We have painstaking crafted this list of the must-see films of 2015. Of course, a large number have been omitted as they haven’t been announced yet or alternatively sounded rubbish and we did not fancy including them. Some of these have had US releases already, but will most-likely be 2015 releases in the UK. We have included UK release dates where available.
If trailers are available you can get these through clicking the film title.
Addicted
Director: Bille Woodruff
Stars: Sharon Leal, Tyson Beckford & William Levy
Perhaps we are not getting things off to the strongest start here with a trashy erotic thriller – but Addicted looks like one hell of a good time. Based on the bestseller by Zane, Woodruff’s film follows a young woman (Leal) with the perfect life who succumbs to temptation in the form of Latin hunk William Levy and fellow man-candy Tyson Beckford. Addicted is set to be one of our guilty pleasures of 2015.
The Adderall Diaries
Director: Pamela Rowanowsky
Stars: Amber Heard, James Franco & Ed Harris
Franco stars as writer crippled by writer’s block, which is only made worse by the reappearance of his estranged father (Harris) who brings several unpleasant home truths with him. This is has all the ingredients to be an impressive arthouse thriller, so we hope it delivers.
Amityville: The Awakening
Director: Franck Khalfoun
Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bella Thorne & Thomas Mann
Release: 13th February 2015
After a slew of straight-to-DVD horrors usurping the Amityville name, the definitive haunted house story will be once again hitting the big screen. The scares in the trailer look moderately predictable but given that is produced by the same team as Insidious and Paranormal Activity we remain somewhat hopeful – despite the lack of a shirtless Ryan Reynolds chopping wood.
Blackhat
Director: Michael Mann
Stars: Chris Hemsworth & Viola Davis
Release 20th February 2015
Michael Mann’s first film in six years takes us into the world of cybercrime where we follow Chris Hemsworth’s hacker as he is released from prison to aid the authorities in catching a notorious cyber criminal.
Black and White
Director: Mike Binder
Stars: Kevin Costner, Gillian Jacobs & Octavia Spencer
Black and White follows a custody battle between a grieving widower (Costner) – who cares for his granddaughter – and the child’s reckless, distant father. With Reign Over Me’s Mike Binder at the helm this is set to be taut, powerful drama.
Blood Father
Director: Jean-Francois Richet
Stars: Mel Gibson, William H Macy & Diego Luna
Gibson stars as an ex-con that reconnects with his estranged sixteen year old daughter who is coincidentally in trouble with a drug cartel. Gibson still remains a tremendously likeable screen-presence (just see his fun turns in Machete Kills and The Expendables 3) so we are excited to see him back at the forefront of a new action flick.
Bond 24
Director: Sam Mendes
Stars: Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes & Naomi Harris
Release: 23rd October 2015.
The return of director Sam Mendes, who blew our socks off with Skyfall, has us hopeful that he can deliver another iconic Bond adventure.
Bone Tomahawk
Director: S. Craig Zahler
Stars: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins & Sean Young
This presumably hard-R western sees a group of men set out to rescue captives from cave-dwelling cannibals. We are looking forward to seeing Russell back in action in this grizzly blood-soaked tale which sounds like Ravenous meets The Magnificent 7.
The Boy Next Door
Director:Rob Cohen
Stars: Jennifer Lopez & Ryan Guzman
Addicted might have a battle on its hands for the trashiest film getting a UK release this year. The Boy Next Door sees Jennifer Lopez’s teacher begin a steamy affair with a sexy yet psychotic student. This all sounds like too much trash to handle!
By the Sea
Director: Angelina Jolie
Stars: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie & Melanie Laurent
This drama follows a former-dancer (Jolie) and her writer husband (Pitt) as they travel around 1970’s France, growing further apart from one another. This smaller scale drama sounds like a far more interesting prospect to us than Jolie’s Unbroken. Seeing both Jolie and Pitt on-screen together agains sounds exciting – just don’t go expecting Mr and Mrs Smith 2.
