This week we thought we’d tell you what we’re looking forward to in 2015.
TAYLOR: Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens. Sure, I guess that’s a bit of a no-brainer. Who isn’t looking forward to this? Everyone gets a big Christmas present in 2015, but will it be a shiny new toy, or a boring parliamentary encyclopedia? I have faith that director J.J. Abrams will give it the treatment it deserves.
I’ve heard that the script is “the darkest chapter in the Star Wars saga,” which I find promising. I hope Luke is a crazy hermit living in a cave haunted by ghosts and that with no Emperor, nor Empire, the Sith are ragtag terrorists. Anything cute should be cut: no Ewoks, no Jar Jar. I probably won’t get my wish, but I’m anxious to find out.
HOWE: The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The team is back, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Captain America (Chris Evans) are this time up against Ultron (James Spader), an enemy hell bent in destroying Earth’s population. They are joined by a whole host of new superheroes/ villains, which could send it either way: fantastic to watch or it could get really messy with that amount of stars.
TAYLOR: Legend. No, it’s not a remake of the ‘80s fantasy film, Legend is the story of real life twin British gangsters Reginald and Ronald Kray, both portrayed by one of my favourite actors Tom Hardy. It’s a rare thing for one actor to play twins. Jeremy Irons did it in Dead Ringers; Christian Bale did it in The Illusionist. In Hardy, both men may be trumped. You may have already seen The Krays, which came out in the ‘90s. It was pretty good. I suspect this will be a far superior film. It probably won’t even come to Vernon.
HOWE: Crimson Peak. A few years ago we had a ghost story in the shape of The Woman in Black, set in England. It was pretty good. This year Guillermo del Toro is releasing Crimson Peak staring the brilliant Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain, a very different and reportedly kinky horror film.
Set in the 19th century against the back drop of gorgeous Cumbria county in the U.K., with a better director and better actors, this might be a period horror film to look forward to.
TAYLOR: Mad Max: Fury Road. Weird that my first three movies are all remakes or sequels. The new Max is also none other than Tom Hardy, again.
Although I think Hardy might be the best actor of his generation, it’s the look of Fury Road that is so enticing. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, Google it and watch it. It’s so beautiful, it makes my eyeballs ache. Frankly, it could star the Muppets and I would watch, solely based on the colours of the sand hitting the sky. A franchise is reborn, methinks.
There are more good movies coming out in 2015, but these are a few that we look forward to reviewing. See you at the movies!
– Brian Taylor and Peter Howe review the latest films in their column Reel Reviews, Fridays and Sundays,
