My Ten Most Anticipated Movies For the Rest of 2015

As of July 1st, we've passed 2015's halfway point, and so far, it's been a decent year for movies. We've seen bears eating marmalade, ghosts invade Skype, dinosaurs eating dinosaurs eating people, and lots of robots (the good, the bad, and the Spader). Now that we've reached the year's hump, what awaits us downhill? What movies are shaping up to send 2015 off on a (hopefully) high note? I'm gonna act as lookout, and give you all a list of my ten most anticipated movies for the rest of the year.

(A few rules: I've decided not to include movies whose limited releases start at the year's end, and go wide in 2016, as most people won't get a chance to see these films until January. Also, I've decided to forgo taking July films into consideration because it's currently the 13th, and you all can afford to wait a few weeks.)
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10) Turbo Kid. Turbo Kid is Mad Max meets Scott Pilgrim, a melting pot of 80's sci-fi, western, comic book flicks, and horror. The film takes place in 1997, in a post-apocalyptic badlands town, riddled with bandits and violence. A teen known simply as The Kid (Munro Chambers), lives in his imagination, acting out scenes from a superhero comic called Turbo Rider (think the red Power Ranger mixed with Megaman). The Kid meets a bubbly, wide-eyed, pink-haired girl called Apple (Laurence Leboeuf), and they quickly form a friendship. However, when Zeus (Michael Ironside), the leader of the bandits threatens to destroy all they hold dear, the Kid has to muster up the courage and spirit of Turbo Rider, and along with Apple and a mysterious, husky-voiced cowboy (Aaron Jeffery), take Zeus down.

From Apple's Jem-inspired makeup to the Kid's Viewfinder and his weapon of choice, the Turbo Glove, which resembles Nintendo's Power Glove, this film is a loving 80's throwback, with the heart of the era's family films, the quirkiness of its sci-fi, and the blood-splattered effects of its horror. The art direction is intoxicating: blending neon outfits and lasers with Borderlands-style grit.

The feature film debut of Montreal-based director collective RKSS Films (Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell), Turbo Kid has garnered attention from local and international film festivals, most notably a world premiere at Sundance, and an Audience Award win at SXSW. It's a synth-blasting, action-pumping, candy-coated shot of retro that my inner geek is more than ready for. The movie comes out August 28th.

9) The Green Inferno. Eli Roth is polarizing, known either as the Tarantino of horror or a very lucky torture porn junkie. While I don't assign Tarantino's accolades to Roth's work, I find they approach film the same way: taking genres we know and turning their conventions on their head, creating unique visions of stories we've seen before. Cabin Fever was Roth's look at body horror, Hostel 1 and 2 an amalgamation of stalker, splatter, and thriller films. Now, The Green Inferno is Roth's crack at cannibals.

The movie centers on a group of student activists who travel to the Amazon to "save the rain forest." When their plane crash-lands, they're kidnapped by a native tribe of cannibals, who think the students are invaders, and they have to not only escape from the tribe, but from the labyrinth that is the forest. Roth, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, called the film a comment on "modern activism", referring specifically to the naivete of people who "get involved in a cause that they don't really know a lot about and they go crazy about it."

The Green Inferno looks to be Roth's most ambitious work. Filmed in Chile, the setting is awesome, both in beauty and size. When we see a wide shot of a woman being dragged down river rapids, the feeling of powerlessness and isolation leaps off the screen. The tribesmen are covered in nightmarish makeups, yellows and reds that glue one's eyes to the screen despite the horror that's awaiting them.
The trailer doesn't show much, but given Roth's oeuvre, the gore is just around the bend, and on the floor...and probably in your hair.

Cannibal films are rare in the States. Most, like Cannibal Holocaust, Deep River Savages, and The Mountain of the Cannibal God are Italian, known for their over-the-top gore, violence, and ghastly practical effects. It'll be intriguing to see how Roth presents the material to a Western audience; we'll have to see on September 25th.