The Captive
Director: Atom Egoyan
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Scott Speedman & Rosario Dawson
In vaguely similar territory to Prisoners, The Captive sees a grieving father discover that his child thought missing for eight years may still be alive. Egoyan’s picture is getting a mixed response over the pond but we are excited for Reynold’s dramatic turn in this.
Carol
Director: Todd Haynes
Stars: Sarah Paulson, Cate Blanchett & Rooney Mara
Todd Haynes first feature film since 2007 sounds like a slice of dreamlike perfection – Haynes + a Patricia Highsmith source novel + an astounding cast. It doesn’t come along often. Set in 1950’s New York Carol follows a female department store clerk who begins an affair with a married woman.
Cell
Director: Tod Williams
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, John Cusack & Stacy Keach
This feels like something of a shoo-in for an On Demand/DTV release, but we have high hopes for this adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name. Cell details a murderous epidemic which is triggered by a mysterious force affecting the world’s phone signals – Samuel L Jackson, John Cusack and Stacy Keach star.
Child 44
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman & Noomi Rapace
Release: 17th April 2015
Set in a Stalin-era Soviet Union we see a disgraced agent investigating a series of child murders. With an impressive array of talent involved including Easy Money’s Espinosa at the helm we have high hopes for Child 44.
The Coup
Director: John Erick Dowle
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Lake Bell & Owen Wilson
Following an American family trapped in the middle of an overseas coup, Dowle’s film should be an impressive return to action form for Brosnan’s who’s latest flick The November Man sadly did not make it to UK cinemas.
Crimson Peak
Director: Giullermo Del Toro
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam & Tom Hiddleston
Release: 16th October 2015
We are envisioning this as if Del Toro directed a Hammer Horror production – and we might not be wrong, just look at central character Edith Cushing’s name. Plot details are thin on the ground but this gothic horror allegedly follows a young woman who realises her ideal suitor is not so perfect. We hope to see Hunnam ripping bodices left, right, and centre.
Criminal
Director: Ariel Vromen
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Gal Gadot, Michael Pitt, Scott Adkins & Alice Eve
A staggeringly impressive cast of cinematic icons of present and yesteryear gather for the eagerly anticipated Criminal. Vromen’s film details the skills and memories of a deceased hotshot agent being placed into the body of a hardened criminal. It is unclear who is playing what role at the moment, but with a cast like that, who really cares!
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Director: Spike Lee
Stars: Stephen Tyrone Williams, Zaraah Abrahams & Rami Malek
The words Spike Lee and Horror are rarely seen in the same sentence (unless you are reading Oldboy reviews), so we are understandably excited for the director’s rare foray into darker territory. The Kickstarter funded picture follows a race of people addicted to blood – we imagine Lee is more likely to focus on the dramatic and comic potential that idea holds than presenting us with full-on horror.
Danny Collins
Director: Dan Fogelman
Stars: Al Pacino, Jennifer Garner, Annette Bening & Christopher Plummer
Pacino plays an ageing rock-star who decides to turn his life around when he rediscovers a letter written to him by John Lennon. With Pacino leading and a sweet premise, Danny Collins is one of our must sees of 2015.
Demonic
Director: Will Cannon
Stars: Frank Grillo & Maria Bello
Grillo’s police officer teams-up with Bello’s psychiatrist to investigate a series of deaths linked to people summoning evil spirits. Not a groundbreaking premise but with these two genre talents involved this has the potential to be a welcome slice of horror fun.
Diablo
Director: Lawrence Roeck
Stars: Scott Eastwood, Danny Glover & Walton Goggins
Stepping into the territory that made his father an icon, the mind-blowingly handsome Scott Eastwood stars in his first Western. The actor plays a young civil war veteran who returns to find his wife kidnapped. Colour us ridiculously excited for this one.
Dirty Grandpa
Director: Dan Mazer
Stars: Zac Efron & Robert De Niro
Efron stars as a young man tricked into taking his perverted grandfather (De Niro) to Spring Break in Florida. Now that sounds like twisted fun.
