It’s hard to find really good sci-fi these days, so when a promising title like Ex Machina comes around, it’s certainly worth taking notice of. From the mind of Alex Garland comes a film that promises to be both thought-provoking and thrilling in telling a story of artificial intelligence and how far is too far. It’s an intriguing premise to be sure, and it also bodes well for Ex Machina that it stars three Hollywood talents that are absolutely on fire right now and rising very quickly: Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson. Yet, despite all of this, Ex Machina has managed to fly a bit under the radar, something that we’re hoping will change once it hits theatres.
Sean Penn going all Liam Neeson on us? And in a film that co-stars Idris Elba and Javier Bardem? Um, sign us up please! Directed by Taken helmer Pierre Morel, The Gunman certainly isn’t promising anything groundbreaking, but with Penn as an ex-Special Forces soldier on the run in Europe trying to clear his name, the film looks like it’s going to be an electrifying ride. Even with the star power attached though, The Gunman isn’t receiving much buzz and at this point, I’d be very surprised if it ends up emulating the success of Taken.
The last time Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace teamed up, we got The Drop. While not a perfect film, both actors were terrific, and their upcoming effort, Child 44, looks to be another strong outing for the pair. Set in the Soviet Union, the drama centres on a series of child murders and co-stars Gary Oldman, Vincent Cassel, Jason Clarke, Charles Dance and Joel Kinnaman. Yeah, we know, it’s one hell of a cast, right? All signs point to this one being terrific, which leaves us even more bewildered as to why there isn’t more buzz around it.
While reviews on this one were a bit divisive coming out of Fantastic Fest, a lot of people really seemed to love Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s unique film. Billed as a horror/romance/sci-fi, the less said about the plot of Spring the better, but if you’re a genre fan, you should definitely mark this one down as a film to see.
You may not know the name Ken Scott off the top of your head, but the director has brought us two very enjoyable films in Starbuck and Delivery Man. For his third outing, he’ll be re-teaming with Vaughn (who starred in Delivery Man) for another comedy that looks to be a winner. This one involves a business trip gone very wrong, and along for the ride are Dave Franco and Tom Wilkinson. While there’s not much hype surrounding the film just yet, I thought the trailer was hilarious and with the star power that’s attached, Unfinished Business has the potential to become one of the better raunchy comedies of 2015.
Noah Baumbach’s latest premiered at TIFF to fairly positive reviews, and given the director’s track record thus far, there’s no reason to doubt that he won’t deliver with While We’re Young. Working again with Ben Stiller, after the duo gave us the excellent Greenberg, the film sports a top notch cast (with Naomi Watts, Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried co-starring) and promises to be a thoughtful and humorous look at life.
Aside from starring Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi, this bizarre film is worth seeing for its odd plot alone. Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, follows the titular girl as she hunts for treasure after discovering a VHS of Fargo, believing that it’s a map that will lead her there. It’s a strange premise, to be sure, but it’s one that will likely prove to be a breath of fresh air amidst all the recycled sequels and reboots that willl soon invade our theatres.
