15 Sci-Fi Films To Look Forward To This Year
INTERSTELLAR
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Release date: November 7, 2014
Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar chronicles the adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage. The film will “explore physicist Kip Thorne’s theories of gravity fields, wormholes and several hypotheses that Albert Einstein was never able to prove.” Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Wes Bentley, Topher Grace, & Michael Caine star. (Image slice from poster by Sysmatic)
JUPITER ASCENDING
Directed by: Larry & Lana Wachowski
Release date: July 25, 2014
Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) was born under a night sky, with signs predicting that she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning toilets and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Channing Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along – her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos. I’m a huge fan of the Wachowskis (Cloud Atlas was my favourite film of 2012) and I can’t wait to see how this one turns out. Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Doona Bae, James D’Arcy, and Sean Bean also star.
UNDER THE SKIN
Directed by: Jonathan Glazer
Release date: April 4, 2014
Based on Michael Faber’s novel of the same name, Under the Skin stars Scarlett Johansson as Laura, an alien sent from afar who’s equipped with enough human language and awesome seductive power to capture, destroy and presumably send home human males. I saw the film back in September at TIFF and really enjoyed it. While it does get a little bit repetitive in the first half, Johansson keeps your undivided attention throughout, as she is completely mesmerizing as the seductive and curious alien. Slowly paced but highly absorbing, Under the Skin is a haunting, enigmatic, enthralling, and beautifully-shot film.
TRANSCENDENCE
Directed by: Wally Pfister
Release date: April 18, 2014
Christopher Nolan’s longtime cinematographer Wally Pfister makes his directorial debut with Transendence, an original sci-fi film starring Johnny Depp & Rebecca Hall. “Two leading computer scientists work toward their goal of Technological Singularity, as a radical anti-technology organization fights to prevent them from creating a world where computers can transcend the abilities of the human brain. Jack Paglen’s screenplay was featured in the 2012 survey of Hollywood’s Black List, a list of most-liked unproduced screenplays. Kata Mara, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, and Clifton Collins Jr. also star.
DIVERGENT
Directed by: Neil Burger
Release date: March 21, 2014
Based on Veronica Roth’s best-selling young adult series that I’ve never read, the film is set in a future world where people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities. Shailene Woodley takes on the lead role of Beatrice “Tris” Prior, a young woman who is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. I’m already a huge fan of Woodley’s running form. Theo James, Kate Winslet, Tony Goldwyn, Ashley Judd, Theo James, Ray Stevenson, Mekhi Phifer, Maggie Q, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, & Zoe Kravitz round out the impressive cast.
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Directed by: Matt Reeves
Release date: July 18, 2014
Set 15 years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes centers on the growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar who become threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, Kirk Acevedo, Jocko Sims, and Judy Greer star.
THE MAZE RUNNER
Directed by: Wes Ball
Release date: September 14, 2014
Based on the young-adult novel by James Dashner, “The Maze Runner” centers around teen Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), who awakens in a rusty elevator with no memory of who he is. What he does come to find out is that he’s been delivered to the middle of an intricate maze, along with a slew of other boys, who have been trying to find their way out of the ever-changing labyrinth — all the while establishing a functioning society within the enclosure they’ve come to call “The Glade.” Dylan O’Brien, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario, Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, and Patricia Clarkson star.