Serious Movie Lover

Well All Star Break is rapidly approaching, and much like baseball, the movie theaters are in their second half of the summer season before the lull that is the beginning of school.  So far we have seen hits in the Avengers, Brave, and Men in Black III.  We have had big numbers but mixed reviews about Prometheus and Snow White, and of course the failures that are Rock of Ages and That’s My Boy.  As we attempt to get the auto-tuned versions of Classic Rock staples, as done by an older cast of Glee, we look … to… the… FUTURE!

Sure Things

The Amazing Spiderman:  This reboot, which did not make our redo list previously this year, looks good; has the teen heart throbs that actually look as if they fit the comic mold better than the previous stars.  However, while the cast looks decent enough, it is going to be interesting to see if the director can top Sam Rami.  That job falling to Marc Webb, most recently known for 500 Days of Summer. However, you know kids and nerds will be talking about it in some way the day after it opens.

The Dark Knight Rises:  I would love to launch into a lengthy explanation for this movie, but simply if you have not seen the first two then go watch them and then you will know why I need not say much to hype this up. There has been some debate over the villains and other characters in this last Nolan installment, but Nolan has not failed us so far (please don’t fail us).

The Bourne Legacy: Straight from our reboot list, this is a new take on the Jason Bourne Franchise. This time the hero is played by Jeremy Renner, but he is not playing Jason Bourne, an assassin names Aaron Cross. This is a film that takes place in the universe of Jason Bourne that presumably picks up after the previous three Bourne films. Tony Gilory steps out from behind his writing desk to direct this one, and he should be capable enough. This is a sure thing because Renner is hot right now coming off of the Avengers, and if this works out he could be settling into two movie franchises.

The Watch: This is a dark horse but is a recommended comedy.  After all of the action movies you might want to see Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill pretend to be bad asses. If the movie is half as good as the preview, then it will be another hit for Stiller (although the preview dictating success is not a given, but a bad one can secure failure…see Rock of Ages).

Even Money

Ice Age- Continental Drift: Yes they made another. I know you ask why, but here is the simple truth…kids love these movies.  The first one was a nice change of pace from Pixar.  However, now this franchise is getting almost as annoying as Shrek.  This is a great one that kids will love and you can get out of the heat. And you never know, there might be two or three funny lines.

Total Recall: We are still not sold on this one. Even though the previews look great, there is still doubt that it can match the cult status of the old one. However, all of us will be seeing it to see how it stacks up. Therefore, this could be great or just be ok.

The Campaign: How can you go wrong with Will Ferrell and Zack Galifianakis in the same movie? On star power you can’t.  Galifianakis is becoming the comic go to guy, while Ferrell is the veteran. The only thing that I can see keeping this from a comedy hit is the director Jay Roach. While he is not stranger to hits (Meet the Parents), he can also show his political leanings with his films (Recount and Game Change).

Expendables 2: Liam Hemsworth, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture. If that cast works for you then you will enjoy this love letter to explosions and one liners.  If not, have fun with your girlfriends.

Must Miss

Red Lights: Just read the synopsis and tell me that it is going to be good. Just because De Niro is attached to a movie does not mean that is going to be good.

Savages: Ah Oliver Stone.  Couldn’t stay away. This film about gorgeous twenty somethings that share a model girlfriend that get mixed up in the marijuana/mexico drug trade just reeks of Stone’s ego.  While this could be the one that gets him a new audience with some younger viewers, this looks to go the way of Alexander. He gets the casts and has good stories, but something always goes wrong. This best bet is that this movie will go wrong.