As everyone else is recapping their favorite this and that from 2014, I’m going to be perfectly honest: I’m ready to move on. 2014 was a great year for me personally, but let’s not kid ourselves. We’ve all been looking forward to 2015 for a few years now as an entertainment geek’s Mecca. So while the rest of you are still reminiscing about how great Guardians of the Galaxy and the Lego Movie were, I’m eagerly awaiting these 15 things in 2015. (No offense to either Guardians ort The Lego Movie. They both made everything awesome.)
1. Star Wars
Duh. Let’s be honest, when some horribly, awful person “leaked” that fake Star Wars trailer on the internet a few days before the actual one, I know that I was not the only one who wanted to hunt them down for making my heart skip a few beats. However, all was forgiven not only when the actual trailer came out, but even more so when I saw it in IMAX 3D before the Hobbit premiere. If I hadn’t already made my decision on how I was going to see this movie, it was solidified right there. The Millennium Falcon should only be seen in larger than life three dimensional Heaven. All I know is if my theater holds an all day marathon to watch the original trilogy before the release of the new one, I will be skipping any and all work I need to.
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron
The second reason that we’ve all be waiting patiently for this year to be upon us was made even more enticing by creeping everyone out with that haunting version of “I’ve Got No Strings” in the trailer. James Spader has always freaked me out a little anyway, so I know that I will be on edge the entire time I’m watching this movie. I will take this moment to admit my shortcomings as a comic book reader, so I know there are people out there much more excited to see how Marvel treats this particular story arc, but as a Marvel movie watcher only at this point, I cannot contain my excitement.
3. Spectre
Christoph Waltz, Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Ralph Finnes. The cast list for Daniel Craig’s last turn as Bond is so amazing that I don’t even care that it’s overwhelmingly male-centric now that Judi Dench has relinquished her role as M. Add on to it that the rumors have Idris Elba possibly stepping into the Bond role next, my hopes for the franchise are incredibly high for the next decade starting with Spectre’s release in December. Do I really have to wait until December?
4. Furious 7
Yes, I realize that compared to the first three movies on this list, Furious 7 might seem a bit off kilter, but I’m one of those perfectionists who likes to finish what I start and doesn’t feel quite whole until I do. Considering that Fast and the Furious is specifically for my generation, I would feel incomplete without seeing it to completion. I actually remember seeing Fast and the Furious in the theater on one of my first dates ever right after getting my driver’s license drooling over Paul Walker in all his surfer-style glory. In all honesty, it probably had quite a bit to do with many of those first speeding tickets and my overall aversion to the speed limit for the first 3 or 4 years of my driving. No way will I not see my teenage heart-throb crush in his final film.
5. Everest
One of my favorite books of all time is Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer about his tragic 1996 climb of Mt. Everest. This movie will cover that exact same climb where a storm at the peak killed many of the group members. In an interesting turn of events, the crew was filming on site when an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain preparing for the climbing season. It will be interesting to see how the all-star cast chooses to portray the tragedy, especially after Krakauer was criticized quite a bit after his version was published.
6. Cinderella
Keep in mind this list is my top 15, and since it is my top 15, I can and will be adding Cinderella to the list. Growing up in a Disney family, I have collected Cinderella memorabilia since I was young, so of course my sister and I are extremely excited to see the new live-action version, possibly in tiaras. I have loved (and owned) every version so far, and am keen to see the depth these new actors bring to the story. I’m especially excited for Cate Blanchett and Helena Boheme Carter to appear as Lady Tremaine and the Fairy Godmother respectively.
7. True Detective, Season 2
It’s not just movies that I’m anticipating this year. After a phenomenal freshman season last year, True Detective will be returning to HBO this year with a new, and interesting, cast that has me both excited and very intrigued. Rachel McAdams? Vince Vaughn? Not the names I was expecting, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be tuning in to find out what happens in this new case.
8. Agent Carter
After Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD didn’t quite live up to expectations when it premiered, most people are probably a little hesitant about another Marvel shot at television, but personally, I loved Peggy Carter’s role in the first Captain America movie and am eagerly awaiting to see how they portray her in the short series. Supposedly, the plot mixes her skills as an agent with her graceful demeanor going against a man-dominated world, and I’m hoping they handle that mix of reality in a thoughtful way for all of us female geeks out there.
9. House of Cards
So, technically this one isn’t new in 2015, but considering I still haven’t started this series, I’m excited to watch all three seasons in 2015. I’m actively avoiding all HOC spoilers, but I’ll let you know what I think after my binge-watching. In fact, I may or may not be hoping for another polar vortex to hit us here in Indiana so that I have an excuse to veg out and do nothing but catch up with Frank and Claire Underwood.
10. Stephen Colbert on Late Night
Being that my day job as a teacher usually starts with a 5 am alarm, I’m not much of a late-night television person. What I am is a late-night video clip on twitter, Facebook, YouTube the next day kind of person. I might not have seen Jimmy Fallon and Daniel Radcliffe rapping the night before, but I definitely caught up the next day, so I’m curious to see how Stephen Colbert does at late night television as himself for once instead of his Colbert Report persona he’s built. Also, I’d be lying if I’m not a little intrigued to see how many people are shocked to find out that the Colbert Report wasn’t the real Stephen Colbert. I guess we’ll find out in May.
11. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby
Books don’t usually get the same anticipatory fanfare as movies or even television. Instead, they’re usually praised and passed around post-publish date, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few new novels coming out in early 2015 that at least arouse my curiosity. Nick Hornby, author of About a Boy and Fever Pitch, has a new book coming this year about a 1960’s sitcom star in Britain. Hopefully, it lives up to it’s author’s great reputation.
12. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
Speaking of phenomenal author reputations, you don’t get a better literary reputation these days than Morrison. The Pulitzer and Nobel winning author has a new book coming in the spring. I’m not going to lie. I don’t know much about what it’s about, nor do I care. I’ll be picking it up as soon as I can no matter what.
13-14. A Double John Green feature
While Hornby and Morrison might not be complete pop culture icons outside of the literary world, John Green definitely is after his hit book and movie combo of The Fault in Our Stars. 2015 is looking to be an even better year for Green with a possible double whammy. First, the movie Paper Towns based on the book of the same name will be rolling into theaters near you in June. Be prepared to sit between groups of teenage girls, but personally I thought Paper Towns was a much better read than TFIOS and hope that the movie is just as good. Also, rumors have been circulating a la Twitter and Tumblr that Green is also at work on a new novel, his first in three years, to be published later this year. Not much information yet, but if it follows suit, teens and adults both won’t be disappointed.
15. Anything with a Hemsworth in it,
Seriously, go look the brothers up on imdb.com and check out their upcoming projects. Chris has a slight lead with four movies coming this year, but Liam isn’t much of a slacker with three. Of course, I’ve already mentioned one of Chris’ movies, but Blackhat and In the Heart of the Sea both look exciting as well. Not much has been seen on his role in the new Vacation movie, but if you’re telling me that both Hemsworth and Chevy Chase are going to be in a new National Lampoon movie, I’m in. Liam will finish up his Hunger Games series in what should be a very good ending to Mockingjay. Again, there isn’t much news yet on his other two movies, but both seem set up with great casts (Kate Winslet! Woody Harrelson!) and interesting story lines, so I’ll be there.
I hope you guys are just as excited for what should be an amazing year of entertainment! Cheers to 2015!
