The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3rd) : This film starts the 2nd wave of summer blockbusters. Not much is opening before it opens and then big film, Batman, opens up 2 1/2 weeks after it. I was a huge fan of the Spider-Man comic of the 80's and 90's and saw all of the Tobey McGuire films. So they've retconned the film version of Spider-Man and made it a little more true to the early comic. Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker's first love interest (Mary Jane Watson came later) and they all made Peter's past a little more mysterious (originally he was just an orphan living with his elderly Aunt & Uncle). The villain is Dr. Connors' evil alter-ego, The Lizard (in the comic you knew Lizard's alter-ego was a scientist because he was still wearing his lab coat). The trailers look great, great cast so I consider this film a must see, I don't know if I will be able to see it opening day as I will be in New Orleans for an event but I won't be far behind.
Savages (July 6th): Is the latest film by legendary director Oliver Stone. Now Ollie has had more misses than hits over the last few years and it's possible that his best days are behind him. However, it is Oliver Stone and to me, his work is worth checking out. The story deals with 2 marijuana growers/distributors who live a great, violence free drug dealing life. Both dudes are young, smart, good looking and are happy with both being the love interest of Blake Lively. Things start to turn sour when Selma Hayek's cartel wants to make a move to take over the distribution. Things get violent from there. This film had a good cast (Benicio Del Tor & Travolta) and the trailers look kind of cool. I will check this film out depending on how wide a release it has & where I am but I'm going to give Ollie a chance.
There are a bunch of other smaller films that open on the July 6th weekend. Take This Waltz has a cast that includes Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen and Sara Silverman. It's a relationship film that sees Williams married to Rogen but having a steamy affair with Luke Kirby during a hot Toronto summer. The Pact is a haunted house type film. Since there are usually so many of this type of film, it's buyer beware. Sometimes they work & sometimes they don't.
Crazy Eyes, is a "grass is greener" type film where Lukas Haas seems to want more from his LA life then money and a steady stream of babes. The Doca-Deca Pentathalon is about 2 competitive brothers who try to out do each other in their own olympics during a family reunion. It's written by Jay & Mark Duplass who've got solid Indie cred so it might be worth checking out if it's playing at a theater near you. There's also a Katy Perry movie that will also be available in 3D, if that's the kind of thing you're into.
Red Lights (July 13th): Is a suspense/thriller that has a solid cast (DeNiro, Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy & Elizabeth Olsen) and it's directed by Rodrigo Cortes (Buried). Murphy & Weaver play psychic debunkers who eventually go after a mysterious blind psychic, played by DeNiro, and weird things happen. The trailer looks good but this is a tough call. Much like The Pact, these films are numerous and hit or miss. I may wait to see what kind of buzz this generates before I make a decision.
Trishna (July 13th): Stars the beautiful Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), directed by Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People) and set in India. Pinto is a woman who falls in love with the son of a wealthy land owner and things don't go as she would like. I doubt this film will get a wide release but I mention it because I like Winterbottom's work and Pinto is every bit as talented as she is stunningly gorgeous.
Other releases on July 13th include The Imposter, a documentary about a boy who was kidnapped in Texas and turns up in Spain 3 years later. The boy is returned to his family but things seem a little off. Easy Money is a Swedish crime drama. I haven't seen a trailer but the premise sounds cool. Your favorite per-historic pals are back for another go around in Ice Age: Continental Drift 3D. Mostly for kids but I'm sure it's got a few jokes and tear jerking moments for adults too. Salute is a documentary about the 200m dash medal ceremony at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. Tommie Smith & John Carlos were stripped of the gold & bronze medals for their "black power" salute (which wasn't the case). The film is directed by Matt Norman, the nephew of Peter Norman who won the silver medal and stood on the podium with Smith & Carlos. If you're into sports mythos then this might be a film to see in whatever medium if the chance arises. I was born in 1970 so I don't know a lot about the turbulent late 60's (seeing how they don't teach it in any curriculum) and I welcome any chance to learn about this sort of thing. Union Square stars Mira Sorvino (from the where have you been file) about estranged sisters who get back together and we find out why they've been estranged for so long. opens on July 18th and it takes place in WWII France and features a young cast putting aside their difference to help a Jewish girl from being exposed and taken by the Nazis.
