Top 25 Films to see in 2014

2015 might be the year of the really big mega-franchises but that means 2014 is packed with plenty more originals before we get stuck in to the Star Wars, Avengers, Jurassic World and Terminators of 2015. There's also the usual bunch of sequels, reboots and even a sequel to a prequel to a film that already had 4 sequels (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).

2014 will no doubt be filled with surprises but at this early stage, these are the films that I've heard of and am most looking forward to. Begin the countdown:

25. Noah

Biggest draw for me is Darren Aronofsky but to be honest, this looks a million miles away from Requiem for a Dream and probably a million miles away from the bible story it is based on. Should be big though.

24. Need for Speed


Reason to see is quite simply post-Breaking Bad Aaron Paul. Also the car action looks like it might be more fast and furious than a certain other franchise.

23. Human Centipede 3


I could give you a hundred reasons not to see this and I'm personally not looking forward to the experience but I bet this one gets people talking when it arrives with its 500 person centipede.

22. Her

Joaquin Phoenix and Spike Jonze together at last?

21. Maggie

  
Arnie is a father who must over see his daughter's slow transformation into a zombie along with his wife Joely Richardson.

20. The Hobbit: There and Back Again

Excited for it all to finally come to end to be honest. It's been a long and drawn out wait.

19. RoboCop


Early trailers have received mixed opinions but the politics of this prescient remake might just pull it through.

18. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I grew up on these guys. I can't help but get excited for their return.

17. Transcendence

Cinematographer Wally Pfister finally has a go at directing. Johnny Depp takes over the world!

16. 22 Jump Street

The first one was unexpectedly hilarious. Hope this one can pull it off again.

15. The Green Inferno

Not a massive fan of Eli Roth but hoping this one is as extreme as Cannibal Holocaust without any of the actual animal cruelty that went into that abomination!

14. Birdman

Alejandro González Iñárritu finally cheers up a bit. Great cast and premise too.

13. Jupiter Ascending

The Wachowski siblings return after Cloud Atlas with another sci-fi epic. Not sure about Channing Tatum's make up though.

12. Dallas Buyers Club

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto may just give the performance of their careers in this true life story of coping with AIDS.

11. REC 4: Apocalypse


Jaume Balagueró returns to the franchise, continuing the story of the first two films and confining the zombie infested action to an off shore oil tanker.

10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Andy Serkis returns as Caesar, lord of the apes and exterminator of the human race!

9. The Maze Runner

Will Poulter stars in this YA adaptation that sounds to me a hell of a lot more promising than Divergent.

8. Fury

A great little cast stuck in a WW2 tank and directed by the guy who gave us End of Watch.

7. Wolf Creek 2

Mick Taylor returns to the outback for more fun and games.

6. Godzilla

Big! And Bryan Cranston.

5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

After Catching Fire, this looks very promising indeed.

4. 12 Years A Slave

Receiving standing ovations and great odds at the Oscars already, this true story should be unforgettable

3. The Wolf of Wall Street 

Scorsese directs another sleazy true story with DiCaprio getting let right off the chain.

2. Gone Girl

Two words: David Fincher.

1. Interstellar

Two words: Christopher Nolan.



What are you most looking forward to seeing in 2014?

Why don't you stay awhile? More 2013 lists from I Love That Film:

TV in 2013: Breaking Bad, Dexter, The Walking Dead, Homeland and more

World Cinema in 2013

Best books I read in 2013

Top Documentaries of 2013

2013 List of Shame or 25 films I should have seen this year

2013 Top 10 Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction

2013 Top 10 So Far (written in July)

Best British Films of 2013

 

The Return of Ron Burgundy and Mick Taylor

Two outdated alpha males are making their way back to the big screen in exciting sequels. One is Ron Burgundy in Anchorman 2 and the other is the dreaded Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek 2. Ron Burgundy may be there to tickle your funny bone but he's as backward as Mick Taylor in his sexist, racist ways, if not quite as frightening. The new trailers for these two films show off the repetition that keeps us comfortable coming back for more from unnecessary but oh so tempting sequels.

Anchorman 2 sees the news team re-assemble in the 80s and completely unable to face the same old problems. Women and ethnic minorities threaten their bone headed supremacy and the team seem to have learned little from their time taking on Christina Applegate's female anchor in the previous film. Brick is still as lovably dumb as ever, Ron as arrogant, Champ probably as closeted and Brian still has plenty of clunky ways to impress the ladies. Let's hope all the jokes don't repeat themselves and that the improvisation has again captured quotable lightning in bottle.

At the other end of the laughs scale is Wolf Creek 2 which promises a bit more spectacle in terms of stunts but almost certainly a distinct lack of laughs. While Mick Taylor can come across as a bit of loveable Aussie rogue, he is anything but. He may be as true blue and fair dinkum as Crocodile Dundee but he's also, as anyone who has seen Wolf Creek will tell you, a sadistic lunatic. The first film was terrifyingly realistic and while the sequel may have lost a bit of the believability, it still looks like it will be a gripping Aussie shocker. Buckle up for the trailer below:

Wolf Creek 2 Trailer



Anchorman 2 International Trailer



Anchorman 2 New Trailer



More trailers from I Love That Film:

Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Need for Speed

The LEGO Movie

The Wolf of Wall Street

Man of Steel and The Desolation of Smaug