This past year was a great one for movies, with new films from the Coen Brothers (Inside Llewyn Davis), David O. Russell (American Hustle), Spike Jonze (Her), Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street), and more. So, what does 2014 have in store for us? The Daily Beast waded through the 600+ films scheduled to hit theaters next year to bring you the cream of the crop. From films by acclaimed auteurs Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson to blockbuster sequels, here are the most anticipated movies of 2014.
The latest movie featuring Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan character sees Star Trek’s Chris Pine step into the shoes once filled by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck, to play Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst who’s dispatched to Moscow to prevent an imminent terrorist attack. There, he uncovers a conspiracy involving a mysterious Russian businessman (Kenneth Branagh) who’s out to cripple the global economy. The film is directed by Branagh, who last helmed the first Thor film, and also stars Keira Knightley and Kevin Costner.
Anatoliy Vorobev/Paramount Pictures
Directed by Tom Gormican, this twenty-something sex comedy stars hot young actors Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station), and Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now), as a trio of friends who are all struggling to answer the same question when it comes to their romantic entanglements—where is the relationship going? The film also stars Imogen Poots and Jessica Lucas.
Nicole Rivelli/Focus Features
Directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) and adapted from a novel by Joyce Maynard, this domestic drama stars Kate Winslet as Adele, a severely depressed mother to 13-year-old Henry (newcomer Gattlin Griffith), who one day crosses paths with an escaped convict (Josh Brolin), who holds the family hostage. Soon, however, the two lost souls begin to fall for one another.
Dale Robinette/Paramount Pictures
Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the filmmaking team behind Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street, this film is based on the Lego line of construction toys. An ordinary Lego minifigure, Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) is mistaken for the last Lego master builder and, with the help of a mystic (voiced by Morgan Freeman), a kick-ass lady named Wyldstyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks), and Batman (voiced by Will Arnett), attempts to stop the evil Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell) from destroying Lego Land.
Warner Bros. Pictures
This film, written, directed by, and starring George Clooney, was supposed to come out in late 2013, but couldn't be finished in time for awards season. It’s based on the true story of an Allied platoon composed of seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, who embark on a perilous mission inside Germany during the end of World War II to rescue rare works of art that were captured by the Nazis, and return them to their owners before they’re destroyed. The film features an amazing cast, including Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, and John Goodman.
Claudette Barius/Columbia Pictures
Directed by Jose Padilha (Elite Squad), this $120 million blockbuster is a reboot of the RoboCop film series, and stars Joel Kinnaman (of AMC’s The Killing) as Alex Murphy, a cop who’s injured during an explosion and transformed into the cyborg policeman RoboCop by a multinational conglomerate called OmniCorp. The film also stars Gary Oldman as the scientist who creates RoboCop, Samuel L. Jackson as a shady businessman, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, and Michael K. Williams.
Kerry Hayes/MGM/Columbia Pictures
Directed by Mark Waters, who helmed the seminal teen comedy Mean Girls, and based on a famous series of YA novels, this film envisions itself as Twilight crossed with Harry Potter, and centers on a half-human/half-vampire hybrid (Zoey Deutch) who infiltrates the boarding school St. Vladimir’s Academy (for vampires, of course), and uncovers several dark secrets. The film also stars Lucy Fry, Olga Kurylenko, and Gabriel Byrne.
Marking the directorial debut of acclaimed screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), and based on Mark Helprin’s 1983 novel, the film is set in 1916 and present-day Manhattan and centers on Peter Lake (Colin Farrell), an Irish thief who falls in love with Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), a dying British woman. After he’s saved from an insane Irish gangster (Russell Crowe) by a mystical white horse, Lake emerges in present-day Manhattan with no memory of his past. The film also stars Jennifer Connelly, Will Smith, William Hurt, and Eva Marie Saint.
David C. Lee/Warner Bros. Pictures
It’s a movie featuring Liam Neeson as a federal air marshall who kicks all kinds of ass while aboard an international flight from New York to London, which is good enough for us. The film also stars Julianne Moore, Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery, and 12 Years A Slave’s breakout star Lupita Nyong’o.