Django Lives!
Director: Joe D’Augustine
Stars: Franco Nero
We periodically scour the internet for news on this, but we haven’t heard much since July. Fingers crossed that this final chapter in the Franco Nero Django saga gets off the ground. It’s a wonderful premise which sees Django now a consultant working in Hollywood in the early 1900s, however he finds himself taking on violent radicals influenced by DW Griffith’s masterpiece of racism ‘Birth of a Nation‘. Tarantino’s regular editor Joe D’Augustine directs.
Dying of the Light
Director: Paul Schrader
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Anton Yelchin & Irene Jacob
Release: 8th of January
Perhaps more interesting for the behind the scenes battle going on with the film, we are nonetheless curious to see the finished product. Cage stars as a veteran CIA agent hunting down a former nemesis, but whether this is what Schrader originally wrote is anyone’s guess.
Elle
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Stars: Isabelle Huppert
Paul Verhoeven’s first major production since 2006’s Black Book sees him team-up with the ever brilliant Isabelle Huppet for this story of a video game company CEO coping with the aftermath of a home-invasion.
Director: Michael Radford
Stars: Shirley Maclaine, Christopher Plummer & Marcia Gay Harden
In what is sure to be wonderfully sweet drama, Elsa & Fred follows the unlikely coupling of two older people who had given up on love. Despite being dubbed overly conventional by some critics, anything that pairs Maclaine and Plummer is surely worth watching.
Escobar: Paradise Lost
Director: Andrea Di Stefano
Stars: Benicio Del Toro & Josh Hutcherson
Stefano’s film sees a young surfer meet the uncle of the girl of his dreams – who coincidentally is Pablo Escobar (the uncle, not the girlfriend). We’ve all been there, Josh.
Every Thing Will Be Fine
Director: Wim Wenders
Stars: James Franco, Rachel McAdams & Charlotte Gainsbourg
Wim Wenders’ first dramatic feature film since 2005’s excellent Don’t Come Knocking follows James Franco’s writer as he attempts to recover after hitting a child in a fatal road accident.
The Interview
Director: Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen
Stars: Seth Rogen, James Franco & Lizzy Caplan
Another of the 742 films James Franco will be featuring in 2015 is The Interview – a comic tale which sees a television interviewer sent to North Korea to kill Kim Jong-un. Hopefully The Interview will be able to capture a similar madcap comic spirit to Rogen’s This Is The End.
Fifty Shades of Grey
Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Stars: Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson & Marcia Gay Harden
Although its unlikely to get away with some of book’s more risqué moments, it is inevitable that audiences will turn out in their droves to see this adaptation of the EL James smash-hit novel. We will unashamedly be with them.
Final Girl
Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Stars: Tarisa Farmiga, Nina Dobrev, Malin Akerman, Wes Bentley & Alexander Ludwig
A young woman grieving the death of her scream queen mother, finds herself dragged into her final film’s production in an attempt to hunt down her mother’s killer. With some of the brightest young genre actresses featuring, as well as a meta premise, The Final Girls could be a wonderfully self-aware horror romp.
Flashmob
Director: Michael Haneke
Stars: TBA
No, not some parody film created by his infamous fake Twitter account, Flashmob is a real Michael Haneke production. The man who gave us the gut-wrenching Amour, Funny Games & Hidden tackles the story of individuals meeting to form a flashmob. We’ll try and withhold our scepticism.
Florence Foster Jenkins
Director: Stephen Frears
Stars: Meryl Streep & Hugh Grant
This comic romp follows a New York heiress who dreams of becoming a famous opera singer – despite the slight difficulty that she has a terrible voice.
The Forger
Director: Philip Martin
Stars: John Travolta, Christopher Plummer & Tye Sheridan
We do not see enough of Travolta on the big screen anymore and this tale of a petty thief who needs to pay back a large syndicate has us moderately interested.
