It’s going to be an interesting year in movies, especially now that the Sony hacking scandal/The Interview cancellation is behind us. Or is it? Perhaps the movie will see the light of day after all but if not, it still has implications on how much power has been taken away from producers and studios and put into the hands of a not-always-receptive public.
A disgruntled individual could theoretically try to prevent the remake of Point Break from getting into theatres. That is if anybody were to actually care about it at all.
It’s true: the iconic 1991 Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze bank heist/extreme sports actioner is getting a fresh start, all thanks to Warner Bros. and some mostly unknown filmmakers. Perhaps it will be modernized to feature parkour and wingsuit flying, because y’know… that would be rad.
I suspect that there will be a few totally rad movies hitting the screens like flying fists of fury over the next 12 months, actually. If it’s action you want then your first good bet would probably go to Taken 3, Liam Neeson’s return as Bryan Mills, the well-trained ex-government operative who probably shouldn’t be in a long-term relationship with anybody. His loved ones always seem to get kidnapped by the bad guys. It’s a good thing he’s got skills to get them back though.
For my money, however, Kingsman: The Secret Service (Feb. 13) looks like it’s got the full package. British superspy Colin Firth trains a young protĂ©gĂ© while fighting a villainous Samuel L. Jackson. The trailer makes it look like these guys have more gadgets than 10 James Bond movies. Bond, by the way, gets his 24th outing in November with Spectre.
Other notable action flicks getting ready to get set to go include the once delayed Jupiter Ascending (Feb. 6) by the Wachowskis, Ron Howard’s whale of a tale In the Heart of the Sea (March 13), Paul Walker’s finale in Furious 7 (April 3) and The Transporter Legacy (June 19), a reboot of the series without Jason Statham.
I’m also looking forward to Mad Max: Fury Road (May 8) even though it doesn’t star a nearly 60-year-old Mel Gibson.
It will be a big year of some bigger budget blockbuster titles too, most of which exist within the realm of established, recognizable and popular series, also mostly with a lot of splashy computerized special effects. These guys have a nasty habit of only coming out during the summer season.
There’s Terminator Genisys (July 1), the new chapter in the continuing saga of machines from the future gaining sentience and realizing the world is a better place without people. Somehow this time travel spectacle will loop back into how the whole series started 30 years ago.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1) is Marvel’s return of the marvelous team of superheroes facing a seemingly insurmountable foe … again. Surely, the Fantastic Four reboot (Aug. 7) won’t stand a chance in that friendly competition with their amazing friends at the box office. Jurassic World (June 12) has Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return to the dinosaur playground, this time with bigger and badder dinosaurs. San Andreas (May 29) stars The Rock as a guy caught up in The Big One (i.e. an earthquake that rocks all of California off of its very foundation). Sounds disastrous in so many ways if you ask me.
But maybe big isn’t exactly what you want. Maybe you prefer smaller emotional and introspective dramas about people and relationships. Ricki and the Flash (June 19) will star Meryl Streep as a singer who abandoned her family to make the big time, except now she has to come back and help them get through some trying times. It’s a Diablo Cody script and directed by Jonathan Demme. Kevin Kline co-stars. It’s a 'can’t miss', by my ken.
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (March 6) should be pretty much what you expect it to be: warm-hearted and funny. The Walk (Oct. 2) is director Robert Zemeckis’ recreation of tightrope walker Philippe Petit as he plans his incredible stunt of walking between the two towers of the World Trade Center back in 1974. Zemeckis has a thing for utilizing technology to make immersive film experiences. Sometimes they work better than others.
Also, don’t forget about Chappie (March 6), visionary director Neill Blomkamp’s new work about a robot with a dysfunctional family. It will surely have some good storytelling and effects plus it has a major St. Albert connection. The cinematographer is Trent Opaloch, who also worked with Blomkamp on District 9 and Elysium.
For the theatre-going families, a good bet would be Shaun the Sheep from Aardman Animations, the creators of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run. It’s a claymation story about a sheep who goes on an adventure in the big city. Lately, there has been an explosion of oft-told fairy tales getting remade as live action movies. Look for The Jungle Book (Oct. 9) with Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito and Bill Murray co-starring under Jon Favreau’s direction.
There’s also Pan (July 17), another version of Peter Pan with Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Amanda Seyfried and Rooney Mara, as well as Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella (March 13) with Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi, Hayley Atwell and Stellan SkarsgÄ‚Ä„rd helping that one along.
So many people think that the best always comes at the end of the year, and that’s true for many reasons. There’s Quentin Tarantino’s western revenge story The Hateful Eight, visionary director Alejandro González Iñárritu directing Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant (partially filmed in Alberta) and Tom Cruise’s next superspy adventure Mission Impossible 5 both arriving on Dec. 25.
Perhaps the biggest one of the year, however, will be Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a new chapter in the extended space saga thankfully directed by not George Lucas but J.J. Abrams, who seems to be a guy who knows how to tell a story that captures the imagination. Hopefully it works this time.
