MY 10 MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES OF 2015!

Now that the unforgiving season of January is over, let's movie on to 2015. Now, some forewarning before you cheat and scroll down and see two very large absences from the list. Besides the 1977 original, I haven't seen any other Star Wars movie, and I also haven't seen Mel Gibson's Mad Max trilogy. I am very much looking forward to Force Awakens and Fury Road, because I plan on binging the whole series of both before they come out. It's just I'm looking forward to them right now, I'm not sure if my interest will diminish after what I hear are rough prequels. There are a few sequels on here, and they're all to movie franchises I've seen and greatly enjoyed. Without further ado, here are some picks that might surprise but hopefully there'll be at least one you'll research and want to scope out as well.

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
This list is alphabetical, but this my number one. I saw the Pinocchio themed teaser in The Battle of Five Armies, and I had to restrain myself from squealing with glee. Besides the fact we get all these incredible heroes back in one spot, Spader's Ultron looks like the end of the world itself. We know it's not because there are like three more movies from this series to come, but I can't wait for the experience, and to watch the original over again to see if I like it a little better this time.
P.S. The jury's still out over Ant-Man.

THE HATEFUL EIGHT
After seeing Django Unchained and finally watching Pulp Fiction for the first time, I've become a bonafide supporter of Tarantino, and can't wait to see what he has in store for us in November with this western, even though some have already seen the leaked draft of his script. When your headliners are Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Dern and Kurt Russell, that's a mix a film buff can't refuse.

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY- PART 2
Suzanne Collins' threequel was actually my least favorite novel in the Hunger Games trilogy, mostly due to its ending, but I have a hunch that Hollywood will right this wrong. Plus, even though I liked it a lot more than most people,  Part 1 was still essentially a two hour cliffhanger. Let's get to the rebellion!

INSIDE OUT
Everyone talks about Pixar being the kings of animation...and they are, but it's been half a decade since I was genuinely excited for one of their releases, and that was Toy Story 3. This film looks they're going back to their highly original concepts, in this case the personification of your emotions at work. Not only does this look adorable and entertaining, it could actually provide some insight into the mind of a teenage girl!

THE MARTIAN
An original sci-fi movie with a cast of Kate Mara, Kristen Wiig, Matt Damon, Donald Glover, Jeff Daniels and Chiwetel Ejiofor?!? You had me at "original sci-fi."

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 5
Even though it would be nice to see Tom Cruise play, you know, a regular person, you'll still find me in line waiting for the fifth installment of this franchise, although I'm not sure how they'll stop the skyscraper scene in Ghost Protocol.

PAN
I know, I know. How many versions are going to come out of Peter Pan? There's the good, Finding Neverland, the original Disney classic, and then there's Hook, the one no one can make up their minds about, and then there's "Peter Pan Live!" You can guess where that lands on the spectrum. But Hugh Jackman as a new character to the canon named Blackbeard actually looks like a great casting choice, and the director behind Atonement will hopefully be able to find a solid emotional story amidst the wonders of Neverland.

SPECTRE
Even though I've only seen one other Bond film, Skyfall landed in my top five movies of 2012. I can't wait to see how they up themselves with this installment, and how Ralph Fiennes, whose been dazzling me lately with Grand Budapest Hotel, does as M. Christoph Waltz as a villain is a safe choice, but still a fine one.

THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER
Anyone who even remotely knows me well knows how big of a SpongeBob fan I am, and even though my folks hated it when they took eight year old Travis to the original 2004 SpongeBob film in theaters, I absolutely loved it and have seen it many, many times. Like Lego Movie, this isn't getting a best animated nomination (did you like that passive aggression?) but I'm going to enjoy every minute of it, as long as it's more the tone of the original than the tone of the recent episodes.

THE WALK
Bob Zemeckis, the man behind Forrest Gump and Back to the Future, is bringing us a story much more rooted in reality, about the man who walked between the Twin Towers, Phillip Petit, the subject of the great documentary Man on Wire. Just watch the vertigo-inducing trailer that's racked up one and a half million views already, and try not to be impressed.