Due for release in a mere two days time, Rob Marshall's Into The Woods is on the fast track to becoming Christmas Day's biggest box office draw. For those whose idea of languishing in front of the TV after over-indulging, this glittery spectacle ought to satisfy the entire family's festive cravings.
There was a time when Clerks helmer Kevin Smith threatened to quit making movies altogether. That dark day has long since passed, and he's on track to take the cinematic world by storm once more. Since the release of his walrus horror epic, Tusk, Smith's mojo has returned in full force. The divisive body horror was actually a key factor in securing financing for the director's trilogy-closer, Clerks III and a stream of movies set to follow. One of which is his long-anticipated hockey project, Hit Somebody.
Kevin Costner's return to the sports genre, a broad subject he so fiercely committed to throughout the 80s, will see him hitting the track as a high school sports coach. In McFarland, USA he plays the grizzled Jim White. New to town, he takes on the challenge of knocking the local school's cross country team into shape. Thrown into the mix are the usual tribulations of adolescence, familial struggles and the racial conflicts the predominantly Latino team face. Ahead of its February release, Disney has now dropped a second trailer to stir up the crowds.
The tenth Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Longest Ride, is on its way to a cinema screen near you and now there's a trailer to appease your appetite for love. This latest bout of romantic tearjerkery revolves - as you might expect - around a lovelorn couple who must fight to stay together.
The Steve Jobs movie, which recently shifted from Sony Pictures to Universal Pictures, is in the final stages of locking down its leading cast. The as-yet untitled picture is set to lens early next year, with Danny Boyle directing from a script penned by Aaron Sorkin. To ensure the shooting schedule stays on track, the casting process is moving forward with the addition of Inherent Vice star, Katherine Waterston.
The Monuments Men sounded good on paper and looked good in theory but turned out to be less-than-satisfactory in practice. In spite of boasting a killer premise - the WWII-set tale followed a misfit bunch of allied soldiers out to reclaim priceless works of art stolen by the Nazis - it sadly failed to work on the big screen.
This year's break-out hit for Marvel was their risky cosmic adventure, Guardians Of The Galaxy. Rising from the lesser-known realm of the studio's back catalogue, the misfit bunch saved the day from tyrannical thug, Thanos, and brought in a sizeable chunk at the box office. In a somewhat rare move, a sequel was greenlit the day before the movie hit theaters. Marvel's confidence in James Gunn's first flick for the studio meant they knew they had a hit before audiences could even prove it. And, since the announcement for Guardians Of The Galaxy 2, all things Phase 3 have taken off.
AMC's next show slated to glue audiences to their couches is Breaking Bad spinoff, Better Call Saul. When first announced, the series had its fair share of detractors; many sullying its name out of fear that it would merely retread what made Bad so successful. However, with the absence of drug duo Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, there's a new sheriff in town... well, actually, it's their crooked lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk).
Next year HBO will be breaking every ratings record known to man when its flagship series, Game Of Thrones, returns to our screens. However, their next show that's aiming to woo viewers with its dystopian sci-fi madness is their retread of Michael Crichton's 1973 movie, Westworld. With a cast and crew that boasts some of the industry's finest pioneers, it's the production ensemble of Jonathan Nolan, J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk and Jerry Weintraub that lends this adaptation hefty clout.
Prior to their comic book team-up in David Ayer's Suicide Squad, Will Smith and Margot Robbie will be flexing their criminal muscles in romantic con caper, Focus. The pair play a couple of con artists with a complicated romantic history. After a few lessons in grifting and conning, he abruptly dumps her after their relationship becomes amorous and the two cross paths three years later.
