Next Up

Most Anticipated of 2015

In the words of Lewis Black, “there is no better moment than the moment we are anticipating…” I completely agree with Lewis and I think that this is the harsh reality for us movie nerds. We sit down at the beginning of each year and take a look at the films slated to be released that year and get so excited with anticipation. I am starting to think that this is a little (sadistic) torture that we like to do to ourselves. So why not go through a little torture right now and take a look at the films I am hoping to be great this year.

Honorable Mentions:

Fifty Shades of Grey—E.L James’ “romance” novel is hitting theatres just in time for Valentine’s Day. My prediction: More children born toward the beginning of next year.

Jurassic World—Loving Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) right now, so I am hoping his success continues with this dino-sequel. Though I am still confused on why we need this sequel.

Terminator: Genisys—Another chance to make the Terminator series relevant post-Cameron. I truly hope they can do well with this “reimagining” because it will prove that James Cameron is not the film god people think he is.

Crimson Peak—Five words for all of you…Guillermo del Toro horror film. Check out Pan’s Labyrinth or The Devil’s Backbone on why those words bring excitement.

Mission: Impossible V—Ethan Hunt and co. are back for another high stakes adventure. I can’t wait, I love these movies…yes even the third one.

Okay, so let’s get to the list…

#5—Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1)

I know that I am going to get some flak for this movie being so “low” on my list, but oh well. Tony Stark built the android Ultron to help protect the Earth from all sorts of threats. However, things go horribly wrong when Ultron decides that the greatest threat to Earth is mankind itself. I was very pleasantly surprised by The Avengers and I am excited to see them back in action. One of the biggest reasons that I am excited about this is that the core group of people that made the first film so successful are back for the second. Director Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has created a great story for this film and has added just enough to help that story. Some of the additions I am really curious to see how he pulls off, like the additions of the characters of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff played by Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla) respectively. Why does this have me so curious? Those two are mutants and are associated more with the X-Men since their father is Magneto. Though I think the choice of Ultron’s voice is awesome, James Spader. How cool is that? Spader has such a great voice and not since James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader will a characters voice have such an impact on our culture.

#4—Mad Max: Fury Road (May 15)

George Miller’s Road Warrior is taking to the sands of Australia once again for this “relaunch”. Two reasons on why I am excited for this post-apocalyptic “western on tires”. First would be Tom Hardy. Yes, I have a man crush on Mr. Hardy. Hardy is an amazing actor and I pray that this role will add to his already growing legend. Second is because The Road Warrior has been considered one of the greatest action movies and I think we, as movie goers, need to go back to something that great. Miller has said that this is “reimagination” of this classic character and I am super excited. Taking almost 30 years to get made, Fury Road wrote the definition of “movie in developmental hell”. With MANY different reasons to delay production for this film, Miller waited for the stars to align to begin. Hopefully the stars aligned just right for this film to be a major success.

#3—The Hateful Eight (November 13)

This is my inner film nerd geeking out. The Hateful Eight is post-Civil War western story of eight strangers holed up in a Wyoming town during a blizzard. However, as the snow starts to build, so does the suspicion between the eight and blood begins to flow. This is a revenge/deception western directed by Quentin Tarantino and nobody does revenge like Tarantino (should I remind you of Django Unchained?). I love Tarantino and his ability to tell a story not only with his word, but with the camera. I also respect Tarantino for trying to resurrect an almost dead genre, the western. I predict that this film will be on my list of Best of 2015.

#2—Spectre (November 6)

Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. All of those men have one thing in common…they are and always will be James Bond. Whomever your favorite Bond is, any of his films will generate a lot of box office cash. Sam Mendes, who directed Bond’s last outing (Skyfall), is back for another shot (see what I did there?) with James Bond. I thought that Mendes did an impeccable job bringing the classic Bond into this century by including characters missing from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Characters like Q (Ben Whishaw Paddington) and Moneypunny (Naomie Harris 28 Days Later). This time around, it looks like Mendes will be updating Bond’s villains. SPECTRE (for those that don’t follow James Bond) is a villainous organization that went toe-to-toe with James Bond in Bond’s earlier films. For Mendes to update these characters is very exciting because now these villains can be a lot more menacing than their 60s counterparts.

#1—Star Wars: Episode VII-The Force Awakens (December 18)

Was this really a surprise to anyone? Star Wars fans everywhere now have a chance to see where the beloved characters of George Lucas’ original space opera are 30 years later. JJ Abrams (Star Trek) has taken over directorial duties on the start of the new sequel trilogy. I can’t begin to explain how excited, yet nervous, to see how The Force Awakens turns out. Abrams has created an original story, with a slew of original characters mixed in with Luke, Leia, and Han. By the look of the teaser trailer, there are going to be some surprises for us Jedi and I REALLY hope none of those surprises are epic failures like Jar Jar Binks. Get ready everyone, this is just the beginning of not only a brand new trilogy, but the beginning of many other stand-alone Star Wars films. Soon we will have a Star Wars film every year like we do Marvel films.

Here’s to hoping that each of these are amazing films. Anyone agree with this list? Any films that you think should have been on this list?