Friday the 13th Sequel/Reboot
Director: TBA
Cast: TBA
Release: 13th November 2015
This one might be getting pushed back, as there is surprisingly little-progress at the moment. It is unclear whether this will be another reboot, a sequel to the reboot, or a continuation to the original series. We expect it will be an unremarkable reboot.
Full Love
Director: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme
After several years in production and countless title changes, Jean-Claude Van Damme’s upcoming Full Love has had his fans waiting with bated breath. If anyone knows how to make an action film it is JCVD so we are sure the legendary genre titan will be a safe pair of hands.
The Gambler
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman & Jessica Lange
Release: 1st May 2015
Proving that two specimens of sheer perfection can co-exist in the same film is The Gambler. Rupert Wyatt’s film pairs the always magnetic Mark Wahlberg with screen queen Jessica Lange in this remake of the 1974 James Caan thriller of the same name.
Genius
Director: Michael Grandage
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Clive Owen, Guy Pearce & Jude Law
Fans of literary greats could potetially be in heaven with this chronicle of the life of A-List book editor Max Perkins (Firth).
The Godmother
Director: Eva Sorhaug
Stars: Catherine Zeta-Jones & Jon Bernthal
Catherine Zeta Jones plays ‘The Godmother of Cocaine’ – infamous drug lord Griselda Blanco. Now if that doesn’t sound like perfection to you maybe you are on the wrong website.
Gods Behaving Badly
Director: Marc Turtletaub
Stars: Sharon Stone, Alicia Silverstone & Christopher Walken
Walken, Silverstone and Stone as ancient Gods living in contemporary New York has the potential to be a hoot, but don’t hold your breath for this one as it has been searching for distribution since 2013.
Hands of StoneDirector: Jonathan Jakubowicz
Stars: Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, Usher & Edgar Ramirez
Jonathan Jakubowicz’s boxing drama follows the relationship between boxer Roberto Duran (Ramirez) and his trainer Ray Arcel (De Niro). We’re hoping for more Raging Bull than Grudge Match.
Harry and the Butler
Director: George C. Wolfe
Stars: Michael Caine & Samuel L Jackson
This tale of a down on his luck butler (Caine) and his unlikely friendship with a one-time jazz virtuoso (Jackson) sounds like it has been lifted from a classic sixties Peter Sellers’ comedy-drama. Charm us already.
The Hateful Eight
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Channing Tatum & Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Tarantino returns to the world of the brutal western that he excelled at in Django Unchained. With an incredible cast and an exciting premise (a group of various characters seek shelter from a blizzard in post-Civil War Wyoming) we have high hopes.
In a Valley of Violence
Director: Ti West
Stars: Ethan Hawke, John Travolta & Karen Gillan
Release 4th of December 2015
Ti West turns his attention from horror to revenge westerns with In a Valley of Violence – surely his most high-profile project yet. The Sacrament and House of the Devil are two of the most impressive horror features of recent-times, so we are confident West has the talent to craft a remarkable western.
Insidious Chapter 3
Director: Leigh Whannell
Stars: Lin Shaye & Dermot Mulroney
Release: 29th of May 2015
With only Lin Shaye from the original cast returning we are reasonably sceptical about a third entry in the quickly-deteriorating Insidious franchise. Whannell should be a safe pair of hands so we will reserve judgement until May.
Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Stars: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard & Vincent D’Onofrio
Release: 12th June 2015
With no Sam Neill, Laura Dern or Jeff Goldblum returning the nostalgia fans within us are a little upset about the departure Jurassic World is said to take from the original series. However the prospect of a fully functioning dinosaur theme park is an undeniably cool one and we are excited to see what the fourth chapter in the Jurassic saga has in store for us.
Kickboxer
Director: Stephen Fung
Stars: Alain Moussi & Dave Bautista
Veteran stuntman Alain Moussi steps into JCVD’s big shoes as dance-loving, hard-kicking Kurt Sloane in this remake of eighties classic Kickboxer.
Kidnapping Freddy Heineken
Director: Daniel Alfredson
Stars: Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten, Jim Sturgess & Anthony Hopkins
As the title suggests Alfredson’s film details beer tycoon Freddy Heinken’s kidnapping in 1983 and its aftermath.