Any film by quirky auteur Wes Anderson is cause for celebration, and this follow-up to his acclaimed 2012 movie Moonrise Kingdom looks like a doozy. Set at a hotel in the 1920s, it stars Ralph Fiennes as Gustave H., famed concierge of The Grand Budapest Hotel. After a one-night stand with Madame D. (Tilda Swinton), he’s bequeathed a valuable painting. When Madame D. turns up dead, her son, Dmitri (Adrien Brody) vows to frame Gustave for the murder. Meanwhile, Gustave’s bellhop, Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), is tasked with hiding the painting from Dmitri and the authorities. The kooky comedy features a fantastic supporting cast, including Anderson regulars Bill Murray as the manager of a rival hotel, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Edward Norton, as well as newcomers Harvey Keitel and Lea Seydoux.
Martin Scali/Fox Searchlight Pictures
The latest film from DreamWorks Animation, the studio responsible for the Shrek movies, is this 3D computer-animated adventure about Mr. Peabody (voiced by Ty Burrell), a talking dog—and the smartest being in the world—and his adopted boy, Sherman (Max Charles), who get caught in a bit of a pickle when Sherman misuses their time-traveling machine. The characters come from the Peabody’s Improbably History segments of the 1960s TV series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, and the film also features the voice talents of Stephen Colbert and Mel Brooks.
DreamWorks
Directed by Olivier Dahan, who helmed the Edith Piaf biopic La Vie en Rose, this film is a biopic about the life of Grace Kelly, played by Nicole Kidman. It focuses on her time in the 1960s after she married Monaco’s Prince Rainier III (Tim Roth) and became known as “Princess Grace,” and deals with the former Hollywood star’s crisis of marriage and identity. The film also stars Frank Langella, Parker Posey, and Derek Jacobi.
David Koskas/The Weinstein Company
This Kickstarter-funded film is an adaptation of the UPN/CW televisions series of the same name, and is set shortly after the events of the show’s third season. It stars Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars, an ex-high school sleuth who has moved to New York City with her boyfriend, Stosh Piznarski (Chris Lowell), but is forced to return to her hometown when her ex-boyfriend, Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), is accused of murder (again). The film is directed by series creator Rob Thomas, and received a whopping $5,702,153 in crowdsourced funding.
Bell on the set of the television series "Veronica Mars" in 2006. (Denis Poroy/AP)
Marking the directorial debut of Arrested Development star Jason Bateman, this black comedy caused quite a stir when it made its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where Focus Features acquired it for $7 million. It stars Bateman as a middle-aged high school dropout who enters into the National Quill Spelling Bee, and the film’s screenplay by Andrew Dodge made The Black List in 2011. The film also stars Allison Janney, Rachael Harris, and Philip Baker Hall.
Sam Urdank/Focus Features
This is supposed to be the next Hunger Games. Based on the acclaimed series of YA novels by Veronica Roth, and directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist), this sci-fi adventure is set in a future-Chicago dystopia where people are divided into five distinct factions based on their personalities. Beatrice “Tris” Prior (Shailene Woodley) discovers that she is “divergent”—she doesn’t fit into just one of these factions—and soon teams up with Tobias “Four” Eaton (Theo James) to uncover an evil plot within their so-called “perfect” society. The film also stars Kate Winslet, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, and Ashley Judd.
Jaap Buitendijk/Summit
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kermit the Frog revealed: “The idea of this film is that our gang is on this global tour, and we’re selling out these grand theaters all over Europe—in Berlin, Madrid, London—but we sort of get into a little bit of trouble when we run across my Doppelganger. He’s the world’s number one criminal, Constantine, and he happens to look an awful lot like me. I won’t tell you any more than that, but let’s just say mayhem ensues.” The film is directed by James Bobin, who helmed 2012’s Muppets film, and features Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, as well as cameos by Celine Dion, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lady Gaga, Zach Galifianakis, Christoph Waltz, Usher, and more.
Jay Maidment/Disney Enterprises
This $130 million religious epic based on the Noah’s Ark story marks Oscar-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s highly anticipated follow-up to 2011’s Black Swan. It stars Russell Crowe as the Biblical Noah, a man who experiences visions of an apocalyptic deluge, and builds a gigantic ark to protect his family and others from the coming flood. The film also stars Jennifer Connelly as Naameh, Noah’s wife; Anthony Hopkins as Noah’s grandfather, Methuselah; Logan Lerman and Douglas Booth as Noah’s sons, Ham and Shem; and Emma Watson as Ila, Noah’s adopted daughter.
