At the beginning of the year I made a number of posts talking about my most anticipated films for 2014. Some anticipated movies have been excellent, some anticipated movies have been extremely disappointing. Some movies that were merely considered have turned out to be excellent and some really awesome films this year were entirely unknown at the beginning of the year.
But now, with a lot more movies announced, what follows is an updated list of films I'm expecting to be released here in the UK within the final four months of the year. Movies are either "anticipated", meaning I'm really looking forward to, or "considered", meaning that I simply think the film is worth keeping an eye on.
SEPTEMBER
MY PICKS
![]()
Pride (2014)
Director: Matthew Warchus
Stars: Bill Nighy, Andrew Scott, Dominic West, Joseph Gilgun
UK Release Date: 12 September 2014
U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984.
Okay, so this technically isn't one I'm anticipating. I've already seen it. However, having attended an advanced screening of this one I can assure you, this is one of the best movies to be released this year. Telling the story of how an unlikely sequence of events led to major advances in gay rights within the UK, it's a heartwarming, dramatic, emotional and consistently funny film. With a fantastic cast, all of whom seem to have fully-formed characters and brilliant performances, this couldn't be missed out of a guide on films to see this September.
(video link)
![]()
Grand Piano (2013)
Director: Eugenio Mira
Stars: Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Kerry Bishé, Tamsin Egerton
UK Release Date: 19 September 2014
Moments before his comeback performance, a concert pianist who suffers from stage fright discovers a note written on his music sheet.
After Elijah Wood's incredible turn as a psychopath with mummy issues in the remake of "Maniac", I was very excited to hear about his appearance in this thriller about a piano player who faces a death threat. I do not know much about this film, but I'm very excited all the same.
(video link)
![]()
Maps to the Stars (2014)
Director: David Cronenberg
Stars: Julianne Moore, Robert Pattinson, Sarah Gadon, John Cusack
UK Release Date: 26 September 2014
A tour into the heart of a Hollywood family chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts.
David Cronenberg's last couple of movies have been quite disappointing for me. I wasn't terribly keen on his Freud and Jung period piece "A Dangerous Method" and his philosophical 'economic meltdown' piece was seriously up its own arse. But looking at the trailer of "Maps To The Stars" with Julianne Moore and Mia Wasikowska, it just looks so much more interesting and daring than Cronenberg has been for quite a while now. I can't help but feel that perhaps Cronenberg might finally be back on form (and it was only ever a matter of time).
(video link)
OCTOBER
MY PICKS
![]()
Horns (2013)
Director: Alexandre Aja
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Heather Graham, Max Minghella
UK Release Date: 29 October 2014
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.
An adaptation of a novel by director Alexandre Aja. After being so impressed by Alexandre Aja's remake of "The Hills Have Eyes" and the remake of "Maniac" (which he wrote the adapted screenplay for), I'm finding myself pretty excited for this film starring Daniel Radcliffe. The trailer certainly makes this look pretty cool.
(video link)
![]()
Nightcrawler (2014)
Director: Dan Gilroy
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Ann Cusack
UK Release Date: 31 October 2014
A young man stumbles upon the underground world of L.A. freelance crime journalism.
My entire interest in this film stems from Jake Gyllenhaal's performance in the teaser trailer. I mean just watch it, he's incredible. Normally I'd advise against checking out the trailers I'm posting here, unless you really feel the need to know more about the film. But this one? It's only a teaser and even if you don't ever see the film, the teaser contains one hell of an awesome performance from Jake Gyllenhaal that is well worth 50 seconds of your time.
(video link)
SOME OTHER INTERESTING ALTERNATIVES
![]()
The Book of Life (2014)
Director: Jorge R. Gutierrez
Stars: Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Danny Trejo
UK Release Date: 24 October 2014
Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart, embarks on an adventure that spans three fantastic worlds where he must face his greatest fears.
I had mistakenly believed this to be a Pixar film, but actually there do not appear to be any ties to Pixar here at all. This is a Guillermo Del Toro-produced animation and the decision to base it around the Day of the Dead celebrations should lead to some interesting visuals. I'm still interested enough to keep an eye on this.
(video link)
![]()
Fury (2014)
Director: David Ayer
Stars: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña
UK Release Date: 24 October 2014
April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and out-gunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.
While I was highly impressed by David Ayer's "End of Watch" with Jake Gyllenhaal, his recent "Sabotage" has fairly consistently failed to impress (which has put me off checking it out myself) and I'm not entirely sure about David Ayer's past track record (having enjoyed "Training Day" more for Denzel Washington's performance than for its fantastic writing). Also, when one of David Ayer's writing credits is for "U-571" which tried to give America the credit for capturing a Nazi Enigma machine, it's worrying to see another movie where seemingly everyone fighting in World War II seems to be American. (I mean seriously, this is supposed to be the final days of the war when everyone was closing in on Berlin and somehow the Brits are nowhere to be seen?) Still, a war movie with Brad Pitt might well be worth keeping an eye on.