8) Cop Car. Marvel Studios is Hollywood's most buzzed-about production company. Every choice they make, whether it be about a director, a star, an after-credits scene, is analyzed by forums, journalists, and YouTube commenters with the level of scrutiny that accompanies doctoral theses. So naturally, when news breaks that relative newcomer Jon Watts is hired to direct the new Spider-Man reboot, the Internet disperses like rats to find out everything and anything about his achievements and directing style.

Being a rat, I found Cop Car, a thriller about two kids who find a police car abandoned in a forest and decide to take it for a joyride (because if you were ten years old...come on, wouldn't you?). Little do the kids know that the sheriff (Kevin Bacon) hid that car, and the reason why may be laying in the trunk. The film turns into a hunt as the kids flee the sheriff's rampage.

Kevin Bacon is mustachioed, husky-voiced, and absolutely terrifying. He moves with purpose, rarely blinks, and when he hisses through the police radio, it's spine-tingling. Juxtapose this with the image of a boy wrapping the other up with police tape like a mummy, and there's something darkly amusing about it all.

Cop Car looks to be a blend of Mud and Fargo and judging by how Watts balances innocence with violence, the childlike with the adult, we can get a taste as to how he'll handle Spider-Man's duality of high-schooler and crimefighter. We'll have to wait and see on August 7th.

7) The Hard Candy Kid. The first image I saw was of a grown man carrying around an industrial-size pack of Rice Krispie treats. Naturally, I clicked on the link. The Hard Candy Kid stars Jeremy Rishe as a depressed cameraman filming infomercials. When the owners of Mallowland (think the Hershey chocolate theme park, but with marshmallows) contract the cameraman to shoot their visitor center's video, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey to explore America's iconic sweet spots, the likes of the Twizzlers and Smarties factories, and Indiana's marshmallow festival, finding not only inspiration for his project, but also his lost childhood.

I'm drawn by the combination of narrative and documentary; directors Matthew and Jeffrey Beals are interjecting the cameraman into archive footage from candy's history, weaving between truth and fiction in a way I haven't seen since Forrest Gump.

The production has a low-budget charm; the sneak peek shows a bit of the camera wizardry, and the sets are hand-crafted with lots of love. The Hard Candy Kid looks like a passion project, and that kind of joy comes across in the earnest, silly, and inventive clips I've seen. IMDB lists the film's release as September 1st, but the film's Facebook page has them still filming as of June 29th. Hopefully, the film comes out as scheduled; when I discover more information, I'll be sure to add an update. The Hard Candy Kid hopes to be the "great American candy movie". Judging by what I'm seeing, I think they're on the right path. Check out more info here: http://www.thehardcandykid.com/

Update - 8/16/15: I received an email from director Jeffrey Beals stating the film's currently in post-production. While they haven't decided what festival to premiere the film in, he wrote they hope to have it out by January. So hopefully, either at the end of this year or the beginning of next, we'll be able to catch it in theaters.

6) The Peanuts Movie. Here's the thing: when your trailer starts out with "From the creators of the Ice Age series...", I'm done. Blue Sky, in the ladder of animation studios, is the last rung you reach before hitting "straight-to-DVD", with films like the aforementioned Ice Age franchise, Epic, and Horton Hears A Who. So when I heard that they would helm the first theatrical Peanuts release, I groaned. But then the trailer dropped, and I was happily, happily proven wrong.


The Peanuts Movie reminds me of everything I love about the comic. Charlie Brown is one of the first (and best) lovable losers I encountered: sometimes hopeful, sometimes defeated, but always earnest. When he tries to introduce himself to the new red-haired girl (who is rarely ever fully seen, a nice carry-over from the comic), flowers in hand, about to ring her doorbell, we want him to succeed, but when he chickens out, we completely understand, his fear and nervousness a part of all of us. In this manner, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang are honest, expressing childhood in its most wishful, weird, and witty.