Niko Tavernise/Paramount Pictures
This sequel to 2011’s superhero flick Captain America: The First Avenger is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (Arrested Development), and sees Chris Evans return as Steve Rogers/Captain America. The film is set two years after the events of The Avengers, and Rogers is struggling to adapt to contemporary life in Washington D.C. when he’s roped into a plot by the mysterious villain, the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), that endangers the globe. He teams up with Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) to save mankind.
Marvel
Directed by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters), this sports dramedy stars Kevin Costner as Sonny Weaver Jr., the general manager of the Cleveland Browns football team, who is fighting to secure the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. The film also stars Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Joe Manganiello, Terry Crews, Ellen Burstyn, and 42’s Chadwick Boseman.
Written and directed by Theodore Melfi, this comedy’s screenplay landed on The Black List in 2011. It tells the tale of a young boy struggling with his parent’s recent divorce who finds an unlikely friend in St. Vincent de Van Nuys (Bill Murray), a wild, misanthropic, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door. The film also stars Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, Chris O’Dowd, and Terrence Howard.
Fred Thornhill /Reuters
Will this be Arnold Schwarzenegger’s big comeback film? It sure looks like it. Directed by David Ayer (End of Watch), this action-thriller sees Ahnuld star as Breacher, the leader of an elite squad of DEA operatives who are sent to bust the safe house of a drug cartel, and then find themselves targeted by an assassin. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Olivia Williams, Merielle Enos, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, and Josh Holloway.
Open Road Films
Marking the directorial debut of acclaimed cinematographer Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight, Inception), this sci-fi thriller stars Johnny Depp as Dr. Will Caster, the foremost researcher in the field of artificial intelligence who hopes to design a sentient machine that contains all of mankind’s collective knowledge and human emotions. After he’s targeted and nearly killed by anti-tech extremists, Will becomes the machine. The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Cillian Murphy, and Paul Bettany.
Peter Mountain/Warner Bros. Pictures
We've all been there, right? In this comedy, written and directed by Steven Brill (Heavyweights), Elizabeth Banks stars as Meghan Miles, a reporter whose dream of becoming a famous news anchor is up in the air when, after a one-night stand, she’s stranded in downtown Los Angeles with no phone or money, and has just eight hours to make it to a job interview. The film also stars James Marsden, Gillian Jacobs, Ethan Suplee, and Tig Notaro.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
This sequel to the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man sees director Marc Webb and stars Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker/Spidey) and Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) return. Parker, with the help of his friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), keeps investigating his father’s past, and uncovers some dark secrets. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is forced to do battle against Electro (Jamie Foxx) and The Rhino (Paul Giamatti). Martin Sheen and Sally Field reprise their roles as Ben and Mary Parker, Denis Leary returns as Gwen’s father, and Felicity Jones is rumored to be playing Black Cat.
Niko Tavernise/Columbia Pictures
Filmmaker Jon Favreau's follow-up to Cowboys and Aliens is a horse of a different color—a comedy film about a Miami-born chef (Favreau) who, after failing to open a restaurant in Los Angeles, returns to his native Miami to start a food truck business and rekindle his relationship with his ex-wife, played by Sofia Vergara. The film also stars Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Garry Shandling, Bobby Cannavale, and Dustin Hoffman.
Directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), this comedy stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as a couple with a newborn baby who square off against a rowdy fraternity that’s moved in next door and made their life a living hell. Zac Efron stars as the leader of the fraternity (and Rogen’s nemesis), and the film also features the talents of Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Lisa Kudrow, The Mindy Project’s Ike Barinholtz, and New Girl’s Jake Johnson.
Remember the craptastic Godzilla film with Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno? This one looks better. Directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters), precious little is known about this $160 million blockbuster other than that it will mark a return to the series' gritty roots, and feature a strong family drama in addition to the mass chaos. The film stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Lieutenant Ford, Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston as a scientist/Ford's stepfather, Elizabeth Olsen as Ford's wife, and a stellar supporting cast including Ken Watanabe, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn, and Sally Hawkins.
Directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl), this based on a true story sports drama stars Jon Hamm as J.B. Bernstein, a struggling baseball agent who starts a reality sports series in India in order to recruit cricket players to be baseball pitchers. He eventually recruits Dinesh Patel (Madhur Mittal) and Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma, of Life of Pi) and brings them to the U.S. to train with baseball coaches with the hope of making the big leagues. The film also stars Lake Bell, Alan Arkin, and Bill Paxton.