(video link)
NOVEMBER
MY PICKS
![]()
Interstellar (2014)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin
UK Release Date: 7 November 2014
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.
I've loved pretty much every single Christopher Nolan film, particularly the ones without "Dark Knight" in the title. Nolan's last sci-fi film was "The Prestige", but this time he's taking us into space and Matthew McConaughey is in the starring role. I've high hopes that this will be incredible.
(video link)
![]()
The Imitation Game (2014)
Director: Morten Tyldum
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong
UK Release Date: 14 November 2014
English mathematician and logician, Alan Turing, helps crack the Enigma code during World War II.
Benedict Cumberbatch starring in a film about Alan Turing? Count me in. Must admit, I'm basing my anticipation on the trailer here, but I must say, I'm excited.
(video link)
![]()
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Stars: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer
UK Release Date: 21 November 2014
Follow the lives of Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Vladislav (Jemaine Clement)...
The writer and director of "Eagle Vs Shark" is working on this movie which basically takes the main stars from the awesome musical tv series "Flight of the Conchords" and makes them into vampires. It looks absolutely hilarious and the gags in the trailer seem remarkably fresh considering how much you'd have thought the vampire genre had already been explored. I suppose when there's already tons of scope for comedy just putting a load of quirky housemates together, it should be unsurprising to find that there's still loads of scope for comedy when all those housemates happen to be vampires.
(video link)
ANOTHER INTERESTING ALTERNATIVE
![]()
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson
UK Release Date: 21 November 2014
Katniss Everdeen reluctantly becomes the symbol of a mass rebellion against the autocratic Capitol.
In spite of being underwhelmed by the last instalment, I suppose I'm probably going to end up checking out the next film with the great Clapton Davis anyway. (Naturally when I say Clapton Davis I'm referring to Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta. You've all seen the movie "Detention" by now, right?) As much of a fan as I am of Jennifer Lawrence, I didn't think director Francis Lawrence did a particularly good job directing and capturing her performance last time. Her character seems to go from being tough as nails to fits of tears and as cool as ol' Clapton Davis might be, I'm not buying into this love triangle nonsense. Still, who knows, perhaps it'll be great? I certainly enjoyed the first movie.
(video link)
DECEMBER
MY PICKS
![]()
Get Santa (2014)
Director: Christopher Smith
Stars: Warwick Davis, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Graham, Nonso Anozie
UK Release Date: 5 December 2014
A father and son who team up to save Christmas once they discover Santa Claus sleeping in their garage after crashing his sleigh and finding himself on the run from the police.
Christopher Smith's last project was a ghastly Da Vinci Code rip-off tv movie. But before that he made "Black Death" with Sean Bean; a medieval horror combining the horrors of the plague with the clash of religions from "The Wicker Man". And his project before that was the remarkable time-travelling slasher film "Triangle". The idea of Jim Broadbent playing a Santa Claus on the run from the police is intriguing. It seems rather far from the horror genre, but then Christopher Smith has done comedy before in the movie "Severance". The inclusion of Stephen Graham and Warwick Davis can only be a plus.
![]()
The Pyramid (2014)
Director: Grégory Levasseur
Stars: Ashley Hinshaw, James Buckley, Denis O'Hare, Christa Nicola
UK Release Date: 5 December 2014
A team of U.S. archaeologists unearths an ancient pyramid buried deep beneath the Egyptian desert. As they search the pyramid's depths...
Alexandre Aja often co-writes with Grégory Levasseur and so now that Levasseur is directing for himself (with a rather awesome looking trailer already released), I'm quite excited. The last Mummy movies to be released with more like Indiana Jones rip-offs than horror films (though I still have a lot of affection for "The Mummy Returns" with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz), so it's cool to see the curse of the Mummy's tomb as a proper horror concept being brought to the big screen like this.
(video link)
![]()
The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (2014)
Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett
UK Release Date: 12 December 2014
The Company of Thorin has reached Smaug's lair; but can Bilbo and the Dwarves reclaim Erebor and the treasure? And, if so, can they hold on to it?
Admittedly I was pretty annoyed by the way the last film ended and there wasn't enough Radaghast in the second film of the trilogy for my liking. Still, I've found the Hobbit films to be a great deal more fun than the Lord Of The Rings films ever were. Hopefully the filmmakers will feel sufficiently humbled not to decide to give this one 15 endings in a row like they did with Return Of The King. It's still possible that this could be an excellent third part and the last two films have at least made that seem possible. Certainly the Hobbit films have as yet to be boring...
