Here’s hoping this column proves as fruitful and movie-dense as last year’s. I figure you’ll get enough coverage of Star Wars, Jurassic World, The Avengers 2, Terminator 17 and the like from every other corner of the movie-covering internet, so while I’m looking forward to what looks like a year for popcorn cinema, we’ll stray toward the less publicized here.
The Duke of Burgundy (Opens in New York Jan. 23)
Dir. Peter Strickland
I was a big fan of Peter Strickland’s 2013 offering, Berberian Sound Studio, and his follow-up film has received ecstatic notices during its 2014 festival run. A story of the power dynamics in a relationship between a lesbian couple that practice S&M, it looks like a more authentic portrayal of that lifestyle than you’ll ever get from the soft-pedaled thrills of a 50 Shades film. If it melds the audio and visual elements together as adroitly as was done in Berberian, which by all indications it does and then some, this is a safe bet to be talked about again toward the end of this year when we discuss the very best.
It Follows (Releases March 27)
Dir. David Robert Mitchell
Perhaps 2015’s answer to The Babadook in terms of expertly combining a horror premise with meaningful subtext, It Follows (whose story, to capsulize, is about a sexually-transmitted curse) has been on my radar ever since director David Robert Mitchell began working on it. His first film, The Myth of the American Sleepover, is a slice of underseen perfection and though this is a complete 180 from that film, it appears to be of a piece with that film in terms of visual sensibilities. Plus lead actress Maika Monroe appears to be in the business of making perfect throwback cinema, with both the 2014 gem The Guest, and this one, which is looking to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
Mad Max: Fury Road (Releases May 15)
Dir. George Miller
Do I really need to say anything here? Just look at that trailer. It’s been a good long time since George Miller let loose in this cinematic universe (Thunderdome doesn’t count, sorry), and this looks like a visual and kinetic marvel. May can’t come soon enough.
Trainwreck (Releases July 17)
Dir. Judd Apatow
As much as I like Judd Apatow, I’m more excited for this based on its screenwriter and star than his involvement. Amy Schumer has proven herself a breath of fresh air in the comedy world, and her screenplay (based on her own experiences) has received a fair amount of praise. This movie’s cast is bonkers (Brie Larson, Daniel Radcliffe, Tilda Swinton, John Cena, Marisa Tomei, Bill Hader), and if the movie is even a modicum as hilariously candid as both Schumer and her screenplay are, this is going to be one of the safest comedy bets of the year.
The Look of Silence (Releases July 2015)
Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer burst onto the documentary scene with his audacious feature debut, The Act of Killing, as monumental an examination of evil and how victors write their own histories as there may ever be. The Look of Silence is a companion piece to that film, shifting perspective from those who perpetrated the communist purge in Indonesia to those who were victimized by it, following the son of a family whose brother was lost to Death Squads before he was born and who seeks the truth despite a country and government who would prefer to continue sweeping this genocide under the rug. Early word says this is every bit the equal to his previous picture, and as such should be gut-wrenching.
Crimson Peak (Releases Oct. 16)
Dir. Guillermo Del Toro
We lost Guillermo Del Toro for far too long as he was lost in the wilderness waiting for legal entanglements surrounding The Hobbit series of films to clear themselves up, and while I will go to bat for Pacific Rim any day of the week, Crimson Peak appears to be the return to form many of us have been diligently waiting for. A studio-backed haunted house picture with a sizable budget and impressive cast (Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska), it will hopefully live up to the gothic reputation he’s so richly earned with films like The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth.
The Hateful Eight (Releases Nov. 13)
Dir. Quentin Tarantino
Again, I don’t think I need to do much in the way of building this one up for you. Tarantino is making a new film, it’s a western, and it has Kurt Russell. Put it in front of my face already. He did a live reading of an early draft of the script last year that went over like gangbusters, so with a bit of time to retool and a single location setting that suggests the exquisite tension he has mined so artfully for short stretches of his last two films stretched out for an entire feature. Did I mention Kurt Russell?
Midnight Special (Releases Nov. 25)
Dir. Jeff Nichols
Jeff Nicholas has made a name for himself in the indie drama world with Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter and Mud, but he’s shifting into big-budget Hollywood productions here, with a sci-fi chase story as a father and his son must evade authorities after discovering the boy has hidden powers. I have no idea what a big-budget Jeff Nicholas sci-fi action picture will look like, but with him porting over his partner-in-crime Michael Shannon (along with newcomers Kirsten Dunst and Adam Driver, who I think it’s safe to assume will have a big year), I cannot wait to see what he has cooked up.
