It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, it’s not Christmas. It’s almost time for the summer
blockbuster season! Every summer
Hollywood fills our theaters with high budget, high action, films that
make us all get out of the pool and sit in a cold theater for several
hours. Ever since I was a boy I’ve
loved going to see these types of films.
In fact, they’re the only ones I see nowadays.
I don’t really go see a lot of movies in the theater
anymore. Somewhat do to my
availability, but mainly due to the fact that it’s just so damn expensive. I mean, $15 for an evening show,
another $10 for snacks at least, and this is if I go myself and not bring my
wife. Also, when I watch a movie I
want to sit and enjoy it. I don’t
want some dumb teenagers making jokes the whole time, or have to sit all the
way in the back, or front, just because everyone else thinks their uber-fans
even though they haven’t ever seen or read the original source material. In my old age it’s just becoming a pain
to go to the theaters.
I save my money for the action and fantasy films. The films that are meant to be seen on a big screen.
A drama or comedy will be just as good watching it in my quiet living
room, maybe even better because I can watch it while drinking a beer and wearing my
pajamas. Sure I have to wait a
little longer to get from Redbox or the library, but I don’t mind
waiting a few extra months for movies I’m only mildly interested in.
With that being said, listed below are the films I’m thinking
about going to see this summer.
All of them should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, or anyone
who knows what the most anticipated films are being released between May and August. I don’t know if I’ll have the
time to see them all, but these are all ones I would recommend checking out just based on what I've seen from trailers, word of mouth, etc.
I’m either MAYBE going to see a film, I WOULD LIKE TO CHECK IT OUT, or
it’s A MUST-SEE.
Captain America: The Winter Solider (April 4)
Early screenings of this film have created even more of a
buzz that it already had.
I have a feeling an April release date gives Marvel Studios the advantage seeing
how no other big contender will open till May. Or perhaps, like Christmas, the summer blockbusters just get
released earlier and earlier every year.
In this sequel to 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger,
and I guess technically The Avengers, Steve Rogers is fighting crime by working
with S.H.I.E.L.D. to take down bad guys in a modern world he doesn’t quite
understand. When the
mysterious Winter Soldier comes out to cause chaos Captain America must step up
to take down this global threat alongside Black Widow, Nick Fury, and Falcon.
This is probably my #1 movie to see this year; and I’m a much bigger X-Men fan than Captain America fan. Marvel Studios has just blown me away at how they
are treating their heroes. They
know what works, they know what loyal readers love about the characters, and
then they apply that to a mass audience, and it makes billions of dollars! I love the cast, I love the original
story, and everything I’ve seen or heard about this film leaves me drooling to
see it. It’s being called the best
Marvel movie yet. If Scarlet
Johansson gets naked it’s got my vote for best movie of the decade!
STATUS: MUST-SEE
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2)
I’ve never been a big Spider-Man fan. That title I left to my brother. I’ve always been X-Men & Superman, and he’s always been Spider-Man & Batman.
I like the character, I see his appeal, and I think the first 2 Spider-Man films by Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are still some of the best
comic book/superhero films ever made. When I heard Sony was rebooting the franchise less than 10 years
since the original Spider-Man movie came out I thought it was a big mistake.
As I sat in the theater watching The Amazing Spider-Man I
was bored because I had already seen all the origin stuff done, and recently. Plus Andrew Garfield looked no
different than his bully; Flash Thompson.
But the action was cool, they got some of Spider-Man’s quirks right, and
Kristen Dunst was no where to be seen. So it was ok I guess.
This film is kicking off Sony’s attempt to do a Spider-Man
Cinematic Universe like Warner Bros and Fox are attempting to do with their
properties because they’ve seen how well its worked for Marvel. Since the Spider-Man properties are
mainly villains they’ll be villain films, maybe even a Blackcat film, and
definitely a Venom. But Blackcat and Venom may be the
only two I think will work, especially if they go with the current Venom; Flash Thompson. Check it out.
Anyway, this sequel sees Garfield spinning webs again with
Emma Stone has his leading lady.
