Well, I’m happy to report that I haven’t been experiencing the same situation that I kept seeing when I did this last summer. As you might recall, almost every major media outlet expressed disappointment at last year’s slate of summer films. And while I will admit that perhaps, in retrospect, it wasn’t the best summer ever, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as everyone was saying it was. Thankfully, that isn’t the case this year… well, unless you count all the articles recently that have been pointing out some of the mediocre box-office records from this summer. But I’m clearly not cut out for the box-office analyst industry so instead, I’m just going to highlight the, well, highlights of Summer 2017. We got some more great entries in the superhero genre in what has arguably been one of the genre’s best years ever. We got some quality franchise efforts from the likes of Planet of the Apes and Pixar. And for those who crave more original films, we got some high-quality outings from some of the biggest names in the industry like Christopher Nolan and Edgar Wright. Thus, today on Rhode Island Movie Corner, I’m compiling the results of this year’s annual ‘End of Summer’ fan poll. As always, I want to thank everyone who helped spread this poll around on social media the past two weeks. We had another strong run this year as we managed to tie with last year’s count of 58 votes. Said votes were awarded to 22 different films, a record for this annual event. So, which films ended up earning your votes? It’s time to find out! Without further ado, these are the results for Rhode Island Movie Corner’s fourth annual End of Summer Fan Poll.
10 FILMS RECEIVED 1 VOTE
KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD
While director Guy Ritchie has been in the film industry for several decades now, admittedly he hasn’t had much success from a commercial standpoint. Save for films like Snatch and the Sherlock Holmes duology starring Robert Downey Jr., most of his films have underperformed considerably at the box-office. And his 2017 outing is no exception, as King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was unable to earn back its massive $175 million budget. Reviews weren’t too kind either to this radical interpretation of the myth of King Arthur, as it amassed a mediocre 28% on Rotten Tomatoes. That and, apparently, this was trying to set up its own cinematic universe a la Marvel. Clearly, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen now, but while I’ll admit that I didn’t see the film in theaters, I thought that it looked okay based on the trailer. Nothing special, mind you, but it did look like a decently entertaining medieval action fantasy film. Still, even while watching the trailers, I kind of figured beforehand that this would be one of the big box-office bombs of the summer. And, to be clear, I don’t like doing that because I do hate seeing films do poorly at the box-office regardless of their quality. Still, given Ritchie’s track record at the box-office and the generally ‘meh’ reactions that I was seeing from others online, it was basically a given by the time that it finally came out. But it doesn’t look like Ritchie’s bad luck will last for long, though, as he’s currently working on the live-action remake of Disney’s Aladdin. Sure, it could go either way given that Ritchie tends to be a polarizing director but regardless, it will no doubt be one of the better-performing films of his career.
SNATCHED
Back in 2015, director Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck ended up being one of the most popular films in that year’s poll. The film was written by its main actress, Amy Schumer, who had become a big star thanks to her Comedy Central show, Inside Amy Schumer. However, it seems like her critics have become a lot more vocal since then, like when her Netflix special, Amy Schumer: The Leather Special, was panned by alt-right trolls (disclaimer: Yes, I know that not all the negative reviews were from the alt-right, but let’s face it, a considerable amount of them were). And this trend continues with her big summer release this year, Snatched. In it, she plays a recently dumped woman who decides to go on vacation in South America with her mother, played by Goldie Hawn in her first big film role since 2002. However, the vacation soon turns awry when the two of them end up getting kidnapped. Critical reception was mixed for this film, stating that while Schumer and Hawn are great together, the film itself is generally hit-or-miss with its humor. And while I’ll admit that I wasn’t that interested in it, it didn’t look that bad to me. If anything, it was being directed by someone with decent experience in the comedy genre, Jonathan Levine. Levine’s done a lot of great comedies in the past, including 2011’s 50/50, one of the best dramedies to date, and 2013’s charming zombie rom-com Warm Bodies. And while this film ultimately may not have fared as well with critics as his other films, I’m guessing that Schumer’s fans were generally satisfied with it.
CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE
Who would’ve guessed that, of all films, Captain Underpants would end up being one of the most faithful film adaptations of any written source material ever made? The last DreamWorks animated film produced under the 20th Century Fox banner (now, they operate under Universal), this adaptation of author Dav Pilkey’s silly but charming series of children’s books perfectly captured the tone of its source material. It is completely wacky and full to the brim with admittedly immature toilet humor (figuratively and literally, in this case, as the main villain creates evil, sentient toilets to form his army). And yet, through it all, Pilkey’s books always managed to be more than just a strange series of misadventures about a superhero that only wears his underpants and a red cape made from window curtains. The film maintains this tradition, primarily through the always strong friendship between main protagonists George Beard and Harold Hutchins. These two, voiced excellently by Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch, respectively, are the heart of the film. Plus, the film also does a great job of implementing some of the best running gags from the books. They even managed to incorporate the classic Flip-O-Rama segment into the narrative; that’s amazing! Simply put, as someone who grew up with these books, I was incredibly satisfied with this film. And while DreamWorks is working with a different studio now, I do hope that this gets a sequel someday. I mean, I know it wasn’t one of their most commercially successful outings, but after such a strong first entry in a potential franchise, I’d say that there’s room for more adventures with these wacky but charming heroes. TRA LA LA!!!
TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT
Despite what it may seem, there are still fans of Michael Bay’s Transformers films. Heck, you’re reading content from one of them right now. Yes, folks, I did like Transformers: The Last Knight, which somehow managed to do even worse with critics than its immediate predecessor, Transformers: Age of Extinction. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that this film is remotely perfect. This was genuinely the first instance where I did agree with the consensus of these films having nonsensical plots. Though, in this instance, I’d say that part of the problem is that the film rushes through its plot even though it boasts the franchise’s typical two-and-a-half-hour runtime. And unlike previous Transformers films, which only focused on one or two Transformer-related conspiracies at a time, this film basically throws the book at us with all sorts of new ‘background information’ on the Transformers. And in doing so, it legitimately sidelines the Transformers in favor of the human characters; this is another common criticism of the franchise and it’s at its most egregious here. Still, despite being another mindless sci-fi action film, Bay continues to deliver on the impressive visuals and action sequences. Recently, Paramount has been working to develop their own Cinematic Universe based around the Transformers, which is news that clearly isn’t going over well with those who dislike these films with a burning passion. However, I’ll admit that I’m still sort of interested in where they’re going to go from here. Unless he decides to change his mind again, it seems like this truly is Bay’s last Transformers film, which will allow new filmmakers to bring their own unique vision to this franchise moving forward. Case in point, a spin-off film centered around the best character from these films, Bumblebee, is in development right now directed by Kubo and the Two Strings director Travis Knight. And sure, it’s possible that this could turn out exactly just like Bay’s films. But, since this is the first instance of a non-Bay Transformers film, who knows?
THE BIG SICK
This year’s most critically-acclaimed romantic comedy came in the form of director Michael Showalter’s The Big Sick. The film was written by its main star, Kumail Nanjiani, and his wife, Emily Gordon, and was based on a real-life experience that they had during their relationship. In the film, Kumail stars as himself alongside Zoe Kazan as the fictionalized version of Gordon. When Emily is forced to be put into a medically-induced coma due to a lung infection, Kumail finds himself having to connect with her parents (played by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) while also hoping that his parents will be accepting of his relationship with a non-Pakistani woman. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to see this film yet, but from what I’ve heard, it’s quite excellent. In a genre that could often yield predictable results, it looks as if The Big Sick stands strong thanks to the strong lead performances by Nanjiani and Kazan as well as a story that is steeped in authenticity and great themes, such as the acceptance of one’s cultural identity even when it’s against their family’s traditions and the strength of a romance through the good times and the bad times. Clearly, this has been a huge success for everyone involved, including Nanjiani, who’s recently become a breakout star thanks to his role on the hit HBO series Silicon Valley. After debuting to critical acclaim at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, it then went on to win the Audience Award at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival. It boasts an excellent 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and I have the feeling that we’ll be seeing it attract a lot of buzz come awards season.
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES
The new Planet of the Apes series has managed to become one of the most surprisingly effective franchise revivals in recent memory. Thanks in no small part to the terrific lead performance from Andy Serkis in the role of genetically-enhanced ape Caesar, Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of the surprise hits of 2011. The bar was then raised even higher with its 2014 sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. And with the third entry in this new PotA series, War for the Planet of the Apes, Serkis and Dawn director Matt Reeves manage to cap off this ‘Caesar trilogy’ with one of the best ‘third installments’ of any franchise to date. Just like its predecessor, Reeves’ excellent direction makes it so that this film’s story and characters are just as strong as its amazing visual effects. It’s both a fitting conclusion to the story of Caesar as well as a natural follow-up to the events of Dawn. Caesar’s actions at the end of Dawn end up haunting him throughout in what may arguably be his biggest arc of the entire trilogy. And yet, at the end of the day, he and his fellow apes are still the protagonists we love to root for as they go up against a vicious human colonel, especially after he does something that crosses the line on an emotional level. The colonel is an excellent and deeply-layered villain and is played brilliantly by Woody Harrelson. And thanks to its strong script, War for the Planet of the Apes boasts an incredible amount of emotional depth that’s consistent all the way to the finale. On that note, it’ll be interesting to see if they decide to continue from here. Could we possibly see this iteration of the series do its version of the original Planet of the Apes storyline? It did sort of tease this way back in Rise, after all. Ultimately, though, if it doesn’t, then at least this new series goes out on one of the best notes ever with a film that’s on par with its immediate predecessor… perhaps possibly better, even!
