As we head into Summer, the blockbusters that usually keep us coming back to the cinema start coming thick and fast whilst in the midst there are some gems of cinema that can often fall below the radar.

Here we take a look at our top 5 most anticipated movies for the month of May (please note the release dates are based on UK release schedules)

There are some notable films missing from the Top 5 list.

Hayao Miyazaki’s final film, ‘The Wind Rises’has already been released in Japanese so we’ve decided to leave out it’s English Language release, though our full review can be found here

5. X-Men: Days of Future Past

Released: May 22nd

Director: Bryan Singer

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Patrick Stuart, Jennifer Lawrence, Ian McKellen

Bryan Singer returns with the sequel/prequel to X:-Men: First Class, the well received addition to the X-Men franchise. Days of Future Past not only has an impressive cast but seems to have an impressively written story, jumping back and forth, linking mutants with their past, present and future selves as they attempt to stop a war destined to destroy everyone. Jackman looks set to have a bigger role as everyone’s favourite cuddly mutant, Wolverine. Whilst we see McAvoy come face to face with Stewart and Fassbender with McKellen. It’s sure to be big, loud and full of fighting and that’s exactly how it should be.

4. Frank

Released: May 9th

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal

After going down a storm at Sundance, the indie-comedy starring Michael Fassbender is sure to be a great watch. Perhaps the polar opposite to his previous film listed here, X-Men. Frank tells the story of young musician Jon (Gleeson) who joins an eccentric pop band led by Frank. Fassbender has been praised for the role and hopefully Frank’s festival buzz will carry on into it’s cinematic release.

3. Maleficent

Released: May 29th

Director: Robert Stromberg

Stars: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley

Fairytales have been Disneys staple diet for the last  70 or so years and it is always interesting to see a new-take on a time old classic. Maleficent is arguably the most intriguing of all. Angelina Jolie stars as the title character with Elle Fanning taking up the role of Princess Aurora. A dark, yet beautiful cover of ‘Once Upon A Dream’ by Lana Del Ray has accompanied the first glimpses and the atmosphere it has created points to a much darker direction for the tale of Sleeping Beauty and with a huge budget of $200million, we hope that it delivers!

2. A Million Ways To Die In The West

Released: May 30th

Director: Seth McFarlane

Stars: Seth McFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Giovanni Ribisi, Amanda Seyfried

 Why?

With the well-received ‘Ted’ already under his belt, it was only a matter of time before Seth McFarlane made another foray into Hollywood. A Million Ways to Die in the West boasts an impressive cast including McFarlane himself, alongside Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried. Ted was great and with a fantastic red-band trailer for AMWTDITW (the ‘short’ version of the title) this is second on our list of most-anticipated movies in May!

1. Godzilla

Released: 15th May 

Director: Gareth Edwards

Stars: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabth Olsen

Where to begin with this one? Number one on our list is the re-imagining of ‘Godzilla’. The man behind ‘Monsters’ Gareth Edwards takes the helm in what is sure to be THE biggest monster movie for many years. Fans of the 1998 film have been teased with posters and trailers and soon the wait will be over. Bryan Cranston is arguably one of Hollywood’s most sought after commodities at present following the huge success of ‘Breaking Bad’ and he stars alongside Taylor-Johnson and Olsen as Godzilla looks set to tear up our screens in the coming weeks! Lets hope the hype is not the monsters downfall!