2015 has been a bumper year at the cinema and with three months to go before the end of the year, there's still plenty to come.

We've taken a look over the studio's slates and picked out ten films you need to see before 2015 ends - some you might have heard of and some you DEFINITELY have heard of. From us. Because we won't shut up about them. It's Star Wars, obviously.

We've teamed up with the guys at Meteor who have just launched Meteor Extras, extra little gifts to say thanks, to compile a list of some of the best films to hit the cinema screens before the end of the year.

All release dates, FYI, are correct at time of writing and if they're changed, we'll update them.

 

 

10. BLACK MASS (November 27th)

Is this the start of the Johnny Depp-aissance? It sure looks like it. Depp plays Whitey Bulger, one of the most notorious criminals in US history who forged an alliance with the FBI and gunned his way to the top of Boston's criminal world. There's also a huge supporting cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson and plenty more besides. If you loved The Departed, you're in for an extra-special treat. Jack Nicholson's character in that was based on the real-life White Bulger, which Depp plays in this.

 

9. IN THE HEART OF THE SEA (December 25th)

Ron Howard directs another biopic focusing on the trials and tribulations of the whaling ship Essex. It also has two of our own involved - Brendan Gleeson plays the narrator who tells the story in flashback whilst Cillian Murphy plays one of the sailors aboard the ship who battled a white whale, eventually becoming stranded on an island. The story of the Essex served as the inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby Dick and, judging by this trailer, it looks pretty intense. 

 

8. BROOKLYN (November 6th)

John Crowley - who worked on two of the best episodes in True Detective's second season - is back in the cinemas with Brooklyn, an affecting romantic drama about a young woman in '50s Ireland who emigrates to New York and finds herself caught between the love of two men, one in New York and one here at home. There's already Oscar talk for Saoirse Ronan's performance in this and with a screenplay by High Fidelity's Nick Hornby, there's plenty to suggest it'll do well at the Oscars.

 

7. MACBETH (October 2nd)

Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star in this big-screen adaptation of the Scottish Play. Forget those stuffy RSC plays you had to watch in school - this looks dark, gritty, super-violent and gorgeously shot. Does the trailer make it look eerily similar to True Detective's first season? That's no coincidence. The cinematographer who worked on that worked on this - so expect lots of beautiful landscape shots and murky, smoke-filled castles everywhere.

 

6. BRIDGE OF SPIES (November 27th)

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg team up for another run at the Oscars. This time around, it's all about the Cold War and a downed U2 plane in Soviet Russia. Hanks plays an insurance lawyer who's drafted by the US government to secure the pilot's release, but must work with a Soviet infiltrator to work out a prisoner exchange. With a script by the Coen Brothers and Spielberg directing, you can expect this clean up at the Oscars.

 

5. SICARIO (October 8th)

This, we're particularly looking forward to. Emily Blunt plays an FBI agent who's sent to the hinterland between Mexico and the States to battle the ruling drug cartel. Helping her is a mysterious hitman (Benicio Del Toro) who has questionable methods that seem to be sanctioned by her superiors. Denis Villeneuve, who directed last year's fantastic Prisoners, is helming here - and he's looking after the Blade Runner sequel too.

 

4.  HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PT. II (November 20th)

The finale in The Hunger Games franchise arrives at last with J-Law as Katniss Everdeen taking on the might of the Capitol and moustache-twirling President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland). While the first part of Mockingjay was a little bit stilted in places, this should be a full-on blockbuster with huge action setpieces.

 

3. THE GOOD DINOSAUR (November 27th)

Disney are back to make you ugly cry in the cinema with The Good Dinosaur. The premise for this is, we think, pretty damn clever. What would Earth look like if the comet which destroyed the dinosaurs missed and humans and dinosaurs evolved together? Talking dinosaurs, basically. With an impressive voice cast that includes Jeffrey Wright, Sam Elliott, Anna Pacquin and Fargo's Frances McDormand, you can expect to see Good Dinosaur toys everywhere in time for Christmas.

 

2. SPECTRE (October 26th)

Daniel Craig goes four for four as James Bond, although this time, the stakes are even higher. Christoph Waltz plays the mysterious villain who has a link to Bond's past, whilst Guardians of the Galaxy and former wrestler Dave Batista plays the evil henchman Mr. Hinx. Sherlock's Andrew Scott plays bureaucrat Max Denbigh whilst Monica Belluci sizzles as Lucia Sciarra, a criminal mastermind's widow who becomes entangled with Bond. This will be Sam Mendes' final film with the Bond series and, from what we're hearing, he's leaving everything on the table.

 

1. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (December 17th)

Easily the most anticipated film of 2015 - hell, the last ten years - The Force Awakens is going to slice through box-office records like a lightsaber through somebody's hands. There's all sorts of rumours surrounding the plot, but what we do know is that it's going to big. Death Star big. WE CANNOT WAIT.

 

Meteor Extras are extra little gifts to say thanks for choosing Meteor. As a way of saying thanks to their customers, all Meteor customers can go free to the cinema every month and enjoy 2 for 1 dining at selected restaurants. Visit www.meteor.ie/extras to find out more!