Knock Knock
Director: Eli Roth
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo & Ana de Armas
Stepping away from the full-blown horror that we tend to associate his films with, Eli Roth moves to the world of the Polanski-esque thriller in Knock Knock. Reeves plays a married whose life is thrown into chaos by two femme fatales.
The Last of the Robin Hood
Directors: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Stars: Kevin Kline, Dakota Fanning & Susan Sarandon
This festival favourite explores the later years of legendary film star Errol Flynn (Kline) and his relationship with young woman Beverly Aadland (Fanning).
The Lobster
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Stars: Colin Farrell, Lea Seydoux & Rachel Weisz
Perhaps we are just including this for its bizarre title or perhaps because it sounds like a Terry Gilliam film took an acid trip (or double the usual amount of acid). This dystopian fantasy follows a future where single people are sent to stay in a creepy hotel with the task of finding a mate within 45 days.
The Longest Ride
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Stars: Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson & Jack Huston
Release: 10th April 2015
Eastwood’s career is about to hit the stratosphere with Nicholas Sparks’ adaptation The Longest Ride. The young actor plays a former bull-riding champ who strikes up a relationship with a plucky college student. Don’t expect anything too racy, this is a Sparks’ adaptation after all.
Macbeth
Director: Justin Kurzel
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard & Jack Reynor
Arguably Shakespeare’s definitive work gets another big screen treatment, this time starring none other than Michael Fassy B . We don’t see it breaking new ground given the countless Macbeth adaptations already out there, but at least we are near-guaranteed some impressive performances from Fassbender & Cotillard.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller
Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron & Nicholas Hoult
Release: 15th May 2015
With no Mad Mel in sight, Mad Max gets the reboot treatment – although thankfully original series director George Miller is staying on. It would be insane not to be excited for this action epic after watching the blisteringly epic trailer for the project (which you can see by clicking the title).
Magic Mike XXL
Director: Gregory Jacobs
Stars: Channing Tatum, Elizabeth Banks, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello & Amber Heard
Release: 31st July 2015
For those who couldn’t get enough of Channing and co. gyrating their scantily clad bodies all over cinema screens in Magic Mike then this sequel is set to be an XXL treat.
Maggie
Director: Henry Hobson
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joely Richardson & Abigail Breslin
Allegedly more drama than horror, indie flick Maggie sees a father stick by his daughter’s side as she slowly turns into a zombie. This could potentially be an impressive dramatic turn from Schwarzenegger, but we also hope we get to see him butcher a few zombies.
Mantivities
Director: Michael Patrick Jann
Stars: Chris Pine
If the titles is anything to go by then upcoming comedy Mantivities will be horrible, but we are optimistic thanks to the comic skills of lead star Chris Pine. Pine impressed in the otherwise rubbish Horrible Bosses 2 and we think this could be a great move for him.
Mercury Plains
Director: Charles Burmeister
Stars: Scott Eastwood
Another of Eastwood Jr,’s films to be arriving in 2015 is Mercury Plains where he plays a young man who runs away from home only to be recruited by a paramilitary group to fight drug cartels. Sounds perfectly plausible.
Michael
Director: Justin Kelly
Stars: James Franco, Zachary Quinto & Emma Roberts
Gus van Sant executive produces this story of a gay activist (Franco) who is ‘saved’ from his homosexuality and finds God. It is a fascinating premise and we all know Franco loves the gays so this sounds perfect.
Miss Julie
Director: Liv Ullman
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell & Samantha Morton
Frequent Ingmar Bergman collaborator Liv Ullman returns to the director’s chair herself (her first time in fourteen years) for period-romance Miss Julie. With Chastain and Farrell also on-board we are sure this will be a treat.
Mojave
Director: William Monahan
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Garrett Hedlund & Oscar Isaac
Writer of The Departed (and director of London Boulevard) William Monahan’s latest project is Mojave which sees a suicidal artist go into the desert, where he finds his doppelgänger, a homicidal drifter. This one has been sitting since on the shelf since 2013, so a 2015 release might not be on the cards.
