Movies Releases for the Summer of 2014
Movie theaters are always a great place to escape the heat in the summer. The summer always has a few major, epic, blockbuster films that usually are released in or around July 4th. After that, as the days go into August, fewer of them appear. Many schools now begin in mid-August, no longer is the summer break June, July and August.
Some of the trailers can be seen now and here is the list:
- Maleficent - this has all the makings of a superior remake of the 1959 Disney classic, Sleeping Beauty staring Angelina Jolie in the villainess roll. No cartoon here, but real drama and CGI effects. This is a "dark" and "intense" version of the classic and explains why she casted the spell on the princess. There is no better actress for the lead.
- Godzilla- Another remake, how many times will Godzilla be remade? It started long ago in the 1960's in Japan with poor effects and throughout the years, movie producers have tried to reinvent. This could be the one for REAL success. It is the most CGI and scary sea monster coming out of the ocean. The soundtrack is pounding and seeks to be emotional, dark, and realistic. The monster has monumental power and reaps destruction on the helpless humans. The cast is lead by someone Breaking Bad fans will recognize. Unlike previous versions, there is no schlock. Think "War of the Worlds" where nothing seems to faze the enemy.
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes- My first reaction is a yawn. This theme has been done many times in many ways. This time a pandemic has left a group of human survivors among very evolved apes ruling San Francisco. You know, the best film of the entire series, which started in the late 1960's, were the first three. The first one, with Charleston Heston and Nova, remains epic. CGI greatly improves these types of films and in this film will the humans and apes battle for control of SF or reach an accord? This series is tired, but who knows?
- Edge of Tomorrow- Call this the Tom Cruise war movie in the way future. The CGI is from the start and it looks good. Emily Blunt also stars, so these two great actors carry the movie. It is about a starship trooper who finds himself in a time loop, that is, he dies every day, and because of the loop, he relives it trying to kill the aliens. Blunt is actually the veteran in using the time loop to their advantage and dilemma it poses. Interesting.
- Sex Tape- This emulates reality. A bored couple (Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel) make a sex tape for fun that somehow gets out of their control via the Internet. The couple scrambles to retrieve it, to stop it, to remove it before damage is done. Part drama and part comedy, it sounds like a good mix and lesson.
- Jane Got A Gun- Stars Natalie Portman in a western about a good woman married to a bad man. Most films with Natalie are good, so this will be interesting.
- A Million Ways to Die In The West - a parody and comedy about the many ways a person could get killed back in the old western days. Parts are raunchy and gritty, yet funny. Stars Liam Neeson, Charlize Theron, Seth MacFarlane. The trailers are funny, should be a good laugh.
- 22 Jump Street + Neighbors - I grouped these together because they will appeal to those who like raunchy, stupid, comedy. The problems with these films is that if you over do the raunchiness, the viewer tires of it and it is no longer funny, just stupid. Both thrive on this technique. In 22 Jump Street, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum play the undercops trying to bust drug dealers. Last time, it was in high school, this time, it is college. What this means the comedy becomes more gross and sophomoric. After awhile, one becomes immune. Neighbors, follows the same formula when a young couple and baby (Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne) buys a home in a nice area. Within days, a fraternity buys the home next door. The leader of the frat is Zac Efron and let the party begin. Of course, the movie is all about how the family and frat house battle one another. There are many funny moments, in fact, the trailer shows most of them! In between the moments, I found the movie a bit dull. Some of the frat house comedy is just too stupid for my brain to appreciate, some is too explicit. Overall a two-star film.
- X-Men: Days of Future Past + Transformers: Age of Extinction- In X-Men, which was a very costly movie to make, one of them need to go back in time to 1973 to stop the destruction in this star-studded cast. In Transformers, the machines no longer target urban areas but the countryside but face Mark Wahlberg before they can continue.
There are many lesser films coming out, but these are more major films coming out. Should be a good movie summer!