Throw in a dose of surreality, showing Snoopy's doghouse battles with the Red Baron, and Charlie Brown's baseball practice with snowmen; throw in the full cast, including Lucy, Schroeder, Peppermint Patty, Pigpen, and even Freida (with naturally curly hair in tow); throw in a drawing style that marries hand-drawn animation with CGI: the result looks to be a faithful modern adaptation of Charles Schulz's seminal strip. The Peanuts Movie debuts November 6th.

5) The Walk. "This is a true story," says the trailer for The Walk, and for so many films that are only based on true stories, I find a small comfort in being able to come into a movie, and completely buy it. The movie tells the story of tightrope walker Philippe Petit, who on August 7th, 1974, stretched a rope across the Twin Towers and walked across it, 1,300 feet above the ground. His story was previously filmed in the Oscar-winning 2008 documentary, Man on Fire where Petit reveals his methods of preparation, his emotions during the stunt, and his subsequent arrest.

So what does The Walk do differently? One word: 3D. Gravity created depth, drawing us into the screen and immersing us in space, giving us an experience most won't ever have. The Walk takes depth and moves it down, recreating the scope and grandeur of the feat, in a way that not only feels believable, but even with a trailer, fully sucks me into the experience of existing thousands of feet above the world, its isolation and beauty.

But The Walk isn't all spectacle; for all intents and purposes, this is a heist film. Petit, played here by Joseph Gordon Levitt, commissions a small crew to sneak onto the World Trade Center sites, in multiple disguises and alibis, for research, analyzing how long the rope needs to be, how he'll stretch it across and keep it steady. In a 2014 interview with Fast Company, the real-life Petit considered creativity and crime to go hand in hand, "the rebellious nature of the mind" being "essential" to any artistic endeavor.

With director Robert Zemeckis' experimentation with the camera and with 3D projection, The Walk looks to expand upon the documentary and explore the creative potential with this narrative. For a 3D experience that aspires to stand on the shoulders of giants like Gravity, Avatar, and How to Train Your Dragon, check out The Walk on October 9th.

4) Grandma. Grandma stars Lily Tomlin (The West Wing, I Heart Huckabees) as a surly smart-ass of a woman whose passive granddaughter (Jamie Garner) comes to her with a few revelations: she's pregnant, and needs $630. The rest of the movie sees the two go on an odyssey to scrounge up the money, all while the granddaughter learns how to assert herself and the grandmother learns to involve herself more in her family's life.

Tomlin is on fire here, in a role that takes full advantage of her dry, sarcastic wit. Anyone that gets in her way gets knocked on their ass, whether with an icy insult or a hockey stick to the groin. Her and Garner play well off of each other, as Garner reacts to her grandmother's gumption with both embarrassment and admiration.

The supporting cast is highly promising, with veterans like Sam Elliott and Marcia Gay Harden, and newer names like Laverne Cox and Nat Wolff. Each one gets a good laugh in the trailer (especially Harden as the granddaughter's anal, highbrow mother); I'm excited to see how they're utilized in the final product.

Grandma closed out this year's Sundance festival, earning rave reviews from industry writers and fans alike. Both acerbic and heart-warming, Grandma looks to be another strong indie comedy for the summer, alongside Trainwreck. We'll have to see on August 21st.

3) Creed. I think I'm part of a minority here: I was excited for Creed from the moment I first heard of its development. I'm a massive fan of the Rocky series, and the prospect alone of seeing a spin-off based on Rocky training Apollo's son got me hyped. Then, I heard Michael B. Jordan would be in the main role, teaming back up with Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler, and my heart skipped three beats, as this is a dream team matchup. Now, we have a trailer, and from the moment I saw this, it was destined a spot on this list.

Creed is a movie that keeps the underdog spirit of Rocky, but changes the circumstances. Apollo's son, Adonis, is a young man working to become a respected contender. However, he doesn't wish to follow in his father's footsteps, to be stuck in his father's shadow; instead, he strives to carve his own path and achieve greatness based on his merits alone. "Every punch I've ever thrown has been on my own," he says, and one can hear the mix of pride, indignance, and anger as he continues, "nobody showed me how to do this." Jordan gives Adonis focus and intensity, but can quickly and subtly run a gamut of emotions; the script seems tailor-made to be carried on Jordan's shoulders. Given his previous merits, I'm more than confident of his abilities.

