2014 year promises to be a vintage year for films with a whole host of exciting projects are on the horizon and are already getting us super excited.
There are a whole host of blockbusters and science fiction projects that have got us all of a quiver… we take a look at some of the standout films of the next twelve months.
- Interstellar - released 7th November
When there is a Christopher Nolan movie on the horizon you cannot help but get excited… the bad news is we are going to have to wait until November before we get the chance to see it.
We have already been given a little taster with the first teaser trailer, and it promises to be one of the most interesting and exciting sci-fi films of the year - Inception was the last time that we saw Nolan tackle this genre.
As you may expect with a Nolan project, a fab cast has been brought together as Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Casey Affleck and Michael Caine are all on board.
The movie follows a
group of explorers make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Every time that Christopher Nolan releases a film, he pushes the boundaries of that genre and that is what he looks set to do with Interstellar.
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - released 21st November
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has not long since hit the big screen and we are already looking forward to the release of Mockingly - Part 1. Mockingjay is the third and final novel in Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, but it is to be split into two movies.
The film is set to follow on from events of Catching Fire and Katniss Everdeen is now a symbol of revolution after her actions in the arena. Now it is out and out war as the people of the districts and risen up against the oppression of President Snow’s regime.
The great new is Francis Lawrence - who did a fantastic job on Catching Fire - will be back in the director’s chair for the final two instalments.
While the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Sam Claflin, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson and Philip Seymour Hoffman are all returning, there are some more new faces to watch out for.
Lily Rabe is on board as Commander Lyme, Natalie Dormer is set to play Cressida and the fantastic Julianne Moore has landed the role of President Alma Coin.
Catching Fire really took a much darker turn as Lawrence prepared us for the epic final instalment - I cannot wait to see the devastating final novel realised on the big screen.
- Jupiter Ascending - released 25th July.
2014 is set to be another great year for the science fiction genre - I think it may even top 2013 - and Jupiter Ascending is one of the projects to watch out for.
The movie will see Andy and Lana Wachowski return to the director’s chair for the first time since they helmed the wonderful Cloud Atlas at the beginning of 2013. They continue to work in the sci-fi genre and look set to push the boundaries even further.
We have already been treated the first trailer for the film, and it really does promise to be an epic watch that will span worlds.
The film will see Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum join forces, while Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne and Douglas Booth are all also set to star.
Jupiter Jones (Kunis) was born under a night sky, with signs predicting that she was destined for great things.
Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people’s houses and an endless run of bad breaks.
Only when Caine (Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along... her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.
The Wachowski’s have made some terrific sci-fi films over the years, and that trend looks set to continue with Jupiter ascending.
- Sin City: A Dame To Kill For - released 29th August
It was back in 2005 when Sin City hit the big screen for the first time, FINALLY after almost a decade of waiting the sequel is almost here.
The movie is based on the graphic novels of Frank Miller and will see Miller team up with Robert Rodriguez in the director’s chair.
There are some familiar faces such as Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson and Jessica Alba on board… but there are a lot of new names to watch out for as well.
Joseph Gordon Levitt, Eva Green, Juno Temple, Ray Liotta and Jeremy Piven will all also star, while Josh Brolin will take over the role of Dwight from Clive Owen.
The town's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more reviled inhabitants. Sin City was one of the most beautiful looking movies when it was released in 2005, and I am so excited to see what this new film looks like.
- Captain America: The Winter Solider - released 28th March
No year is complete without the release of a Marvel movie and 2013 sees the second stand-alone Captain America film hit the big screen. Chris Evans will return to the role for the first time since Avengers Assemble, as the character of Chris Rodgers tries to find his place in the modern world.
This time around, it is all change in the director’s chair as Anthony and Joe Russo are now at the helm, and they have brought together a great cast.
Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson are back as Black Widow and Nick Fury, while Emily VanCamp, Robert Redford, Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo are some of the new faces and characters to watch out for.
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier” finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world.
But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn.
When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
- Transcendence - released 25th April.
Transcendence is another of the science fiction films that look set to be a really interesting watch as Johnny Depp returns to the big screen.
The movie marks the feature film directorial debut for Wally Pfister - he has also had a hand in penning the screenplay.
Transcendence boasts another wonderful cast list as Depp is joined by Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, Cillian Murphy, Paul Bettany and Kate Mara.
Two leading computer scientists work toward their goal of Technological Singularity, as a radical anti-technology organization fights to prevent them from creating a world where computers can transcend the abilities of the human brain.
2014 looks set to be another fantastic year for science fiction - following in the footsteps of 2013 - and Transcendence is just one of the movies in the genre not to miss.
- Divergent - released 4th April
We have seen a lot of young adult fiction adapted for the big screen in recent years, and 2014 will see Veronica Roth’s novel Divergent get the same treatment.
Divergent is the first in a trilogy of novels by Roth - the other two books have already been given the green light to also be adapted for the big screen.
Divergent is a thrilling action-adventure set in a future world where people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities. Tris Prior (Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group.
When she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all Divergents, she must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it’s too late.
Shailene Woodley has landed the lead role of Tris, in what is set to be the biggest part and film of her career to date. She is joined on the cast list by Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Maggie Q and Ray Stevenson are all also on board.
Divergent is a fantastic series and I am super excited to see how this story and characters are translated on to the big screen.
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - released 17th July.
The Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of the surprise films of 2011, and I am so excited to see this sequel hit the big screen this summer.
Matt Reeves has taken over the director’s chair this time around, as the story of Caesar continues - the teaser promises a much darker instalment and I can’t wait to see where they are going to take this story.
A completely new cast has been assembled as Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Jason Clarke and Tobi Kebbell are all on board. Andy Serkis is set to return to the role of Caesar.
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier.
They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.
- The Hobbit: There And Back Again - released 19th December.
The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug is one of the best movies that I saw this year, as Peter Jackson brought us the second film in his new trilogy.
Jackson returned us to Middle Earth as Bilbo Baggins and co continued their quest to retake Ereborn - in doing so the awoke dragon Smaug.
The third film is set to pick up where the second ended, with Smaug heading to destroy Laketown. Thorin and his company are also set to face the Battle of the Five Armies.
Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly and Luke Evans are all also set to return.
There And Back Again is the third and final film in Jackson’s trilogy and is set to be an explosive end to our Middle Earth adventure.
- The Raid 2
The Raid is one of the best martial arts films of recent years, and 2014 is set to see the highly anticipated sequel hit the big screen.
The Raid 2 will see Gareth Evans return to the director’s chair for the latest instalment as he reunites with up and coming action star Iko Uwais.
Very little about the plot is known, but the story will pick up two hours after the events of the first fantastic film.
Yayan Ruhian, Raiden Integra, Donny Alamsyah and Kazuki Kitamura are all also on the cast list.
- Maleficent - released 30th May
It is a while since we have seen Angelina Jolie on the big screen in a while, but she is set to return next year as she takes on the role of Maleficent.
Maleficent is the latest Disney film to get a live action version of Sleeping Beauty - except it is Maleficent that will be centre stage this time around.
A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land.
Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal - an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone.
Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom - and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.
Robert Stomberg is in the director’s chair for the film, while Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Juno Temple, Sam Riley and Imelda Staunton are all also on board.
Other films that we are excited about include 22 Jump Street, The Monuments Men, 12 Years A Slave and RoboCop.
Tagged in The Hunger Games Interstellar