(video link)
But now, with a lot more movies announced, what follows is an updated list of films I'm expecting to be released here in the UK within the final four months of the year. Movies are either "anticipated", meaning I'm really looking forward to, or "considered", meaning that I simply think the film is worth keeping an eye on.
SEPTEMBER
MY PICKS
Pride (2014)
Director: Matthew Warchus
Stars: Bill Nighy, Andrew Scott, Dominic West, Joseph Gilgun
UK Release Date: 12 September 2014
U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984.
Okay, so this technically isn't one I'm anticipating. I've already seen it. However, having attended an advanced screening of this one I can assure you, this is one of the best movies to be released this year. Telling the story of how an unlikely sequence of events led to major advances in gay rights within the UK, it's a heartwarming, dramatic, emotional and consistently funny film. With a fantastic cast, all of whom seem to have fully-formed characters and brilliant performances, this couldn't be missed out of a guide on films to see this September.
(video link)
Grand Piano (2013)
Director: Eugenio Mira
Stars: Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Kerry Bishé, Tamsin Egerton
UK Release Date: 19 September 2014
Moments before his comeback performance, a concert pianist who suffers from stage fright discovers a note written on his music sheet.
After Elijah Wood's incredible turn as a psychopath with mummy issues in the remake of "Maniac", I was very excited to hear about his appearance in this thriller about a piano player who faces a death threat. I do not know much about this film, but I'm very excited all the same.
(video link)
Maps to the Stars (2014)
Director: David Cronenberg
Stars: Julianne Moore, Robert Pattinson, Sarah Gadon, John Cusack
UK Release Date: 26 September 2014
A tour into the heart of a Hollywood family chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts.
David Cronenberg's last couple of movies have been quite disappointing for me. I wasn't terribly keen on his Freud and Jung period piece "A Dangerous Method" and his philosophical 'economic meltdown' piece was seriously up its own arse. But looking at the trailer of "Maps To The Stars" with Julianne Moore and Mia Wasikowska, it just looks so much more interesting and daring than Cronenberg has been for quite a while now. I can't help but feel that perhaps Cronenberg might finally be back on form (and it was only ever a matter of time).
(video link)
OCTOBER
MY PICKS
Horns (2013)
Director: Alexandre Aja
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Heather Graham, Max Minghella
UK Release Date: 29 October 2014
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.
An adaptation of a novel by director Alexandre Aja. After being so impressed by Alexandre Aja's remake of "The Hills Have Eyes" and the remake of "Maniac" (which he wrote the adapted screenplay for), I'm finding myself pretty excited for this film starring Daniel Radcliffe. The trailer certainly makes this look pretty cool.
(video link)
Nightcrawler (2014)
Director: Dan Gilroy
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Ann Cusack
UK Release Date: 31 October 2014
A young man stumbles upon the underground world of L.A. freelance crime journalism.
My entire interest in this film stems from Jake Gyllenhaal's performance in the teaser trailer. I mean just watch it, he's incredible. Normally I'd advise against checking out the trailers I'm posting here, unless you really feel the need to know more about the film. But this one? It's only a teaser and even if you don't ever see the film, the teaser contains one hell of an awesome performance from Jake Gyllenhaal that is well worth 50 seconds of your time.
(video link)
SOME OTHER INTERESTING ALTERNATIVES
The Book of Life (2014)
Director: Jorge R. Gutierrez
Stars: Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Danny Trejo
UK Release Date: 24 October 2014
Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart, embarks on an adventure that spans three fantastic worlds where he must face his greatest fears.
I had mistakenly believed this to be a Pixar film, but actually there do not appear to be any ties to Pixar here at all. This is a Guillermo Del Toro-produced animation and the decision to base it around the Day of the Dead celebrations should lead to some interesting visuals. I'm still interested enough to keep an eye on this.
(video link)
Fury (2014)
Director: David Ayer
Stars: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña
UK Release Date: 24 October 2014
April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and out-gunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.
While I was highly impressed by David Ayer's "End of Watch" with Jake Gyllenhaal, his recent "Sabotage" has fairly consistently failed to impress (which has put me off checking it out myself) and I'm not entirely sure about David Ayer's past track record (having enjoyed "Training Day" more for Denzel Washington's performance than for its fantastic writing). Also, when one of David Ayer's writing credits is for "U-571" which tried to give America the credit for capturing a Nazi Enigma machine, it's worrying to see another movie where seemingly everyone fighting in World War II seems to be American. (I mean seriously, this is supposed to be the final days of the war when everyone was closing in on Berlin and somehow the Brits are nowhere to be seen?) Still, a war movie with Brad Pitt might well be worth keeping an eye on.
