15 for 2015

[Buscemi]

Now it's probably a bit premature to do a most anticipated list of 2015 but I figured, what the hell.

15. Shaun the Sheep Movie (TBA 2015)

This is set to open in Europe in early 2015 but has yet to find distribution in the US (while is unusual since it's from Aardman). Anyway, Aardman has yet to make a dud and I love the premise of sheep invading London.

14. Kung Fu Panda 3 (12/21/2015)

Kung Fu Panda 2 was a huge improvement from the first film and it's surprising that DreamWorks went ahead with a third after the disappointing box office of the second (except in China). Here, the sky's the limit on how this one could turn out. Let's hope it's not a disappointment.

13. Midnight Special (11/25/2015)

Jeff Nichols graduates to the big time with this science fiction film that he's described as being similar to John Carpenter's Starman. Filming finished back in May but we won't see it for another year (could Warner Bros. be thinking Oscar potential with the Thanksgiving date?). That's kind of annoying.

12. Inside Out (6/26/2015)

After taking 2014 off (the box office really missed them), Pixar returns with two new movies. This is the first, focused around human emotions. Pixar has the ability to take hard to sell premises and make them easy to sell. This could be their win back the crowd movie.

11. Tupac (TBA 2015)

Having struggled with financing and distribution for a few years, this biopic is finally set to start filming in January with John Singleton (making a comeback bid) directing and Open Road distributing (Morgan Creek will finance). Tupac Shakur is an interesting figure and it will fascinating to see how the film will approach his life (early comments from the production have suggested it will be very realistic) and depict both the artistry and the personal problems of the man.

10. Everest (9/18/2015)

One of the most versatile and underrated directors right now, Baltasar Kormakur, combines his Hollywood style (seen in Contraband and 2 Guns) with his more artistic sensibilities (seen in The Sea) for this 3-D-shot drama based on the true story that inspired Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin and John Hawkes lead the ensemble cast (good thing Christian Bale pulled out as he would have turned it in a typical Christian Bale Oscar bait film) and with Kormakur directing, it should be thrilling and beautiful (especially on the IMAX screen).

9. Straight Outta Compton (8/14/2015)

Another rap-themed movie, this one (directed by F. Gary Gray) focuses on the rise of N.W.A. and the recording of their album Straight Outta Compton. Ice Cube served as a technical consultant (his son plays the younger him) so we should get a close vision of what the West Coast rap scene was like in the 1980's.

8. Mad Max: Fury Road (5/15/2015)

At first glance, this doesn't seem like a good idea (due to it being 30 years since the last one and the replacement in lead). But then the trailer and a Cracked article that described it as being perhaps the craziest studio movie in recent memory sold me. This could be either one of the best sequels in recent memory or one of the most disappointing (but signs seem to pointing towards the former).

7. That's What I'm Talking About (TBA 2015)

After the successes of Bernie, Before Midnight and Boyhood, Richard Linklater's career has risen from the ashes like a phoenix. He has gotten Paramount to produce his newest film, a sports comedy based on his days playing baseball in college. At this point, I will trust anything that Linklater does. Just as long as he doesn't turn political or slum it again.

6. Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (TBA 2015)

This has already been released in some countries but I'm including it anyway. Mark Hartley directed one of the best documentaries on film in Not Quite Hollywood and he returns with this long-in-production documentary on the works of Cannon Films, the company that perhaps best defines the excesses (though not like the huge budgets of Carolco) of the 1980's. Right now, it looks like Brett Ratner's company will distribute the film (after Drafthouse pulled out) so who knows when it will open.

5. The Peanuts Movie (11/6/2015)

This has the potential of being really bad but the early trailers have looked amazing (and producer Paul Feig has assured that it will be as close to the TV specials as possible). Don't let me down.

4. The Walk (10/2/2015)

Though this story has already been done excellently as Man on Wire, I'm still very interested in Robert Zemeckis's shot in 3-D take on Philippe Petit's 1976 tightrope walk across the World Trade Center. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a great choice to play Petit and Zemeckis showed that he still has it with 2012's Flight. Also, pre-Giuliani New York is sure to look amazing in three dimensions.

3. The Snowden Files (TBA 2015)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt again, this time as Edward Snowden, the whistleblower described by some as a real-life Jason Bourne (which already makes it better than that movie where Benedict Cumberbatch played the dull and self-centered Julian Assange). With Oliver Stone directing, you can expect something that's hard-hitting while also being fast-paced (though sometimes, Stone can miss). I don't even mind Shailene Woodley being in this.

2. Untitled Lance Armstrong Biopic (TBA 2015)

This was supposed to be ready this year but distribution troubles set in. Lance Armstrong is a complex figure and the perfect biopic would have to depict the two sides that existed: the heroic side that the public saw and the villainous side that operated behind closed doors. Luckily, they've put it in good hands with Stephen Frears (hot off of Philomena) directing and Ben Foster as Armstrong. This has the potential to be an amazing story of good and evil but it will be hard to sell.

1. The Hateful Eight (TBA Holiday 2015)

Tarantino hasn't disappointed me yet and the news stories on the cast and production have gotten me super interested. However, I'm not happy with the fact that he's going to stall the wide release for a long time so it could be mid-2016 before most of us even get to see it. (Quentin, it's 2014. 35mm isn't going to return on a widespread level and 70mm will only be in the biggest cities. Get with the program.)

Not on the list: Untitled Richard Pryor Biopic

Mike Epps is attached to star in this but we probably won't see it until 2016 as it only started pre-production. Unless it manages to be like Selma and get fast-tracked in an attempt to get Epps an Oscar nomination.