At this point, Rocky Balboa's return is icing on the cake; we see him meet Adonis at Adrian's Diner, where Adonis brings up knowledge of Apollo and Rocky's secret fight from the end of Rocky III. From what the trailer shows us, Rocky is teaching Adonis how to better his self-perception and exceed his own limits (Adonis even quotes Rocky's line from Rocky Balboa: "it's not about how hard you can head, but how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward".)

Creed has enough callbacks to the rest of the franchise (including a running scene through Philadelphia and Apollo's old America shorts) to satisfy fans, but this is a story all its own, one that promises to be a mainstream breakout role for Jordan. My excitement is at a fever pitch; we need only wait until November 25th.

2) Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens. What self-respecting "Most Anticipated of 2015" list doesn't have this on there? This entry could just list off moments from the trailer, Han's "Chewie, we're home," the Star Destroyer sunk in the desert, new villain Kylo Ren's crossguard lightsaber, even the TITLE SCREEN. However, what excites me for The Force Awakens more than anything is something more abstract: the prospect of possibility.

This is the first time since the original trilogy that the Star Wars universe feels like an open sandbox. The prequels had their fair share of invention (more bad than good), but I always knew, wherever the movies went, they'd center on Anakin growing up into Darth Vader. This time around, it feels like the universe is wide open, for exploration, new kinds of characters, space battles, and mythologies.

Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron

The Force Awakens boasts one of, if not, the year's best cast. Fan favorites Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher reprise their roles as Luke, Han, and Leia, but we also get a heap of Hollywood's most promising new talent: Ex-Machina co-stars Oscar Isaac and Domnhall Gleeson, Gwendolyn Christie (Game of Thrones), Adam Driver (Inside Llewyn Davis, This Is Where I Leave You), and Lupita N'yongo (12 Years A Slave).

All of this is helmed by director J.J. Abrams, and with his sci-fi background and success with the Star Trek reboots, I have complete faith and hope this film will spark the same operatic adventurous glee I fell in love with as a child. Disney is taking full advantage of this property, and like with their acquisition of Marvel Studios, are expanding the Star Wars universe with sequels, spin-off and solo character films. On December 18th, we're going to get our first taste of what's in store and from what I can see, we're gonna be in great hands.

1) The Man From U.N.C.L.E. What self-respecting "Most Anticipated of 2015" list DOESN'T have The Force Awakens as their number-one pick? How can I choose a Guy Ritchie spy film over one of the most hyped films of not only 2015, but the decade? It's simple, really. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. just looks that good.

Based on the 1960's TV show, the movie (set in the 60's, who could've guessed?) follows enemies CIA Agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) as they're teamed up to stop a criminal organization led by Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki), who's gotten hold of nuclear weapons.

Solo is the levelheaded charmer, Kuryakin the tempermental fighter; both are played up to a tee by Cavill and Hammer, their chemistry combative and complimentary. For those disappointed by their previous forays in Man of Steel and The Lone Ranger, respectively, this film looks to be a better test of their mettle so they can show off the best of their acting chops.

Alicia Vikander, who I loved in Ex-Machina, is Solo's original partner; she and Cavill quip back and forth in a hilarious car chase. However, her best interactions are with Kuryakin, with whom she has a playful, feisty romance. She's playing more of a comedic role here and I'm sold.

I'm actually sold on a lot here. Ritchie gives us an epic of a spy film, with bombastic action, lavishly designed, period-accurate sets, and every kind of vehicle chase (including speedboats, sports cars, and snowmobiles). The camera moves quickly and purposefully; the whole affair feels like a deck of cards careening towards a hell of a tumble.

This is what I wanted Kingsmen: The Secret Service to be: ambitious, explosive, and roguishly charming, balancing it all without going too wacky. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is one of 2015's many spy flicks, but from what I can see, it's THE spy film of the year. The film releases on August 14th; James Bond, eat your heart out.