This sequel to X-Men: First Class sees original X-Men filmmaker Bryan Singer return to the director’s chair, and sees the casts of both films—younger selves and older selves—team up to save the future. The film stars Hugh Jackman (as Wolverine), James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart (as Professor X), Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen (as Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Halle Berry (Storm), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Peter Dinklage (Bolivar Trask, a military scientist), and more.
Alan Markfield/Twentieth Century Fox
Directed by Robert Stromberg, this film provides an alternate take on the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty. Much like the Broadway play Wicked, it assumes the perspective of the villainess, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), a kind woman whose heart turns to stone after suffering a brutal betrayal, transforming her into the self-proclaimed “Mistress of All Evil.” The film stars Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora/Sleeping Beauty, Jolie’s daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt as Young Aurora, and Sharlto Copley as King Stefan.
Disney
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s follow-up to his smash hit Ted is a comedy-western that centers on a callow sheep herder (MacFarlane) who, after losing his girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) following a withdrawal from a duel, is down in the dumps. Then, he meets a beautiful woman (Charlize Theron) who helps bring out his courageous side, leading to a duel with her husband, a notorious criminal played by Liam Neeson. The comedy also stars Sarah Silverman, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, and Bill Maher.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
Directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity), this sci-fi flick stars Tom Cruise as Lt. Col. Bill Cage, a soldier who teams up with Special Forces operative Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), to fight Mimics, an alien race, with Cage returning to a fatal battle again and again through a time loop. The film is based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill, and also stars Bill Paxton and Jeremy Piven.
David James
Directed by Josh Boone from a screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (The Spectacular Now, (500) Days of Summer), and adapted from John Green’s acclaimed YA novel of the same name, the film stars Shailene Woodley as Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sick young woman who falls for another eccentric teen, Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), at a cancer support group. The film also stars Willem Dafoe, Laura Dern, and Mike Birbiglia.
Directing team Phil Lord and Chris Miller and stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill return for this sequel to the 2012 action-comedy hit. The latest installment sees Tatum and Hill’s cops go undercover at a local college to infiltrate a suspected crime ring within a fraternity. Tatum bonds with the football team, while Hill finds kindred spirits within the bohemian art scene, and the duo struggles to balance work and pleasure. The rowdy comedy flick also stars Ice Cube, Nick Offerman, Dave Franco, Amber Stevens, and Rob Riggle.
Glen Wilson
Remember the 2010 3D animated flick How To Train Your Dragon? This is the long-awaited sequel to the $500 million-grossing smash. Set five years after the events of the first film, when Viking son Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and his dragon, Toothless, united Vikings and dragons, this balance is tested when the duo discovers a secret ice cave that’s home to hundreds of wild dragons. The film also features the voice talents of Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, and Cate Blanchett.
Twentieth Century Fox
Directed by the great Clint Eastwood, this musical-drama is based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name about the musical group the Four Seasons, a group of Jersey friends who became a musical sensation. They're led by front man Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young), and the film chronicles the band's rise and fall, including the numerous tensions and problems within the group. The film also stars Vincent Piazza and Christopher Walken, who will hopefully bust out some dance moves.
Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
The first film in Michael Bay's Transformers series, pitting humans and Autobots against the evil Decepticons, was OK, but the next two were complete and utter drivel. With a price tag of $165 million, number four promises to be a marked improvement over the previous installments, at least according to star Mark Wahlberg. "It was a tighter script, and its own stand-alone thing. I think the emotional core of it, the human element, is going to be extremely powerful," Wahlberg told The Daily Beast. "It’s an ordinary man trying to do extraordinary things to save his daughter and keep her alive—and this boyfriend he didn’t know anything about." The movie also stars Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci, and Kelsey Grammer.
Directed by Ben Falcone and co-written by Falcone and Melissa McCarthy (who are married in real life), the comedy film stars McCarthy as Tammy, a woman who simultaneously loses her job and discovers that her husband has been cheating on her. With nothing left to lose, she embarks on a crazy road trip with her alcoholic grandmother, played by Susan Sarandon (in a fun nod to Thelma & Louise). The film also stars Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd, Kathy Bates, Toni Collette, and Mark Duplass.
