Late winter at the movies: Spies, space and S&M
January is typically the junkyard for movies, a place where Hollywood’s least promising titles go to die. (“American Sniper” was obviously the exception.)
Now that it’s over, here are seven movies to anticipate before we get to the busy, super-packed spring movie season. (Release dates are subject to change.)
“Jupiter Ascending” — This was bumped from its initial release date last year, but hopefully that means filmmakers the Wachowski siblings have had time to get things right. It kind of sounds like another one of their bonkers sci-fi ideas, though, and they haven’t delivered a profitable movie in about a decade. So, good luck, siblings. The story takes place in the future, when a young destitute woman (Mila Kunis) is informed by a genetically engineered hunter (Channing Tatum) that she is in line to be Queen of the Universe. She can stop buying lottery tickets now. (Feb. 6)
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” — Colin Firth stars in this adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book “The Secret Service” as a veteran secret agent who leads a young protege (newcomer Taron Egerton) into the world of espionage. This holds promise in director Matthew Vaughn, who follows up the violently cool “Kick-Ass” and “X-Men: First Class,” and looks to be a nostalgic tribute to the pop-art styling and uber-cool vibe of 1960s spy movies. (Feb. 13)
“Fifty Shades of Grey” — The movie adaptation of the steamy, ridiculously popular novel about a naive college girl (Dakota Johnson) who falls hard for tortured billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), who likes his women tortured as well, finally hits the big screen. (Feb. 13)
“Maps to the Stars” — This looks interesting because it marks the return of eccentric director David Cronenberg (“Eastern Promises,” “The Fly”). Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack and Robert Pattinson star in this story of a Hollywood family’s boisterous dynamic with each other and the entertainment industry. (Feb. 27)
“Chappie” — Director Neill Blomkamp follows up “District 9” and “Elysium” with another sci-fi actioner, this time about a robot who becomes the adopted son to a dysfunctional family. Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver and Blomkamp favorite Sharlto Copley star. (March 6)
“The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” — This sequel is aimed strictly at the over-50 set, and that’s nice because it’s a demographic that isn’t represented enough. We catch up with the lives and loves of the elderly residents of India’s Marigold Hotel. The original was delightful, so we can hope this captures the same magic. (March 6)
“Cinderella” — This will actually kick off the spring movie season, a big-budget, live-action Disney take on the classic fairy tale about a servant step-daughter who wins the heart of a prince. While that’s all and good, I’m more interested in the casting, with Cate Blanchett as the wicked step-monster and Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother. I always knew she was magical. (March 13)
This story was originally published January 29, 2015 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Late winter at the movies: Spies, space and S&M."