The HeyUGuys Most Anticipated Movies of 2014

With 2015 looking like the year of the sequel, 2014 is very much an original affair with the likes of 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Lego Movie and George Clooney’s Monuments Men all being released. That said, there are still a fair few sequels being released this year including the likes of Captain America: Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 300: Rise of an Empire and Muppets Most Wanted and The Raid 2: Berandal. Reboots this year include the latest Jack Ryan movie with Chris Pine taking the lead role in Shadow Recruit and a remake of Robocop.

Collectively the HeyUGuys team have come together to bring you all of our most anticipated movies of 2014. There’s an awful lot to read here but we hope that it will help you to plan your cinematic diaries for the coming year. A lot of the movies don’t have release dates as yet but we’ll try and get these updated as and when they have released dates announced.

So, without further ado, we give you the HeyUGuys most anticipated movies of 2014…..

Contributors include: Amon Warmann, Barry Steele, Beth Webb, Chris Holt, Dave Roper, David Sztypuljak, Gary Phillips, Jon Lyus, Kenji Lloyd, Matthew Seton, Rob Keeling, Simon Williams, Stefan Pape and Steve Neish.

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12 Years a Slave

• UK release date: 10th January
• US release date: Out Now
• Director: Steve McQueen
• Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dwight Henry, Dickie Gravois, Scoot McNairy, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson and Brad Pitt

Kicking off his directorial career with a pair of stunning films, Turner Prize-winning video artist Steve McQueen (not that one) staked his claim as one of the world’s best new directors when he released Hunger and Shame in 2008 and 2011 respectively. This January’s release of 12 Years a Slave should be all the proof we need to convince the world of McQueen’s greatness. Released already to rave reviews in America, the film is being hotly tipped to clean up come awards season where it will be in strong contention for best picture, director, actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and supporting actor (Michael Fassbender) awards, among others.

Adapted from the 1853 autobiography by Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave portrays a harrowing account of Northup’s kidnapping and subsequent life as a slave on various plantations across the American south. It features a phenomenal cast lead by the aforementioned Ejoifor and backed up by an endless list of acting talent featuring Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt and Paul Giamatti. It might be arriving very early in 2014 but we don’t think people will have forgotten about this film come next Christmas.

Matthew Seton

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

• UK release date: 1st January
• US release date: 3rd January
• Director: Christopher Landon
• Cast: Andrew Jacobs, Molly Ephraim, Richard Cabral

This is not Paranormal Activity 5 which is due out later in the year and needs to do something fairly dramatic to revitalise the series which up until last year had begun to be seen as a Halloween tradition, taking over from the Saw franchise.

Unlike the Japanese film Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Nights this spin-off is canon and moves the story away from Katie, Kristi, Hunter and the whole gang to encompass another unlike soul. What the trailers have shown is a connection to the third PA film (with a couple of very scary familiar faces) as well as a movement into the black magic arena, something it would share with the [REC] series, and could point to more of these spin-offs while the original storyline continues.

I have a feeling a change of scene and only a tenuous link to the original film will do wonders for the series and get it back to being more than just the same old scares.

Jon Lyus

Camp X-Ray

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: 17th January
• Director: Peter Sattler
• Cast: Kristen Stewart, John Carroll Lynch, Lane Garrison

Throughout her career, Kristen Stewart has made some very interesting choices when deciding what films to star in. Not only does she have blockbusters like The Twilight Saga and Snow White and the Huntsman to her name, she’s also made a name for herself in independent films like Adventureland, Welcome to the Rileys, and On the Road, to name but a few.

Having its world premiere at Sundance, Camp X-Ray promises to be another great one of the latter, with Peter Sattler’s drama starring Stewart as a young soldier who is assigned to Guantanamo Bay, befriending a man there who has been imprisoned for eight years.

Screening in competition at the festival, the film is one of the many hopefuls playing that we’re really looking forward to. And like the others, let’s hope it’s just a matter of time before it heads from the festival circuit to a wide theatrical release on, at least, both sides of the Atlantic.

Kenji Lloyd

The Wolf of Wall Street

• UK release date: 17th January
• US release date: 25th December 2013
• Director: Martin Scorsese
• Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin, Jon Bernthal and Matthew McConaughey

There are few cinematic occasions in the calendar year quite like the release of the new Martin Scorsese film. With an almost spotless track record – showing no signs of slowing down, with his latest picture Hugo taking home five Academy Awards – Scorsese returns with The Wolf of Wall Street, with his golden boy Leonardo DiCaprio taking on yet another starring role.

Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) – we look over an incredible set of events that took place in the 90s, that saw this affluent stockbroker with the world of his feet, move dramatically towards a life of crime. Also starring Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie, the film promises to continue on the fine form of the man in the director’s chair, delving in to a world all too pertinent, with financial ruin and corruption at the heart of this eagerly anticipated crime caper. With a couple of Golden Globe nominations already to its name, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this film pick up a handful at the Oscars too.

Stefan Pape

Inside Llewyn Davis

• UK release date: 24th January
• US release date: Out Now
• Director:
  Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
• Cast: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Max Casella, Adam Driver and John Goodman

The latest in a long line of greats from the Coen brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis is one of the finest films you’ll see all year, boasting a stellar leading performance from Oscar Isaac worthy of recognition come January’s Oscar nominations.

It’s not often that music is so brilliantly blended with film on the big screen, and when an opportunity comes along like this that has everything going for it, you really just have to jump.

I was fortunate enough to see it at the BFI London Film Festival back and it was an instant favourite. Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, and John Goodman are terrific making up the ensemble, but it’s really Isaac who shines from start to finish. Absolutely not to be missed.

Kenji Lloyd

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

• UK release date: 24th January 2014
• US release date: 17th January 2014
• Director: Kenneth Branagh
• Cast: Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley and Kenneth Branagh

Author Tom Clancy, writer of several brick-sized military technothrillers and creator of the Jack Ryan character, died earlier this year, so it will be interesting to see whether this latest film, the fifth in Paramount’s franchise (and the second attempt at rebooting the series), is a fitting memorial.

Oddly though, despite the wealth of material available, the new film is not based on any of Clancy’s books, with the filmmakers choosing instead to take the Ryan character and drop him into a completely new story (albeit one based on an action script originally intended for Eric Bana).

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit sees Chris Pine, picking up the mantle previously worn by the likes of Ben Affleck and Harrison Ford, as the titular intelligence analyst, who finds himself caught up in a terrorist plot to crash the US economy – a scheme that will no doubt involve less subprime lending and more explosions.

Bit of trivia for you, Kevin Costner could have been the first Jack Ryan; he was offered the role in The Hunt For Red October, but he turned it down to make Dances With Wolves instead.

Simon Williams

Grudge Match

• UK release date: 24th January
• US release date: 25th December (2013)
• Director: Peter Segal
• Cast: Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Jon Bernthal, Alan Arkin, Kevin Hart and Kim Basinger

When I first heard about this movie, if I’m honest we thought it was a joke! Then I saw a trailer and realised how real it was. Stallone takes on De Niro in a bout of all bouts in their latest movie Grudge Match.

The Rocky and Raging Bull stars go head to head in the ring 30 years after their last fight when they come together to make a computer game. The pair have a dissagreement and their brawl ends up on YouTube with the public calling for the pair to come back together into the ring to settle the 30 year feud once and for all. Peter Segal takes on directing duties, he’s previosly brought us the likes of 50 First Dates, Get Smart, The Longest Yard and worked together with De Niro on Anger Management back in 2003.

Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone previously made Cop Land in 1997 together but this time we’ll get to see a lot more screen-time between the pair of iconic actors. Jon Bernthal, Alan Arkin, Kevin Hart and Kim Basinger make up the rest of the cast for a movie which could be diabolical or could be the greatest film ever made! We’ll find out on the 24th January!

David Sztypuljak

RoboCop

• UK release date: 7th February 2014
• US release date: 12th February 2014
• Director: José Padilha
• Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Abbie Cornish

Keeping the capitalized C in the title but upping the production budget by almost tenfold, this update of Paul Verhoeven’s ultraviolent sci-fi action thriller hopes to introduce murdered Detroit police officer Alex Murphy-turned-cyborg lawman ‘RoboCop’ to a whole new generation of fans.

The 1987 film is regarded as something of a classic, and rightly so, but it’s also very much of its time, addressing societal fears about gang violence, the collapse of local industry and the privatization of public services. The remake looks set to introduce more modern concerns over drone warfare and veteran rehabilitation, while retaining some of the original’s themes of identity and corporate corruption. The new Robocop is less of a weapon against rampant crime and more of a marketing tool aimed at helping OmniCorp sell robots to the American public.

This might explain why they’ve kept at least one of Murphy’s own human hands, no doubt in an attempt to make him more human. Whereas the original Robocop was a walking tank, a robot with a human brain and Murphy’s face skinned off and stuck on the front, the new version looks to be a slicker, more agile melding of man and machine.