Who wants to go next?

[numbersix]

Well, we usually leave this for our trimesterly Most Anticipated series, but what the hell.

The Good Dinosaur and Inside Out: original Pixar films!
Hyena: Heard this is meant to be damn intense.
Midnight Special: If it's Nichols I'm there.
Jane Got a Gun: Still curious to see how this turned out.
Kingsman: The Secret Service: Commercial potential is low, but I like Vaughn's directing style.
99 Homes: Another films that received high praise in the festival circuit this year
The Duke of Burgendy: Hearing great things about the film, and I enjoyed Berberian Sound Studio.
The Hateful Eight: Obviously.
Star Wars Ep VII: C'mon

[Buscemi]

Yeah, I knew that but I figured it would be time to do an all-year one.

I did look at Hyena and saw Tribeca is distributing here. The premise on IMDb (as well as the poster) seemed to be vague though.

[JohnErle]

15 good movies in a year is too much to hope for from Hollywood these days, and I'm sure there'll be some smaller films that haven't been announced I'll want to see, but based on films currently scheduled, here's something close to 15.

The Nest
Fuck JJ and his Star Wars. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler FTW.

Crimson Peak
Del Toro does a haunted house movie? I'm in.

Untitled Cold War Spy Thriller
Spielberg + Coens + Cold War spies

Midnight Special
Loved Take Shelter, liked Mud, curious to see what this'll be

The Martian
More Ridley Scott Sci-Fi? Yes, please.

Child 44
Love this kind of historical thriller, but unsure about the director

Bond 24
Skyfall looked pretty but was vastly overrated, largely due to the horrible script, but I still like Daniel Craig in the role and now that Judi Dench is gone they'll be forced to stop with all the Oedipal nonsense that dragged down the last few Bond movies. Based on the Skyfall's epilogue, they might be returning to the days when Bond was actually fun, although the addition of the vastly overrated Christoph Waltz gives me pause. If he turns out to be a former agent turned villain looking for revenge on Ralph Fiennes, I'm officially done with this franchise.

Mortedcai
Liked the trailer, could be fun

Heart Of The Sea
I'm a sucker for nautical imagery, and the trailer was pure eye candy

Inside Out
Can Amy Poehler help Pixar get their mojo back?

Trainwreck
Amy Schumer's stand-up is terrific, but the sketches on her show are awful, so which version of Schumer will we get here? Hopefully the former.

[Buscemi]

So shortly after I posted this, I found out that apparently Relativity has picked up Shaun the Sheep Movie domestically (I also saw a recent poster that listed Amazon but that could be due to Aardman's partnership with them). A few sites have listed an April date but officially, it's still unscheduled (I'm guessing a date during the Summer).

[Chienfantome]

Funny I've already seen one of the most anticipated films of Boosch for 2015 (Electric Boogaloo), and of Six' too (Hyena).
And as I already said, both are good films worth the wait

Okay here are my 15 most anticipated, off the top of my head. I'll stick with US films because it would take a more complicated research if I enlarged my list to "foreign" films too. I'll just list two of those.

Get Hard : I love a good comedy, and the pairing of Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart has me laughing already.

Tomorrowland : Brad Bird in the directing chair was enough for me, but the teaser we got had me even more curious about it.

Inside Out : Brave was disappointing, and I've been waiting for a fully original Pixar film for too long. This could be crazily great. Can't wait.

Triple Nine : John Hillcoat tackling a dirty cops film, with a killer cast.

Midnight Special : I'm like everyone else here, a big fan of Nichols. And sci-fi too.

Star Wars : The Force Awakens : Hell yeah, a new Star Wars movie not directed by Lucas and with great actors.

Hail Caesar : The new Coen bros film. Need I say more ?

The Hateful Eight : QT, yeah.

Sea of Trees : the new Gus Van Sant film seems in the vein of Elephant and Gerry, with McConaughey and Ken Watanabe.

Z for Zachariah : Craig Zobel has made some very fine films up until now, I'm waiting for this new one.

Bond 24 : Skyfall was probably my favourite Bond film ever, I'm curious to see what Mendes is cooking next for Craig.

Comme un avion : a French film directed by Bruno Podalydès who made my favourite film of 2012, "Granny's Funeral".

The Wailing : Probably my most anticipated Korean film of 2015, the new film by Na Hong-jin, the man responsible for "The Chaser".

A few others I'm waiting for : The Walk, The Martian, Crimson Peak, Everest, Pan, Ant-man, Minions, Mad Max, Heart of the Sea, Jupiter Ascending...

[Buscemi]

I forgot about Z for Zachariah. Craig Zobel's work in film (and the fact he co-created Homestar Runner with The Brothers Chaps) has impressed but I seemed to give up ever seeing it released. Maybe it will premiere at Sundance or SXSW.

The same thing with David Gordon Green's Manglehorn. IFC picked it up but I know that the film's financiers are tangled in a lawsuit that's holding up some of their films (though Birdman came out on time and Song One opens in January).

[JohnErle]

Hail Caesar : The new Coen bros film. Need I say more ?

That's currently scheduled for Feb 2016, or I definitely would have included it.

[Buscemi]

I'm not so sure about a Coen Brothers movie with Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Scarlett Johansson in the cast. It feels like it will end up being a heavily-compromised version of a long-in-development hell project (the script was written as part of their deal with Disney back in the mid 2000's).

[Chienfantome]

I trust the Coen Bros. And I'd be surprised if the film wasn't released in late 2015 rather than 2016. But I hadn't seen it was scheduled for 2016.