What you may need to know:

1. John Cusack and Adrien Brody swap their remaining dignity for cash in peplum gubbins set in 48 BC.

2. Not a comedy, just so you know.

3. Nicolas Cage and Bruce Willis must have passed.

4. Cusack’s career is so off track that only a part in True Detective 3 could save him now.

5. This has been out in China since February. As crazy as it sounds, it’s already recouped twice its budget. China is so hot right now.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Made in Taiwan.

Release Date: September 4 (USA)

(Mark blogs about film, TV and other stuff at WhyBother.ie)

What you may need to know:

1. Home Alone with talking animals.

2. Illumination (Despicable Me 1 & 2) are still searching for a non-Minions-related hit. Remember Hop (2011)? Let’s not.

3. This isn’t out for another 12 months, so a lot of this teaser could be tarted-up test footage. Why so early? Because Pixar’s Inside Out is released today, that’s why.

4. I would quite happily watch this stuff for 90 minutes. But the finished product will probably have an unnecessary aliens/kidnapping/rescue plot.

5. Voice talent includes Louis C.K. (Louie), Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) and Kevin Hart (Everything… That guy is in everything).

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Doggie Day Afternoon.

Release Date: July 8 2016

(Mark blogs about film, TV and other stuff at WhyBother.ie)

What you may need to know.

1. Aidan Gillen! And a sassy kid! What’s not to love?

2. You’re Ugly Too director Mark Noonan is OFFICIALLY one to watch.

3. Gillen is deftly balancing upmarket TV gigs, homegrown fare and the odd Hollywood blockbuster.

4. We’re loving his recent excursions into audiobook territory, too.

5. And we LOVED him in moderately bonkers Jason Statham masterwork Blitz (2011).

6. His real name is Aidan Murphy. And Michael Keaton’s real name is Michael Douglas. It’s a strange and beautiful world.

7. Broadsheet Prognosis: It’s not going to be sad, is it?

Release Date: July 10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue4PCI0NamI]

What you may need to know:

1. An astronaut gets stranded alone on Mars and has to be saved. It was a book by Andy Weir. Or it’s a remake of Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964). YOU decide.

2. To get lost in space once may be regarded as a misfortune; to get lost twice looks like carelessness. Science the shit out of that Matt Damon.

3. Stellar cast though. It’s a veritable who’s who.

4. Fox pushed the US release of the film ahead by two months to avoid a run in with the new Hunger Games (2015) and the latest Rocky flick (2015). Daniel Radcliffe’s latest, Victor Frankenstein, has been pushed to November instead.

5. They are going all out with this one. There are viral videos and even scripts getting launched into space.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Jimmy Kimmel got it right.

Release Date: November 27

What you may need to know:

1. Greenhorn Justin Kurzel directs Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in the 13th screen adaption of “The Scottish Play.”

2. And not a sign of Sir Kenneth of Branagh.

3. That Shakespeare bloke could really knock ‘em out. Allegedly.

4. There’s a longstanding luvvie superstition that quoting Macbeth outside of a performance will lead to disaster. Like saying “Voldemort” or “Candyman” out loud.

5. Our boy Michael has come a long way since Band of Brothers (2001).

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Spoiler alert: He dies at the end. TRAGEDY!!!

Release Date: October 2.

(Mark blogs about film, TV and other stuff at WhyBother.ie)

What you may need to know.

1. Bill Murray. Say no more.

2. After spending the last decade mostly doing cameos, Wes Anderson movies and generally being Bill Murray, he’s back in leading man mode.

3. Bruce Willis, phoning it in to the extent he doesn’t stand unless its entirely necessary (call it James Spader Syndrome)

4. Danny McBride. Always a pleasure.

5. Directed by Barry Levinson – has it really been TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS since Good Morning Vietnam?

6. Yes, Murray’s doing a Christmas special for Netflix. And yes, it’s called A Very Murray Christmas.

7. Broadsheet Prognosis: We miss you, Harold Ramis.

Release date: October 23

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-2x3r1m2I4

What you may need to know:

1. Cold War thriller set in 1960. Lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks) tries to negotiate a prisoner swap between KGB spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) and a US pilot shot down over the Soviet Union.

2. Steven Spielberg directs the nicest guy in Hollywood with a script by the Coen brothers. That’s some pedigree.

3. Thespian’s thespian Rylance must have made quite the impression on Spielberg. He’s landed the title role in the director’s forthcoming adaption of Roald Dahl’s The BFG (2016).

4. This will be the first Spielberg movie that John Williams hasn’t scored since The Color Purple (1985).

5. Broadsheet Prognosis: Oscar bait.

Release Date: October 16

(Mark blogs about film, TV and other stuff at WhyBother.ie)

What you may need to know:

1. Zom-non-com with Matthew Fox and Jeffrey Donovan as survivors hiding out nine years after the zombie apocalypse.

2. @0:12 – “Tonight, Matthew, I’m going to be Captain Caveman.”

3. Fox can’t seem to get away from zombies. He had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role as “Parajumper #1” in Brad Pitt’s patchy World War Z (2013).

4. Were there any zombies in Lost amongst all those alternate timelines, four-toed statues and frozen donkey wheels? What was the deal with Christian Shephard?

5. If you were underwhelmed by I Am Legend (2007), then check out The Omega Man (1971).

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Needs more braaaaains.

Release Date: August 14.

(Mark blogs about film, TV and other stuff at WhyBother.ie)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oi3HDkXK98

What you may ne4ed to know

1. It’s like, the arthouse version of San Andreas (2015).

2. BASED UPON A TRUE STORY.

3. Sweet cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke (with actual Aussie accent for once), John Hawkes... Where’s Mark Wahlberg?

4. Plus: Keira Knightly. On the phone. Looking concerned.

5. Jake Gyllenhaal tried the blockbuster thing, but it didn’t exactly go to plan. In recent years he’s been killing it in the likes of Prisoners (2013),  Nightcrawler (2014) and Enemy (2013) In case you haven’t seen the last one, it’s worth it for the last shot alone.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Get The Rock in for the sequel.

Release date: September 18

What you may need to know

1. The original #YesEquality

2. Duff! Mulligan! Bonham-Carter! Streeeeeeeep!

3. It’s Brendan Gleeson, male opressor!

4. Meryl’s 20th Oscar nomination: officially in the bag.

5. Broadsheet Prognosis: Call them The Expenda-belles

Release Date: October