This one looks like it could be a fascinating sci-fi flick, or a complete and utter disaster. Directed by the Wachowski Brothers, of The Matrix series and Cloud Atlas fame, the film stars Mila Kunis as Jupiter, a Russian immigrant who cleans toilets for a living. But Jupiter is no ordinary janitor, and may be the universe's next great leader. So, the Queen of the Universe tasks an interplanetary warrior, Caine (Channing Tatum), a genetically-engineered human with wolf DNA, to kill Jupiter. Instead, he serves as her protector. The film also stars Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, and Douglas Booth.
Directed by Brett Ratner, this $110 million-budgeted action-adventure sees Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson star as Hercules, a demigod—and son of Zeus—who is tasked by the King of Thrace and his daughter to help them stop an evil warlord. The film also stars John Hurt, Ian McShane, Joseph Fiennes, and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Irina Shayk.
Gus Ruelas/Reuters
This comedy film, directed by Jake Kasdan, reunites his Bad Teacher co-stars Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel as a married couple who is shocked to discover that the sex tape the made the night before has gone missing, leading to a frantic search for its whereabouts. The film also stars Jack Black, Rob Lowe, Rob Corddry, and Ellie Kemper.
Written and directed by James Gunn (Slither), this film is based on the Marvel superheroes comic team of the same name, and stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, an American pilot who finds himself in possession of a magical orb coveted by supervillain Ronan (Lee Pace), which could destroy the universe. He teams up with a group of superhero ex-cons, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), to preserve the galaxy. The film also stars Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio Del Toro.
Filmmaker Luc Besson specializes in kick-ass women, whether it's La Femme Nikita or The Fifth Element, and in his latest film, Scarlett Johansson stars as Lucy, a woman living in Taipei, Taiwan, and working as a drug mule. One day, she ingests one of the drugs by accident and transforms into a metahuman able to absord knowledge instantaneously, move objects with her mind, and not feel pain. The movie also stars Morgan Freeman and Choi Min-sik (star of the Korean Oldboy).
Directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Lois Lowry's celebrated 1993 novel of the same name, The Giver stars Jeff Bridges as The Giver, a man in a seemingly perfect futuristic society without racism, war, or sickness, who chooses 16-year-old Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) to be the Receiver of Memories. Soon, Jonas learns the high cost that society's elders paid to be "perfect." The film also stars Meryl Streep as Chief Elder, Katie Holmes as Jonas's mother, Alexander Skarsgard as Jonas's father, and pop music sensation Taylor Swift as Rosemary.
The long-awaited sequel to 2005’s Sin City is based on the second graphic novel in Frank Miller’s Sin City series, and is co-directed by Miller and Robert Rodriguez. It’s comprised of intersecting stories: “A Dame to Kill For,” starring Josh Brolin as Dwight McCarthy, who’s seduced by Ava Lord (Eva Green) into helping her be freed from her abusive billionaire husband; “Just Another Saturday Night,” focusing on Marv (Mickey Rourke); “The Long Bad Night,” about a cocky gambler (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who attempts to destroy Sin City’s biggest villain at his own game; and an untitled original story focusing on Nancy (Jessica Alba), struggling to recuperate following Hartigan’s (Bruce Willis) suicide. The film also stars Rosario Dawson, Jeremy Piven, and Lady Gaga.
Directed by Gavin O'Connor, who helmed the excellent sports dramas Miracle and Warrior, this western stars Natalie Portman as Jane Hammond, a woman who vows revenge against the vicious Bishop Boys gang, led by John Bishop (Ewan McGregor), after her husband (Noah Emmerich) is gunned down. She grabs a gun and teams up with her old love, gunslinger Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton), to take 'em down. Brian Duffield's script for the film made The Black List in 2011.
Directed by Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum), this comedy-drama is about the dysfunctional Foxman family, who all reunite at the family home after their father dies for a week of sitting Shiva. There’s Judd Foxman (Jason Bateman), Phillip Foxman (Adam Driver), Wendy Foxman (Tina Fey), and Paul Foxman (Corey Stoll), none of whom get along. Connie Britton, Rose Byrne, Jane Fonda, Timothy Olyphant, and Kathryn Hahn round out the cast.
Fred Prouser/Reuters
Directed by David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and based on the bestselling novel by Gillian Flynn (who wrote the screenplay), the film stars Rosamund Pike as Amy Elliott Dunne, a woman who mysteriously disappears on her wedding anniversary, and Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, her husband and the primary suspect in her disappearance. The film also stars Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Patrick Fugit, and model Emily Ratajkowski, who appeared in Robin Thicke's music video for "Blurred Lines."