Mr. Holmes
Director: Bill Condon
Stars: Ian McKellen, Laura Linne & Colin Starkey
Reuniting seventeen years after their masterpiece Gods and Monsters, McKellen and Condon team-up for this intriguing take on the Sherlock Holmes legend. McKellen plays a retired Holmes looking back on one unsolved case.
The New Girlfriend
Director: Francois Ozon
Stars: Romain Duris
Ozon’s latest dramatic-thriller sees a woman make a shocking discovery about her late best friend’s husband. Like most of Ozon’s work it is best to keep the descriptions brief and let the films speak for themselves.
Oliver’s Deal
Director: Barney Elliott
Stars: Stephen Dorff, David Strathairn & Brooke Langton
Sadly it is the only Stephen Dorff film penned in for a 2015 release (which makes us terribly upset – hopefully there are more to be announced). We don’t often see Stephen in political-thrillers so it will be interesting to see how this one pans out.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
Director: Gregory Plotkin
Stars: Katie Featherson
Release: 13th March 2015
Film number six in the ever-diminishing, occasionally-scary Paranormal Activity series finally arrives in 2015. Picking up after the events of PA4, The Ghost Dimension will likely be unleashing some more found-footage spooks upon us.
Director: David Hartman
Stars: Angus Scrimm, Reggie Bannister & A Michael Baldwin
The long-awaited return of The Tall Man and co. will hopefully be worth the wait – after all the last Phantasm film was released in 1998! The trailer debuted seven months ago and it is pretty much all we have been thinking about since seeing it.
Pitch Perfect 2
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson & Anna Camp
Release: 15th May 2015
The first Pitch Perfect was surprise hit spawning countless laughs and a killer soundtrack. With wonderful comedienne Elizabeth Banks at the helm of this second feature we are feeling good about this one.
Poltergeist
Director: Gil Kennan
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt & Jared Harris
Release: 31st July 2015
One of the more interesting sounding remakes to come our way in recent years is the Sam Raimi produced Poltergeist update. Whilst obviously it is completely unnecessary for the Tobe Hooper directed classic to be remade, with Raimi on-board we cannot help but be curious. Although we will never truly accept a Poltergeist film that doesn’t start this Queen.
Pound of Flesh
Director: Ernie Barbarash
Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme
After attempting to help a woman, the film hero’s wakes up to discover that his kidney has been illegally removed. So basically this seems to be JCVD blasting his way through China hunting for the suckers that stole his organs. This sees Van Damme and director Barbarash re-team after their successful collaborations Assassination Games and 6 Bullets.
Queen of the Desert
Director: Werner Herzog
Stars: Nicole Kidman, James Franco & Robert Pattinson
In what is becoming an increasingly-rare foray into fictional filmmaking, Herzog takes on the life of British traveller, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché Gertrude Bell (Kidman).
Rambo: Last Blood
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Stars: Sylvester Stallone
Now it seems like Sly’s Expendables franchise may be dead, the legendary action star revisits another old friend – Rambo. In what is dubbed his final outing, Last Blood sees Rambo take on a Mexican cartel. Sadly it seems like they ditched the alien idea – which is disappointing as it would have been fun to see Stallone in a Predator style actioner.
Ricki and the Flash
Director: Jonathan Demme
Stars: Meryl Streep, Sebastian Stan & Kevin Kline
In this Diablo Cody penned feature, Meryl Streep plays an ageing rockstar who attempts to reconnect with her kids. Now if anything says must see – it’s that. We just hope there is a killer Meryl soundtrack.
The Revenant
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy & Will Poulter
In the 1820s, Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling. A revenge western starring DiCaprio and Hardy sounds like blood-soaked bliss. Possibly on for an early 2016 release – although it may appear earlier.
San Andreas
Director:Brad Peyton
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kylie Minogue & Colton Haynes.
