Hammer Time
The Event: The Woman In Black launches Daniel Radcliffe's post-Potter career in significantly creepy style, becoming the highest grossing British horror film of the last 20 years in the process. The corpse of Hammer Horror just made a distinct and pronounced twitch.
Future Implications: Flushed with the first film's success, Hammer are teaming up with author Susan Hill to bring follow-up story The Woman In Black: Angels of Death to the big screen. The story is set around four decades after the events of the first film, and will focus on a couple who find their way to the ominous structure of Eel Marsh House…
Clucking Hell
The Event: The Muppets hit the high notes when the chickens perform a feathery rendition of Cee-Lo Green's Forget You . Joyful stuff, as is often the way with Kermit and chums.
Future Implications: A sequel is already in the pipeline, after the Muppets' successful revival. Lets hope the chickens get another chance to strut their stuff!
Heroes In A Half-Shell
The Event: Michael Bay angers fanboys the world over with his plans to make a new movie out of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which include some rather drastic origin-tweaking. "When you see this movie, kids are going to believe, one day, that these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie," gurgles Bay. "These turtles are from an alien race and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely loveable." Mmm-hmmm….
Future Implications: It will all be fine, according to Bay. "Fans need to take a breath, and chill,” he said. “They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world."
Battered And Bruised
The Event: The first few images begin to filter through of Ryan Gosling's re-team with Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn on Only God Forgives . From the looks of them, it's set to be just as violent as their previous collaboration, with Gosling playing an exiled criminal called back into bloody duty by his mother when his younger brother is killed.
Future Implications: Refn and Gosling appear to bring the best out of each other, so expect the pair to continue churning out blood-spattered gems for some time to come.
Ron Burgundy Will Return
The Event: When Will Ferrell pitched up on Conan in character as Ron Burgundy, fans' prayers were answered with the confirmation that Anchorman 2 is on the way. A recent teaser trailer whetted our appetites still further, as Steve Carell's Brick Tamland steals the show once again.
Future Implications: We've no clue as to where the plot is going to go, but we just can't wait to see the boys back together again. And if the second film is a success, who's to say there won't be still more to come…?
As Will Lloyd Christmas
The Event: Dumb And Dumber 2 has been gestating even longer than the Anchorman sequel, but according to the Farrelly brothers, filming should begin sooner rather than later. "We're getting set to shoot Dumb And Dumber 2 in September," revealed Peter Farrelly. "It's the first sequel we've ever done and we've got Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels back."
Future Implications: Will we see any more overdue sequels rearing their heads? Tom Cruise seems keen on Top Gun 2 , and then there are those Twins 2 rumours…
Cronenberg Goes Weird (Again)
The Event: David Cronenberg re-channels his dark side with the Robert Pattinson-starring adaptation of Don DeLillo's Cosmopolis . The first full trailer is every bit as baffling as one could have hoped for, with the film's Cannes screening proving just as off-beam. Take another look at it above to see for yourself.
Future Implications: After a couple of more mainstream offerings in the shape of A History Of Violence and Eastern Promises , it looks as though Cronenberg is going back to the bizarre…
Wolvie Bites Back
The Event: The Wolverine , James Mangold's troubled follow-up to X-Men Origins is finally revealed to be moving forwards, with stage filming set to take place in Sydney and Japan serving as the film's primary location. "It's set in Japan," confirmed Fox CEO, Tom Rothman. "A great number of Japanese actors will be in it and it's based on the very famous run of the comics. I can tell you on behalf of [ Hugh Jackman ], his goal is to make the ultimate, badass, berserker-rage Wolverine."
Future Implications: After the tortuous production process on The Wolverine , don't be surprised to see Hugh Jackman hang up the claws for good after this one.
Belle Of The Ball
The Event: Chloe Moretz is cast in Kimberly Pierce's upcoming Carrie remake, with Julianne Moore signing on to play her unhinged fundamentalist mother. While we weren't originally convinced of the need for a new version of Carrie , this calibre of casting has got us very interested indeed…
Future Implications: The film will apparently draw from the original novel rather than Brian De Palma's adaptation. "We’re kind of going off the book," says Moretz. "It’s darker and much more psychological. More Black Swan ."
Swear Bear
The Event: Mark Wahlberg co-stars with a CGI teddy bear in the first trailer for Ted , Family Guy genius Seth MacFarlane's directorial debut. MacFarlane also voices Ted himself, to hilarious effect. We particularly like the thunder song…
Future Implications: With Family Guy on the wane somewhat, we'd like to see MacFarlane spread his wings a little more, and make the move to Hollywood full-time.
