What you may need to know:

1. Grab it while it’s hot. Director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy have just introduced the second trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the “Celebration” über convention in California. Old schoolers Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew and Anthony Daniels were joined by newcomers Oscar Isaac, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley.

2. Watch, rewatch and watch it again. This has everything the first trailer didn’t – The music… that voiceover… and Han and Chewie on the friggin’ Falcon!!!

3. In leather. Sure, why not?

4. Still no sign of intergalactic senates, trade federations or embargoes. Good… gooood.

5. It looks like a lot of the plot and concept art leaks are on the money. My advice? don’t go digging.

6. Full disclosure: I just had a full on nerdgasm.

7. Broadsheet Prognosis: I have a very good feeling about this.

Release Date: December 18.

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

What you may need to know:

1. Sequel to 2012’s moderately successful horror. Original writer Scott Derrickson returns, but National Irish Film School at IADT graduate Ciarán Foy takes over directing duties.

2. A young mother (Shannyn Sossamon) and her twin sons move into a rural house that’s marked for death.

3. That’s property bubbles for you. Spiralling prices force countless young families into more affordable rural housing, irrespective of “marked for death” status or not. Thanks a bunch, Bertie.

4. The bogeyman looks like that dude from Slipknot.

5. The law of diminishing returns means that Ethan Hawke is absent. Just like Kim Cattrall in Mannequin on the Move (1991). Or Kim Cattrall in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1987).

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Boo.

Release Date: August 21.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdt0lJj3xtE

What you may need to know:

1. The Star Wars saga is now available for *cough* legal download for the first time.

2. Should go nicely with the 2011 Blu-ray box set, the 2008 re-packaged DVDs, the 2006 limited editions with the unaltered original trilogy, the original 2006 DVD box set and the first widescreen releases from 1994 on VHS (which I still have somewhere, although I can’t play them on anything).

3. The download figures for IV-VI versus I-III should be interesting. The best thing about those prequels was Mr. Plinkett’s reviews.

4. It’s a shame that George Lucas was never schooled in the delicate art of respecting your work. Once it’s out there George, it’s not yours anymore.

5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is out in 253 days. So in 254 days we’ll all be b*tching about how it wasn’t as good as Phantom Menace (1999).

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Enough already. Just release the unaltered originals.

Release Date: Today.

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

What you may need to know

1. The Farreller! Vince Vaughan! STARING INTENSELY.

2. Love Farrell’s ‘tash.

3. Can it possibly live up to the first season? Was the first season (whisper it) overrated?

4. TV is now where movie stars go to improve their prospects. Fact.

5. We still think they should get McConaughey and Woody back for Season Three.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: We wish they had done this one instead.

Broadcast Date: June

What you may need to know:

1. As pop culture punchlines go, The Human Centipede movies have had a decent run.

2. Human Centipede 3 features Dieter Laser, from Part 1, and Laurence R. Harvey, from Part 2.

3. It also features Eric Roberts, perhaps the only actor alive who can do a PT Anderson movie AND a Human Centipede flick in the same twelve months.

4. 500 convict-long human centipede, anyone?

5. Broadsheet Prognosis: We’ll always have the South Park parody.

Release Date: May

What you may need to know:

1. A bunch of morons rob $17 million in cash from Loomis Fargo. Based on a true story.

2. Director Jared Hess is responsible for Napoleon Dynamite (Yay!) and Nacho Libre (Boo!).

3. After some *cough* scheduling conflicts, Zach Galifianakis replaced Jim Carrey as idiot no. 1.

4. Yes, that is Buzz from Home Alone (1990) @0:35.

5. Hip-snap mugshot @0:58!

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: At least Melissa McCarthy’s not in it.

Release Date: August 7.

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

What you may need to know:

1. Amy Winehouse died four years ago this July.

2. Amy is a feature-length doc directed by Asif Kapadia, who did Senna (2010).

3. She was reputedly supposed to sing the theme to Skyfall (2012).

4. Ever see the doc about the time she went to Dingle?

5. We still think hanging out with Pete Doherty was a seriously bad idea.

6. Prognosis: Sad, but as car-crash compelling as ever.

Release date: July

What you may need to know

1. By final trailer, we mean final trailer before the movie is released in May.

2. The first trailer was AWESOME. This one’s AWESOMER.

3. Fury Road gets its World Premiere at Cannes – out of competition.

4. Dr. George Miller spent the THIRTY (!) years since the last Max movie making Happy Feet (2006) and Babe movies, along with the odd Hollywood entry like The Witches Of Eastwick (1987) and Lorenzo’s Oil (1992).

5. Who’s the dude in the skull mask? Hugh Keays Byrne, AKA Toecutter from the original Mad Max (1979).

6. Yes, the whole movie is ONE LONG CHASE SCENE.

7. If you want to see a great action flick in the meantime, try this one, out in a fortnight.

8. Broadsheet Prognosis: Don’t hold your breath waiting for a Mel Gibson cameo.

Release Date: May

What you may need to know:

1. Billy “The Great” Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a middleweight champion at the top of his game. But as his life begins to fall apart, he risks losing custody of his daughter.

2. After dropping 30 pounds to play non-blinking sociopath Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler (2014) (and getting robbed of an Oscar nod by Bradley Cooper), Gyllenhaal gained 15 pounds of muscle for this role. You have to admire the guy’s commitment, but that ain’t healthy.

3. Southpaw was originally conceived as a follow-up to 8 Mile (2002) with Marshall Mathers III in the lead.

4. Yes, that is Rita Ora @1:08. And Curtis Jackson @1:15. “Acting.”

5. This trailer contains a little too much plot for comfort. I’m not sure if it’s much of a spoiler but it doesn’t look like we should get too attached to Rachel McAdams’ character.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: 8 Miles to Rocky 5.

Release Date: July 31.

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