The Rock and Kylie versus an earthquake. What more could you possibly want from a cinematic experience. Also Colton Haynes’ character is called Joby (enjoy that one Scottish readers).
The Sandman
Director: Dario Argento
Stars: Iggy Pop
Italian horror maestro Dario Argento and rock icon Iggy Pop are hoping to team up for this Christmas -themed horror film about a serial killer called The Sandman. We are always interested in whatever Argento is up to, but this one sounds especially fun.
Sicario
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Stars: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin & Benicio Del Toro
Prisoners‘ Denis Villeneuve directs Emily Blunt as a tough female cop who joins a secret CIA operation to take down a big Mexican cartel boss. Although it sounds a lot simpler than Villeneuve’s latest films, we imagine he will he will have a few tricks up his sleeve.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield & Adam Driver
Silence follows the persecution of two Jesuit priests in the seventeenth century as they travel to Japan to find their mentor and spread Christianity. The subject doesn’t immediately appeal but with Scorsese at the helm we will be there on opening day.
Sinister 2
Director: Ciaran Foy
Stars: Shannyn Sossamon, James Ransone & Tate Ellington
Release: 21st August 2015
The first Sinister has some moments of incomparable terror – the sort that lingered long after the film’s conclusion, so we are understandably excited for part two in the emerging saga.
The Sound and the Fury
Director: James Franco
Stars: Seth Rogen, James Franco & Danny MacBride
Release: 1st of January 2015
Surely you have cheerier things to do on New Year’s Day than watch James Franco adapt a bleak William Faulkner novel, but perhaps later in the year you might want to pick up Franco’s adaptation of The Sound and the Fury. Faulkner’s definitive work gets a big-screen adaptation from Franco and his cronies who clearly got the Southern Gothic bug after adapting As I Lay Dying last year.
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
Director: JJ Abrams
Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher
Release: 18th December 2015
You cannot do a big 2015 preview and not include one of the most anticipated films of all time. We’re just keen to see the original trio cavorting around space again (hopefully on a mission to find Billy Dee Williams who has remarkably been left out the latest sequel – WTF Disney.)
Strangerland
Director: Kim Farrant
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving & Joseph Fiennes
The Australian thriller stars Kidman and Fiennes as a couple hunting down their child who has gone missing in the middle of a sandstorm.
Suburban Gothic
Director: Richard Bates Jr.
Stars: Matthew Gray Gubler, Kat Dennings, Ray Wise, Barbara Niven, Sally Kirkland and John Waters (!)
Bates Jr. directed the outstanding Excision in 2012 which was our favourite film of that year. Needless to say that expectations are high for his amateur ghost-busting tale Suburban Gothic.
Suffragette
Director: Sarah Gavron
Stars: Meryl Streep, Helena Bonham Carter & Carey Mulligan
We are excited to see this all-star take on a vital piece of world history as Suffragette chronicles Emily Pankhurst and the early feminism movement.
Survivor
Director: James McTeigue
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Emma Thompson, Milla Jovovich, Angela Bassett & Dylan McDermott
Survivor follows a State Department employee newly posted to the American embassy in London who is charged with stopping terrorists from getting into the U.S. It is unclear who is playing which role, but with a cast that good we will be watching regardless.
Director: Olivier Megaton
Stars: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker & Famke Janssen
Release: 8th January 2015
The butchered, censor-pleasing rehash, Taken 2 was a terrible disappointment that followed one of the most refreshing brutal films in recent memory. We’re hoping Taken 3 takes us back to the series’ gritty roots.
Ted 2
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried, Morgan Freeman & Liam Neeson
Release: 10th July 2015
We aren’t expecting particularly great things from the sequel to the overrated Ted (the novelty of a bear saying crude words ran of unsurprisingly fast last time). However, we do like MacFarlane’s style of comic cut-aways and nostalgic cameos that he frequently uses. Also we are quietly hoping for a redo of the Wahlberg spanking scene.