There are heavy rumors that Stone’s character, Gwen, dies in this film like
she does in the comics and makes way for Mary Jane in the 3rd
film. I think I speak for everyone
when I say, who cares. Just shows
us some bad ass villains like Electro, Rhino, and Green Goblin. Meanwhile tease to us all the
other villains you’ll do later. I do think the action in this film will look great on the big screen and in 3-D.
STATUS: I WOULD
LIKE TO CHECK IT OUT
Godzilla (May 16)
I still remember seeing the Matthew Broderick version in
theaters when I was twelve. At the
time I thought it was cool, just like at one time I thought Batman and Robin
was cool. Boy, was I a dumb
kid. It looked more like a bad
offspring of Jurassic Park than the classic Godzilla movies my dad
watched.
The giant reptile is back and accompanied by a great cast
that includes Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen; the good Olsen actress. I’ve never been a big fan of Godzilla
but the hint that Godzilla may face not 1, but 2 other monsters in the film
has definitely peaked my interest.
The trailer makes it look cool and I love watching me some cities being
destroyed digitally. Unless it’s over excessive and pointless.
Yes, I’m talking to you Zach Snyder!
STATUS: MAYBE
X-Men: Days of Future Past (May 23)
I remember when I was young my brother and I would watch the
X-Men animated series on Saturday mornings and then my dad would take us to the comic book store where I would buy the latest issue of X-Men. To this day I would say I’m a big of
X-Men fan over anything else, except maybe Star Wars. That’s why I have been so pissed and disappointed about how
Fox has treated the X-Men property.
Aside from the first 2 X-Men films and The Wolverine I have found them all to be
atrocious. Though, 3 out of 6 ain’t bad I guess.
I could not be more happy that Bryan Singer has returned to
the world of mutant to direct one of the greatest X-Men story lines ever
told. I know it won’t be much like
the original Days of Future Past story but I’m just happy to see cast
members that I love return after years of being gone and maybe correcting some
of the mistake Brett Ratner made in X3: The Last Stand; namely trying to end
this franchise by killing every important character in the X-Men universe.
In the original plot Kitty Pryde gets sent back to her
younger body to stop an assassination that will hurt not only the mutant
community but the rest of the world as well. Of course the X-film star, Wolverine, goes back instead of
Kitty, but, I expected this so I’ll let it slide. This is also technically a sequel to X-Men: First Class so most
of that cast is back, the good ones at least, minus Havok. Don’t get me started on how the Summers
family has been screwed over with their live-action interpretations.
With a sequel, X-Men:Apocalypse, already planned I think
this franchise may be heading back in the right direction, especially with Singer
back at the helm. Now the question
is how long before Hugh Jackman stops playing Wolverine? If only he had a healing factor like Logan so he could
play this character forever.
STATUS: MUST-SEE
Maleficent (May 30)
Angelina Jolie stars in this highly anticipated film
based off of the classic Disney film; Sleeping Beauty. Jolie stars as the villain of the original story, but something
tells me like Wicked and the Star Wars prequels, their used to be a good person
inside of her and a good story has to how that good person turned bad.
My wife is a big Sleeping Beauty fan so she’s excited to see
this film, and I think it looks like Jolie will give a good performance. So if my wife wants to see it bad
enough I guess I’ll go. If not, I can
wait for Redbox.
STATUS: MAYBE
Transformers: Age of Extinction (June 27)
When the first Transfomers film came out I walked out of the
theater hoping my 1990 Jeep Wrangler would turn into a giant robot in front of
my eyes. It didn’t happen, but it
was one hell of a film! It
recaptured the fun of the 1980’s cartoon series and re-spawned the toy
franchise. Shia LeBeouf was a great lead and Megan Fox was so hot. Then the sequel came out it
sucked! They tried take everything
good about the first film and intensified it 10x and it sucked. Transformers: Dark of the Moon was also not as
good as the 1st film, but leagues above the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Now Michael Bay is back at it to
satisfy all those Paramount executives who want to squeeze more milk out of a
dry cow.
It’s a whole new cast in this film as Mark Wahlberg finds
the remains of what appears to be Optimus Prime. The government shows up at his door, who appear to be sour
on all Cybertronians after the battle in Chicago. Lucky for the humans the Autobots are still around because
the Decepticons are also back, and well, I’m sure you can imagine the rest.