July 20th is the opening weekend of The Dark Knight Rises, the 3rd installment in Chris Nolan's version of the franchise. This is THE must see film of the summer. Bale is back as the Dark Knight and the villains are Bane (Tom Hardy) and Catwoman (Anne Hathaway). Gary Oldman reprises his role as Jim Gordon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake (don't know what his role is but it should be interesting). I will be in line on opening day!
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (July20th): is a film that may not go into wide release here in the states but it's directed by legendary director Takashi Miike. Miike also directed 13 Assassins which was a very cool film. Let's be honest, who doesn't like a good samurai film? The trailer looks cool and Miike seems (to me at least) to try and make a Akira Kurosawa type epic. That's not a bad thing.
There are other smaller indie type films opening this weekend. they include, The Well Digger's Daughter which has an ensemble cast about life in Paris as WWI starts. 30 Beats also has an ensemble cast and is about relationships among a diverse group of New Yorkers.
Ruby Sparks (July 25th): is brought to us by the same group that gave us Little Miss Sunshine. Paul Dano plays a writer who creates a character (who turns out to be his dream girl) only to have her come to life. The trailer looks interesting but it seems a bit like Stranger than Fiction. However, Little Miss Sunshine was a really good film so this might be worth watching. Plus it got a 93% audience rating on rottentomatoes.com.
July 20th is the opening weekend of The Dark Knight Rises, the 3rd installment in Chris Nolan's version of the franchise. This is THE must see film of the summer. Bale is back as the Dark Knight and the villains are Bane (Tom Hardy) and Catwoman (Anne Hathaway). Gary Oldman reprises his role as Jim Gordon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake (don't know what his role is but it should be interesting). I will be in line on opening day!
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (July20th): is a film that may not go into wide release here in the states but it's directed by legendary director Takashi Miike. Miike also directed 13 Assassins which was a very cool film. Let's be honest, who doesn't like a good samurai film? The trailer looks cool and Miike seems (to me at least) to try and make a Akira Kurosawa type epic. That's not a bad thing.
There are other smaller indie type films opening this weekend. they include, The Well Digger's Daughter which has an ensemble cast about life in Paris as WWI starts. 30 Beats also has an ensemble cast and is about relationships among a diverse group of New Yorkers.
Ruby Sparks (July 25th): is brought to us by the same group that gave us Little Miss Sunshine. Paul Dano plays a writer who creates a character (who turns out to be his dream girl) only to have her come to life. The trailer looks interesting but it seems a bit like Stranger than Fiction. However, Little Miss Sunshine was a really good film so this might be worth watching. Plus it got a 93% audience rating on rottentomatoes.com.
The Watch (July 27th): stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill about a neighborhood watch team that tries to thwart an alien invasion of their suburban community. There was a lot of negative buzz about this film when the whole George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin incident went down a few months ago. However, these guys are going after aliens so the negativity kind of went away. The preview is about what I'd suspect from a bunch of comic actors who start a community watch and end up battling aliens. I will most likely pass on this one.
Killer Joe (July 27th): I saw the trailer for this and it seemed interesting. It's directed by legendary director William Friedkin (French Connection & The Exorcist) and has a solid cast that includes Thomas Hayden Church, McConaughey, Gina Gershon & Emile Hirsch. It got high marks on rottentomatoes.com and it's about drug dealing kid who needs to come up with some fast cash. His plan is to have a contract killer eliminate his mother for the insurance money but he can't pay the deposit. Things go awry from there. I liked this trailer and I will probably take a chance on this one.
There are a few foreign films that I'm going the mention that open on this particular weekend. Klown: is a Danish film that is difficult to describe without giving too much away. I haven't seen a trailer yet so I don't know much about it other than it's about a guy who takes his brother's kids on a canoe trip and things get inappropriately funny from there. The film was released in Europe in 2010 and is just making its way to eh States. It could be an interesting film. Sacrifice, directed by Kaige Chen, is a revenge film set in medieval China. This one had me at revenge.
That about does it for July releases. August releases will come out shortly. Any feedback is welcome as well as info on films I may not have mentioned. Thanks for your time.
