The Skinny: 25 Films of 2015

Just, um…ignore that one in the top left hand corner. Heh.

Happy Friday, friends! Have a good New Year? All recovered from whatever shenanigans you got into on New Year’s Eve? I hope so! Because we have some very important things to discuss today. What are we discussing? Why, this year’s movie roster, of course! I’ve picked out 25 films that I am itching to see. In order of release date, let’s see what’s in store.

#1: Inherent Vice (Jan. 9)

Synopsis: “During the psychedelic 60s and 70s Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello is surprised by his former girlfriend and her plot for her billionaire boyfriend, his wife, and her boyfriend. A plan for kidnapping gets shaken up by the oddball characters entangled in this groovy kidnapping romp based upon the novel by Thomas Pynchon.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Ever since I first saw him as lovable, hilarious Merrill in Signs, I’ve admired Joaquin Phoenix’s comedic skills. Problem is, he’s cast in such serious roles nowadays that he hardly ever gets to use those skills anymore. But it looks like he’s going pretty funny in this kooky crime comedy, and he’s got quite a cast to back him up (Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Reese Witherspoon, Maya Rudolph, Owen Wilson, etc.). I think this one looks like a lot of fun, and it seems to be getting mostly positive feedback, so bring it on! 🙂

#2: Mortdecai (Jan. 23)

Synopsis: “Art dealer Charles Mortdecai searches for a stolen painting that’s reportedly linked to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Crime comedies are apparently all the rage this month! This one also looks like a lot of fun, and it’s great to see Johnny Depp in a role that seems well-suited to him. I was not a fan of him in Transcendence, and I didn’t love him as The Wolf in Into the Woods (which I will be reviewing some time next week, hopefully), so I’m really ready to like him again. We’ll see if suave, silly Charlie Mortdecai does the trick.

#3: Jupiter Ascending (Feb. 6)

Synopsis: “In the future, a young destitute human woman gets targeted for assassination by the Queen of the Universe, and begins her destiny to finish the Queen’s reign.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Well, Jupiter Ascending, let’s try this again, shall we? I actually had this in my 20 Films of 2014 post last year–prior to the last-minute decision to push it into this year, of course. I’m interested in this one for all the same reasons I was back then: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Sean Bean, and lots of cool-looking space stuff. It probably has the potential to be pretty silly, but I’m crossing my fingers that it’s a fun sci-fi romp.

#4: Seventh Son (Feb. 6)

Synopsis: “Young Thomas is apprenticed to the local Spook to learn to fight evil spirits. His first great challenge comes when the powerful Mother Malkin escapes her confinement while the Spook is away.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Again, this one could be very silly. In fact, as I was watching the trailer again and seeing all the crazy effects and monsters, I was having I, Frankenstein flashbacks. That’s not good. But for Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges, and my love of the fantasy genre, I’m still wanting to give this one a shot. I think it could be a good time. But I’ve been wrong before…

#5: Kingsman: The Secret Service (Feb. 13)

Synopsis: “A veteran secret agent takes a young upstart under his wing.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Colin Firth as a sophisticated, ass-kicking spy? Samuel L. Jackson as a villain with a lisp? Some chick with crazy blade heels flipping around? Like, why wouldn’t I be interested in this?! I think this one looks like a full-throttle blast. Plus, it’s already getting positive buzz. Forget Fifty Shades or whatever other cheesy romances are coming out around Valentine’s Day–this is what I will be going to see.

#6: In the Heart of the Sea (March 13)

Synopsis: “Based on the 1820 event, a whaling ship is preyed upon by a sperm whale, stranding its crew at sea for 90 days, thousands of miles from home.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: It’s funny–I’ve never loved Moby Dick. In fact, I couldn’t even finish it when I was assigned to read it for a college lit class. But I do think the events that inspired the book are fascinating, so I’m intrigued by this one. I’m sure the movie will exaggerate the events, but I’m willing to overlook that to see Chris Hemsworth and Cillian Murphy battling a crazy giant whale. Also, Ben Whishaw is playing Herman Melville, and that makes me happy. 🙂

#7: Cinderella (March 13)

Synopsis: “A live-action retelling of the classic fairy tale about a servant step-daughter who wins the heart of a prince.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Honestly, I wasn’t especially enthusiastic about this when I first heard about it. Disney’s last live-action effort, Maleficent, didn’t exactly blow me away. Plus, Cinderella has never been my favorite princess. But then I saw the trailer and…well, okay, it looks kind of cool. Visually, I’m sure it will be stunning. And I kind of love that Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter are playing the opposite roles you’d expect them to be–Blanchett is the stepmother and Carter is the fairy godmother. But the most important thing is probably the fact that pretty, pretty Richard Madden is Prince Charming. *swoons*

#8: Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1)

Synopsis: “When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and it is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: …I mean, do I really even need to say why at this point? I’m a nerd, I loved The Avengers (as evidenced here), and this trailer looks freaking epic. My money’s on this one being a big winner for 2015. Here’s hoping it lives up!

