Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Unless you've been living under a rock on Tatooine then you'll likely know that December 18th 2015 is the day Star Wars: The Force Awakens (aka Star Wars Episode VII) finally arrives in cinemas worldwide.
It feels like 10 years since Disney purchased LucasFilm and announced a new series of Star Wars movies was on the way, but the recent release of the first trailer has helped to tide us over...
There was no sign of the confirmed returning characters, as in Luke, Han, Leia, 3PO, R2, Chewie and Jar Jar Binks (just messing with ya!), so we expect another trailer quite soon with a few more teases of the classic cast variety.
SPECTRE
Up until recently we were referring to this one as Bond 24, but thanks to a press conference last Thursday we now know James Bond will return in SPECTRE on November 6th 2015. Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007, Naomie Harris returns as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q, Rory Kinnear as Tanner, and Ralph Fiennes is settling into the job as M. Sam Mendes will also be returning to direct.
Christoph Waltz is playing the villain, Oberhauser, he'll be joined by Jesper Christensen reprising his role of Mr White from both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Andrew Scott is amongst the other stars, and you can find out more on the cast here.
Plot wise: A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
The YA series that it's OK to admit liking concludes on November 20th 2015. Quite honestly, if you've read the Suzanne Collins novels then you'll know what to expect....or do you? A recent announcement seems to suggest there may be more Hunger Games movies planned. It'll be interesting to see if the ending is adapted or not.
Victor Frankenstein
Since wrapping up the Harry Potter series, horror seems to be the genre of choice for Daniel Radcliffe, but with mixed results so far. The Woman In Black was a terrific return for Hammer and a great performance from Radcliffe, however Horns, which sounded like a great idea, was somewhat lacking in execution and Radcliffe's dialogue was quite hammy.
Next year though "the chosen one" will be playing Igor to James McAvoy's Victor Von Frankenstein. They are joined by a very impressive cast, including three from Sherlock - Andrew Scott, Mark Gatiss and Louise Brealey.
Expect a twist on the well known Frankenstein tale when Victor Frankenstein arrives in theaters on October 2nd.
Mission: Impossible 5
Tom Cruise may not be the box office draw he once was but he's delivered some excellent performances over the last few years. One recent film of his that pretty much bombed but is definitely worth viewing is Jack Reacher. Cruise is particularly good in it, it takes someone of his caliber to rise above the dreadful dialogue and deliver a convincing performance. So it's good to know he will reunite with his Jack Reachers director, Christopher McQuarrie, for Mission: Impossible 5.
It's a brave decision to open a week after Star Wars, but if anyone can pull it off then it might just be Cruise. He returns as Ethan Hunt, alongside Jeremy Renner as William Brandt, Simon Pegg and Benji Dunn and Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell. Little is known about the plot - more than likely there will be some jumping out of things at some point! All will be revealed on December 26th.
Also released in October / November / December 2015 and on our radar...
London Has Fallen (Oct 2nd)
The sequel to Olympus Has Fallen (which you more than likely gathered), and the action has transferred to British shores. It would be nice if for once a major Hollywood movie was set anywhere else in Britain that isn't London (wouldn't you watch Milton Keynes Has Fallen?), but then as far as Hollywood is concerned there is nowhere else in Britain that isn't London!
Anyhow, rant over. Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart return for a story that sees the British Prime Minister pass away under mysterious circumstances, which brings all the leaders of the Western world to his funeral. But what starts out as the most protected event on earth, turns into a deadly plot to kill the world's most powerful leaders and unleash a terrifying vision of the future. The President of the United States, his formidable secret service head and an English MI-6 agent who trusts no one are the only people that have any hope of stopping it.
B.O.O. Bureau of Otherworldly Operations (Oct 16th) - From Dreamworks animation comes B.O.O. (Bureau of Otherworldly Operations). It's the super classified agency you've never heard of and certainly never seen. Dedicated to protecting humans from evil hauntings, the agents of B.O.O. have a secret weapon: they are ghosts themselves! When newbie agents Jackson Moss (Seth Rogan) and his odd-ball partner Watts (Melissa McCarthy) uncover a plot to destroy B.O.O. by the agency's Most Wanted Haunter, they must use every trick in their arsenal to defeat his powerful ghost army and save Earth from a ghostly fate.
Vacation (Nov 13th)
It's the new take on the classic National Lampoon's Vacation, which is actually more of a belated sequel as Chevy Chase reprises his Clark Griswold role. His son Rusty is all grown up and now looks an awful lot like Ed Helms. It's now his turn to have the vacation from hell! With (hopefully) hilarious results.
The Good Dinosaur (Nov 27th)
The Good Dinosaur is Pixar's second film of 2015 (following Inside Out). Arlo, a 70-foot-tall teenage Apatosaurus, befriends a young human boy named Spot. Lucas Neff (from Raising Hope) voices Arlo, the cast also includes Neil Patrick Harris, Judy Greer and John Lithgow.
The Martian (Nov 27th)
In Ridley Scott's The Martian an astronaut, stranded on Mars, struggles to survive. Little more is known about the film at this time, but there's a great cast which includes Matt Damon, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean (he's gonna die!) and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Snoopy and Charlie Brown: A Peanuts Movie (Dec 21st)
Who doesn't love Peanuts? If this is done correctly, and by the look of the teasers so far it's going to be, then this could be a great. It's actually the first time ever that Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang we know and love from Charles Schulz's timeless Peanuts comic strip will be seen on the big screen.
Plot wise: Charlie Brown goes on a quest to get something he's sure he needs. Good grief!
So which of these movies are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments below, and come back tomorrow when we check out the new geek TV shows we're looking forward to in 2015.
