Action/Adventure:
(Gore Verbinski) –
Action/Adventure Western – Jul 5
Summary:
John Reid and his brother, serving as lawmen, set out to capture a ruthless
villain terrorizing the American West, but they are both gunned down in an
ambush. Native American warrior Tonto mysteriously brings Reid back from the
dead, and the two join forces to seek vengeance on those that have wronged them.
Filmmakers: The film is by the Pirates of the Caribbean (the
initial trilogy) creative team including director Gore Verbinski, writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Additionally,
Verbinski is also working again with composer Hans Zimmer (who scored the
second two Pirates movies). New to the team are cinematographer Bojan Bazelli (The Ring) and excellent
production designer Jess Gonchor
(True
Grit). Cast: Also returning from Pirates
is Johnny Depp, who stars
opposite Armie Hammer, while Helena Bonham Carter, Barry Pepper, William Fichtner, James Badge Dale, James Frain, Ruth Wilson, W. Earl Brown, and Tom Wilkinson feature in
support. Expectations: On paper The Lone
Ranger seems like it should be a very entertaining action/adventure western,
but based on what I have seen it is not clear if it will actually be good. Although,
I had the same hesitation before seeing the first Pirates of the Caribbean film,
being very pleasantly surprised once I did. I want to see The Lone Ranger, but
I have a sneaking suspicion that it is going to be disappointing. On the plus
side, the cast is comprised of a lot of great actors (especially in support:
Ruth Wilson is amazing in Luther, Barry Pepper
was brilliant in True Grit, and Tom Wilkinson is great in everything, for
example). Fans of the Pirates movies should probably check it out (Plus,
Vebinski has shown he can make a decent western with Rango). Trailer: Here.
(Guillermo del Toro) – Sci-Fi
Action – Jul 12
Summary:
When monster-sized aliens attack Earth, we make monsters of our own (yup, stole
that from the trailer) in the form of huge human-piloted robots to fight them. Filmmakers: Writer-director Guillermo del Toro is a
perfect filmmaker to take on a film like this, as his fascination with monsters
and his wonderful style should separate this from the painfully generic ‘mass
destruction by huge menaces’ blockbusters that have overrun recent summers (yes
I am talking about you Transformers
and your terrible sequels). But, by the same token, del Toro’s more intimate
films have far outshined his ventures into Hollywood action (Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, and Pan’s Labyrinth versus Mimic, Blade II, and Hellboy). He is working with a
well-suited crew, including: composer Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones),
cinematographer Guillermo Navarro
(who has shot almost all of del Toro’s films), and production designers Andrew Neskoromny (Slither)
and Carol Spier (who worked
on Mimic and Blade II). Cast: The ensemble
group features Charlie Hunnam,
Idris Elba, Ron Perlman (of course), Charlie Day, Clifton Collins Jr., Burn Gorman, and Rinko Kikuchi. Expectations: Pacific Rim very well could be July’s
best film, both in terms of sheer entertainment and in actual quality – but it
also might just be another cool yet ultimately disappointing Hollywood action
film from del Toro. That said, I am completely on board for the ride. It has a
great cast and looks very exciting (assuming you have an interest in watching
what amounts to a modern epic rehashing of Godzilla vs.
Mechagodzilla – which we all do). Fans of big action films certainly want
to check this one out. Trailer: Here.
(Dean Parisot) – Action Comedy –
Jul 19
Summary:
When a portable nuclear device goes missing, retired black-ops CIA agent Frank
Moses once again must reteam with his (also retired) rag-tag team of operatives
to track it down (and clear his own name). Filmmakers:
While Robert
Schwentke directed Red,
Dean Parisot has stepped in to handle the sequel. Parisot also has a background
in action comedy with films like Galaxy
Quest. He is working with composer Alan Silverstri (The
Avengers), cinematographer Enrique
Chediak (28 Weeks Later),
and production designer Jim Clay
(Children
of Men). Cast: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, and John Malkovich all return to the
cast, while Catherine Zeta-Jones,
Anthony Hopkins, David Thewlis, Neal McDonough, Byung-hun Lee, and Titus Welliver have been added
for the sequel. Expectations: Red was a
surprisingly funny action movie that seemed to come out of nowhere (at least it
did for me – I thought it would just be another generic throwaway Hollywood
film because that is what it looked like), and the action was very entertaining
too. I am almost certain that Red 2 will not live up to its predecessor and
succumb to its likely fate as a forgettable summer movie, but I hope to be
surprised again. Still, fans of action comedies may want to check it out. Trailer: Here.