Based on Judith Viorst's celebrated 1972 children's book of the same name, this film adaptation is directed by Miguel Arteta (Cedar Rapids) from a screenplay by Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right) and Rob Leiber. It centers on 11-year-old Alexander (Ed Oxenbould), as he experiences the worst day of his life. However, when he tells his family about his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, he finds little sympathy from them and learns that they've all experienced their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. The film also stars Steve Carell as Alexander's father, Jennifer Garner as Alexander's mother, Megan Mullally, and Jennifer Coolidge.
Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who helmed 2013's hilarious meta-comedy This Is the End, this action-comedy centers on a self-centered TV talk show host (James Franco) and his schlubby producer (Seth Rogen) who find themselves caught up in an international assassination plot. The movie also stars Masters of Sex's Lizzy Caplan.
Directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers), this comedy-drama centers on Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.), a successful lawyer who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral, only to find his estranged father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), suspected of murder. The film also stars Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Billy Bob Thornton, and Leighton Meester.
Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan's follow-up to The Dark Knight Rises is a sci-fi film in the Inception mold set in the not-so-distant future. It follows a group of scientists who discover a wormhole, allowing them to travel through time and find a solution for earth's dying crops. The IMAX film also features Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Michael Caine, John Lithgow, and more.
This long-awaited sequel to the 1994 comedy classic Dumb and Dumber sees Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reprise their roles as Lloyd and Harry, a pair of dimwitted pals who head out in search of one of their long lost children in hopes of gaining a new kidney. It's directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, who helmed the original, and also stars Kathleen Turner, Jennifer Lawrence (!), Rob Riggle, and The Walking Dead's Laurie Holden as the duo's nemesis.
Filmmaker David Ayer (End of Watch) has kept himself very busy, with both the Schwarzenegger-starring Sabotage and Fury hitting theaters in 2014. The latter is a WWII war-drama set in April 1945, during the last months of the war. Sgt. Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank dubbed "Fury" and its crew of five for a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. The film also stars Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, and Scott Eastwood (Clint's son).
The second-to-last installment in the Hunger Games franchise sees director Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) return in the director's chair. Written by Danny Strong (The Butler), the film sees Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) lead the districts of Panem in a rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol, led by ruthless President Snow (Donald Sutherland). The film also sees Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Stanley Tucci reprise their roles from the previous film, and welcomes newcomer Julianne Moore as President Alma Coin.
Directed by Ridley Scott, this religious epic tells the story of Moses (Christian Bale) and the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. The film also stars Joel Edgerton as Ramesses II, Aaron Paul as Joshua, Sigourney Weaver as Tuya, and Ben Kingsley. "Ridley and myself, we'd like to present a different interpretation," Bale told Details of the film. "I'd never sat down and read the five books of the Torah—the Pentateuch—and there is some shocking stuff. Things you certainly never hear in Sunday school. He's a fascinating guy, with all of the vulnerabilities and extraordinary capacities that come with being very human—almost too human, and quite harsh in his emotions. It's a raw story when you break it down."
Written and directed by Paul King (The Mighty Boosh), and produced by David Heyman (Harry Potter franchise), this family drama is based on Paddington Bear, and tells the tale of a young Peruvian bear who travels to London to fulfill his Anglophilic fantasy. There, he's stranded at Paddington Station until he's finally taken in by the loving Brown family, who help shield him from a creepy museum taxidermist. Colin Firth voices Paddington, and the film also stars Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, and Julie Walters.
The final installment in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy sees the Company of Thorin, led by Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), finally reach the evil dragon Smaug's (Benedict Cumberbatch) lair, with the hope of reclaiming Erebor and the hidden treasure. The film also stars Richard Armitage as Thorin, Luke Evans as Bard, Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and Cate Blanchett as Galadriel.
Directed by Will Gluck (Easy A) and produced by Will Smith and Jay Z, this modern day interpretation of the Broadway musical Annie features Oscar nominee Quevenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) as the titular orphan who's adopted by Benjamin Stacks (Jamie Foxx), a wealthy politician. The film also stars Cameron Diaz as Miss Hannigan, the cruel owner of Annie's orphanage, Rose Byrne as Grace Farrell, and Bobby Cannavale, and features some original music by co-producer Jay Z.
