Gangster Squad DATE January 11 DIRECTOR Ruben Fleischer CAST Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone, Michael Pena, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick FILM FACT The film was delayed from its planned release date in September to allow reshoots of a cinema shootout following the Colorado shooting tragedy. SYNOPSIS In the 1940s and 1950s, East Coast gangsters turned their attention to the fast-growing Los Angeles, led by Mickey Cohen (Penn). The LAPD puts together a cop team to stand against him, unencumbered by the usual rules about considerate treatment of suspects and not shooting first. Throw in a winsome gangster's moll in the shape of Emma Stone and, well, it's ON. WHAT TO EXPECT A reunion of Gosling and Stone, whose chemistry sizzled up Crazy Stupid Love, should ensure a fair amount of interest immediately, and the prospect of Sean Penn doing a De Niro and going all gangster as Cohen is also a tasty one. Can this live up to the standards of its obvious comparison, The Untouchables? Frankly we doubt it, but we do expect quite a bit of entertainment anyway. • Watch the trailer below
What Richard Did DATE January 11 DIRECTOR Lenny Abrahamson CAST Jack Reynor, Roisin Murphy, Lars Mikkelsen BASED ON This is a very loose adaptation of Bad Day At Blackrock, the bestselling novel by Kevin Power. SYNOPSIS Richard (Reynor) is leaving school with every prospect of a good life ahead; university and a potential career in rugby beckon. But one drunken night out with the lads changes all that, and he's left to confront the aftermath of a violent attack and decide what sort of person he really is. WHAT TO EXPECT Great performances from the largely untried cast, particularly Reynor (who's been cast in The Delivery Man with Vince Vaughn on the strength of this, and who's also shortlisted for the male lead in the film adaptation of Divergent at the time of writing), and a quietly gripping story of shattered lives. • Watch the trailer on YouTube
Flight DATE February 1 DIRECTOR Robert Zemeckis CAST Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo BASED ON This story resembles that of jumbo jet Captain Robert Piche, who in 2001 made a fuel-less landing and became a hero, only to see journalists reveal past misdemeanours in public. SYNOPSIS Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) becomes an overnight sensation when he successfully lands a failing plane against all the odds. However, when a blood test taken that night reveals that he had alcohol in his system, he faces life imprisonment as he struggles with his sudden notoriety. WHAT TO EXPECT Denzel's never less than decent and usually quite a bit more, and the early word suggests that Robert Zemeckis' return to live action after 13 years is a successful one. • Watch the trailer below
Hyde Park On Hudson DATE February 1 DIRECTOR Roger Michell CAST Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Olivia Colman, Samuel West, Elizabeth Wilson SEE ALSO The King's Speech, where Colin Firth of course also plays George VI. And to see Jake Busey play FDR, click this way. SYNOPSIS On the eve of World War II, George VI (West) and Queen Elizabeth (Colman) visited the US on the invitation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Murray), spending a weekend at his country estate of Hyde Park, New York. Both hoped to bring their countries closer together for the War that would soon break out, but some cultural barriers had to be overcome first. WHAT TO EXPECT This is a more comic approach to that period of history than we're perhaps used to seeing, but if it can establish a sure tone then the endless appeal of Bill Murray should carry it the rest of the way. While early reviews have been mixed, we're still counting on him. • Watch the trailer on YouTube
To The Wonder DATE February 22 DIRECTOR Terrence Malick CAST Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem FUN FACT Jessica Chastain, Rachel Weisz, Amanda Peet, Barry Pepper and Michael Sheen were all dropped from the final cut. Even the cast list above must be considered a tiny bit uncertain until the film actually hits cinemas. SYNOPSIS The story of a married couple, Neil (Affleck) and Marina (Kurylenko). After visiting Mont Saint Michel, they return to Oklahoma where Neil reconnects - nudge, nudge, wink, wink (or probably not, given the filmmaker) - with a childhood friend, Jane (McAdams), and Marina meets a Spanish priest who's struggling with his vocation (Bardem). WHAT TO EXPECT It's a Terrence Malick film, so there's a 100% certainty that it will look gorgeous and a 90% chance there will be long, lingering shots of long grass rippling in the wind. It will also say something profound about the human condition, but possibly in such a slow, quiet way that half the audience misses it. • Watch the trailer below
The Paperboy DATE March 15 DIRECTOR Lee Daniels CAST Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, David Oyelowo, Scott Glenn FUN FACT The original choice of director for this was reportedly Pedro Almodóvar, who considered making it his English language debut. SYNOPSIS A reporter (McConaughey) and his younger brother (Efron) investigate the circumstances around the conviction of a death row inmate (Cusack) at the behest of his penpal / girlfriend (Kidman). And yes, as you've heard if you've heard anything about this film, Nicole Kidman pees on Efron when he gets stung by a jellyfish. WHAT TO EXPECT Kidman is on To Die For form as a Southern flirt, and Efron's not bad, but Rolling Stone's description of the whole thing as a "hot mess" is probably fair. • Watch the trailer on YouTube
Rush DATE September 13 DIRECTOR Ron Howard CAST Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde, Natalie Dormer, Alexandra Maria Lara, Pierfrancesco Favino, Christian McKay SEE ALSO If you haven't already, make sure to see Senna. It may reflect another generation of race driving, but it's an astonishingly good documentary. SYNOPSIS James Hunt (Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Bruhl) are in competition for the 1976 Formula 1 World Championship. Lauda, the more technical and careful of the two, suffers a near-death crash at the German Grand Prix but returns for the Japanese Grand Prix to challenge Hunt for the title. It's a walk-off showdown for the ages. WHAT TO EXPECT The focus seems very much on character drama rather than sports movie clichés here, so we're expecting a period piece that focuses on two very different men battling it out for supremacy - never a bad premise. If the film can capture their rivalry well, and make each sympathetic in his own way, it should be a tense and fascinating watch.