Simon Williams

The Lego Movie

• UK release date: 14th February
• US release date: 7th February
• Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
• Cast: Cobie Smulders, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, Chris Pratt, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson and Will Arnett

The news of another toy franchise headed for the big screen has been met with some understandable doubt. Lego has been passed from generation to generation, and whereas fond nostalgia can be found in those coloured building blocks, it is the smaller audiences that you’d think would get the most out of The Lego Movie.

Whereas Phil Lord and Chris Miller, directors of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street haven’t managed to win everyone over, they have certainly parted the crowd with their stop animation about a regular LEGO miniature mistaken to be the saviour of the LEGO world.

The cast are great; our leading character is voiced by big funny man Chris Pratt with Elizabeth Banks as potential love interest WyldStyle, Will Ferrell as the evil President Business, and 21 Jump Street alumni Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill joining as Superman and The Green Lantern respectively. Lord and Miller really have taken advantage of the vast expanses of the LEGO world, making sure to include Marvel heroes, spacemen and police to create a bizarre and varied universe for our hero stumble through.

Pratt is Emmet, the yellow Regular Joe who is mistaken (a premise all the more believable in a world of identical characters) for an elite miniature and drafted to join a group of wannabe saviours hoping to defeat President Business’s evil plans. It’s a narrative that could easily go down the pan, but with the success of Lord and Miller’s previous projects and a cast of almost certified hilarity, this is set to be one of the most fun films of 2014.

Beth Webb

Her

• UK release date: 14th February
• US release date: 10th January
• Director: Spike Jonze
• Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson

Anyone who melted at the soulful 2011 short I’m Here will know where we are with director Spike Jonze here. Her made a great impression at New York a few months ago where it premiered at the city’s film festival and looks to be another critically acclaimed film from Jonze.

Billed as a Spike Jonze Love Story Her tells of the growing relationship between a man and an computer’s advanced A.I. operating system. There are shades of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror series about this one but Jonze will no doubt bring his considerable skill to enable us to see the world anew, through the hopeful eyes of someone looking for an honest connection.

That Jonze has a new film is always cause for celebration and it’ll be interesting to see Johansson’s vocal performance after it became one of the talking points on the festival circuit.

Jon Lyus

The Monuments Men

• UK release date: 21st February
• US release date: 7th February
• Director: George Clooney
• Cast: George Clooney, Bob Balaban, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman and Matt Damon

George Clooney has shown time and time again that he’s far more than just a pretty face. His directorial efforts have gone from the sublime, like Oscar nominated Good Night, and Good Luck, to the downright ridiculous, personified by the regrettable Leatherheads. For a director with only five movies under his belt, including his under-appreciated début Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, he is extremely accomplished.

Telling the story of a team of art professionals rescuing artwork from the Nazis at the end of World War II, The Monuments Men looks to combine the best of Clooney’s film-making talents. A factual based drama story with political leanings, it boasts a fantastic cast with some great comedic actors. John Goodman and Bill Murray are a couple of comedy greats, and are joined by stellar actors like Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon and Clooney himself. The Monuments Men looks to be an intelligent comedy drama that has fun written all over it.

Barry Steele

300: Rise of an Empire

• UK release date: 7th March
• US release date: 7th March
• Director: Noam Murro
• Cast: Eva Green, Rodrigo Santoro, Sullivan Stapleton, Callan Mulvey, Jack O’Connell and Ashraf Barhom

Believe it or not it’ll be eight years since the original 300 movie that took the CG world by storm but finally a sequel is with us in the form of 300: Rise of an Empire. This time, Zack Snyder takes on the Writer / Producer role leaving Noam Murro to Direct. Noam has previously Directed a short for HBO as well as Smart People in 2008 so no doubt this was a hge test for him taking on such an epic movie with so many stars attached.

This movie is going to have to be something special to live up to its predecessor but the trailer looks promising and we’re hugely excited about this one.

David Sztypuljak

Nymphomaniac

• UK release date: 7th March
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Lars von Trier
• Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman and Willem Dafoe

Now I know what you’re thinking. That we’re only looking forward to Lars von Trier’s controversial new drama Nymphomaniac because it’s five hours of watching hardcore sex up on the big screen. Well, yes, to some extent that is why – but not for the wrong reasons, but truly only to see what on earth the infamous Danish auteur has created this time around, as a film that has been enticing all since its provocative promotional campaign first began.

Charlotte Gainsbourg bravely takes on the lead role of Joe, a self-professed nymphomaniac who recounts her erotic adventures to a man who had just saved her life. Naturally, it’s a film that has been talked about for a long time, as von Trier – the co-founder of the forward-thinking Dogma movement – continues ti push boundaries and surprise his dedicated following. With Stellan Skarsgård, Shia LaBeouf and Uma Thurman making up this ensemble cast, it remains to be seen whether or not the explicit, five hour version is what we’ll be treated to in UK cinemas. However whatever cut the BBFC eventually pass, it’s bound to be a film that will seduce, compel and shock whoever dares give this one a go.

Stefan Pape

The Grand Budapest Hotel

• UK release date: 7th March
• US release date: 7th March
• Director: Wes Anderson
• Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Owen Wilson, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman and Tom Wilkinson.

Wes Anderson’s follow up to the magnificent Moonrise Kingdom marks the director’s first feature length solo screenwriting credit and will see him turning his gaze upon Europe in the 1920s. Ralph Fiennes takes the lead as Gustave H , a beloved concierge who works at the titular hotel. Gustave befriends Zero Moustafa (Tony  Revolori), a hotel lobby boy with whom he seemingly develops a mentor/protégé relationship. We are told the story will then involve the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting as well as an ongoing scramble for a sizeable family fortune. With regards to time frame, the synopsis states that the film takes place “between the wars…all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing continent.” Judging by what both Anderson and Jude Law have said in interviews though, it would appear that the film will jump between time period and will include at least a small section set in the 1960s.

The trailer suggests it is set to be vintage Anderson in terms of tone and aesthetic with his distinctive deliberately framed style, unusual idiosyncrasies and eccentric characters all present and correct. The cast list is incredibly strong and features some of Anderson’s regular troupe as well as some new arrivals. As well as those already mentioned, along for the ride are Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Edward  Norton, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton,  F. Murray Abraham and Saorise Ronan to name but a few. It looks set to be a stellar addition to the director’s oeuvre and Anderson fans will be counting down the days until its February UK release date.

Rob Keeling

Need for Speed

• UK release date: 14th March
• US release date: 14th March
• Director: Scott Waugh
• Cast: Aaron Paul, Michael Keaton, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Rami Malek and Kid Cudi

Marking the big screen debut of the immensely popular racing video game franchise, Scott Waugh’s Need for Speed will be hitting hard as one of the spring’s biggest blockbusters, blending action and crime for what promises to be an awesome ride.

Aaron Paul stars as Tobey Marshall, a street racer fresh from prison who was framed by a rich business associate. Upon his release, he joins a cross country race eyeing revenge, with his former partner putting a massive bounty on his head as the race begins.

The role is one of the first we’ll see Paul take on following the end of Breaking Bad, and I can’t wait to see the kinds of movie choices he makes over the next few years.

Breaking Bad has done an amazing job of gaining him the recognition he deserves, winning two Emmys for his work, and if he continues to make movies (rather than landing a new role on a series), he should have that much more to choose from and fight to get made further down the line.

Dakota Johnson, Dominic Cooper, Michael Keaton, Kid Cudi, and Rami Malek complete the ensemble alongside him, but it looks like this should very much be Aaron Paul’s show.

The video game doesn’t immediately present itself as something necessitating an adaptation, but DreamWorks looks to have done something perhaps unexpected by most, and made a Need for Speed blockbuster worth watching.

Paul’s involvement should be enough to persuade critics of that, and here’s to hoping that it lives up to the expectations. If the studio has a bit of luck on their side, it could mean a new franchise in the years to come.

Kenji Lloyd

A Long Way Down

• UK release date: 7th March
• US release date:
• Director: Pascal Chaumeil
• Cast: Rosamund Pike, Aaron Paul, Pierce Brosnan, Sam Neill, Toni Collette and Imogen Poots

It’s been a few years since we last saw a Nick Hornby novel on the big screen in the English language, with the Farrelly brothers’ 2005 movie, Fever Pitch, marking the most recent adaptation.

Hornby’s wealth of work has given us such classics as High Fidelity and About a Boy, and I’m very keen to see if Pascal Chaumeil’s A Long Way Down will be received with similar plaudits.

Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, and Pierce Brosnan star as four people who meet on New Year’s Eve and form a surrogate family, helping each other get through the difficulties in their lives.

The quartet is joined by Rosamund Pike, Sam Neill, and Tuppence Middleton, and that is a cast worth looking forward to.

The adaptation is set to hit UK cinemas in the spring one week before DreamWorks’ Need for Speed arrives, giving us two doses of Aaron Paul within just a matter of days. So if you’re a fan of his work, get excited for early March 2014. It’s going to be a good month.