This musical-fantasy, based on the Sondheim-scored Broadway musical of the same name, is directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago), and provides a modern twist on the Brothers Grimm fairy tales involving Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Jack and the Beanstalk (Daniel Huttlestone), and Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy). When an evil Witch (Meryl Streep) casts a curse on a baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) preventing them from bearing children, they venture into the woods to break the spell. The film also stars Johnny Depp as The Big Bad Wolf, Chris Pine as Cinderella's Prince, and Tracey Ullman as Jack's Mother.
Peter Mountain/Disney Enterprises
Written by Joel and Ethan Coen and directed by Angelina Jolie (In the Land of Blood and Honey), this war drama chronicles the life of Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell), an Olympic runner who's taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II. The film also stars Garrett Hedlund, Domhnall Gleeson, and acclaimed Japanese singer-songwriter Miyavi, and is based on the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand.
Fame Pictures
The great filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood) adapting a novel by Thomas Pynchon? Yes, please. In Inherent Vice, which will be released sometime in 2014, Joaquin Phoenix plays Larry “Doc” Sportello, a drugged-out private investigator that delves into the mysterious disappearance of his ex-girlfriend in 1970s Los Angeles. The cast also includes Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro, Martin Short, singer Joanna Newsom, and Anderson’s wife, Maya Rudolph.
Eric Charbonneau/Invision, via AP
Directed by Susanne Bier (Brodre) and adapted from Ron Rash's novel of the same name, this drama stars Silver Linings Playbook co-stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence as George and Serena Pemberton, a couple in Depression-Era North Carolina who begin to experience marital problems when it's revealed that Serena can't bear children, leaving no heir to George's lucrative timber empire. The period film also stars Rhys Ifans, Toby Jones, and Sean Harris.
Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu's follow-up to Biutiful is a comedy about a washed-up actor (Michael Keaton) famous for playing a film superhero who must bury his massive ego in order to star in a Broadway play and regain his former glory. The film's outstanding supporting cast includes Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan, and Nurse Jackie Emmy winner Merritt Weaver.
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This biographical drama sees director Tim Burton helm his first biopic since his acclaimed 1994 film Ed Wood. It centers on painter Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), who had huge success in the 1950s, and then struggled through a lengthy legal battle with her husband, Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz), in the 1960s, after he claimed credit for her works. The film will also star Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, Terrence Stamp, and Danny Huston.
Details about Woody Allen's 47th film, and follow-up to 2013's Blue Jasmine, are thin. What we do know is it wrapped shooting in the South of France, and is a period comedy set over two decades. The film stars Emma Stone, Colin Firth, Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver, Hamish Linklater, and Eileen Atkins.
Filmmaker Bennett Miller's follow-up to his Oscar-nominated Moneyball was supposed to be released in 2013, but was pushed back to 2014 because it wasn't finished in time. The film tells the real-life story of Olympic Wrestling champion Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and John du Pont (Steve Carell), a paranoid schizophrenic who murdered his brother, Olympic Champion Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo). The drama also stars Anthony Michael Hall, Sienna Miller, and Vanessa Redgrave.
Music video director-turned-filmmaker Anton Corbijn’ s (Control) latest film is based on a spy novel by John le Carre, and tells the tale of a Chechen Muslim who immigrates to Hamburg, Germany, where he gets caught up in the international war on terror. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, Daniel Bruhl, Robin Wright, and Rachel McAdams.
Sundance Film Festival
Malick's last film, To the Wonder, was an incoherent mess, but this one looks very promising. Details are relatively thin, but it centers on two intersecting love triangles set against the music scene of Austin, Texas, and stars Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, and more. Malick, Gosling, and Mara were spotted filming scenes during Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest back in 2011.
Directed by Daniel Espinosa, who helmed the underrated 2012 action flick Safe House and the excellent Swedish crime drama Easy Money, this film is set in the Stalin-era Soviet Union, and centers on a disgraced MGB agent (Tom Hardy) who is tasked with investigating a series of child murders, leading to a government conspiracy. The film also stars Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Noomi Rapace, Jason Clarke, Vincent Cassel, and Dev Patel.
Written and directed by actor Ryan Gosling (his filmmaking debut), How to Catch A Monster was filmed in the Detroit area and is a dark fantasy/neo-noir about a single mother (Christina Hendricks) who gets lost in the criminal underworld, while her son discovers a road leading to an underwater utopia. The film also stars Doctor Who's Matt Smith, Saoirse Ronan, Eva Mendes, and Ben Mendelsohn, and features lensing courtesy of acclaimed cinematographer Benoît Debie (Spring Breakers).