The Beautiful Game
The Event: Soccer Aid 2012 sees a veritable glut of Hollywood superstars trying their hand at the beautiful game, with Michael Sheen, Gerard Butler, Mike Myers, Woody Harrelson, Will Ferrell and (bizarrely) Ed Norton all rubbing shoulders with Keane, Ljungberg, Seedorf and co. Wonderfully surreal stuff.
Future Implications: Expect even more A-listers to strut their stuff next year. Hopefully Ferrell will play again. he looked surprisingly competent!
There Goes The Neighbourhood
The Event: The first red-band trailer for aliens vs slackers comedy The Watch (formerly known as Neighbourhood Watch ) is a foul-mouthed treat, with Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade turning the air blue as a bunch of guys who stumble upon an extra-terrestrial invasion of their part of town. Watch out for R. Lee Ermey dropping some particularly choice insults...
Future Implications: After a slew of half-baked rom-coms, Vince Vaughn looks to have found some decent material again. Career back on track? Let's hope so.
Rodriguez Returns
The Event: Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For finally gets up and running, with Robert Rodriguez confirming the return of Jessica Alba and Mickey Rourke, a release date confirmed for 4 October 2013, and even a cool new poster thrown in for good measure. With Machete 2 also on his slate, it promises to be a busy year for the Mexican director.
Future Implications: Rodriguez plans to be even more faithful to the comic-books second time around. "I really held back the first time," he says, "because I didn’t know whether audiences would go for it. So it ended up looking like a real movie, but in black and white, with a few flourishes. This one is going to push way further towards the books. It’s going to shock and surprise people."
One Track Mind
The Event: James Cameron reveals that the only films he'll be making from now-on in will be sequels to his ground-breaking sci-fi spectacular, Avatar . Last year I basically completely disbanded my production company’s development arm,” said Cameron. “So I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the Avatar business. Period. That’s it. I’m making Avatar , Avatar 2 , Avatar 3 , maybe Avatar 4 ."
Future Implications: Cameron will still allow himself to make the odd documentary, but when it comes to works of fiction, it sounds as though he'll be sticking firmly to events on Pandora.
Wes Wows Cannes
The Event: Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom opens the Cannes film festival in grand style, marrying the director's signature blend of off-beam characters and quirky humour with a story of young love that proves genuinely affecting. Well worthy of raising the curtain on one of the film community's most glamorous get-togethers.
Future Implications: Opening Cannes with something light-hearted seems a good formula, particularly given some of the heavier fare the festival usually harbours.
The Boys Are Back
The Event: The Expendables 2 launches a full trailer showing off the franchise's new additions, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris, while also allowing Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger to expand on their first-film cameos. "My shoe is bigger dan dis car" chuckles Arnie, gamely. It's good to have him back, isn't it?
Future Implications: The Expendables 2 should herald Arnie's return as a full-time movie star, with a starring role alongside Stallone in The Tomb on the horizon.
Girls Interrupted
The Event: The first images land for Brian De Palma's erotic thriller Passion , boasting the canny marketing ploy of Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams kissing one another. The film will apparently follow the increasingly inappropriate relationship between a pair of co-workers that spills into violence as things spin out of control.
Future Implications: We'd wager there will be a fair few teenage boys in the audience for this one...
Pirates Return
The Event: Aardman Animation prove that pirates can still be entertaining with their relentlessly chucklesome tale of swashbuckling sea-dogs, The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists . Hugh Grant is particularly pleasing as the hapless Pirate Captain, while Polly, his pet dodo, is one of the most adorable cartoon creations of many a year.
Future Implications: We wouldn't be surprised to sea Aardman launch a sequel at some point. The title format would certainly lend itself to one, if nothing else!
Back In Time
The Event: The first trailer for Rian Johnson's Looper send us into a whirlwind of excitement, as Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a young version of Bruce Willis, a hitman charged with taking himself out. Sci-fi head-scratching ahoy!
Future Implications: We're not sure about the film, but the future implications don't look good for JGL's character here! Eh? Eh?
Fox Brings Out The Big Guns
The Event: Fox announces a blockbuster assault on 2014, with release dates for sequels to X-Men: First Class and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes , the latter to be titled Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes . The former will arrive on 18 July, two months after the latter rolls into cinemas on 23 May.
Future Implications: Having successfully rebooted two of their flagging franchises, Fox can look forward to a successful year in 2014.