Kenji Lloyd

Stretch

• UK release date: 21st March
• US release date: 21st March
• Director: Joe Carnahan
• Cast: Chris Pine, Brooklyn Decker, Jessica Alba, Patrick Wilson, James Badge Dale, David Hasselhoff, Ray Liotta, Ed Helms and Randy Couture

After the big budget would be blockbuster that was The A-Team, Joe Carnahan went to the lower budget end of the spectrum and made The Grey, which turned out to be his best work to date and one of the best films of recent years. For his next trick, Carnahan is going even lower budget and perhaps gaining greater freedom in the process which can only be a good thing. Produced by low budget profit turner Jason Blum, Stretch concerns a chauffeur who takes a job for a billionaire and ends up having a night from hell. Carnahan has assembled an eclectic cast which includes Patrick Wilson and Chris Pine as the leads as well as Ed Helms, Jessica Alba, Ray Liotta, James Badge Dale and David Hasselhoff, in what sounds like a cross between Very Bad Things and Collateral.

When Carnahan is off the leash he isn’t always successful, but the results are interesting to watch. Smokin Aces had a brilliant premise but was hampered by the film that Carnahan wanted to make versus the film that the studio thought they were financing. With the low budget freedom he enjoys here we should get a more coherent and yet insane ride from one of the most interesting filmmakers working today.

Chris Holt

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

• UK release date: 28th March
• US release date: 4th April
• Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
• Cast: Chris Evans, Cobie Smulders, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Frank Grillo, Toby Jones, Robert Redford, Hayley Atwell, Stan Lee, Dominic Cooper and Jenny Agutter

Looking back on phase one of the Marvel cinematic universe, after Thor, Captain America was perhaps the biggest risk. Wisely Marvel decided that the introduction of Cap would be mostly a period piece and took the smart step of hiring Joe Johnston who had already made The Rocketeer, to bring Captain America to the screen the right way.

Now the first film isn’t perfect, around the halfway point the script just becomes a series of action montages to get Cap to the present day. Based on the recent trailer and what direction the storylines in recent comics have taken, Captain America: The Winter Soldier looks to be a step in the right direction for the series as a stand-alone property. The Winter Soldier storyline picks up two years after The Avengers and finds Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) working as a SHIELD operative with Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson).Rogers is still struggling as a man out of time and not really understanding the America that he used to represent so heroically. Things get complicated by a mysterious assassin who has a link to Rogers past and a conspiracy threatening the country.

The film ironically looks to be a better Jack Ryan film than the actual Jack Ryan film that comes out a couple of months before, with a real focus on Tom Clancy like thrills and paranoid conspiracies as well as big explosions. Somehow the film will also introduce a major villain played by the great Frank Grillo, then the titular Winter Soldier and a new hero with Anthony Mackie playing The Falcon with some Iron Man esque hardware.

Looks aren’t everything however, and a film top heavy with new characters also has untested directors with Anthony and Joe Russo, a duo best known for cult comedy Community which doesn’t exactly scream blockbuster credentials. Still Marvel has taken risks before and they have paid off, we will get to see if it works in the spring.

Chris Holt

Noah

• UK release date: 28th March 2014
• US release date: 28th March 2014
• Director: Darren Aronofsky
• Cast: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Anthony Hopkins

Leading a mini-revival of the sort of grand-scale Biblical epics that were popular in the 1950s (look out for Ridley Scott’s Moses biopic Exodus later in the year), Aronofsky’s Noah casts Russell Crowe as the patriarch tasked by God to build a huge ship that will save Noah’s family and a host of animals from an upcoming flood.

It doesn’t sound as though Aronofsky is shying away from the story’s more outlandish elements either, with flaming swords and fallen angels all reported to be included. With relatively little material to go on – the Biblical flood narrative and Noah’s entire life is no more than 97 lines in the Book of Genesis – it will be interesting to see how the filmmakers fill in the gaps.

Simon Williams

Muppets Most Wanted

• UK release date: 28th March
• US release date: 21 st March
• Director: James bobin
• Cast: Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Tom Hiddleston, Tina Fey, Christoph Waltz, Ricky Gervais

Our beloved Muppets are perhaps the only ensemble who could recruit the like of Lady Gaga and Danny Trejo to the same credits roll.

This follow up to James Bobin’s first Muppets movie comes to us with high expectations. The Muppets brought the old gang back together with Jason Segel and Amy Adams in fine support. The film succeeded because it was both an homage to the genius of the past (I dare you to watch this pitch perfect reintroduction to Kermit and the gang and not feel a lump in your throat) as well as a reminder that The Muppets never went out of style, all they needed was someone with respect and love for them to bring them back.

That this new Muppets film brings in the likes of Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey is a sure sign that they are looking to maintain the all-star comedy cast of yesteryear and a continent-hopping heist caper set up could work wonders. Or it could really fall on its beautiful Muppety face.

I have no doubt of the talents of the people working on the film, and we’ve got great hopes for this one – releasing a trailer which had a take-off of Moves Like Jagger was not a great way to start.

Still – It’s The Muppets! Right?

Jon Lyus

The Raid 2: Berandal

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: March
• Director: Gareth Evans
• Cast: Iko Uwais, Tio Pakusodewo, Julie Estelle, Marsha Timothy, Alex Abbad and Cecep Arif Rahman

If you didn’t see 2012’s The Raid stop reading this article and watch it. Right now. Nothing in life will give you more pleasure than seeing Welshman Gareth Evans’ martial-arts masterpiece for the first time. The Raid was an absolute game changer, its brutal, exaggerated, fighting blended with a minimalist, video game style concept was engrossing for martial-arts fans and non-fans alike. The bare bones story (get to the top of the tower through level after level of baddies), meant that Evans and his choreographers could focus on the extraordinary fighting, leaving absolutely no breathing room for matters as trivial as plot or character development.

You’ve gone back and seen The Raid? Brilliant, now watch the trailer for The Raid 2. Are you excited? You must be excited. Berandal looks to be just as unrelenting as the original, beginning mere hours after the end of the first film. From the looks of things we can expect a ferocious look at Jakarta’s seedy criminal underbelly, complete with subway train fights, prison riots and a man punching his way through a concrete wall. The Raid 2 will be a film where you can leave your brain at home and bask in the bloody warmth of beautiful, beautiful violence.

Matthew Seton

Divergent

• UK release date: 4th April
• US release date: 21st March
• Director: Neil Burger
• Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet

It teen-time in post apocalypstic Earth once again and it’s safe to say that The Hunger Games, Warm Bodies et al have paved the way for Neil Burger’s film about a dystopia in which aptitude is everything.
Following a test on their sixteenth birthday each teenager is then sectioned off into a particular group, there to work for the good of humanity. Sort of like an MBTI test with terrifiny life-long consequences.

Shailene Woodley and Theo James are our two leads with Woodley in particular being an exciting prospect following her turn in The Descendants. The recent trailer made much of Kate Winslet which seems fair enough.
Naturally this is part of a trilogy and the various factions should provide a decent foundation for a story and if they can work the romance into the film without using a shoehorn.

The coming of age drama has become a twisted race to darken the future world at play of late. Stand By Me seems to come from a long, long time ago.

Jon Lyus

Transcendence

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: 18th April
• Director: 25th April
• Cast: Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Cole Hauser, Cory Hardrict, Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy.

After working with Christopher Nolan for years as his cinematographer, the Oscar-winning Wally Pfister (Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy) will be making his feature directorial debut in 2014 with Transcendence.

Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, and Rebecca Hall lead a stellar cast, joined by Kata Mara, Cillian Murphy, Clifton Collins, Jr., Cole Hauser, and Morgan Freeman. That cast, alone, is enough to make this one of the year’s most anticipated movies.

The blockbuster centres on two leading computer scientists who are working towards their goal of Technical Singularity. Depp stars as a man who uploads his brain to a supercomputer and is then killed, with the film described as the moment when human consciousness and the rise of computing power collide.

Nolan and Emma Thomas serve as executive producers for Pfister here, making the film’s arrival that much more exciting.

Kenji Lloyd

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

• UK release date: 18th April, 2014
• US release date: 2nd May, 2014
• Director: Marc Webb
• Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Chris Cooper, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Paul Giammati, Sally Field, Martin Sheen.

Coming just five years after Sam Raimi concluded his Spider-Man trilogy, Marc Webb’s franchise reboot was an enjoyable, if ultimately forgettable superhero outing that suffered from having to re-tread the origins of the fan-favourite superhero. With that said, it did a good job of setting up the world that Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker now inhabits, and the sequel promises to be an altogether different beast.

The recently released trailer is a testament to that notion, and the new footage already looks to have delivered on the ‘bigger, better’ mantra of blockbuster sequels. In addition to the brilliantly redesigned suit, the action already looks to be significantly improved (the final scene of Spidey dodging Electro’s attacks is particularly impressive). Though there have been some concerns that too many villains are being packed into one film, one can only hope that Webb has learned from Spider-Man 3’s faults.

Amon Warmann

Frank

• UK release date: 2nd May
• US release date: TBC (Premiering at Sundance Film Festival)
• Director: Lenny Abrahamson
• Cast: Michael Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Domhnall Gleeson

Based on the life of the late Chris Sievey (a.k.a. Frank Sidebottom), Frank is a comedy about a young wannabe musician who finds himself in a bit of a tight spot when he joins an eccentric pop band fronted by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.