(Robert Schwentke) – Action Crime
Fantasy – Jul 19
Summary:
Nick Walker is a cop – the problem is, he is dead. However, his days of
fighting crime are not over as he has found a new job as a member of the Rest
In Peace Department: a ghost law enforcement agency that tracks down errant
spirits and brings them back. And, on a side note, Nick also wants to find the
man who murdered him. Filmmakers: Red’s Robert Schwentke opted
out of directing that film’s sequel to make this. While Red was very surprising
(in terms of it actually being good), the rest of his directing career has been
average (with films like Flightplan
and The Time Traveler’s Wife).
He is working with composer Christophe
Beck (The Watch),
wonderful cinematographer Alwin
H. Kuchler (Sunshine),
and production designer Alec
Hammond (worked on Red for Schwentke). Cast:
Ryan Reynolds stars opposite Jeff Bridges (who, based on the
trailer, realizes that the movie is complete garbage and is thusly just going
massively huge with his performance to amuse himself, while collecting a
paycheck). Mary-Louise Parker,
Kevin Bacon, Marisa Miller, Robert Knepper, Stephanie Szostak, James Hong, and Mike O’Malley feature in
support. Expectations: R.I.P.D. basically
looks as if Universal Pictures wanted to make their own Men in Black movie
and just decided to blend it with Ghostbusters
and True
Grit (and less money) – poof: this movie! It looks terrible. However, maybe
it will be terrible in all the best ways making it hilarious and entertaining
(one can only hope). Trailer: Here.
(James Mangold) –
Action/Adventure – Jul 26
Summary:
Logan is tired of being immortal. On a voyage of soul-searching, he makes his
way to Japan where he encounters pieces of his past that might unlock the key
to him finally becoming human again. However, he also confronts an old enemy –
one that he will need all his mutant abilities to defeat. Filmmakers: Yes, we are all still mourning the day
that Darren Aronofsky
decided to abandon this project in favor of Noah – his Wolverine surely would
have been a great one. Now we are left with director James Mangold, who has
done all right for himself has a Hollywood filmmaker – some good stuff: Cop Land, Walk the Line, and 3:10 to Yuma (though all the
added action actually takes away from the film, see the original for reference); some
bad stuff: Kate & Leopold,
Identity, and Knight and Day. But, he has
never made anything great. He is working with composer Marco Beltrami (scored 3:10 to
Yuma as well), cinematographer Ross
Emery (Underworld: Rise of
the Lycans), and production designer Francois Audouy (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter).
Cast: Hugh Jackman stars with Famke Janssen, Will Yun Lee, Brian Tee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rila Fukushima, and Tao Okamoto in support. Expectations: The Wolverine looks much better than X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but
that is not really saying much. From an action standpoint, the film does seem
to have exciting and engaging set pieces, but what is really important is how
Mangold handles the character moments – those will make or break this movie.
The film promises to be a character driven action film (for once) – we will
just have to wait and see if that is indeed the case. Fans of the X-Men franchise
probably will be happy with this latest installment (even if we are still
disappointed that Matthew
Vaughn left Days of Future
Past and Aronofsky left this, with lesser filmmakers replacing them both),
as really we have never seen a brilliant X-Men movie stemming from this
franchise (X-Men:
First Class is by far the best and initially a reboot, separate from the
other X-Men films, and yet Bryan Singer and
Fox have decided to somehow pull into back into their original franchise
thereby sullying it and its potential as its own franchise). Trailer: Here.
Comedy:
Summary:
A new super villain is terrorizing the world, forcing the Anti-Villain League
to call on an unlikely source for help: retired master villain Gru. Filmmakers: Directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
return for the sequel after the success of Despicable Me. They are working
again with composers Heitor
Pereira and Pharrell Williams
and production designer Yarrow
Cheney. Cast: Also returning are voice
actors Steve Carell, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, and Ken Jeong. New to the voice cast
are Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Steve Coogan, and Kristen Schaal. Expectations: Basically, if you liked Despicable Me
chances are you will like Despicable Me 2. It looks like a fun family comedy
with a strong group of comedic actors lending their voices. Trailer: Here.
Horror:
(James Wan) – Horror/Thriller –
Jul 19
Summary:
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren are called in to help a family
remove a dark presence from their farmhouse. However, unlike their previous
cases, the Warrens find themselves in over their heads, terrorized by
terrifying spirits. Filmmakers: Horror
specialist James Wan is responsible for Saw and Insidious (two of the most
successful recent horror films). He is working again with composer Joseph Bishara, cinematographer John Leonetti, and production
designer Julie Berghoff. Cast: Vera
Farmiga and Patrick Wilson
star, while Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston co-star. Joey King (who looks like she
has a bright future) and Mackenzie
Foy feature in support. Expectations: The
Conjuring looks very scary, even the trailer alone is more frightening than any
other horror film I have seen in the last few years. Fans of creepy and scary
movies should enjoy this. Plus, it has a good cast. Trailer:
Here.
No comments:
Post a Comment