable experience. J.J. Abrams has no easy task in making this 7th installment, but I believe he's a tremendously talented director who will do the beloved series justice. I'm completely and unapologetically giddy with anticipation over this one, and I always look forward to the mass hysteria of excitement that ensues around the release of each new Star Wars movie. It's one movie series that pretty much all of us who have seen it can collectively agree is awesome. I'm also pretty stoked about the newcomer additions to the cast, particularly Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver. I've seen what they're capable of, and no doubt they're going to impress a lot of people come this Christmas. Star Wars is headed right back to the top of the movie industry, and with the other installments and spin-offs already being planned, this may be the best time ever to be a Star Wars fan!
Release date: December 18
RSS Feed
