The first month of 2015 has already been and gone and the new movie year is well under way - I have to say, it has been kicked off in fine style over the last few weeks.
Blackhat
As we head into February there are a whole host of exciting films from science fiction to book adaptations and drama to thriller. We take a look at some of the films that we are looking forward to the most and are not to be missed.
- Jupiter Ascending - released 6th February
It has been two years since we have seen Andy and Lana Wachowski in the director's chair - Cloud Atlas at the beginning of 2013 was their last project - but now the duo are back with Jupiter Ascending.
Jupiter Ascending was a film that should have been released last year, but finally the film has arrived - it looks set to kick of 2015 sci-fi films in great style.
In a bright and colourful future, a young destitute caretaker is targeted by a ruthless son of a powerful family that live on a planet in need of a new heir, so she travels with a genetically engineered warrior to the planet in order to stop his tyrant reign.
The movie sees Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum take on the central roles of Jupiter Jones and Caine and they are joined on the cast list by Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, James D'Arcy, Douglas Booth, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Andy and Lana Wachowski are no strangers to big sci-fi epic movies and I can't wait to see what they deliver with Jupiter Ascending.
- Selma - released 6th February
We have already been treated to a string of biopic movies in 2015, and Selma is one that has been winning over critics and audiences in America - now we get to see what all the fuss is about.
Selma marks the return of Ava DuVernay to the director's chair as she reunites with David Oyelowo, who will take on the role of Martin Luther King in the film.
Selma follows Martin Luther King's battle for equal voting rights in America, while culminated in the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. This would change the face of America and American politics forever.
A star-studied cast has been assembled for the film, as Oprah Winfred, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Carmen Ejogo, and Cuba Gooding Jr will all star alongside Oyelowo.
Selma has already been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and is set to be one of the most powerful movies to hit the big screen this month.
- Fifty Shades of Grey - released 13th February.
If there is one movie that everyone has been talking about for about twelve months, it has been Fifty Shades of Grey... and there are only a couple of weeks before we finally get to see the film for ourselves.
The movie is based on the smash hit novel by E.L. James and sees Sam Taylor-Johnson back in the director's chair for the first time since she made her debut with Nowhere Boy back in 2009.
There was so much hype and talk about the casting of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey - just about everyone was linked to the roles at some time or other - but this movie looks set to send the stars of Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan rocketing.
They are joined on the cast list by Jennifer Ehle, Luke Grimes, Rita Ora, Eloise Mumford, Marcia Gay Harden, and Max Martini.
Fifty Shades of Grey follows literature student Anastasia Steele's life changes forever when she meets handsome, yet tormented, billionaire Christian Grey. It is set to be a box office smash and one of the biggest movies of February, if not of 2015.
- Blackhat - released 20th February
Chris Hemsworth has a very busy 2015 ahead of him and Blackhat is the first of the movies that we are going to be seeing him star in.
Blackhat sees Hemsworth team up with filmmaker Michael Mann for the first time, as he returns to the director's chair for the first time since Public Enemies back in 2009.
Hemsworth takes on the central role in Blackhat and is joined on the cast list by Viola Davis, William Mapother, Wei Tang, and John Ortiz.
Set within the world of global cybercrime, Legendary's Blackhat follows a furloughed convict and his American and Chinese partners as they hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta.
Blackhat looks like it is going to be an action packed ride and it is great to see Hemsworth varying his roles this year - we are also going to be seeing him in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Vacation.
- Cake - released 20th February
Jennifer Aniston has been in the acting game for a long time but it is her performance in new movie Cake that has everyone talking and many people raving.
Cake is a movie that is a completely different direction for Aniston as she teams up with director Daniel Barnz for the first time. This is his first feature film since Won't Back Down.
A great cast has been assembled by the director as Aniston is joined by Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, Felicity Huffman, and William H. Macy.
Cake takes us into the darkly funny world of Claire Bennett (Aniston) who initiates a dubious relationship with a widower (Worthington) while confronting fantastical hallucinations of his dead wife (Kendrick). It really does look set to be the film that changes the course of Aniston's career.
Aniston has already picked up a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Best Actress nomination for her work - sadly, she missed out on the Oscar - and I really cannot wait to see her in action.
- The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - released 26th February
It was back in 2012 when we were introduced to the world of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the first time, and now Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and co are back for the sequel.
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel comes three years after the huge - and rather unexpected success - of the first film, and it is great to see John Madden back in the director's chair. Ol Parker has also returned to pen the screenplay.
There are plenty of familiar faces on the cast list, as Dench, Smith, Bill Night, Dev Patel, and Celia Imrie are all returning. Richard Gere, David Strathairn, and Tamsin Greig are also on board this time around.
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is the expansionist dream of Sonny (Patel), and it's making more claims on his time than he has available, considering his imminent marriage to the love of his life, Sunaina (Tina Desai).
Evelyn and Douglas (Dench and Nighy) have now joined the Jaipur workforce, and are wondering where their regular dates for Chilla pancakes will lead, while Norman and Carol (Ronald Pickup and Diana Hardcastle) are negotiating the tricky waters of an exclusive relationship, as Madge (Imrie) juggles two eligible and very wealthy suitors.
Perhaps the only one who may know the answers is newly installed co-manager of the hotel, Muriel (Maggie Smith), the keeper of everyone's secrets. As the demands of a traditional Indian wedding threaten to engulf them all, an unexpected way forward presents itself.
- Focus - released 27th February
Over the last few years, we have not seen too much of Will Smith on the big screen... all that is set to change as he returns with new crime drama Focus.
The movie will see Smith back to his slick best as he joins forces with directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa - who were behind comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love.
The movie also marks the return of Margot Robbie in what will be a major year for the actress - the duo is also set to work together on the upcoming Suicide Squad movie.
Smith stars as Nicky, a seasoned master of misdirection who becomes romantically involved with novice con artist Jess (Robbie). As he's teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off.
Three years later, the former flame-now an accomplished femme fatale-shows up in Buenos Aires in the middle of the high stakes racecar circuit. In the midst of Nicky's latest, very dangerous scheme, she throws his plans for a loop... and the consummate con man off his game.
Focus promises to be a fast paced, slick, and sexy movie and I can't wait to see Smith and Robbie join forces.
Other February movies that are not to be missed include The Interview, Love Is Strange, Predestination, and It Follows.