2014 Preview: July

To be completely honest with you folks, July 2014 doesn’t really look that appealing to me. Don’t get me wrong, there are still a couple of films coming out this month that I’m interested in but overall this is sort of feeling like one of the weakest Julys in recent movie history. But hey I could be wrong and that doesn’t mean that I won’t be doing a preview post for this month so let’s get started on doing just that. Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s year-long preview of the films set to come out during 2014. This is Part 6 of 11 (previously 12) and today we’ll be looking at the films that will be hitting theaters during the month of July. I know I just said that I felt that this month’s lineup was pretty weak, but there are still a few noteworthy new releases this month.

FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND- Independence Day Weekend will see the release of three new wide releases, all of which are opening two days early on July 2^nd. Plus, on July 4^th, there’s one limited release hitting theaters that I feel is noteworthy to mention.

*A few weeks ago, director Scott Derrickson (‘Sinister’) was hired to direct the upcoming Marvel film ‘Doctor Strange’. Meanwhile, his latest film, ‘Deliver Us from Evil’, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer hits theaters this weekend. Based on a 2001 book called ‘Beware the Night’ by Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool which was based on Sarchie’s eyewitness account, the film stars Eric Bana as Sarchie, a cop from New York who teams up with a renegade priest (played by Edgar Ramirez) to deal with a case involving demonic forces.

*Originally developed by Disney, ‘Earth to Echo’ (now distributed by Relativity Media) centers on a group of kids who come across a little alien who is in need of their help.

*Melissa McCarthy teams up with her husband, director Ben Falcone, for ‘Tammy’, a film in which she stars as the titular Tammy who goes on a road trip with her grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon) after losing her job and finding out that her husband is cheating on her. The film also stars Kathy Bates, Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd, and Sandra Oh.

*Coming out in limited release and slated to air on CNN later this year, ‘Life Itself’ follows the life of world-renowned film critic Roger Ebert, who sadly passed away more than a year ago on April 4, 2013. The documentary is directed by Steve James, director of the award-winning 1994 documentary ‘Hoop Dreams’.

JULY 11- Only one new release this week, and this just so happens to be my most anticipated film of the month.

*2011’s surprise hit ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ gets a sequel in ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ with Matt Reeves (‘Cloverfield’) taking over for Rupert Wyatt as director. Taking place a decade after the events of the previous film, in which a devastating virus was unleashed on the world, this film centers on the developing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar (portrayed of course through motion capture by Andy Serkis) as they soon come into conflict with a group of humans who have been able to survive the virus. The film’s human cast includes Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, and Gary Oldman.

JULY 18- Four new releases this week, including an animated sequel, a horror-thriller sequel, and an R-rated comedy.

*Originally intended for a direct-to-video release, 2013’s ‘Planes’ was instead released in theaters and grossed a little over four times its $50 million budget, resulting in a sequel, ‘Planes: Fire and Rescue’, being put in development, and it opens in theaters this weekend. In this film, Dusty Crophopper (again voiced by Dane Cook) learns that he can no longer race due to a damaged engine, resulting in him joining a wildfire air attack team as they battle a massive wildfire. Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, and Teri Hatcher, among others, reprise their roles from the previous film and are joined in this film by Ed Harris and Julie Bowen.

*Director Rob Reiner’s latest film, ‘And So it Goes’, stars Michael Douglas as a realtor who finds out that he has to take care of his granddaughter, one that he had never knew existed, which results in him having to enlist the help of his neighbor (played by Diane Keaton).

*Last June, ‘The Purge’ was a sizable hit on just a $3 million budget resulting in the announcement of a sequel, ‘The Purge: Anarchy’, again directed by James DeMonaco and produced by Michael Bay’s production company ‘Platinum Dunes’. This film focuses on a group of five people; a couple who find themselves trying to get home, a mother and daughter forced out of their home, and a man (Frank Grillo) seeking revenge for the death of his son as they all team up in order to survive the annual Purge, the one night every year when crime is legal and all emergency services are suspended.

*Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel reunite with their ‘Bad Teacher’ director Jake Kasdan for ‘Sex Tape’, in which they play a couple trying to spice up their love life. They decide to make a sex tape but they find themselves running into trouble when the video ends up leaking to the internet via the Cloud. The film also stars Rob Corddry, Ellie Kemper, Jack Black, and Rob Lowe.

JULY 25- A pair of big-budget blockbusters close out the month along with a Woody Allen film opening in limited release.

*After January’s ‘The Legend of Hercules’, director Brett Ratner helms the second of two major films this year based around the mythical hero Hercules. This film, ‘Hercules’, stars Dwayne Johnson in the titular role and is based off of the graphic novel ‘Hercules: The Thracian Wars’ by Steve Moore. In the film, Hercules is sought after by the King of Thrace (John Hurt) for help in defeating a warlord. The film also stars Rufus Sewell and Ian McShane.

*The final major release of the month is ‘Lucy’, directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Scarlett Johansson as the titular Lucy, a woman who finds himself having to work for the Taiwanese mob as a drug mule with their product implanted into her body. However, the drug ends up leaking into her system which ends up giving her superhuman abilities. The film also stars Morgan Freeman.

*Also opening in limited release this weekend is Woody Allen's latest film, 'Magic in the Moonlight'. Colin Firth stars as a magician in the 1920's who travels to the French Riviera to unmask a supposed spiritualist (Emma Stone) who might be exploiting a rich family. 

And those are the films set to come out during July 2014. Check back next month for Part 7 where we’ll be closing out the summer movie season by looking at the films hitting theaters in August.