Side Effects DATE March 15 DIRECTOR Steven Soderbergh CAST Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mamie Gummer FUN FACT Steven Soderbergh has a very different vision of retirement to the rest of us. SYNOPSIS With her husband (Tatum) just coming out of prison, Emily (Mara) is suffering from anxiety and is prescribed something to take for it. Problem is there are side effects, leading to violence, shouting and sinister goings on. WHAT TO EXPECT We've watched the trailer and are no wiser on who to root for and why, but a Soderbergh film is always something to welcome. It does look like Soderbergh's given Law a more likeable character than he did in Contagion, but that's not saying much. • Watch the trailer on YouTube
A Late Quartet DATE April 5 DIRECTOR Yaron Zilberman CAST Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Christopher Walken, Mark Ivanir, Wallace Shawn, Imogen Poots BASED ON The film's music is supplied by the Brentano String Quartet, Princeton University's quartet-in-residence. We all have a quartet-in-residence, right? SYNOPSIS As the leader of a quartet (Walken) faces retirement, the remaining members adjust to his departure, with competing egos threatening the marriage of two (Hoffman, Keener), while they play Beethoven's lengthy Op.131. WHAT TO EXPECT Great performances, great music and a slow bubble of minutely examined group tensions, along with lots of snowy New York scenes that make it look like one of Woody Allen's more serious efforts. • Watch the trailer on YouTube
Trance DATE March 27 DIRECTOR Danny Boyle CAST James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Rosario Dawson FUN FACT Did you know that Danny Boyle directed the Olympic Opening Ceremony? We just thought we'd remind you of that. SYNOPSIS All we know is the brief synopsis, which says that, "A fine art auctioneer mixed up with a criminal gang joins forces with a hypnotherapist to recover a lost painting" and that the lines between reality, post-hypnotic suggestion and desire blur. So that's not terribly helpful. WHAT TO EXPECT Lord Sir Danny Of Boyle can do no wrong as far as this nation is concerned. We expect perfection, whatever this film turns out to be.
Promised Land DATE April 19 DIRECTOR Gus Van Sant CAST Matt Damon, John Krasinski, Frances McDormand, Hal Holbrook, Rosemarie DeWitt BASED ON Krasinski and Damon wrote the screenplay together, based on a Dave Eggers short story which was itself based on Krasinski's premise. SYNOPSIS Steve (Damon) and Sue (McDormand) are corporate salespeople sent in to get drilling rights for the small town of McKinley. All's going well until they meet resistance from a schoolteacher (DeWitt) who Steve fancies, and an environmentalist (Krasinski) she's working with. WHAT TO EXPECT There's been an outcry from the fracking industry about the film before they've even seen it, so it seems to have touched a nerve somewhere. Damon and Van Sant generally tend to put drama over political hectoring, however, so don't expect another Gasland. • Watch the trailer below
Runner Runner DATE September 27 DIRECTOR Brad Furman CAST Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie, Sam Palladio FUN FACT Leonardo DiCaprio is among the producers of this film, through his Appian Way production company. SYNOPSIS A businessman (Affleck) running an (illegal, according to some reports) offshore gambling operation finds his relationship with his protégé (Timberlake) becoming stretched. WHAT TO EXPECT Furman previously directed sleeper hit The Lincoln Lawyer, and Affleck and Timberlake tend to be better leading men than they're sometimes given credit for.
Quick Poll Which of these films are you looking forward to most?