Domhnall Gleeson stars as the young musician, with Michael Fassbender sporting a rather brilliant giant Frank Sidebottom mask in the first-look still, and Maggie Gyllenhaal completing the leading trio very nicely.

Scoot McNairy, ever on the rise in supporting roles in the past few years, heads up the ensemble, with Lenny Abrahamson returning to the helm following the acclaimed What Richard Did.

Jon Ronson, the author of The Men Who Stare at Goats, makes his feature debut as co-writer, alongside Peter Straughan (The Men Who Stare at Goats, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

Kenji Lloyd

Chef

• UK release date: 9th May
• US release date: 9th May
• Director: Jon Favreau
• Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Dustin Hoffman, Scarlett Johansson, Bobby Cannavale

Ever since penning the screenplay for the cult-classic Swingers back in 1996, Jon Favreau has continued to surprise and compel audiences, with his eclectic range of filmmaking, directing the likes of Elf, the first two Iron Man productions and not to mention Cowboys & Aliens. However his latest endeavour Chef, seems to be a return back to his more naturalistic approach, while remaining faithful to his distinctive comedic style.

Teaming up Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., the picture focuses in on a chef who loses his job at a restaurant, only to then move back to basics and continues to remain focused and creative in his career, by starting up a food truck service. With a cast also consisting of Dustin Hoffman, Scarlett Johansson, Bobby Cannavale (and a certain Mr. Favreau himself) – it seems that the unique filmmaker is set to cook up something rather special with his latest offering.

Stefan Pape

Neighbors

• UK release date: 9th May
• US release date: 9th May
• Director: Nicholas Stoller
• Cast: Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Rose Byrne, Seth Rogen, Jake Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Lisa Kudrow and Carla Gallo

OK, so all the really good ones were taken. But while Neighbors might not be quite as pant-wettingly exciting as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Jupiter Ascending or How To Train Your Dragon 2, the red-band trailer is enticing nonetheless. Starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as a young family who inadvertently find themselves living next to a fraternity house, the pair find themselves waging war on their new, inconsiderate neighbours (led by Zac Efron).

The supporting cast includes Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Lisa Kudrow, and should keep audiences ticking along nicely as they wait for the next big tentpole release.

Steven Neish

Godzilla

• UK release date: 16th May
• US release date: 16th May
• Director: Gareth Edwards
• Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston

This will be the second American-produced Godzilla movie after the sub-par Rolan Emmerich version in 1998 and by all accounts this one looks set to banish the memory of its much maligned predecessor. This time it’s Gareth Edwards in the director’s chair, hot off the impressive low-budget sci-fi indie Monsters and fully deserving of his crack at a major studio blockbuster. A lot of the talk surrounding Edwards’ take on the iconic Japanese character has focused on the fact that this is very much an attempt to take the character back to its original 1954 incarnation. Much deference will be paid to the Toho’s studios initial take on the monster in terms of both the origin storyline as well as the creature’s look. The official synopsis tells us, “[The film] pits the world’s most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.” In other words, Godzilla won’t be the only monster on show here, and he will act in part as an anti-hero, rather than simply being a unrelenting terror.

The film will reportedly mark an attempt to create a gritty and ‘real-world’ telling of the Godzilla tale and while there will be a definite focus on human relationships within the story, at its heart is a perilous warning about the destructive power of nature and mankind’s inability to control it. There’s a strong cast onboard including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe and Juliette Binoche. This could well be one of the surprise big hits in a blockbuster heavy 2014.

Rob Keeling

X-Men: Days of Future Past

• UK release date: 22 May, 2014
• US release date: 23 May, 2014
• Director: Bryan Singer
• Cast: Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, Shawn Ashmore.

Long before the Avengers assembled on the big screen, Bryan Singer brought together Charles Xavier’s super-powered team of mutants for the first two chapters of the X-Men trilogy. A couple of films and a few more spinoffs later, the director is back at the helm for X-Men: Days of Future Past, an adaptation of the beloved 1981 comic book strip which will see the X-Men fighting for mutant survival across two timelines.

By combining the characters from the original X-Men trilogy with their younger selves in impressive prequel X-Men: First Class, this could be a potential game-changer for the entire franchise, a fascinating prospect when you consider that – including Wolverine’s solo outings – we are already six films deep. With so many characters there is the threat of overstuffing, but Singer’s proven time and again that he has no problem with big ensembles or elaborate storylines, and if the filmmaker has somehow figured out a way to harness the best of both worlds we could be in for something special.

Amon Warmann

Maleficent

• UK release date: 30th May
• US release date: 30th May
• Director: Robert Stromberg
• Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley

This looks to be Angelina Jolie’s film through and through, with a return to acting after her stepping behin the camera for 2011’s In the Land of Blood and Honey. It is also the latest in a series of fairy-tale inspired films and you only have to look at the calibre of the creative team behind the film to see where Disney are aiming this one. Don Hahn, Paul Dini and Linda Woolverton are present and correct and Director Robert Stromberg, who designed the sacchrine chaos of Oz, The Great and Powerful and Alice in Wonderland lands his chance to bring another world to life, this time as director.

The tale is Sleeping Beauty but the perspective is sweked. This is the story of the iconic villain before she lost her heart, her soul and her kingdom. Think of the billing Julia Roberts received in Mirror Mirror and Charlize Theron in Snow White and the Huntsman and I think we’re on the right path.

It’ll be a beautiful world to be sure, but perhaps we’ve been told these fairy tales once too often.

Jon Lyus

22 Jump Street

• UK release date: 6th June
• US release date: 13th June
• Director: Chris Miller and Phil Lord
• Cast: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell, Amber Stevens and Jillian Bell

With a string of commercial (and often critical) hits including Haywire, The Vow and Magic Mike, 2012 was very much Channing Tatum’s year. Perhaps the most surprising of which was 21 Jump Street, the unlikely remake of a defunct television series that saw him going back to high school to try to prevent an outbreak of a new narcotic.

The film co-starred Jonah Hill and was a resounding success, in no small part due to Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who managed to stop it from descending into yet another derivative Apatow affair. Having since returned to animation with The Lego Movie, they are now at work on a sequel to 21 Jump Street that promises to be just as much fun.

Steven Neish

How to Train Your Dragon 2

• UK release date: 4th July
• US release date: 13th June
• Director: Dean DeBlois
• Cast: Kristen Wiig, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jay Baruchel, T.J. Miller, America Ferrera, Djimon Hounsou and Cate Blanchett

It’s safe to say that going into 2010 few would have earmarked DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon as a film to look out for. Before the year was over, however, the film had won the hearts of millions and forced the critical community to finally take notice of a studio that hadn’t made a decent movie since Shrek. Now, almost four years on, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is one of the most hotly anticipated movies of 2014, and not just in relation to other children’s animations. With director Dean DeBlois, composer John Powell and cinematographer Roger Deakins all returning, there is every chance that the sequel could be just as good as the original. After all, you only have to watch the teaser trailer to bear witness to the same wit, warmth and wonderment that made the first such a towering success.

Steven Neish

Transformers: Age of Extinction

• UK release date: 10th July
• US release date: 27th June
• Director: Michael Bay
• Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles and Bingbing Li

Nearly three years will have passed by the time “Age of Extinction” hits theaters this June and the Autobots and Decepticons make their glorious return to the silver screen. While at a certain point Paramount made it seem like the departure of Michael Bay would signal a literal transformation of the series with a new group of actors and a refreshed creative team, it seems the allure of the $1 Billion global box office of “Dark of the Moon” was too much for the studio to withstand and once again brought back the franchise’s signature director.

Having Bay back may be a true catch-22. While financial success may be more of a guarantee, strong story and engaging characters have never been his strong suit. It’s a given that there will be tons of gorgeous gasoline fueled fireballs to behold, plenty of corny…borderline racist jokes, and at least one supermodel type girl standing or running in slow motion destruction. Bay himself calls this (somewhat arrogantly) BAY-hem.

As much as audiences and critics universally complain about these things, we still seem to show up in droves whenever the latest episode in the never ending battle between Autobot and Decepticon plays at our local cinema. Bayhem aside there is still plenty to be happy about with this latest installment. Peter Cullen is still the mighty Optimus Prime, the Dinobots are finally making their big screen debut, and the insignificant life problems of a one Sam Witwicky are a thing of the past.

Brenden Toda

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

• UK release date: 17th July
• US release date: 11th July
• Director: Matt Reeves
• Cast: Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis

Easily one of the greatest prequels of modern times, and let’s face it there’s far more too choose from recently, Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes made great use of Andy Serkis and the geniuses from WETA to create a genuinely believable CG character who could naturally propel the story forward. That we cared about the fate of Caesar at all is amazing, and in picking up the story ten years later the fact that we know the ultimate end does not matter one whit. It’ll not the destination – it’s the journey.