(video link)
NOVEMBER
MY PICKS
Interstellar (2014)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin
UK Release Date: 7 November 2014
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.
I've loved pretty much every single Christopher Nolan film, particularly the ones without "Dark Knight" in the title. Nolan's last sci-fi film was "The Prestige", but this time he's taking us into space and Matthew McConaughey is in the starring role. I've high hopes that this will be incredible.
(video link)
The Imitation Game (2014)
Director: Morten Tyldum
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong
UK Release Date: 14 November 2014
English mathematician and logician, Alan Turing, helps crack the Enigma code during World War II.
Benedict Cumberbatch starring in a film about Alan Turing? Count me in. Must admit, I'm basing my anticipation on the trailer here, but I must say, I'm excited.
(video link)
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Stars: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer
UK Release Date: 21 November 2014
Follow the lives of Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), and Vladislav (Jemaine Clement)...
The writer and director of "Eagle Vs Shark" is working on this movie which basically takes the main stars from the awesome musical tv series "Flight of the Conchords" and makes them into vampires. It looks absolutely hilarious and the gags in the trailer seem remarkably fresh considering how much you'd have thought the vampire genre had already been explored. I suppose when there's already tons of scope for comedy just putting a load of quirky housemates together, it should be unsurprising to find that there's still loads of scope for comedy when all those housemates happen to be vampires.
(video link)
ANOTHER INTERESTING ALTERNATIVE
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson
UK Release Date: 21 November 2014
Katniss Everdeen reluctantly becomes the symbol of a mass rebellion against the autocratic Capitol.
In spite of being underwhelmed by the last instalment, I suppose I'm probably going to end up checking out the next film with the great Clapton Davis anyway. (Naturally when I say Clapton Davis I'm referring to Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta. You've all seen the movie "Detention" by now, right?) As much of a fan as I am of Jennifer Lawrence, I didn't think director Francis Lawrence did a particularly good job directing and capturing her performance last time. Her character seems to go from being tough as nails to fits of tears and as cool as ol' Clapton Davis might be, I'm not buying into this love triangle nonsense. Still, who knows, perhaps it'll be great? I certainly enjoyed the first movie.
(video link)
DECEMBER
MY PICKS
Get Santa (2014)
Director: Christopher Smith
Stars: Warwick Davis, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Graham, Nonso Anozie
UK Release Date: 5 December 2014
A father and son who team up to save Christmas once they discover Santa Claus sleeping in their garage after crashing his sleigh and finding himself on the run from the police.
Christopher Smith's last project was a ghastly Da Vinci Code rip-off tv movie. But before that he made "Black Death" with Sean Bean; a medieval horror combining the horrors of the plague with the clash of religions from "The Wicker Man". And his project before that was the remarkable time-travelling slasher film "Triangle". The idea of Jim Broadbent playing a Santa Claus on the run from the police is intriguing. It seems rather far from the horror genre, but then Christopher Smith has done comedy before in the movie "Severance". The inclusion of Stephen Graham and Warwick Davis can only be a plus.
The Pyramid (2014)
Director: Grégory Levasseur
Stars: Ashley Hinshaw, James Buckley, Denis O'Hare, Christa Nicola
UK Release Date: 5 December 2014
A team of U.S. archaeologists unearths an ancient pyramid buried deep beneath the Egyptian desert. As they search the pyramid's depths...
Alexandre Aja often co-writes with Grégory Levasseur and so now that Levasseur is directing for himself (with a rather awesome looking trailer already released), I'm quite excited. The last Mummy movies to be released with more like Indiana Jones rip-offs than horror films (though I still have a lot of affection for "The Mummy Returns" with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz), so it's cool to see the curse of the Mummy's tomb as a proper horror concept being brought to the big screen like this.
(video link)
The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (2014)
Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett
UK Release Date: 12 December 2014
The Company of Thorin has reached Smaug's lair; but can Bilbo and the Dwarves reclaim Erebor and the treasure? And, if so, can they hold on to it?
Admittedly I was pretty annoyed by the way the last film ended and there wasn't enough Radaghast in the second film of the trilogy for my liking. Still, I've found the Hobbit films to be a great deal more fun than the Lord Of The Rings films ever were. Hopefully the filmmakers will feel sufficiently humbled not to decide to give this one 15 endings in a row like they did with Return Of The King. It's still possible that this could be an excellent third part and the last two films have at least made that seem possible. Certainly the Hobbit films have as yet to be boring...
(video link)