Terminator: Genisys
Director: Alan Taylor
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jai Courtey & Emilia Clarke
Release: 3rd of July 2015
Stupid title aside, we are excited for the latest chapter of the Terminator saga – especially seeing Schwarzenegger back as the much-loved T-800.
The Time Of Their Lives
Director: Roger Golby
Stars: Joan Collins, Pauline Collins & Franco Nero
The Time Of Their Lives is a road-trip comedy starring Joan Collins and Pauline Collins with the pair playing sisters who fall for the same man. We don’t get the chance to see Joan Collins in the big-screen much anymore so we will leap at the chance to catch The Time of Their Lives.
Trainwreck
Director: Judd Apatow
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Tilda Swinton, Marissa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe & Brie Larson
Release: 25th August 2015
Plot details are under wraps at the moment, but we have heard that Ryan Phillippe gets his kit off. So that’s one reason to look forward to this anyway.
Vernon God Little
Director: Werner Herzog
Stars: Pamela Anderson, Mike Tyson, Russell Brand & Sasha Pieterse
This one has been in development since 2011 so do not hold your breath, but the concept and cast are so incredible that we could not omit it from this list. Herzog will allegedly direct Pamela Anderson and Mike Tyson in a high school shooting drama. We need this. Now.
Viktor
Director: Philippe Martinez
Stars: Gerard Depardieu & Elizabeth Hurley
Do you want to see Gerard Depardieu and Elizabeth Hurley in a grisly Taken-style action picture? Of course you bloody well do. Well, the upcoming Viktor looks set to deliver exactly that.
The Voices
Director: Marjane Satrapi
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton & Anna Kendrick
Reynolds stars as an everyday guy who is talked into murder by his twisted talking cat and benevolent dog. The Voices sounds like a riot, so understandably we cannot wait.
A Walk in the Woods
Director: Ken Kwapis
Stars: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte & Emma Thompson
After spending two decades in the UK, Bill Bryson (Redford) decides to reconnect with America by walking the Appalachian Trail.
War on Everyone
Director: John Michael McDonagh
Stars: Garrett Hedlund, Guy Pearce & Michael Pena
John Michael McDonagh (the man behind Seven Psychopaths and In Bruges) directs this comedy about two corrupt New Mexico cops. We’re eager to see Hedlund flex his comedic chops and the dry style of McDonagh should provide a good chance to see him shine.
Warren Beatty Project
Director: Warren Beatty
Stars: Warren Beatty, Lily Collins, Chace Crawford & Martin Sheen
Chronicling Howard Hughes’ affair with a younger woman in the later years of his life, Warren Beatty’s first acting (and directing) role in fourteen long years is certainly a huge cinematic moment.
Wild Card
Director: Simon West
Stars: Jason Statham, Sofia Vergara, Stanley Tucci & Milo Ventimiglia
Statham plays a former gambling addict who now provides protection to his friends. With The Stath, Simon West, and a game cast of character actors on-board Wild Card has the potential to a high-octane treat.
Woman in Gold
Director: Simon Curtis
Stars: Helen Mirren, Daniel Bruhl, Katie Holmes, Max Irons & Ryan Reynolds
Mirren surprisingly stars as an octogenarian Jewish refugee who takes on the government in an attempt to reclaim artwork that is rightfully hers. With an all-star cast and an award-friendly premise, we expect this one to do very well.
Z is For Zachiariah
Director: Craig Zobel
Stars: Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor & Chris Pine
In the wake a disaster that wipes out most of civilization three people find themselves in a bizarre love triangle. We could save everyone that hassle here, as it is obvious that anyone in their right mind would choose to repopulate the earth with Chris Pine. Sorry Chiwetel.
31
Director: Rob Zombie
Cast: Sheri Moon Zombie
Returning to the old school nastiness of House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects, Rob Zombie’s latest follows five people who are captured in the run-up to Halloween and placed in an area known as Murderworld. Here they have to face off against a gang of evil clowns. Captain Spaulding better feature in some capacity.
Tell us what you are excited for or just berate our choices below in the comments section.
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