Hail, Caesar!
Release date: February 5th (USA), March 4th (UK)
When the Coen Brothers write and direct, they make three kinds of movies. There’s the relatively small projects that arrive with little fanfare and are wonderous examples of a pure desire to tell a story – such as Blood Simple, A Serious Man, and Inside Llewyn Davis; there’s the mid-level, tonally specific projects, that are often steeped in philosophical musings upon the nature of life and love – such as Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Intolerable Cruelty, and Burn After Reading; and then there are the sweeping epics that are mind-blowingly good, and become instant classics – such as Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and No Country For Old Men.
Now, anything delivered by the Coen Brothers warrants attention and a high degree of anticipation, but with every indication suggesting that Hail, Caesar! will fall squarely within the sweeping epic category, that anticipation is immediately multiplied, ten-fold. The Coen Brothers do sweeping epics ridiculously well.
All that is really known about the film is that it is set in 1950s Hollywood, and follows a studio ‘fixer’ as he tries to keep the stars and contract players in line. We know that one major star – dressed as a Roman centurion – is kidnapped, and we know that chaos and hilarity will ensue. We also know that, like many of their past sweeping epics, the Coen Brothers have assembled an all-star cast – including Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, Jonah Hill and Ralph Fiennes. Finally, we know that the phenomenal Roger Deakins is handling cinematography for the filmmaking duo once more, and that their regular musical collaborator, Carter Burwell, is also on board.
This kind of assembly of talent doesn’t just happen for any movie – but it does happen for a Coen Brothers movie. They are among the most artistically significant creators of the modern age, and Hail, Caesar! cannot arrive soon enough.
– Sarah Myles
Deadpool
Release date: February 10th (UK), February 12th (US)
I know, I know, we’ve been burnt before. At the climax of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds’s Merc With A Mouth… well, lost his mouth, effectively castrating one of Marvel’s most beloved characters, but Fox are outright determined to atone for their past sins, bringing Deadpool back to the big screen in what appears to be an incredibly faithful adaptation of the character.
From the outset, the marketing campaign for Deadpool has been one of the most impressive we’ve ever seen, perfectly capturing the spirit of the character by utilizing his unique ability to break the fourth wall, explicitly addressing fans in the most hilarious ways possible.
While this is all rather impressive, effective marketing can only promise us so much, but fortunately, the pitch perfect trailer and Reynolds obsessive dedication to the role has already convinced us that Deadpool could very well be the best comic book movie of the year, beating out the likes of Captain America: Civil War and X-Men: Apocalypse.
Let’s face it – Fox have far too much to prove here. If they ruin Deadpool a second time, there will be no going back and the fans will be out for blood. Saying that, this is the same studio that produced the Fantastic Four reboot… so let’s cross our fingers, grab ourselves a chimichanga and wait patiently until February finally rolls around.
– David Opie
Zootopia
Release date: 4 March (US), March 25th (UK)
Releasing just a few short weeks away in early March, the newest addition to the classic line-up of Walt Disney Animation Studios films has all the markings of a sleeper hit waiting to happen. Well, sleeper hit in terms of Disney films — think the legacy of Meet the Robinsons in comparison to Frozen.
But, Zootopia has more clever ideas in pop culture references than lesser animated fare in its one-sheet alone, and the potential for satire in the buddy-cop pairings of a fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and a bunny rabbit named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is endlessly exciting.
– Mitchel Broussard