We’ve had some pretty good movies come out this year. From Mad Max: Fury Road to Inside Out, the first portion of 2015 has been pretty great. Looking forward to the rest of the summer and the award season, there are some highly anticipated features that will be hitting our screens. Franchises will continue, franchises will end, and maybe we’ll see a few award winners.
The rest of 2015 should be a treat. Here are some of the films to look out for from now until the end of the year. Some of these may already be out by the time this list is released. If they are out, go see them, or don’t, it’s your decision.
15. Straight Outta Compton (Dir. F. Gary Gray)
Release Date: August 14th, 2015
A film that has raised as much controversy as it has anticipation, Straight Outta Compton revolves around the rise and fall of the Compton, California hip hop group N.W.A. The film borrows the title from the group’s 1988 debut studio album and song from the same album. It is set for a theatrical release on August 14th.
The film follows the background history of the group and the dynamics of the of their relationships with each others. It will follow their success and eventual disbanding. The film will star O’Shea Jackson as his father Ice Cube, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E and Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre.
There have been several controversies surrounding the film. During the first week of filming, there was a drive-by shooting in front of the cast and crew on set. Suge Knight, who will be portrayed in the film by R. Marcus Taylor, was involved in a hit-and-run which supposedly was started by a fight over the film. MC Ren was upset that in the film’s trailer that his role in the group was downplayed. Hopefully, the film can get past these controversies and deliver the honest story of the group.
14. Sisters (Dir. Jason Moore)
Release Date: December 18th, 2015
Previously known as The Nest, Sisters follows two estranged sisters, played by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who throw one last party at their home, which their parents are about to sell. Maya Rudolph, Josh Brolin and Rachel Dratch co-star among others. This, probably more than any other film on this list, is the one that I am hoping is good. Mostly because if it is anything like Amy Poehler and Tina Fey’s last film, Baby Mama, we are in for a waste of money.
Written by Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock writer Paula Pell, and directed by Jason Moore, who directed Pitch Perfect, Sisters will be released on December 18th.
13. Southpaw (Dir. Antoine Fuqua)
Release Date: July 24th, 2015
Jake Gyllenhaal will have quite the end of 2015. This is one of two anticipated movies he will star in (Everest). In Southpaw, Gyllenhaal plays Billy Hope, a one-time boxer at the height of his fame. His wife (Rachel McAdams) wants him to quit so he can spend more time with his daughter (Oona Laurence). Soon his world falls apart and he has to turn back to the world of boxing with the help of his trainer Titus “Tick” Wills (Forest Whitaker).
Jake Gyllenhaal has gained weight and has really bulked up for the role. Eminem will cover the soundtrack. The film debuted at the Shanghai Film Festival in June and has so far received mixed reviews. Hopefully Southpaw can be as good as it looked. The film will be released in theaters on July 24th.
12. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (Dir. Francis Lawrence)
Release Date: November 20th, 2015
It’s time for full scale war! That is what Katniss Everdeen and her friends are entering into for the last film of the adaptations of the Suzanne Collins written trilogy. Starring, just like the three previous films, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. The cast also features Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee, his final film role before his death. Francis Lawrence is back to direct. He also directed Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part I.
It will also be shot in 3D. Katniss must solve President Snow’s game and risk not only her life but the lives of many to save the people of Panem. We will get to see how it all unfolds on November 20th. This might not be the last film of the Hunger Games Franchise, Lionsgate is thinking about writing a sequel or prequel to the franchise, we’ll have to see on that.
11. Steve Jobs (Dir. Danny Boyle)
Release Date: Octorber 9th, 2015
Not to be confused with Jobs, the film starring Ashton Kutcher as Jobs, Steve Jobs is the upcoming biographical drama directed by Danny Boyle and starring Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs. Produced by Scott Rudin and written by Aaron Sorkin, whose screenplay was adapted from Walter Isaacson’s biography of the same name, Steve Jobs will be released on October 9th, roughly four years after Steve Jobs’ death.
The film sets the background of three major product launches, ending with the launch of the iMac in 1998. Sorkin has revealed that the film will consist of three 30 minutes scenes spreading across sixteen years of Job’s’ life. Let’s just hope that it is better than the other Jobs film.
10. The Good Dinosaur (Dir. Peter Sohn & Bob Peterson)
Release Date: November 25th, 2015
The 16th feature film from Pixar, The Good Dinosaur will be released on November 25th, the first time Pixar will have two films released in the same year (Inside Out). Bob Peterson, who came up for the idea of the story directed the film until August 2013, when he was removed from the film. Peter Sohn, who was the original co-director of the film, became the new director in October 2014.
The Good Dinosaur follows an alternate timeline where dinosaurs never went extinct. A young Apatosaurus named Arlo loses his father in a tragic accident then gets lost away from home. He befriends a cave-boy named Spot and tries to find his way home. After all of the developmental hell this film went through and the fact that it is Pixar, we would expect greatness.
9. Joy (Dir. David O. Russell)
Release Date: December 25th, 2015
Director David O. Russell brings back his dream team of Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro in this film about Joy Mangano, a single mother of three who invented the Miracle Mop and is the President of Ingenious Design LLC. Lawrence and Cooper worked and received plenty of acclaim, including an Oscar for Lawrence, from their two previous collaborations, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle.
If it is as good as their previous collaborations, expect to see this among the award nominees. Co-written by David O. Russell and Annie Mumolo, one of the Oscar nominated women behind Bridesmaids, Joy is set for a Christmas Day release.