What you may need to know:

1. Drone pilot Tom Egan (Ethan Hawke) is troubled by the murky ethics of fighting a disconnected war.

2. Hawke and director Andrew Niccol also worked together on Lord of War and the brilliant but terribly nineties Gattaca (1997).

3. Here’s hoping that this is a little more balanced than Uncle Clint’s American Sniper (2014). Rock, flag and eagle!!!

4. Brainless YouTube comment #1: “You have to be a special kind of pussy to get PTSD from being a drone pilot. It’s like getting PTSD from playing the Sims.”

5. Brainless YouTube comment #2: “Eventually, we’re going to have drone soldiers. That would be cool.” Oh Internet… you so crazy.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Drone to bouts of anxiety.

Release Date: April 10

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

What you may need to know:

1. Mob hitman Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson) takes on his brutal former boss (Ed Harris) to protect his estranged son (Joel Kinnaman) and his family.

2. Neeson’s particular set of skills seem to be inexhaustible.

3. With Taken 3’s performance at the box office last weekend, the big man’s pension fund must be looking pretty healthy at this stage.

4. This is the third collaboration between Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown, Non-Stop). Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

5. Ed Harris people! Next up, Harris will be filling Yul Brynner’s cowboy boots for J.J. Abrams in HBO’s Westworld.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Liam’s up all night to Get Lucky.

Release Date: 1st May 2015.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWanx-g-F4U&app=desktop

What you may need to know:

1. It is a very NSFW trailer because it is full of fupps and we like to bring the edge.

2. Melissa McCarthy is back yet again as a tough talking no nonsense ass kicker. She is a CIA analyst who gets the opportunity to mix it up in the field.

3. It is from the same gang that brought you Bridesmaids (2011) and The Heat (2013). In Bridemaids McCarthy also worked for the CIA. Is this a sequel? Not really, Rose Byrne is cast as the baddie.

4. Surely it is tw*t and not twot?

5. McCarthy and director Paul Feig are in talks for her to star in the Ghostbusters (1986) all female remake. Please no Queen Latifa.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Fat jokes never get old and fat.

Release Date: May 22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU9QTLXYCCc

What you may need to know:

1. After two seasons of popped pills and dodged bills on Capitol Hill, Democratic dirtbag Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) consolidates his power as the newly-appointed President of the United States.

2. Frank only has one direction left to go. And he’s made a lot of enemies on the way up.

3. If House of Cards has any hope of becoming the next Charlie, then the cast really need to break out the bad wigs.

4. “I’d like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press…” After last year’s nomination, Kevin Spacey finally took the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Drama on Sunday night.

5. Kudos to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for the Bill Cosby bit. And Margaret Cho for bringing the weird.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Quality.

Release Date: February 27, 2015 (Netflix).

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

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

What you may need to know:

1. Jerry likes socialising with his friends. His friends are his cat and his dog. His cat convinces him to kill one of his co-workers.

2. It’s not even Summer (1999).

3. Ryan Reynolds also supplies the cat and dog voices. There is a talking deer and a ‘bunny monkey’ in there somewhere too apparently.

4. Is there a Doctor in the house? There is and it is Jacki Weaver.

5. An evil Scottish cat and an idiot American dog is some kind of stereotypical crap. Cats are delightful.

6. Despite this it won big at the L’Etrange Festival in Paris bagging the grand prize and the Audience Award.

7. Bathroom factories are full of hotties. Fact

8. Broadsheet Prognosis: Looks ameowsing

Release Date: TBC

What you may need to know:

1. Trapped alone in an apartment, Everly (Salma Hayek) defends herself from a series of assassins sent by her mob boss ex-boyfriend.

2. While in her undies. If I was fighting off a gang of ninjas, I’d throw on a tracksuit or something.

3. Salma’s going for some of that sweet kickass Neeson money.

4. Looks like a Funny or Die spoof.

5. It’s not – Yale Hannon’s script made it onto the 2010 blacklist along with Argo (2012), American Hustle (2013) and Looper (2012), so who knows?

6. Kate Hudson was attached in 2012, but dropped out during the prolonged development period.

7. Broadsheet Prognosis: Home Alone 6: Yakuza Bloodbath.

Release Date: April 10, 2015.

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

What you may need to know:

1. A small town girl dreams of fame but is unwittingly beaten to it by her dad after a video of him goes viral.

2. Another day, another indie flick with a kickstarter.

3. Director and producer David Cross wants to distribute the film via BitTorrent and GooglePlay having been inspired by Thom Yorke and Louis CK.

4. It’s Cross’ directorial debut. His uncertain career has let us enjoy the best of times and also the worst of times. This film looks somewhere in between.

5. The good news is he was able to pack it will his talented buddies  Matt Walsh, David Koechner, Michael Cera and Jason Ritter so there is hope.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Hit and miss

Release Date: TBC

What you may need to know:

1. Ex-con Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) inherits technology enabling decreased size and increased strength from mentor and original “Ant-Man”, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).

2. This has been in development since 2006. Original writer/director Edgar Wright (The Cornetto Trilogy, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) dropped out in May 2014 following endless studio notes and re-writes. Marvel replaced him with the safer choice of Peyton Reed (Bring it On, The Break-up).

3. The screenplay is now credited to Rudd and Adam McKay, with Wright and co-writer Joe Cornish receiving a smaller “story by” credit.

4. Between this and the rumoured 1986 flop Howard the Duck (1986) remake, we must surely be reaching the bottom of the comic-book-movie barrel (although Howard and Beverly is still a better love story than Anakin and Padme).

5. Not that Marvel will be running out of choice any time soon. Characters with untapped development potential include Squirrel Girl (powers include enhanced strength, speed and the ability to communicate with squirrels), Lady Stilt-Man (owns a pair of stilts) and Leather Boy (don’t Google this… seriously).

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Pass the Raid.

Release Date:  July 17

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

UPDATE: That poster, improved.

popwatch

What you may need to know:

1. Jessica Biel is an uninsured waitress from a small town with a nail stuck in her head. She travels to Washington to lobby for help on behalf of patients with unusual issues where she gets involved with a bungling congressman.

2. The film has been a cluster-fupp. It was mostly shot in 2008 by David O. Russell before he went on his hit spree of The Fighter (2010), Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and American Hustle (2013) but this effort has had three name changes and fiilming shut down 14 times.

3. It originally was written as a biting political satire by Kristen Gore. She has a famous dad.

4. Biel was contract bound to complete filming. David O. Russell was not. He was replaced by a Stephen Greene who is not credited.

5. So why push through a semi-finished disaster of a film? Ask Jake Gyllenhaal or Tracy Morgan.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: I don’t Biel-eve it.

Release Date: 20 February

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

What you may need to know:

1. Based on the memoirs of journalist Michael Finkel. His name was being used as an alias by fugitive murderer Christian Longo prior to his capture. Finkel then interviewed Longo at length about the murders while in custody.

2. Finkel was fired from the New York Times for creating fictional characters in a piece he wrote about the African slave trade. He was fired at the same time as serial copycat Jayson Blair but without all the front page brouhaha.

3. Brad Pitt is producing this one as Brangelina continues to migrate behind the camera.

4. Jonah Hill seems on form again. He was magnificent as sleazeball Donnie Azoff in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). He agreed to play that role for only $60,000. He really wanted to let the creep out.

5. James Franco is still nuts.

6. Broadsheet Prognosis: Maybe not that true a story.

Release Date: April 10