One of the more peculiar (and peculiarly interesting) releases planned for 2015 is Chris Columbus' Pixels, a 3D live-action-animation hybrid based off Patrick Jean's 2010 short film that sees New York City be invaded by classic 8-bit video games, such as Space Invaders, Tetris, Pac-Man and so on. Adam Sandler stars as a former video game champion tasked with stopping the invasion, while his good buddy Kevin James plays the (presumably hapless) President of the United States, Peter Dinklage is Sandler's video game rival, and Michelle Monaghan is Sandler's love interest. Though any Adam Sandler movie has to be tempered with, well, the fact that it's an Adam Sandler movie, this is certainly one of the more curious concepts he's been drawn to lately (not that this is saying much), and with the likes of Dinklage and Monaghan signing up, hopefully this means the deer urine jokes will be kept to a minimum. That said, co-writer Tim Herlihy also wrote Grown Ups 2, so it's probably best to keep our expectations realistic, even if we're undeniably intrigued by the concept. Predicted Rotten Tomatoes Score: 46%
24. Tomorrowland (May 22)
Pixar director Brad Bird shocked us all with his stunning transition into live-action filmmaking with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, so expectations are high for his live-action follow-up, Tomorrowland. Little concrete is known about the plot as of yet, though if online speculation is correct, it follows teenage girl Casey (Britt Robertson) and genius Frank (George Clooney), who ends up getting kicked out of the iconic Tomorrowland park, and together with robot Athena (Raffey Cassidy) they plot to sneak back into Tomorrowland, which exists in a parallel dimension, where Earth's fate is at risk from the evil David Nix (Hugh Laurie). It's certainly a plot that could go either way, and it's going to have to work hard not to feel like a glorified Disney advert, though with a director (and co-writer) as skilled as Bird at the helm, it seems likely that he will succeed. Due to the apparently effects-heavy nature of the movie, much of the filming has taken place behind closed doors, creating an even larger air of mystique and intrigue around what could be one of 2015's most unexpected hits. Predicted Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