Serkis is back as the leader of the aperising and we’re a decade on from the first salvo of what would become the war. Much has changed and the virus-ravaged human race struggles to survive – here’s where we find ourselves in Matt Reeves’ hands as he takes us through the next battle.

How far this will take us towards the eventual end of the war is uncertain, however Fox have a definite hit on their hands here if it matches the quality of the previous film. And it has Gary Oldman in it so that’s something wonderful.

Jon Lyus

Fast and Furious 7

• UK release date: 25th July (At the time of writing)
• US release date:  11th July (At the time of writing)
• Director: James Wan
• Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, Tony Jaa, Kurt Russell, Djimon Hounsou, Lucas Black, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris and Jordana Brewster

Of the most anticipated films of 2014 list none will get more attention than the Fast & Furious 7 release, which is of course if it still gets a release in 2014 after the sad and tragic death of Paul Walker which has put the film on hold.

The anticipation for Fast 7 is incredibly high following the insane, silly but totally satisfying Fast 6. A film that was so much fun and entertaining that those ridiculous moments were absorbed into the brain with ease, pleasure and acceptance mainly because the characters are utterly enjoyable to watch together on screen and the action set pieces so overtop that you couldn’t help but smile and adore as it all played out. Never has a film been so enjoyed by my eyes in 2013.

How could they better part 6? Firstly by adding to the cast with some mouth watering additions of  Stunt Car Mike – Kurt Russell, The Transporter – Jason Statham and the incredible martial arts expert Tony Jaa of Ong Bak fame.
The story, after the take down of Owen Shaw by Toretto and the gang in Fast 5, Owen’s brother, Ian Shaw (Statham), seeks revenge and hunts the crew down starting with the murder of Han in Tokyo as seen at the end of Part 3 of the Franchise, Tokyo Drift, and therefore tying all the films in the series together in a very clever way.

Unfortunately the death of Paul Walker has hit the film hard and if it is ever finished then it’s going to be one of the toughest films to watch due to the subject matter of fast cars, inevitable crashes and the coincidental manner of Walker’s untimely death. However by the time it is released we will be past mourning and be ready to celebrate the passionate and glorious work of Walker and co again and enjoy the defining tribute to his life that the film will present.

R.I.P. Paul Walker, you will be missed.

What to expect from Fast Furious 7 (its Christmas so…): 12 Cars a chasing, 11 cars exploding, 10 ladies grinding (on a bonnet of car presumably), 9 Wheels a screeching, 8 stunt cars a flipping, 7 characters fighting, 6 Nitros boosting, 5 GOLDEN RIMS, 4 Enthralling falls , 3 Hench Men, 2 hurtling thugs and Dwayne Johnson pulsing pecks defiantly (and raising an eyebrow too).

Gary Phillips

Jupiter Ascending

• UK release date: 25th July
• US release date: 18th July
• Director: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
• Cast: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Edward Hogg and Terry Gilliam

One thing you can count on from the Wachowski siblings is that they will never do what is expected of them. So after The Matrix trilogy, the underrated Speed Racer and the astounding Cloud Atlas, instead of returning to their risky stalled found footage thriller Cobalt Neural 9, they are going back to the big science fiction summer blockbuster.

In a manner similar to the secrecy that surrounded The Matrix during production and therefore knocked us all out, not much is known outside of the simple premise we have for Jupiter Ascending so far. Channing Tatum plays a man with wolf DNA who also happens to be an assassin tasked with killing Mila Kunis’ lowly human cleaner because she shares genetic material with the ‘Queen of the Universe’. Apparently featuring effects work more complicated than Cloud Atlas and featuring a whole manner of human animal hybrids, this sounds like it’s going to either be a game changer like The Matrix or a horribly shrill live action anime that will die at the box office.

Tatum is on a roll currently and the leaked photos from the set give him an interesting look to say the least. Say what you will about their films but one thing the Wachowski’s can never be accused of is being boring. In another summer of superheroes and sequels, this could well be the surprise original idea that hits big.

Chris Holt

Guardians of the Galaxy

• UK release date: 1st August
• US release date: 1st August
• Director: James Gunn
• Cast: Zoe Saldana, John C. Reilly, Chris Pratt, Michael Rooker, Lee Pace, Glenn Close, Dave Bautista, Ophelia Lovibond, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, Djimon Hounsou and Bradley Cooper.

A walking sentient tree, a cocky human who calls himself ‘Star Lord’, a talking raccoon with a big gun and the director of Slither and Tromeo and Juliet. This is Marvel studios biggest risk to date in a nut shell. Guardians of the Galaxy represents the final film in phase 2 of the Marvel cinematic universe and to say its weird is an understatement.

Further exploring the cosmic side of the Marvelverse only hinted at in Thor and The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy follows a bunch of galactic outlaws on the run in another galaxy and all seeking vengeance on Thanos (the purple guy in the mid credits sting in The Avengers) for one reason or another. Their quest is interrupted by some cosmic shenanigans involving a powerful artefact and the villainous Benicio Del Toro and Lee Pace.

Aside from these two, the cast also includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, John C Reilly and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. The man orchestrating this madness? James Gunn, a man known for balancing weird and heartfelt carnage in low budget triumphs like Super. This is Gunn’s biggest film to date and from the footage seen at comic con so far, it sounds like a weird melding of Battle Beyond the Stars and Men in Black on a Marvel Studios effects budget.

The casting is risky, the director even more so, but let’s not forget Marvel also took a risk on Joss Whedon and Shane Black, who were unproven in the mega budget blockbuster field and the risk paid off. Will audiences be compelled to see a film featuring a character called Rocket Raccoon or will this be a step too far?

Chris Holt

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

• UK release date: 29th August
• US release date: 22nd August
• Director: Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez
• Cast: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Chung, Juno Temple, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Bruce Willis, Jaime King and Eva Green.

Coming almost a decade after its original release, fans of Sin City will finally see the sequel they have been crying out for for years. Adapted from Frank Miller’s graphic novel series of the same name, Sin City saw directors Miller and Robert Rodriguez compiling a series of stories from a few separate books, resulting in a film where the overall atmosphere of Sin City loomed large over each noirish tale of death and deceit. In A Dame to Kill For, fans can expect more of the same as the film focusses on the second book in the series but will be intertwined with other stories that see the return of many familiar characters.

Set before the events of the first film, the A Dame to Kill For yarn features Dwight McCarthy (played by Clive Owen AND Josh Brolin) in an attempt to rescue his former lover (Eva Green) from her abusive billionaire husband. The film is also featuring stories set after the events of the original so expect some Tarantino style time jumps when we see the return of characters such as Marv (Mickey Rourke), Nancy (Jessica Alba) and Hartigan (Bruce Willis), as well as new roles for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ray Liotta and Lady Gaga! Robert Rodriguez has made mostly disappointing movies since the first Sin City so we’re hoping he can put things right when he returns to that dark, debauched town.

Matthew Seton

Sex Tape

• UK release date: 5th September
• US release date: 1st August
• Director: Jake Kasdan
• Cast: Cameron Diaz, Rob Lowe, Jason Segel

There are a handful of actors I always have time for, and Jason Segel is one of them.

It’s been too long since we saw him in a central role on the big screen, so there’s even more to be excited about here.

Segel stars as one half of a married couple, opposite Cameron Diaz, who wake up to discover that the sex tape they made the night before has gone missing. A frantic search to locate it naturally ensues, and no doubt plenty of laughs along the way.

Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard, New Girl) reunites with Segel and Diaz after directing them in Bad Teacher, with Rob Lowe, Jack Black, Ellie Kemper, and Rob Corddry completing the ensemble.

The comedy will be facing off against Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy at the box office, and the latter is pretty much guaranteed to take the #1 spot at the start of August next year, as one of the biggest blockbusters of the year.

But Sex Tape should nonetheless serve as some excellent counterprogramming, giving an alternative flavour of comedy for those not so comic book movie-inclined.

Kenji Lloyd

The Boxtrolls

• UK release date: 12th September
• US release date: 26th September
• Director: Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi
• Cast: Isaac Hempstead Wright, Simon Pegg, Elle Fanning, Ben Kingsley, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Richard Ayoade, Nick Frost and Tracy Morgan

Of all the major American animation houses, Laika is undoubtedly the most consistent. Admittedly, the young studio has so far only two films to its name — Coraline and ParaNorman — but both are near-masterpieces that have, along with Aardman Animations, shown that stop-motion as a format is still very much alive and well.

Laika’s next film, The Boxtrolls, looks set to be another jewel in their crown, with the likes of Simon Pegg, Elle Fanning and Ben Kingsley lending their voices to an adaptation of Alan Snow’s Here Be Monsters!. You can see the results for yourself when The Boxtrolls is released in the UK next September.

Steven Neish

Resident Evil 6

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: 12th September
• Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
• Cast: Milla Jovovich, Wentworth Miller and Ali Larter

Call me a glutton for punishment who will never, ever learn, but I can’t help but look forward to each new Resident Evil movie, even as I know that they will inevitably disappoint. Although undoubtedly awful in just about every way, the series has endured to the point that it is not only the most long-running franchise based on a video game but one of the most profitable and prolific in Hollywood history.