#9: Pitch Perfect 2 (May 15)

Synopsis: “Collegiate a cappella group the Barden Bellas enter into an international competition that no American team has ever won.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Maybe it’s just because I was in an all-female a cappella group in college, but I really enjoyed the first Pitch Perfect, and I’m crossing my fingers that this one is equally aca-awesome (if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll get that). I’ll admit that I’m not totally wowed by the trailer…but hopefully that just means all the really funny stuff is being saved to surprise us. Fun fact: this will actually be Elizabeth Banks’ directorial debut–yet another reason I really, really want this one to be good.

#10: Tomorrowland (May 22)

Synopsis: “Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Of all the films on here, this is one of the biggest mysteries. So far all we have to go off of is a vague synopsis and an equally vague teaser trailer. But hey, if Disney’s behind it, Brad Bird is directing it, and George Clooney and Hugh Laurie are starring in it, count me in.

#11: Jurassic World (June 12)

Synopsis: “Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park (1993), Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. After 10 years of operation and visitor rates declining, in order to fulfill a corporate mandate, a new attraction is created to re-spark visitor’s interest, which backfires horribly.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Again, I’ve done enough geeking about this one for a lifetime so I probably don’t need to elaborate here…but GUYS. WE’RE GOING BACK TO JURASSIC PARK. WITH CHRIS PRATT. There’s a reason this one is maxing out my geeky excitement scale–and that reason is it looks AWESOME.

#12: Inside Out (June 19)

Synopsis: “Told from the perspective of the emotions inside the mind of a little girl.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: After two decades of creative, funny, and moving stories, I should know never to doubt Pixar. But when I read about Inside Out, I still couldn’t help asking, “Now how are they gonna make this work?” Then I saw the above trailer, and all doubts were gone. This is another extremely unique idea from the kings of animation, and I’m very interested in seeing where they go with it.

#13: Minions (July 10)

Synopsis: “Minions Stuart, Kevin and Bob are recruited by Scarlet Overkill, a super-villain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: I know they drive some people crazy, but I think Despicable Me‘s little yellow minions are absolutely hilarious. I’m still not sure about them working as the focus of a movie, but the trailer makes the idea seem pretty darn appealing. I love that it goes through the history of the minions. Also, this cast is STACKED! Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Allison Janney, and Michael Keaton? Yeah, I’ll give this a whirl.

#14: Ant-Man (July 17)

Synopsis: “Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Alright, Marvel. You somehow made the craziness of Guardians of the Galaxy work. Let’s see if you can do the same for Ant-Man–arguably the worst superhero name ever. And maybe one of the lamest powers, too. I mean, the ability to shrink? Really? Well, Marvel has made a true believer of me more often than not, so I’m willing to give it a go. No trailer yet, but I did find this leaked clip from Comic Con that makes Ant-Man look much more badass than you’d expect…

#15: The Fantastic Four (Aug. 7)

Synopsis: “A group of scientists are mutated into superpowered beings and must become heroes to save the world.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: If at first you don’t succeed, reboot, reboot again. Although I guess the first Fantastic Four movies did pretty alright in the box office, huh? I just never really cared for them. But this could be interesting. No trailers or even legit images yet (unless you count this leaked photo of Toby Kebbell as Doctor Doom), but I think a fresh start will be really good for these heroes–especially the fresh, young cast. Going from left to right in the image above, we’ve got Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara as The Invisible Woman, Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch, and Jamie Bell as The Thing. The only one I’m uncertain about is Mara since she tends to bug me…but hey, maybe this will be the movie that gets me on her side. Let’s see what you can do, Marvel.

#16: Sinister 2 (Aug. 21)

OH GAWD HE’S COMING BACK???

Synopsis: “A young mother and her twin sons move into a rural house that’s marked for death.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Okay, so this is a horror sequel, meaning there is a 90% chance that it’s going to suck hard. But I liked Sinister so much that I’m going to chance it. Fact is, Mr. Boogie is scary as hell, and his little children minions are pretty darn creepy, too. If it’s done right, this sequel could be good. That said, of all the movies on here, this one probably has the lowest expectation attached to it. After 2014’s mostly disappointing year in horror (aside from these two, of course), I won’t raise my hopes too high.

#17: The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials (Sept. 18)

Synopsis: “The Gladers have escaped the Maze, but now they face a new set of challenges on the open roads of a world ravaged by solar flares and disease.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: I have no idea if the above picture is legit…but it looks pretty cool, no? The Maze Runner was a pleasant surprise for me last year, and I’m kind of excited to see the journey continue. In fact, I want to try to read the books before this comes out. YA dystopian stuff has maybe gotten a bit out of control, but given that this series seems to be among the better stuff, I’m okay with that. Hey, it’s better than vampires, amiright?

#18: Victor Frankenstein (Oct. 2)

Not the Igor we’re familiar with, eh?