Game On
The Event: The Wreck-It Ralph trailer shows off a host of videogame cameos, including appearances by Dr. Robotnik, Bowser, Q-Bert, M. Bison and one of the ghosts from Pac-Man. Call us nerds, but that speaks to the former NES-owners among us in a big, big way.
Future Implications: Our productivity stands to be drastically reduced by the emergence of a playable version of the film's fictional game, Fix-It Felix. You can play it for yourself, here .
Girl Power
The Event: Having converted a porn star into an actress in the form of The Girlfriend Experience 's Sasha Grey, Stephen Soderbergh plucks his next leading lady from the world of MMA, with Gina Carano kicking seven shades out of Fassbender, McGregor, Banderas et al in action romp, Haywire . She hits like a girl… a really, really strong girl.
Future Implications: Carano's acting career is now fully up and running, with a leading role in thriller In The Blood set to be followed by a part in the next Fast And Furious sequel.
Elementary
The Event: Benedict Cumberbatch is revealed to be playing the villain in Star Trek 2 , to universal delight from both fans and critics alike. Details remain sketchy as to who exactly he'll be playing, but Cumberbatch can reveal he's been training hard. "I've gone up two suit sizes," he says. "The character I'm playing, he's strong. I can say that much. I've changed my physique a bit, so that requires eating like a foie gras goose, well beyond your appetite."
Future Implications: If J.J. Abrams continues to play things so resolutely close to his chest, expect several more months of speculation as to whether Cumberbatch will be playing Khan or not…
More Ass To Kick
The Event: The long-awaited Kick-Ass sequel takes a massive step closer to being made, with Universal giving the production the greenlight and Cry Wolf director Jeff Wadlow taking over from Matthew Vaughn. Vaughn will retain some input however, as he's set to return in a production capacity.
Future Implications: The film is expected to arrive in 2013, with creator Mark Millar suggesting that Christopher Mintz-Plasse's Red Mist will take a turn for the twisted. "To see the guy you know as the charming McLovin doing awful things," says Millar, "it’s going to be doubly upsetting."
Expelliarmus!
The Event: The Making Of Harry Potter tour opens at Warner's Leavesden studios, allowing fans of the series to pore over several of the original eye-popping sets and a staggering number of props, costumes and creature prosthetics. A must-visit for Potter obsessives and movie fans alike.
Future Implications: Judging by the mark-up at the gift shop, we'd expect Warner execs to keep this one open for as long as possible…
Man vs. Wolf
The Event: Liam Neeson continues his late-career reinvention as an action man by taking on a pack of wolves with his bare hands in Joe Carnahan's survival thriller, The Grey . A taut little tale of men against the elements, Neeson's grizzled performance is excellent throughout, his scrap with these toothy foes being an obvious highlight.
Future Implications: With Taken 2 fast approaching, Neeson's badass routine should hold up for a good few years yet.
I Dreamed A Dream
The Event: The first trailer lands for Les Misérables , totally dialogue free but soundtracked by Anne Hathaway's Fantine, performing a haunting rendition of I Dreamed A Dream . Those SuBo memories were just beginning to fade, as well…
Future Implications: Tom Hooper's big-screen version of Victor Hugo's classic novel will be every bit as grand as the celebrated stage musical, with Hugh Jackman set to have them swooning in the aisles…
Judgment Is Coming
The Event: A stunning new poster arrives for Dredd , Pete Travis' upcoming update of 2000 AD's Judge Dredd. Showing Karl Urban's titular Judge shrouded in darkness, it's a marvellously understated bit of artwork that lets that supremely badass suit and helmet combo speak for itself.
Future Implications: Dredd should be a far darker proposition than Sly Stallone's more cartoonish outing.
Cameo Time
The Event: For all the glitz and glamour of The Avengers , one of our favourite moments comes in the shape of a Harry Dean Stanton cameo, in which the veteran actor brings all his deadpan timing to bear as the resolutely un-awed caretaker who discovers a naked Bruce Banner in a heap of smouldering rubble. Wonderful stuff.
Future Implications: A recurring Stanton cameo should now be as customary as a Stan Lee appearance in all future Marvel movies.
Franchise Re-Bourne
The Event: The Bourne Legacy gets a shiny full-length trailer, outlining new hero Aaron Cross's (Jeremy Renner) extraordinary abilities, and hinting at how the film will fit into the existing Bourne universe. Renner looks a more than able replacement for Matt Damon, and the retention of the likes of Joan Allen and David Strathairn should help link Legacy to the original trilogy. Exciting!