2012’s Resident Evil: Retribution may have been the worst of the lot, telling a story that made no sense with characters that were little more than costumes, but with even Paul W.S. Anderson hinting that the series is on its last legs this next instalment might yet end things on a high.

Steven Neish

The Equalizer

• UK release date: 10th October
• US release date: 26th September
• Director: Antoine Fuqua
• Cast: Denzel Washington, Chloë Grace Moretz, Marton Csokas, Melissa Leo, David Meunier and Allen Maldonado

In 1985, Edward Woodward hit TV screens as The Equalizer, a retired British intelligence agent in New York working to help the helpless. The show had flashes of brilliance, and one of TV’s greatest opening credit sequences. Its home on network TV, however, meant the promised dark gritty thriller show wasn’t appreciated by an audience that probably wasn’t quite ready for it at the time.

The Equalizer is what remakes are meant for. Existing concepts that, for whatever reason, didn’t fulfill their potential the first time. Antoine Fuqua’s film adaptation has the freedom of a medium that will allow him to truly crank up the threat and violence. Star Denzel Washington is certainly capable of playing a convincing bad-ass, and whilst Fuqua’s record is a little spotty, with the likes of Brooklyn’s Finest and the excellent Training Day he’s shown a talent for putting the urban decay and moral ambiguity of the big city up on screen. The Equalizer could well be one of 2014’s surprise hits.

Barry Steele

The Interview

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: 10th October
• Director: Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen
• Cast: James Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Seth Rogen, Randall Park, Timothy Simons and Charles Rahi Chun

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg made their hugely anticipated directorial debuts this year with apocalyptic comedy, This Is The End, which netted more than $100m. for Sony in North America alone.

The duo have wasted no time in getting back behind the camera, making The Interview their sophomore feature, and assembling yet another fantastic cast.

James Franco stars as a talkshow host who, along with his producer (Rogen), accidentally gets involved in a plot to assassinate the prime minister of North Korea.

Add Lizzy Caplan in as the female lead, and you have yourself what is sure to be comedy gold.

Kenji Lloyd

The Judge

• UK release date: 17th October
• US release date: 10th October
• Director: David Dobkin
• Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Leighton Meester, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, and Sarah Lancaster

In recent years, it’s not been too often since we’ve seen Robert Downey, Jr. outside of his iconic Tony Stark / Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes roles. Whilst we have an endless love for those characters, and the way he brings them to life, it’s also always nice to see him take on new guises on the big screen, and 2014 is going to be a good year for him, with both Chef and The Judge seeing him in new territory.

Due out towards the end of the year, David Dobkin’s The Judge sees Downey, Jr. star as a successful lawyer who returns to his hometown for his mother’s funeral, only to discover that his estranged father, the judge of the town, is suspected of murder.

The drama sees Downey, Jr. joined by Leighton Meester, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, and Sarah Lancaster, and the October release date could well suggest that Warner Bros. is eyeing this as a potential Oscar candidate.

RDJ has two Oscar nominations under his belt already, once for his leading role in 1992’s Chapin, and once for his supporting role in 2008’s Tropic Thunder. Could The Judge see him earn his second Best Actor nod in early 2015?

Kenji Lloyd

Untitled David Ayer / Brad Pitt Project (known previously as Fury)

• UK release date: 24th October
• US release date: 12th November
• Director: David Ayer
• Cast: Brad Pitt, Scott Eastwood, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal and Michael Peña

Fury made headlines recently when the peaceful English countryside was disrupted by the sounds of explosion and war on Remembrance Sunday of all days. Despite this rather insensitive decision on the part of the filmmakers, Fury still has a rather unique hook.

We have all seen World War 2 films set behind enemy lines featuring men on a mission, submarine films and of course films set with courageous pilots in the sky. One area of the military that remains relatively unexplored in cinema is tank based combat. Fury follows the five man crew of a US Sherman tank behind enemy lines during the climax of World War 2. Brad Pitt is the commander of a crew which also includes Shia Lebeouf, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal and Michael Pena.

Pitt is perfectly at home behind enemy lines as he proved in Inglourious Basterds but director David Ayer is perhaps the biggest unknown here. Previously best known for Los Angeles crime thrillers Street Kings, Harsh Times and End of Watch, will Ayer be able to bring his grit and chaotic visuals to World War 2 intact? Bernthal certainly thinks so as in a recent interview he called Fury “One of the darkest war movies ever made”. Certainly sounds promising and could do for tanks what Crimson Tide did for submarines with a refreshing lack of soldiers staring into space whilst emotional music swells in the background.

Chris Holt

Interstellar

• UK release date: 7th November
• US release date: 7th November
• Director: Christopher Nolan
• Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, Bill Irwin, Wes Bentley, Topher Grace, John Lithgow, Matt Damon and David Oyelowo

Christopher Nolan’s latest venture will take audiences on a stellar trip across space and time with a typically stellar cast. Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain and Nolan’s Catwoman Anne Hathaway headline the bill, with Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley and regular collaborator Michael Caine also on board.

The film’s premise was co-created by Nolan’s brother Jonathan who has collaborated on the screenplays for most of Nolan’s work to date, and focuses on a team of scientists and explorers who discover a wormhole, allowing them to travel to distant reaches of space and time that have previously lain undiscovered.

Development of Interstellar began in 2006 with Steven Spielberg’s involvement, using a treatment by Kip S. Thorne who has produced multiple theories on time travel via wormholes. Thorne is consulting on the film which started shooting this summer and is due to wrap by the end of December.

Never one to take a step backwards, Nolan is not only pushing the boundaries of space and time in his subject matter but also the boundaries of filmmaking technology. With images released earlier this year of the director mounting an IMAX camera onto a Learjet, Interstellar promises an improvement on the already impressive use of IMAX filming used in The Dark Knight Rises.

Plot specifics remain hazy, however the film’s official site hints at a future world lying in chaos, removed of governments and economies with the hope of mankind lying with the remaining members of NASA and whatever may lie at the end of the mysterious wormhole that has appeared in spacetime.

Beth Webb

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

• UK release date: 21 November, 2014
• US release date: 21 November, 2014
• Director: Francis Lawrence
• Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Natalie Dormer, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Gary Ross got the Hunger Games franchise off to a fine start last year, but Francis Lawrence’s recent sequel took things up a notch. Though the director was working with arguably the weakest instalment of the book, the film was terrifically entertaining in addition to delving deeper into the novel’s thought-provoking themes.

As with the Twilight and Harry Potter franchises, the final book in the series will be split into two instalments, which allows the filmmakers a little more freedom to create scenes not present in the book, which is entirely focused on Katniss. What’s most exciting about these next two instalments is that the first two films were, in the big picture of things, an extended prologue for Mockingjay. Catching Fire ended on a huge cliffhanger, and fans who have read the book will know of the intense, emotional scenes that will grace our screens next year. With the franchise 2-for-2 thus far, the odds of success are very much in its favour.

Amon Warmann

Horrible Bosses 2

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: 26th November
• Director: Sean Anders
• Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz, Kevin Spacey, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman

Arriving over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Horrible Bosses 2 sees Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day return for another outing as the leading trio intent on killing off their titular horrible bosses.

Batman, Sudeikis, and Day aren’t the only ones returning, of course, with Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Spacey set to be back for more in the comedy sequel, along with fan-favourite Jamie Foxx, reprising his role as the (brilliantly-named) Motherf**ker Jones.

Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine have come on board as the new antagonists, a father-and-son duo.

The first details of the plot recently surfaced when production began in November, with the logline revealing that the leading trio have become their own bosses. But when a slick investor (Waltz) pulls out the rug from under them, they decide to take matters into their own hands, kidnapping his adult son (Pine) to use him as ransom to regain control of their company.

Sean Anders (Sex Drive, We’re the Millers) is at the helm this time around, with Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley once more penning the script.

Kenji Lloyd

Paddington

• UK release date: 28th November
• US release date: 12th December
• Director: Paul King
• Cast: Tim Downie, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Nicole Kidman, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth

Colin Firth voices the little bear from deepest darkest Peru  who will be arriving in cinemas come Christmas time. Although plot details are cloudy, Nicole Kidman has been pictured filming scenes as an evil looking taxidermist named Millicent, who no doubt has her eyes on Paddington for some sort of collection. Fans of the books will know that the duffle clad explorer is sent to England by his Aunt Lucy, to be discovered at Paddington station by Mr and Mrs Brown and taken to their home off Portbello Road for keeps.

The Paddington franchise of books, television programmes and merchandise have struck a chord with countless generations, making this one of best loved British characters of all time.

Firth has confirmed that he will be inflicting some “Peruvian flavour” into his character’s voice, and hints of his features will be included in the bear’s face, the body of which is a costume clad actress. Might Boosh director Paul King is at the helm of the project, teaming up with Harry Potter producer David Heyman who announced that the film would be made a reality back in 2007.