Synopsis: “Told from Igor’s perspective, we see the troubled young assistant’s dark origins, his redemptive friendship with the young medical student Viktor Von Frankenstein, and become eyewitnesses to the emergence of how Frankenstein became the man – and the legend – we know today.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: This one’s had my eye for a while now. We’ve got James McAvoy as the title character and, oddly enough, Daniel Radcliffe in the role of his hunch-backed assistant, Igor…but it looks like he’s sans hump. I think this is going to be a very different take on the classic story, and it has lots of potential to be awesome. Plus, this film is kind of a Sherlock reunion–Moriarty (Andrew Scott), Mycroft (Mark Gatiss), and Molly (Louise Brealey) are all in the cast! Can’t. Wait.

#19: Crimson Peak (Oct. 16)

Synopsis: “In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds…and remembers.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Guillermo del Toro is coming back to horror?! YAAASSS. I don’t want to count my chickens before they’ve hatched, but I think I’m already prepared to make this my number one horror next year. Not only does it sound interesting, but that little Gothic Gallery Tour video confirmed what I pretty much already knew: it’s going to have a lovely, eerie atmosphere, which should set the stage for scares perfectly. Also, Tom Hiddleston is in this movie. I’m sold.

#20: Spectre (Nov. 6)

Synopsis: “A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: This is another one I’ve spent a little bit of time geeking about, but given how awesome Daniel Craig is as Bond, I feel the geeking is justified. I’m thrilled to see Craig back for another adventure along with the rest of the gang (Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear), and I’m thrilled to see how newbies Christoph Waltz, Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, and Lea Seydoux fit into things. Also, that poster is way too cool.

#21: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (Nov. 20)

Synopsis: “After being symbolized as the ‘Mockingjay’ Katniss Everdeen and District 13 engage in an all-out revolution against the autocratic Capitol.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: Again, not sure if the above image is legit, but it looks awesome! Dystopian superstar Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) a.k.a. The Mockingjay will be taking flight one last time, and having read the book, I can already confirm that it’s going to be a doozy. I’m very interested in seeing how the film handles the material. Given how much I enjoyed Catching Fire and Mockingjay – Part 1, I’ll admit that I’m very much hoping for a good one here.

#22: Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (Dec. 18)

Synopsis: “A continuation of the saga created by George Lucas set thirty years after Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi(1983).” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: …Because Star Wars. Haha. This is yet another one I’ve been showing some geeky love for, so I’m not really sure that much else needs to be said. I’m hoping for a trailer that reveals a teensy bit more…but since this one isn’t due to come out for 11 1/2 months, it’ll probably be a while. May the force be with us.

#23: Mission Impossible 5 (Dec. 25)

With all of my heart I wish this were an actual image from this movie.

Synopsis: Nothing yet!

Why I’m Interested: MI5 is largely a mystery at this point, but here’s what we knows: 1) The Ghost Protocol gang is back (Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and even good ol’ Ving Rhames). 2) Alec Baldwin is in it–maybe as a villain? 3) Christopher McQuarrie is directing, and it will be his third directing effort (the first two being The Way of the Gun and Jack Reacher). 4) Drew Pearce has taken over the writing, and he also wrote the script for Iron Man 3 and the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King. So we’ll see how it is. Honestly, as long as this film takes after MI1, 3, or 4 and stays well away from the stupidity of 2, then I believe all will be well.

#24: Dark Places (TBD)

Synopsis: “A woman who survived the brutal killing of her family as a child is forced to confront the events of that day by a secret society obsessed with solving notorious crimes.” –www.imdb.com

Why I’m Interested: After the awesomeness of Gone Girl, I am very interested in seeing what else author Gillian Flynn has in store. Unfortunately, she isn’t involved in writing the screenplay this time, but hopefully screenwriter Gilles Paquet-Brenner will stay true the source. This one has a pretty solid cast–Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Nicholas Hoult, for starters. I don’t really know a lot about this story, but if it has all of the crazy twists and turns of Gone Girl, I think it could be another great one.

#25: Rocketman (TBD)

Elton’s pretty psyched about who’ll be playing him.

Synopsis: Nothing yet!

Why I’m Interested: If anyone else were cast as Elton John, I don’t think I’d be interested. But TOM HARDY?! It’s so delightfully random that I just…I have to see this. I mean, from Charles Bronson to Bane to ELTON JOHN?! Alright, Tom. Let’s see what you can do, buddy. Honestly, I think this could be great. Also, I want to hear Tom Hardy sing “Bennie and the Jets” with all of my freaking heart. Fingers crossed.

Well there you have it! Are any of these among your most anticipated films? Any you’d add? Any you wish weren’t being made altogether?

Anyway, hope this post got you guys pumped up for the year! You know what I’m pumped up about? The fact that Resolutions kicks off on Monday! And it’s not too late to partake, if you so please! Just let me know. 🙂 Have an excellent weekend, everybody!