Galaxies & leather
Star Wars, Jurassic World, and Terminator Genisys take us on a journey to the future but also the past with hits of the '70s, '80s and '90s
Hollywood's most highly-anticipated films for 2015 deal with the future. However, they also take us on a journey two or three decades into the past, bringing back memories of the great cinema experiences of the '70s and '80s and the first multiplexes of the '90s, with a return of favourite soundtracks. Star Wars VII, Jurassic World and Terminator Genisys revisit three of the most popular cinema sagas of the past 40 years. The films also confirm the current belief in Hollywood that if you have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a single super-production, it is better to repeat the formula rather than take the risk of innovating.
However, it is not all about sequels and remakes. One of the releases of the year is the cinematic version of the bestseller phenomenon, 50 Shades of Grey, the erotic novel (with leather and low intensity sado-masochism), which was such a hit with the female public. Two little-known actors, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, play the main parts of Christan Grey and Anastasia Steele, in a film due for release on February 13.
Another notable exception to the trend is Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), which is in a good position to become the Oscar-winning movie of the year. The film is a portrait of an actor who has fallen into decadence and is struggling to relaunch his career on Broadway. The film plays with the image of veteran actor Michael Keaton, famous for portraying an iconic superhero, but who in the film is emotionally stripped as a reflection on creation, authenticity in the theatre and cinema and the falseness in the lives of Hollywood film directors and actors. The film has also been nominated for six Golden Globe awards.
Galaxies far and near
However, the event of the year will be on December 18, the release date for Star Wars. Episode VII: The awakening of the force. There have been few public announcements about this sequel to the galactic saga. George Lucas sold the franchise to Disney in 2012, and J. J. Abrahams left Star Trek to take charge of the eagerly-awaited multi-million dollar project. According to the producer, Kathleen Kennedy, the seventh episode will have fewer special effects, more story and will return to the essence of the original saga: “We aim to again find the feeling of the old movies”, she said. The film sees a return for some of the original actors in the saga, such as Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, who are joined by the rest of the cast: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson and the veteran Max von Sydow.
The fifth instalment of the Terminator series when Terminator Genisys opens on July 10. This film also sees the return of its main actor, Arnold Schwartznenegger, who was absent for the fourth part.
New faces & dinosaurs
Meanwhile, Jurassic World, which will come to cinema screens on July 12, has a completely new cast. Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) is now the hero who confronts a genetically modified dinosaur in a theme park full of thousands of tourists.
Meanwhile, the Marvel superhero team, The Avengers, which hold the record as the second-biggest grossing film in history after Harry Potter and Star Wars, return on April 30 in Avengers. Age of Ultron.
Other highlights this year include the new James Bond movie, Spectre, Into the Woods, the adaptation of the musical with Meryl Streep, Inside out, Pixar's new animated film, and Cinderella, an adaptation of the classic tale, directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Cate Blanchet.