Filming is currently taking place for next winter’s release, and with a soundtrack scored by Sigur Rós  and a homegrown cast including Sally Hawkins as Mrs. Brown, Jim Broadbent as Mr. Gruber and Julie Walters as Mrs. Bird expect this to go down sweeter than marmalade on toast.

Beth Webb

Exodus

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: 12th December 2014
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Cast: Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Joel Egerton, Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley

Following on from Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, Exodus delves into the next book of the Old Testament to chart the escape of the Jews from Egypt. Leading the way is Moses (played by Christian Bale), who clashes with the Egyptian leader Pharaoh Ramesses II (Egerton) who isn’t too keen on losing his Israelite workforce. Director Ridley Scott has pulled together an impressive cast, which also includes Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul as Joshua, one of Moses’ twelve spies, and John Turturro and Sigourney Weaver as the former Pharaoh Seti I and his wife Tuya.

It’s a story with some iconic elements – the burning bush, the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea – and it’s one we’ve seen portrayed a number of times already, most recently in Dreamworks Animation’s The Prince Of Egypt when Moses was voiced by Val Kilmer (making him the only Biblical character to have been played by two Batmans?). Casting calls for upwards of 4000 extras suggest that this will be an epic of the old school, as opposed to the CGI extras used in the last crop of sword-and-sandal movies.

Simon Williams

The Hobbit: There and Back Again

• UK release date: 19 December, 2014
• US release date: 17 December, 2014
• Director: Peter Jackson
• Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Martin Freeman, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee.

Now that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has hit cinemas, Peter Jackson’s decision to split J.R.R. Tolkien’s 350-word text into three movies has become much more justified. The second instalment is far superior to the first, never becoming dull despite its sizeable running time.

The Desolation of Smaug ends with not one, but two major cliffhangers. Gandalf is trapped in Dol Goldur with an army of Orcs, whilst Smaug has escaped his dwelling and is on the move to Lake-town to exact some vengeance. In a way that wasn’t true at the end of An Unexpected Journey, we are left immediately excited at the prospect of seeing what will happen the next (and final) time we come back to Middle Earth. The battle of five armies will be the centrepiece of what Jackson himself says will be an action-heavy film, and readers of the book will know just how dark it gets.

Amon Warmann

Night at the Museum 3

• UK release date: 26th December
• US release date: 25th December
• Director: Shaun Levy
• Cast: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Dan Stevens, Skyler Gisondo, Patrick Gallagher and Matthew Harrison

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the museum, Ben Stiller and Director Shaun Levy return for a third installment to the Night at the Museum franchise. Little is known about Night at the Museum 3 although rumour has it, it’ll be called Night at the Museum 3: Brother from Another Mother but we’re awaiting news on that one. It’s interesting to see that they’ve gone back yet again to this franchise but they’re obviously a lot of fun to make and the kids love it and if i’m honest, so do I! A fair old while to wait for thsi one however as it’s not out until Boxing Day in the UK and Christmas Day in the US.

David Sztypuljak

Into the Woods

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: 25th December
• Director: Rob Marshall
• Cast: Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp, Chris Pine, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Lucy Punch, James Corden and Christine Baranski

Fresh from helming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Rob Marshall returns to Disney to direct Into the Woods, the studio’s fantasy-comedy musical. The film weaves together a number of fairy tales, looking at the consequences of their characters’ wishes, including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and Jack and the Beanstalk.

There’s also an original tale in there, from the original Broadway musical, involving a baker and his wife, and the witch that has put a curse on them. Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp, Chris Pine, Emily Blunt, James Corden, and more lead the great cast, with Meryl Streep looking rather devious as the wicked witch conspiring against them.

Kenji Lloyd

Song One

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Kate Barker-Froyland
• Cast: Anne Hathaway, Lenny Abrahamson

In the midst of the Oscar buzz in the summer of 2012, Anne Hathaway took on her first leading role since 2011’s One Day, signing on to lead Kate Barker-Froyland’s independent drama.

Hathaway stars as a young archaeologist who returns home from a dig when an accident leaves her brother (Ben Rosenfield) comatose. She retraces his life as an aspiring musician, tracking down his favourite musician, James Forester (Johnny Flynn).

Set against the Brooklyn music scene, the film sees Hathaway and Flynn’s characters strike up an unexpected relationship, with Hathaway returning to the world of music after her Oscar-winning performance in Les Misérables.

The film also marks Hathaway’s debut as a producer, producing the film alongside past collaborator Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married) and her real-life husband, Adam Shulman (Kinsey).

Song One will be making its debut at Sundance in January, and with any luck, it won’t be too long before we see it arrive in cinemas.

Kenji Lloyd

Far from the Madding Crowd

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Thomas Vinterberg
• Cast: Carey Mulligan, Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Terence Stamp, and Peter Finch

Following up his acclaimed latest feature, The Hunt, Thomas Vinterberg returns with an anticipated adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd.

The novel has been translated for the big screen several times before, most notably in 1967 with the John Schlesinger film, led by Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Terence Stamp, and Peter Finch.

This time around, it’s Carey Mulligan leading the cast as the young Bathesba Everdence, with Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, and Juno Temple starring alongside her.

Recent years have seen Mulligan taking more supporting roles than we’ve previously been used to – Drive, Shame, The Great Gatsby, and most recently a brilliant turn in Inside Llewyn Davis.

With this, she’ll be returning to the central role that we so love her occupying.

David Nicholls (Starter for 10, One Day) is responsible for penning the adaptation, and Mulligan herself has said of the film that it will either be absolutely insane or it will really work, and she thinks it’s going to be the latter. Either way, I’m excited.

Kenji Lloyd

Can a Song Save Your Life?

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: John Carney
• Cast: Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo

Making its debut out in Toronto, John Carney’s anticipated Can a Song Save Your Life? earned very positive praise from critics and fellow festivalgoers, and with a cast led by Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo, it’s easy to see why.

The Weinstein Company announced their acquisition of the musical-comedy right after its premiere, paying a tidy $7m. for the rights following a heated bidding war, committing an equally impressive $20m. for prints and advertising.

Knightley and Ruffalo star as an undiscovered singer-songwriter and a disgraced indie record label executive who meet each other and see something special in the other, going on to make music together.

Carney is the man behind the Oscar-winning musical, Once, and it’s going to be nice to see him return to the genre once more.

Catherine Keener, Adam Levine (of Maroon 5), Hailee Steinfeld, James Corden, Mos Def, and Cee Lo Green round out a great supporting cast. So if you’re a fan of music, comedy, and heart, this looks to be one of the safest bets of the year, and a real crowd-pleaser at that.

Kenji Lloyd

Birdman

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
• Cast: Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts

The Oscar-nominated Alejandro González Iñárritu (Biutiful, Amores Perros) takes up the comedy genre with Birdman, his follow-up to 2010’s acclaimed drama, Biutiful.

The film revolves around an actor (Michael Keaton), who once played an iconic superhero, as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and ultimately himself.

Keaton is joined by one of the best casts of the year, starring alongside Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan, and Andrea Riseborough. And if that line-up isn’t enough to guarantee your seat in the cinema, then I’m not sure what will.

Needless to say, we’re all expected great things here.

Kenji Lloyd

Locke

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Steven Knight
• Cast: Tom Hardy, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott

Screening in Venice and at the BFI London Film Festival, Steven Knight’s Locke is a brilliant dramatic thriller that sees Tom Hardy give a tour de force performance, leading the charge from start to finish.

Hardy stars as Ivan Locke, a man whose life falls further and further apart as the ninety-minute film unfolds in real-time. It is a story about a man who risks everything he knows of his life because of his unwavering determination to do what he knows to be the right thing.

Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, and Olivia Colman lend their voices to the project wonderfully, but it’s really Hardy here who shines from the get-go, never faltering for a moment throughout.

The film has recently been selected as part of the Spotlight category for Sundance, and for those able to see its North American debut before it hits cinemas, I thoroughly recommend it.

Kenji Lloyd

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: David Zellner
• Cast: Rinko Kikuchi

Another Sundance debutant, David Zellner’s Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter sees the increasingly prominent Japanese actress, Rinko Kikuchi take centre stage in this American drama.

Kikuchi is perhaps best known for the likes of Pacific Rim, 47 Ronin, The Brothers Bloom, and Tran Anh Hung’s adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki’s Norwegian Wood, and it’s so nice to see her gain further recognition in recent years, with more exciting projects on her upcoming slate.

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter sees her star as a lonely Japanese woman who abandons her structured life in Tokyo after becoming convinced that a satchel of money buried in a fictional film is, in fact, real. Trading Tokyo for the frozen Minnesota wilderness, she goes in search of the buried treasure in search of her lost, mythical fortune.

The Sundance press release announcing the film as part of the US Dramatic Competition lists only Kikuchi as part of the cast, so expect the brilliant young actress to steal the show, and hopefully the festival.

Kenji Lloyd

How to Catch a Monster

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Ryan Gosling
• Cast: Eva Mendes, Christina Hendricks, Rob Zabrecky and Matt Smith

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut, How to Catch a Monster, would earn a spot as one of our most anticipated movies of 2014.

