Strange Age of Tomorrowland World Awakens: Kay’s Top 10 Movies to Look Forward to in 2015

January 7, 2015January 6, 2016 Kay Episode VII, Geek Kay, George Lucas, Hunger Games, Marvel, Movies

Last year I set a movie-watching agenda for myself with Only Grand Captain Mockingjays of Future Tomorrow: Kay’s Top 10 Movies to Look Forward to in 2014. For the most part, it worked out pretty well. It motivated me to get out and see most of those movies in theaters, and I largely was pleased with my choices. You can read my reviews of all ten films here on FANgirl. Making the list, I would not have guessed Muppets Most Wanted would be the one to disappoint me the most. If I could time travel, I would have replaced it in the top ten with Snowpiercer, but I hadn’t heard anything about Snowpiercer when I made the list. And even then, I don’t know if I would have gone for it, but it turned out to be a very intriguing (albeit violent) film.

I’m still concerned I’m missing 2015’s Snowpiercer on the new list, but here goes something (in U.S. release date order)…

Strange Magic Poster Strange Magic – January 23rd
Here we have an animated fairy tale with a tagline (on at least one of the posters) “Everyone deserves to be loved.” That’s attention-catching, but it’s also inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which may well very be my favorite Shakespearean play. It’s a Lucasfilm project with a soundtrack of popular songs and standards. And oh yeah, some guy named George Lucas worked on the story.

The Verdict: Kay Reviews Strange Magic & Strange Magic on Fangirl Chat

Chappie – March 6th

After Elysium I’m not entirely confident in jumping on board the Neill Blomkamp/Sharlto Copley boat again, but District 9 was so well done I’m holding out hope for Chappie. I like Blomkamp’s cinéma vérité approach and I’m curious to see how this story of a robot who can feel written by Blomkamp and his wife, Terri Tatchell, plays out. Tatchell worked on District 9 but not Elysium. Bonus points are awarded for the inclusion of Sigourney Weaver.

The Verdict: Kay Reviews Chappie

The Lobster – March 24th

Romantic sci-fi thriller? Set in a dystopian near future? With an interesting cast? By a Greek director who has been acclaimed for his previous films now making his English-language debut? Maybe I did find the 2015 Snowpiercer.

Update: This one ended up not getting a wide release in 2015.

Avengers: Age of Ultron – May 1st

In all honesty this one easily falls into Why Not? I like the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) concept. The Avengers were interesting on their last go together plus with more developments in the MCU since their last group movie they’ll have new challenges. We’re getting more new characters, including another female. Plus we have Joss Whedon involved again.

The Verdict: Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

Tomorrowland – May 22nd

This is my Interstellar of 2015 in that it’s a sci-fi movie which I only vaguely know what it’s about, but I like the director and the title makes it sound promising. I hope this one isn’t three hours long, though.

The Verdict: Tomorrowland: The Review

Spy – May 22nd

I don’t know a lot about this movie but I remember hearing Paul Feig was writing a movie about a female, comedic James Bond. There’s a lot of potential here. I’m willing to try it on.

The Verdict: Finding the Fun: A Review of Spy

Jurassic World Comic Con Poster Jurassic World – June 12th

People making mistakes with dinosaurs!! Let’s do this!

I know. Jurassic Park III was pretty bad and this movie lived in development hell for a decade, but they came up with a name for it other than Jurassic Park IV and that’s already a step in the right direction. It’s an interesting concept too not only of a functional park but that the public is already getting bored with it. And to top it off they’ve been doing well in their marketing game managing expectations while surprising and delighting fans.

The Verdict: Kay Reviews Jurassic World & It’s a Jurassic World on Fangirl Chat

Inside Out – June 19th

While it seems like the concept is getting rarer and rarer these days, this Pixar film is actually an original idea and not based on or tied to any pre-existing property. After we lost Michael Arndt on Star Wars Episode VII, I’m happy for the chance to see something else by him in 2015. As I’ve mentioned on Hyperspace Theories, his work on Toy Story 3 made me eat my words that there was no story left to tell for that franchise. What’s more, for the second time, we’re getting a Pixar movie centered around a girl.

The Verdict: Inside Out: The Review

Mockingjay: Part 2 – November 20th

They left all the juicy, emotional, make-you-think parts for this movie. It’ll be interesting to see if they keep the tone of the ending the same as the book.

The Verdict: Mockingjay Part 2 Reviewed – The Hunger Games Closes the Book

Star Wars: The Force Awakens – December 18th

Where do I even start on this one? While we still don’t know really much of anything about the story at this point, it’s got a lot going for it behind the scenes. So let’s give it a go and see if it works.

The Verdict: Passing the Torch: The Force Awakens Reviewed

Honorable Mention:

Crimson Peak – October 16th

This should actually be called If I’m Feeling Brave Enough Maybe I’ll Go See It Mention. Guillermo del Toro, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, and Charlie Hunnan: That alone should be enough to peak my interest, but I’m just not a horror/ghost story movie person. del Toro has spoken on how excited he is to make an adult story with a female lead and make sure she isn’t beholden to genre hallmarks.

I feel like I should mention The Martian as well. In broad terms it seems like something right up my alley, but the book summary alone stressed me out. And after Interstellar, I have no desire to see Matt Damon in space.

Kay grew up wanting to be an astronaut. After seeing Star Wars, she wanted to be Princess Leia, Han Solo, and an astronaut. Life’s taken her on a bit of a different path, but she’s still a Star Wars fangirl at heart who enjoys surprising people with how geeky she really is. Currently a voice actor, photographer, and artist who also consults in communications and marketing, Kay spends the little bit of free time she has reading, writing, learning and, of course, making pew pew noises. She would pick up more jobs and hobbies if she was a Time Lord. You can follow her on Twitter.

Author
Recent Posts

Kay

She grew up wanting to be an astronaut. After seeing Star Wars, she wanted to be Princess Leia, Han Solo, and an astronaut. Life’s taken her on a bit of a different path, but she’s okay with that.

Kay is FANgirl's resident geek fashion expert and co-host of the Hyperspace Theories podcast. She reviews books and movies for the site with a heart for storytelling and a mind that likes to analyze. Kay's been a guest on various podcasts sharing her love and knowledge of storytelling, film-making, fashion, and of course, Star Wars.

Most days are filled with her work as a creative services professional - designing websites & branding, photographing, voice acting, editing, and more. Kay spends the little bit of free time she has reading, costuming, and, of course, making pew pew noises. She would pick up more jobs and hobbies if she was a Time Lord.