Future Implications: Renner looks fully ready to take on the burden of an already well-loved franchise. Don't be surprised to see sequels.
Red Carpet Carnage
The Event: Sacha Baron Cohen is typically shy and retiring on the red carpet at the Oscars, dressed in full General Aladeen regalia and clutching an urn filled with the ashes of his good friend, Kim Jong-Il. He then proceeds to empty said ashes all over Ryan Seacrest’s tux. Gold.
Future Implications: Seacrest will be giving Cohen a wide berth at all future events, more’s the pity.
Bond Is Back
The Event: Skyfall releases its first official trailer, allowing Bond fans a first look at 007 in action since Quantum Of Solace arrived some four years ago. From the looks of the footage we’ve seen, it seems that a return to form could be on the cards, with bags of action and Daniel Craig at his scowling best.
Future Implications: Craig has intimated that he wants to continue donning the tux for some time to come, and if Skyfall is a success, don’t expect to have to wait so long for 007’s next outing.
Horror, Redefined
The Event: Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard turn the horror genre on its head with The Cabin In The Woods , a relentlessly inventive take on the haunted cabin set-up that takes great pleasure in wrong-footing viewers at every turn.
Future Implications: For all the tired torture-porn and found footage knock-offs flooding the horror market, there are still enough innovators around to persuade us there’s life in the old dog yet.
Promising Reboot Alert!
The Event: Despite its initial announcement being met with blanket groans, Jose Padilha’s RoboCop reboot seems to grow more intriguing by the week, thanks in no small part to the calibre of star it seems capable of attracting. Gary Oldman and Samuel L Jackson have already agreed to join The Killing ’s Joel Kinnaman, while Abbie Cornish looks set to take the female lead. Colour us excited!
Future Implications: This reboot thing might catch on, you know. Oh wait, hang on...
Cops And Robbers
The Event: Reuben Flesicher’s Gangster Squad launches its first official trailer, featuring Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte and Sean Penn all trying to out-badass each other, while Emma Stone smoulders as the femme fatale of the piece. Certainly one of the coolest trailers of the year, we can only hope the film lives up to its slick period promise.
Future Implications: Expect hats to make a return, especially amongst the same ill-advised punters who bought silk driving jackets after watching Drive .
Rogues Gallery
The Event: Iron Man 3 has quietly been assembling a powerhouse ensemble cast, with the villain category looking particularly strong. Both Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley have been added this year, Pearce as nefarious scientist Aldrich Killian, while Kingsley is thought to be playing seminal Iron Man bad guy, The Mandarin.
Future Implications: Shane Black’s first Iron Man outing certainly won’t lack for boo-hiss moments, with James Badge Dale and Ashley Hamilton also likely to fall on the side of the villains.
Clooney Grows Up
The Event: Having been damned with faint praise over his abilities as a “movie star”, George Clooney proves that he’s a bona fide “actor” with a supremely moving turn as a single dad in Alexander Payne’s The Descendants . Narrowly missed out on an Oscar to Jean Dujardin, a decision we’d suggest would be worthy of review.
Future Implications: Next time George is up for an Oscar, expect him to bag it. He’s starting to build up quite the back catalogue of worthy roles...
QT Returns
The Event: The Django Unchained trailer heralds the return of Quentin Tarantino, with his slavery-era “southern” promising the traditional QT mix of startling violence, hard-bitten dialogue and painstakingly selected soundtrack. We can’t wait.
Future Implications: Jamie Foxx is going to get to chew over the coolest dialogue of the year. “Kill white folks and they pay you for it?” he muses. “What’s not to like?”
Hulk Smash
The Event: The Avengers hits the high notes when Mark Ruffalo finally shows off his wild side, his new-improved version of the Hulk providing both laughs and thrills as he sets about laying waste to Loki and his invading army. Hordes of fanboys get their goosebump on when Captain America instructs Dr. Banner, “Hulk? Smash.”
Future Implications: Rumours abound that the Hulk is set to receive another spin-off film, with Ruffalo reportedly keen to reprise the role in his own solo outing.
No Sex Please...
The Event: Shame is ludicrously overlooked at the Oscars, despite Michael Fassbender turning in a career-best performance as damaged sex-addict Brandon Sullivan. An uncomfortable but searingly honest portrayal of addiction, it confirmed Hunger’ s partnership of Fassbender and director Steve McQueen as one of the most exciting creative collaborations in modern cinema. Not that the Academy noticed...