Filmed in the summer, from Gosling’s own script, the fantasy-noir is led by Christina Hendricks as a single mother who is swept into a dark underworld, whilst her teenage son discovers a road that leads him to a hidden underwater utopia.

Described as a modern day fairytale, Gosling’s debut also boasts a stellar ensemble, with Hendricks supported by Saoirse Ronan, Matt Smith, Iain De Caestecker, Ben Mendelsohn, Eva Mendes, and Rob Zabrecky.

Gosling has been making more and more of a name for himself with every passing year. Leading roles in Drive; Blue Valentine; Crazy, Stupid, Love.; The Ides of March; The Place Beyond the Pines; and more have earned him the support of critics and mainstream audiences alike, all of whom should be looking forward to what he does behind the camera, as both writer and director here.

The very notion of a Gosling fantasy-noir is incredibly exciting, and we’ve every faith that he’s going to pull it off brilliantly.

Kenji Lloyd

Foxcatcher

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Bennett Miller
• Cast: Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, Anthony Michael Hall, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller and Vanessa Redgrave

Previously expected to be a big contender at the Oscars, Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher was pushed back to give him time to complete it, and you can bet it’s going to be worth the wait.

Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, and Channing Tatum make a very anticipated leading trio, with Carell in particular making a very interesting choice to take on the role, which is that of paranoid schizophrenic John duPont.

In real life, duPont killed Olympic Champion, Dave Shultz (Ruffalo), brother of Olympic Wrestling Champion, Mark Schultz (Tatum).

Miller is returning behind the camera following the Oscar-nominated Moneyball, and with the film originally scheduled for a December 20^th release, all expectations were for Miller to come back with another awards-favourite.

Sony Pictures Classics confirmed in September that they would be delaying Foxcatcher to 2014, and whilst they’re yet to announce a new release date, it’s going to be very interesting to see where it lands. Given the early awards buzz that had been surrounding it, and how few films gain awards recognition in the major categories if they’re released before summer (at the earliest), we might well be looking towards the end of 2014 for Foxcatcher to finally hit cinemas.

Kenji Lloyd

Inherent Vice

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director:  Paul Thomas Anderson
• Cast: Jena Malone, Josh Brolin, Joaquin Pheonix

Marking the first ever feature adaptation of renowned and reclusive author Thomas Pynchon’s work, Inherent Vice is pretty much guaranteed to be one of the best films of the year.

Whilst we would have loved to see Robert Downey, Jr. take the leading role, as was once to be, the prospect of Joaquin Phoenix reuniting with Paul Thomas Anderson is very promising too.

Phoenix stars as Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello, a private detective whose investigation into the disappearance of a past love, Shasta Fay (Katherine Waterson), lead him down all kinds of different avenues in 1970 Los Angeles.

Phoenix is joined by as stellar cast as you’d expect from Anderson, with Jena Malone, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, and Benicio del Toro starring alongside him, to name just a few.

The original novel is one of my all-time favourites, and I thoroughly recommend you seek it out before the film’s arrival.

Pynchon himself is thought to have had a hand in the screenplay, which was adapted by Anderson with Pynchon’s permission – though, as you can imagine, the extent of his involvement hasn’t been described in any real detail at all.

Kenji Lloyd

Young Ones

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC (Sundance Premiere in January)
• Director: Jake Paltroy
• Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning, Michael Shannon, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Aimee Mullins

Jake Paltrow’s Young Ones has been in development for a while now, and it was so good to see it finally coming together in 2013.

Paltrow – Gwyneth Paltrow’s younger brother – made his feature directorial debut back in 2007 with The Good Night, and besides helming an episode of Boardwalk Empire, and producing an as-yet-untitled documentary with Noah Baumbach, he’s unfortunately been absent from our screens ever since.

But this will be his year, and he’s assembled a fine cast to make his comeback.

Kodi Smit-McPhee, Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning, Michael Shannon, and Aimee Mullins lead the sci-fi/actioner, and if the teaser poster is anything to go by, we should be in for a pretty sweet ride.

Kenji Lloyd

The Two Faces of January

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date:  TBC
• Director: Hossein Amini
• Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, and Oscar Isaac

Hossein Amini (Drive) makes his directorial debut with The Two Faces of January.

The fact that he wrote Drive is enough to make his directorial debut one of the most anticipated films of the year. When you factor in that it has Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, and Oscar Isaac leading the cast, you’ve got yourself a winner.

Mortensen stars as the charismatic con artist, Chester MacFarland, who arrives in Athens with his alluring younger wife, Colette (Dunst). The two meet a young, Greek-speaking American (Isaac), working as a tour guide and scamming tourists, who, along with Colette, becomes involved with covering up the murder of a policeman and fleeing the country with the couple.

The psychological thriller is based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1964 novel of the same name, and with Isaac very much on the rise with a career-best performance in the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, it will be very interesting to see how things develop.

Kenji Lloyd

Magic in the Moonlight

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Woody Allen
• Cast: Emma Stone, Colin Firth, Hamish Linklater, Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver, Eileen Atkins, and Simon McBurney

Woody Allen wastes no time in getting back to work, with principal photography on Magic in the Moonlight beginning even before Allen’s Blue Jasmine had hit cinemas this year.

Allen has assembled yet another impressive cast, led by Emma Stone, Colin Firth, Hamish Linklater, Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver, Eileen Atkins, and Simon McBurney.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the first images of Stone, Firth, and Harden would suggest that it’s a period piece. We also know that the film finished shooting a couple of months ago, and that we can of course expect another comedy-drama.

The prospect of Stone and Firth leading a Woody Allen-penned and -directed movie is almost too good to be true, and we await the results with bated breath.

The director’s annual output is like clockwork, and whilst a release date is yet to be announced, it’s likely that this will be another summer/early autumn movie to look forward to.

Kenji Lloyd

Untitled Cameron Crowe Project

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Cameron Crowe
• Cast: Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Jay Baruchel, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, and Alec Baldwin

Whenever Cameron Crowe puts a new movie together, it’s always something to get excited about, and his next as-yet-untitled film is no different.

Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, and Rachel McAdams lead the brilliant cast, with support from Jay Baruchel, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, and Alec Baldwin. And you really ought to be excited by the prospect of that ensemble.

The romantic comedy sees Cooper star as Brian Gilcrest, a defence contractor overseeing the launch of a weapons satellite in Hawaii. When he meets his Air Force pilot, played by Stone, his mind begins to change, starting to question whether the launch should go ahead at all.

Mystical island forces are also expected to play a part in there somewhere, and more than anything, I’m looking forward to seeing the chemistry between Cooper and Stone on the big screen.

Kenji Lloyd

Tusk

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Kevin Smith
• Cast: Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez, and Michael Parks

At the beginning of last year, Kevin Smith announced that his ice hockey movie, Hit Somebody, would be his final film. Fortunately, he changed his mind.

With Hit Somebody set to be a six-part mini-series instead, Smith then announced that he’d started work on writing Clerks III, which would be his final film in its place.

Again, luck was on our side when he later announced that he would be returning to the world of horror, following 2011’s masterful Red State.

Shot in less than three weeks in November, Tusk is led by Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez, and Michael Parks. The film revolves around a young guy who goes in search of his best friend and podcast co-host when he goes missing, teaming up with his friend’s girlfriend to go looking for him in the backwoods of Canada.

Writing on his own site about the film, Smith has said,

“I wanted to right what I felt was the only wrong of Red State by scripting something with no religious or sexual politics that could grow up to be a weird little movie and not an indie film call-to-arms or a frustrated self-distribution manifesto. I just wanted to showcase Michael Parks in a fucked up story, where he could recite some Lewis Carroll and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner to some poor motherfucker sewn into a realistic walrus costume.”

I can’t wait. The first trailer is expected to debut at Sundance, attached to one of the Midnight Madness screenings, so expect your first glimpse at Smith’s return to the genre to come very soon.

Kenji Lloyd

Laggies

• UK release date: TBC
• US release date: TBC
• Director: Lynn Shelton
• Cast: Chlöe Grace Moretz, Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell

Lynn Shelton, responsible for the likes of Your Sister’s Sister, Humpday, and most recently Touchy Feely, returns with a drama centred on a woman who is stuck in adolescence, lying to her fiancé about going on a retreat, spending the time hanging out with her friends instead.

Anne Hathaway was originally attached to lead the project, but when scheduling conflicts with Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar unfortunately ruled her out, Keira Knightley came on board in her place.

Chlöe Grace Moretz leads the supporting cast as one of Knightley’s on-screen friends, with Sam Rockwell sure to give a brilliant turn as her fiancé, Craig. And after seeing her do some fantastic work in Short Term 12 and The Spectacular Now, I’m also really looking forward to Kaitlyn Dever’s performance here too.

The film marks the first feature that Shelton is directing from a script other than her own, with Andrea Siegel making her feature debut as a writer, and that in itself is exciting as well. It will be very interesting to see what Shelton does with material not entirely her own on a feature like this.

Kenji Lloyd