I always look forward to Independence Day more on even numbered years because it means a reprieve from the Transformers franchise. This holiday weekend's big release is The Amazing Spider-Man, a film that no one was clamoring for but I'm nonetheless growing quite curious about.
Don't mistake curiosity for expectations; I remain quite skeptical of a major blockbuster helmed by the guy who brought us (500) Days of Summer. But more than anything else, I'm interested to find out how much juice this series still have. Does Spider-Man still have a place in today's marketplace? I'm not so sure, especially considering the weak marketing behind this effort. That said, Rhys Ifans' Lizard looks really cool, and Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, I suspect, will have good chemistry.
Oliver Stone's latest, Savages, also comes out this weekend, and if it wasn't for the film's director, I wouldn't have a speck of interest in this. Not sure if I'm alone on this, but the trailer looked just terrible to me—incredibly generic and with some really terrible-looking performances. And I really don't understand how Universal could possibly think the film will play during the heart of blockbuster season. This has August/September written all over it, when its competition is much less stiff. All that said, it's still Oliver Stone. The guy is capable of greatness, so I'd be a fool to write it off too quickly…
Another Ice Age movie and Ted, a movie by the team behind Family Guy about Mark Wahlberg and a crude-talking teddy bear, means I'll be staying home the weekend of July 13. That brings us to July 20 and the release of The Dark Knight Rises. What is there to say about this film, the franchise as a whole, and its visionary director at this point? He's yet to let us down, especially when it comes to the Batman series, and though I wish a little that I didn't have such high expectations, I'd be shocked—SHOCKED—if this film doesn't manage to live up to or surpass them.
The month ends with Neighborhood Watch (garbage) and Step Up Revolution (the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard). But August 3, hopefully, is a big improvement. The Bourne Legacy might not reach the heights of Paul Greengrass' pair of Bourne films, but I have faith in Tony Gilroy and Jeremy Renner. The Total Recall remake also intrigues me, though there's definitely a better than 50/50 chance that it ends up being terrible.
A pair of decent-sounding comedies hit August 10. The Campaign is a political satire starring Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, and Jason Sudeikis and directed by Game Change helmer Jay Roach. Hope Springs, meanwhile, stars Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep as a couple re-evaluating their marriage after 30 years. The latter is directed by David Frankel of The Devil Wears Prada fame.
The following two weekends don't appear to offer much. There's The Expendables 2, which I couldn't care less about. Sparkle looks to capitalize in the death of Whitney Houston. The Odd Life of Timothy Green and ParaNorman might be OK kids flicks, but I have no expectations for either. Premium Rush is the only film during this stretch that's even remotely intriguing, and that's only due to the presence of one Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
The season closes with a promising drama. Lawless was formerly known as "The Wettest County", and was scheduled for an April release. Despite both changes, I remain thoroughly intrigued, thanks to director John Hillcoat and stars Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain.
With the exception of a few shitty horror films (sorry, The Apparition and The Possession), I've touched on just about everything. I said in my first post in this series that it looks like a great summer from the outset, but it's also quite a top-heavy one. There are probably four titles that would have topped, or come close to topping, last year's list. Beyond that, however, it's slim pickings with a few big question marks for good measure. Below is my official top 10 most-anticipated list. The summer movie preview concludes later this week with a look at the season's indie schedule.
10.) The Campaign
Pros: Subject matter ripe for satire, strong cast
Cons: Ferrell comedies hit or miss lately (Casa de Mi Padre, anyone?)
9.) Battleship
Pros: Looks like a total trainwreck
Cons: Looks like a total trainwreck
8.) Magic Mike
Pros: Soderbergh, Channing Tatum looking strong after 21 Jump Street
Cons: About male strippers
7.) The Amazing Spider-Man
Pros: Been five years since we last saw Spidey
Cons: Unproven director, another origin story (really?)
6.) Lawless
Pros: Strong cast and director, what we've seen so far looks gorgeous
Cons: Release date pushed back—never a good sign
5.) The Bourne Legacy
Pros: A franchise that hasn't let us down yet, good director who's familiar with the material
Cons: How can they make this fourth entry in the series feel new?
4.) Brave
Pros: First original Pixar film since Up
Cons: Not made by one of the studio's usual suspects
3.) The Avengers
Pros: Joss Whedon, awesome cast, action looks terrific
Cons: Perhaps it's too massive an undertaking?
2.) Prometheus
Pros: Ridley Scott, Alien pedigree, incredible cast, A+ trailer
Cons: Still don't know what it's about, really
1.) The Dark Knight Rises
Pros: Nolan, cast, awesome trailers
Cons: Are expectations unreasonably high?
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