Future Implications: Fassbender and McQueen will go on making provocative, eye-opening cinema, whether they’re acknowledged by awards ceremonies or not. Next up comes Twelve Years A Slave , a story set in the mid-1800s about a man from New York who finds himself sold into slavery.
Pad Power
The Event: Total Film launches its brand spanking new interactive iPad edition, complete with full-screen video and movie trailers, exclusive picture galleries, behind-the-scenes footage, animated feature intros and sharable text. It's lovely and shiny too!
Future Implications: With Apple shifting a staggering three million of their new iPad 3 in just three days, expect the technology to become more and more integrated as the year goes on.
Are You Seeing This?
The Event: Even if some quarters were left cold by Prometheus and its mythological wrangling, there can be no debate that Ridley Scott has created the finest live-action 3D we’ve seen since Avatar . From first scene to last, the film looks utterly stunning, with nary a blurry edge in sight.
Future Implications: We’d like to say this would put an end to ropey post-production jobs, but sadly, as long as that remains significant cheaper than filming in 3D, Prometheus ’s visuals will be the exception rather than the norm.
The Power Of Love
The Event: Michael Haneke’s Amour brings the Austrian director another taste of Palme d’Or triumph, his unflinching portrayal of the rigours of old age proving every bit as disturbing as his previous tales of psycho teens and killer kids.
Future Implications: Jacques Audiard must try to schedule his work better. Rust And Bone was the second of his films to be thwarted by Haneke on the Croisette.
Cult Appeal
The Event: John Hawkes turns in a truly mesmerising performance as sinister cult leader Patrick, in Sean Durkin’s woozy thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene . One of the finest character actors around today, Hawkes is now in serious danger of crossing over to the mainstream.
Future Implications: Worryingly for Hawkes, he’s starting to become well-known. “It's important to try to maintain some kind of mystery about myself,” says the man himself. “I'm not interested in being a household name. One of my strengths is that people don't know who I am.”
Teen Cinema Comes Of Age
The Event: After the ongoing non-event that is the Twilight Saga , Gary Ross’s adaptation of The Hunger Games was a welcome reminder that cinema aimed at young adults can be both invigorating and exciting. Jennifer Lawrence certainly played her part in that, proving that her Oscar-nommed turn in Winter’s Bone was no fluke.
Future Implications: We’d like to say that the rest of the series will be sure to live up to the standards set by this opening instalment, but with Ross having left over the studio’s tight filming deadline ( Catching Fire is due for release as soon as next year), we’ve got our reservations...
The Sound Of Silence
The Event: Silent cinema makes a triumphant return as The Artist cleans up at the 2012 Oscars. Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director all end up in the bag, alongside awards for costume design and original score. And everybody falls in love with the dog.
Future Implications: We’d be surprised if The Artist ’s success provoked a revival for silent filmmaking, but stranger things have happened. Expect a more obvious effect to be a rise in profile for stars Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo.
Meet David
The Event: Prometheus ’ marketing campaign might eventually have ended up giving away too much, but the viral videos were nothing short of inspired, with Guy Pearce’s ominous TED talk and Michael Fassbender’s eerie advert for the “new David” the pick of the bunch.
Future Implications: All the biggest blockbusters will be churning out viral material in advance of theatrical releases. Nobody relies on a simple trailer any more...
Theres Something About Charlize
The Event: Charlize Theron is always a magnetic screen presence, but 2012 has been a belter for the South African born star. As well as bringing an icy presence to Prometheus , she was a delightfully maladjusted lead in Young Adult and absolutely steals the show in Snow White And The Huntsman as the unhinged Queen Ravenna.
Future Implications: We’re excited to see what Charlize can bring to the Mad Max reboot, which begins shooting in a few weeks time...
Avengers Assemble
The Event: Joss Whedon brings the Avengers together with staggeringly successful results, as box office takings close in on $600 million in the States alone. It enjoyed the biggest opening weekend in history and currently sits in third in the all-time rankings for the highest grossing films of all time. Not bad going, really...
Future Implications: Warner are currently readying a Justice League movie in an obvious response to the success of Marvel’s super-team.
The Dark Knight Rises
The Event: The release of the second full trailer for The Dark Knight Rises , available for you to revisit once more above. Hans Zimmer’s score really lifts this one, as the atmosphere swiftly heads through the roof. Simply breathtaking.
Future Implications: We’d say the primary implication of this one is that The Dark Knight Rises is going to be ruddy amazing!
