Wednesday, July 31, 2013

August Movies to See and Skip

Wow, July went by in a whirl wind.  The biggest success of July, and its no surprise, was the animated sequel Despicable Me 2.  The first film was a sleeper hit at the box office, and only grew in popularity on DVD.  Even though The Heat was released (June 28th) most of its business came in July, and is proof Melissa McCarthy is good for business, way to go Sookie St. James!

In other news July was a slow domestic month, Pacific Rim proved to be too much of a genre film, and the excitement from Comic Con, turned out to be hot air.  Rim has only grossed 85 million domestic is on the same track as Cowboys & Aliens in the States.  The Conjuring scared up a large box office with a small budget, it's at 86 million, and counting.  In fact many of the smaller films did quite well, look for July releases Fruitvale Station, Blue Jasmine, and The Way Way Back to perform solidly.

While Rim's box office was not as impressive as expected, nothing could be more disappointing than The Lone Ranger, and R.I.P.D..  Ranger has barely grossed 100 million and cost 250 million, who thought this nostalgia was a good idea?  Depp has proven he is no longer box office magic; his only major successes of late were the fourth Pirates and Alice in Wonderland.   Someone also needs to tell Ryan Reynolds to stop trying so hard, with two flops in one weekend R.I.P.D., and Turbo he needs to assess to future of his career.  Let's just hope neither of these film studios have had money withheld from them from China.  Now to August, and to be honest I am glad I do not have much free time this month the movies look bad.

August 2nd

2 Guns

Hard to pick which movie looks like the biggest joke this month, but this film, which was originally intended to reunite Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, but instead has Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.  This movie looks pointless, and not pointless fun.

The Smurfs 2 (July 31st)

The first looked bad, and made a lot of money.  I dread having to take my children to such terrible movies.  If this is what is passing for "family entertainment, I weep.  Nostalgia is both a good and bad thing, you make the assessment, I know how I feel with these films.

The Spectacular Now

This looks like a great look at the realistic nature of young teenage love, which is ambitious, heart felt, passionate, and sometimes misguided.  Shailene Woodley is a star to watch; she just needs to shed that crappy ABC Family show.  Everyone has their baggage.

The Canyons

Lindsey Lohan tries yet again, the trailer looks so bad, that it will be a camp classic for years to come!



August 9th 

Elysium

I am looking forward to this film the most this August.  Matt Damon looks bad ass, and Neil Blomkamp's District 9 was a shot of adrenaline to a boring August 4 years ago.  This should be a solid film, with great action and story, sold.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

I was puzzled why they made this sequel, the first did not make much money, but this book series has a massive fan base.  The first one isn't good, but it was fun enough.

Planes

Has Pixar gotten this lazy?  This looks worse than Cars 2 and that's saying a lot, I am sad this once great animation company has faltered so much, and become a lazy sequel machine.

We're the Millers

This looks like a movie that gives away all the best jokes in the preview, with that said I thought that about The Heat, and was wrong.  This could just be a fun comedy.  The cast is solid, and Aniston looks better than ever.



August 16th 

Kick-Ass 2 

I think I would have been happy without a sequel, I really enjoyed the first film, after watching the extended look on this film from Comic Con I am less worried, but without Matthew Vaughn directing this film has some ground to make-up, and Jim Carey has not been in a good movie in almost 10 years.

Paranoia 

This could be a really fun thriller, Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford going at it as moguls, using Liam Hemsworth as their pawn?  How does that sound bad, the book it's based on is pretty fun, and hopefully they capture the same basic elements in the film.

Lee Daniel's The Butler 

Talk about Oscar pedigree.  The cast has 17 Oscar nominations and 5 wins.  I think this has bait written all over it, with the President's throughout the years, and the man who served them, and finally getting to see the first black President elected.  Remember the Weinstein's are behind this, and got Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close two Oscar nominations.  Oprah is also touted as strong front runner for Supporting Actress.

Jobs

I take Lindsey Lohan more seriously than Kutcher as an actor, I can't take this film seriously, watch the trailer, and see if you can, I dare you

Ain't Them Bodies Saints

Lots of buzz from Sundance with strong performances?  I trust Sundance with these small films, they always steer me right, and I will be checking this out.



August 23rd 

Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Is this the next Hunger Games, or more in the vein of Percy Jackson and The Host.  My guess is the latter, I have not seen much with regard to publicity for this film, and even though the book is popular, I feel like film studios are not waiting long enough to make books into films, or should let this practice breath a little bit more.

The World's End

Simon Pegg and Nick frost for the final part in "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy.  I love Shaun of the Dead and Hott Fuzz, and depending on my mood, it's a tough pick as to which I like better.  Edgar Wright is back as director, and I am beyond excited for this film.

You're Next 

This trailer honestly scarred the shit out of me, and I think I would nightmare for weeks from this film, enter at your own risk.



August 30th

One Direction: This is Us

If someone had a gun to my head and they asked me to pick between this film, and Getaway, I would seriously consider the bullet (kidding....).  Enough with these concert movies, put them on HBO and be done.

Getaway

Selena Gomez, in action film playing a "thug" girl, nuff said, this film looks like a sure fire Razzie contender, and gets the award for film that looks the worst this month.






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