Trying to whittle this list down to just ten entries was tough, and our initial pass had 27 movies on it, which itself had been cut down from over 50. There are so many movies this year (2014) that have got our attention, but these are the ten that we've got high hopes for.
GODZILLA
Release Date: May 16th
Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen and an all-star, international cast are up against the giant radioactive dragon as it goes about destroying skyscrapers and generally being a bit of a mess-maker. From the director of lo-fi indie-hit Monsters, this looks to be a more serious take than the last time Godzilla attacked New York, and that trailer sure does look impressive!
GONE GIRL
Release Date: October 3rd
Based on what has got to be one of the most popular books of the last ten years, we've got Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike playing a seemingly happy couple, when things go very dark, very suddenly. From director David Fincher (Fight Club, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Se7en), expect this to look fantastic, be quite emotionally disturbing, and be getting a lot of awards buzz come early 2015.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Release Date: August 1st
Marvel also has Captain America: The Winter Soldier coming out in April, but this space bound sci-fi epic is the one we've got our eye on. Chris Pratt, Lee Pace, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Benicio Del Toro and loads more big names fill out this new direction in the Marvel Universe, as a group of random heroes try to fight against the impending, universe ending doom being brought by an all powerful villain.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
Release Date: July 4th
It's been four years since the surprisingly fantastic original swooped into cinemas, and we can't wait to see what Hiccup and Toothless have been up to since then. This time round they're fighting for the peace that has been developed between humans and dragons when a new species is discovered that upsets the natural order.
INTERSTELLAR
Release Date: November 7th
Anything that Christopher Nolan is involved in is an event, as his first time directing since the closing of The Dark Knight Trilogy sees back in Inception-y territory. Very little is known about the plot, other than it involves space and black-holes, but the cast list is epic - McConaughey, Hathway, Chastain, Caine, loads more - and the fact that few do big epic ideas quite like Nolan means that this is going to be THE event movie of 2014.
JUPITER ASCENDING
Release Date: July 25th
The Wachowskis have done some great things (The Matrix, Bound), some good things (their part in Cloud Atlas) and some bad things (Speed Racer, The Matrix sequels), but never boring things. Even their failures are interesting in some ways, which is why whenever they have a new project, we're always front in line to get a glimpse. Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis star in this sci-fi-action fest which, if it isn't great (and all chances are that it might be), will at the very least be very interesting.
THE LEGO MOVIE
Release Date: February 14th
An all-star voice cast - Elizabeth Banks, Cobie Smulders, Chris Pratt, Morgan Freeman, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Charlie Day, etc. - playing LEGO versions of all-star characters - Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, etc. - in what looks to be one of the funniest movies of the year. From the directors of Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street, hopes for this one are set quite high.
TRANSCENDENCE
Release Date: April 25th
The directorial debut of Wally Pfister - the go to cinematographer of Christopher Nolan – looks like it's taken a few notes from his old boss, with this very Christopher Nolan-looking and sounding movie. Johnny Depp plays a tech genius who uploads his consciousness on to a computer, and things go very, very wrong. A mix of Inception and Tron, with supporting cast including Morgan Freeman, Kate Mara and Cillian Murphy, this may end up giving Interstellar a run for its money in the Best Epic Sci-Fi Of 2014 stakes.
UNDER THE SKIN
Release Date: March 14th
Jonathan Glazer has only two movies under his belt, Sexy Beast from back in 2000, and Birth, back in 2004. He's finally back to movie making, this time directing Scar-Jo as she plays an alien who seduces, sexes, and then kills hitchhikers in Scotland. It sounds like an art-house version of that camp-tastic sci-fi erotic thriller Species to us. And in no way are we saying that's a bad thing!
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
Release Date: May 22nd
Heads up, comic book movie fans, because things are about to get complicated. The two generations of X-Men movies - the present day set ones of the original trilogy, and the 70s set one of First Class - are about to collide, as Wolverine is thrown back in time to alter the course of history and try to stop a world-shattering event from taking place. With a cast-list comprising of both timelines of X-Men movies, and a mind-twisting plot to make it stand out from the crowd, this is the X-Men universe lining itself up to take on some Avengers style epic storytelling. Bring it on!
