2015 is a great year for movies, with a bunch of blockbuster releases and some work from highly acclaimed directors. The Rocket shares our pick of films you simply cannot miss this year – in no particular order. What do you think about our list?
1)Avengers: Age of Ultron
If you are a fan of the Marvel series and all their Easter eggs, you’re surely waiting to see how the Avenger’s band together for the second time to take down their latest enemy – Ultron. Looking intimidating in the trailer with a prophetic sounding narration about “strings and puppets”, director Joss Whedon calls Ultron the “perfect villain for the Avengers”.
Fun fact: Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine in the X-Men franchise has expressed wanting to be featured in one of the Avengers sequels, stating also that he wants to see Wolverine battle Iron Man.
2) Jurassic World
Fans of the original may just be surprised by the latest installation that was spawned by the cinematic blockbuster genius Steven Spielberg. After the let down by previous sequels (especially Part III), the cast led by Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Bryce Dallas Howard (who loves chocolate pie more than most people) may just have what it takes to breathe life into the classic. It is also director Colin Trevorrow’s first attempt at a big budget project following his success from the indie sci-fi flick “Safety not guaranteed”.
Fun fact: B.D Wong, is the only star to return from the previous movies in the franchise – which may be good news for fans of Law & Order: Special victims unit. We at The Rocket opine that no one would give a sh** about his return in this movie.
3) Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Almost nothing has gone wrong in the hands of director JJ Abrams thus far, who is responsible for making Star Trek exciting not just for ‘trekkies’. He was also behind Super 8, which could have easily been mistaken for a Spielberg movie if you did not read through the credits. Together with Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Carrie Fischer (Princess Leia) who returned for this sequel, we could expect more than the last three movies which saw George Lucas simultaneously butcher the franchise and the hopes and dreams of fans of Star Wars.
True Facts: Dont be surprised, with just enough of Abram’s signature “lens flare”, this may just become the greatest Star Wars movie ever made.
4)Black Hat
Black Hat is a cybercrime action flick that will see Chris Hemsworth (Thor) hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta together with his less significant cast members. But any action flick directed by Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral, The Insider) is certainly worth a watch. The trailer also offers a gripping scenes of the lead’s forray into fighting crime internationally.
Fun Fact: Some of the scenes in the movie were shot in Malaysia.
5)The Hateful Eight
This is the second Quentin Tarantino western after Django, his last movie; and we can expect anything put to screen by him to be mindblowing. Be prepared for heart stopping dialogue and a whole lot of blood in The Hateful Eight, that takes place after the American Civil War. Starring Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Samuel L Jackson and Channing Tatum.
Fun Fact: When he was 16, Quentin Tarantino dropped out of Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California to pursue his dream of film making.
6) Knight of Cups
Director Terrence Malick is at it again, with his abstract narrative scenes seemingly intent on pushing the form of film. This time with lead star Christian Bale as a celebrity in Hollywood who looks like he is lost in a maze of sex and extravagance in the trailer. But we can’t be sure. The trailers online offer an abstract synopsis of the movie that goes like this:
“Once there was a young prince whose father, the king of the East, sent him down into Egypt to find a pearl. But when the prince arrived, the people poured him a cup. Drinking it, he forgot he was the son of a king, forgot about the pearl and fell into a deep sleep,” the description says. “Rick’s father used to read this story to him as a boy. The road to the East stretches out before him. Will he set forth?”
A must watch.
Fun Fact: Terence Malick is a recluse, and is as mysterious as the movies he makes. He also almost never does interviews. One interview that we dug up from www.lavideofilmmaker.com said that he only agreed to do so if they only discussed his favourite Italian films and not any of his movies.
7) Silence
The movie is adapted from Shusaku Endo’s Silence. (pic from www.playpromedia.com)
From Hugo (a children’s movie), to the cash, sex and cocaine charged The Wolf of Wall Street and now Silence, a movie about two Jesuit priests who travel to Japan in search of their mentor; we see director Martin Scorsese’s versatility in dealing with a whole variety of themes in the last five years. His masterpieces in the past include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas which are regarded as some of the greatest movies of all time. Having already etched his name in the echelons of the greatest film makers, Scorsese, 73 shows no signs of stopping as he continues to challenge young directors to push the boundaries of cinema with himself at the helm of this cause. Silence, also has a not-too shabby cast, led by Liam Neeson (Shindlers List, Taken) and Andrew Garfield (Social Network) and is sure to be one of the best movies of the year.
True Fact: On the sixth day of creation, God made Scorsese’s eyebrows and thought that it was good.
True Fact #2: Martin Scorsese holds The Rocket’s World Title for fastest rapper alive, outclassing seasoned rappers like Twista and Busta Rhymes.
8) Inherent vice
After their success in The Master, Director Paul Thomas Anderson teams up once again with Joaquin Phoenix in this crime drama with the latter as playing a detective in Los Angeles set in 1970. The film also stars Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) and Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris) , who are excellent additions to the line up. Expect to see perfect shots in each frame, infused with the music of Jonny Greenwood.
Fun Fact: In an interview, Martin Scorsese once praised Paul Thomas Anderson for his contributions to cinema and his use of 70mm film for The Master.
Fun Fact #2: Paul Thomas Anderson is regarded by Quentin Tarantino as one of his best friends and a “friendly competitor”.
Inherent Vice might not be released here in Malaysia, but we think you might find a way to watch it anyway. You always do.