This is all just what we know based in the first trailer
released. Optimus Prime looks more
bad ass than ever and I’m still waiting for my favorite Autobot, Hot Rod, to make
his live-action debut. If you
don’t know who Hot Rod is watch the 1986 animated movie, then come ask me for
the soundtrack; it’s awesome.
STATUS: I WOULD LIKE TO CHECK IT OUT
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (July 11)
A re-vamp of this franchise has worked out great. I never got my dad’s obsession with
these "damn dirty apes" but after all the buzz I heard about Rise of the Planet
of the Apes I had to check it out, and it was sweet! It also freaked the hell out of me. The apes looked so real and Andy Serkis
should have got some kind of Oscar nomination for bringing Caesar to live so
wonderfully. I actually didn’t feel bad
when the apes started attacking people.
I don’t know much about the sequel. It seems that it takes place years
later and a plague has threatened mankind. Now it’s all-out-war between the remaining humans and
Caesar’s growing ape army. Given
the high caliber of the first film I have high hopes for this one. But if I see it in theater I may need
my mommy there to hold my hand.
Seriously, those apes really freaked me out.
STATUS: MAYBE
Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1)
These last few months I keep getting the same question, “who
are the Guardians of the Galaxy?”
Up until last year I didn’t even really know who they were, except that
Marvel Studios was making their next film about the GotG. So I went and read up on the Guardians and what I found was great! The
2008 comics series was full of action, laughs, and great characters. I can see why Kevin Feige wanted to make
the film and now I've spent my time trying to educate everyone I know about GotG.
Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, and his band of criminal
misfits roam the galaxy causing trouble for an intergalactic tyrant named
Ronan. Quill is in possession of
an orb that Ronan plans in use to harm everyone so it’s up to Star-Lord and
his crew to keep it safe and do something good…for once.
I was hoping this film would be good, and after seeing the
trailer my hopes are now even higher.
This looks like it’ll be a great story, with a great cast lead by Chris
Pratt. This film is full of
well-known actors and soon-to-be well known characters. If Marvel strikes gold again with this unknown property I
think they should send Warner Bros a special copy labeled 'Suck It.' At least that’s what I would do if I
was Kevin Feige.
STATUS: MUST-SEE
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (August 8)
It’s no secret that I have watched a lot of TV and movies in
my time. I mean A LOT! And in my
childhood there are two cartoons that I hold as 'sacred.' Thundercats and Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles hold a special place in my heart and anyone who f*cks them up, like maybe director Jonathan Liebesman, will fall under the same disdain that I have for Brett Ratner and now
Zach Snyder.
I remember going on opening night to see the original
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie.
We had to sit all the way in the back, the theater was crowded, and it
was "radical." I own that
movie on blu-ray, despite my wife’s curiosity as to why. The Turtles represent some of
my best childhood memories; Halloween costumes, birthday parties, Christmas
toys. All of these things the Turtles
played a huge part of.
We have yet to see a trailer from this new film but set pictures
and the designs for the toys have been released and so far I am
unimpressed. I know things have to
be updated to change with the times, but these Turtles look like crap! Read the IDW comic series, see how the
Turtles are still relevant while being classic, and then get back to me. Come on Mr. Liebsman, pull your head out of
your ass!
STATUS: MAYBE
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (August 22)
I’ve never read a Sin City comic, and I didn’t even see the
first film in theaters. But once I
did see it I was blown away by the style and story of it all. I forgot who Mickey Rourke was, and
forget The Wrestler, his role as Marv is his best ever. It was a unique film with cool guys and
hot dames. I for one am looking
forward to seeing what Mr. Rodriguez has brought us this time because the trailer
looks pretty sweet.
Speaking of Robert Rodriguez, he occasionally comes into my
place of business in Austin and last time I was lucky enough to help him and
his son. He was on the phone
talking about a pre-screening. My
mind immediately thought it was Sin City to which he spoke of. I played it cool and acted like he was
just another customer. I should
have asked if I could be on set the next time Jessica Alba is in her Nancy
costume; damn.
STATUS: I WOULD LIKE TO CHECK IT OUT
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