THE EMOJI MOVIE
Don’t look at me, folks, I’m just listing the votes here. Someone did, indeed, vote for this film; as such, if they genuinely liked it, then all the power to them. They don’t deserve to be ridiculed for liking this film. Of course, the reason why I’m saying this for ‘this’ film is that, well, it sure hasn’t been a popular film amongst critics and audiences. This film was outright panned months before it was even released by people who were just dumbfounded that there was going to be a film based on the colorful symbols that we use in text messages. And that seamlessly translated into the film’s critical reception upon release. With an 8% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was clearly the worst reviewed film of this summer. But personally, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I mean, to me, it looked like, at worst, a knock-off of Inside Out. It is, after all, a film based on characters who live inside something used by a young kid. Thus, I basically ignored this film when it came out because, clearly, there were far better films out there. Though this does raise an interesting point about all the attention that it was getting once it was released, specifically from those who ranted about it online. The thing is, I have a feeling that quite a few of the people who got angry about it… didn’t even go see it. And at the end of the day, why get so obsessed with a film that you weren’t even going to see in the first place? It’s not like it was the only film out there. Moments like this seriously make me wonder why the internet always tends to focus more on the bad films than the good ones. Anyway, onto a better-received film…
DETROIT
Detroit was the third major collaboration between director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal. Together, these two have amassed tons of critical acclaim thanks to their previous outings, 2009’s Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker and 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty. With their newest film, they tackle the infamous 12th Street Riots which occurred in Detroit in 1967. Specifically, they center on one of the most controversial incidents from the riots, a gruesome assault at the Algiers Motel where a bunch of racist cops murdered three innocent young African-American men. These events are portrayed in such an unflinching manner that it makes the middle section of the film, where the incident occurs, quite unsettling to watch. As many have pointed out, it’s practically a horror film during this part. Ultimately, though, while the film admittedly isn’t completely successful in eliciting all the emotional depth that it’s trying to spark, Bigelow’s direction is excellent and the ensemble cast does an excellent job, highlighted by newcomer Algee Smith as one of the harassed witnesses at the Algiers and Will Poulter as the despicable leader of the racist cops that got involved. All in all, compared to Bigelow and Boal’s previous outing, Zero Dark Thirty, I feel that this film did a far better job of telling its true story. The main reason why is simple, as it allowed us to have a much stronger connection with the main characters that got caught up in this whole ordeal, something that unfortunately never came to fruition with Zero Dark Thirty. Thus, I think it’s safe to say that this film will most likely get some attention during this year’s awards season, and rightfully so.
KIDNAP
The first major film to come from this year’s write-in section is Kidnap. Directed by Spanish filmmaker Luis Prieto, who previously helmed a remake of Nicholas Winding Refn’s 1996 film Pusher, the film stars Halle Berry as a waitress who embarks on a very personal search when her son is taken by a group of kidnappers. And that’s really all that I know about this film; it was released during the first week of August but I didn’t really hear much about it at the time. That same weekend saw the release of the adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower along with the nationwide expansion of Detroit. This film, on the other hand, just became lost in the crowd as an ‘end of summer’ release. From the looks of it, it seems like this film is very reminiscent of another film that Berry did called The Call. That film was released back in 2013 and shared a similar plot based around abductions. And it did quite well at the box-office amidst mixed reviews. The same can generally be said about Kidnap, for the most part. I mean, at the very least, it made its low budget back despite all the competition that it was facing at the time. Critical reception was mixed, for the most part, citing that Berry was solid in the lead role despite the plot being a mess. And, again, that’s all that I can say about this film, really, as it just came and went without much fanfare.
WIND RIVER
Another film coming from the write-in section is Wind River, a mystery thriller written and directed by Taylor Sheridan. Sheridan has made quite a name for himself these past few years thanks to the many critically-acclaimed films that he has written, including Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, which will be getting a Sheridan-penned sequel next summer, and last year’s Best Picture nominee Hell or High Water. This time around, Sheridan is the one behind the camera for what looks to be another strong outing from him. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen (insert ‘Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch crossover joke’ here) as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent and a rookie FBI special agent, respectively, who investigate a murder that has occurred at the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, hence the title of the film. Like The Big Sick, this film initially debuted at Sundance back in January before it was released in the middle of August. And while I’ll admit that I haven’t seen it yet, it looks like this is another great thriller from Sheridan. Sheridan has frequently been praised for imbuing his stories with strong bits of character development, and it seems like this is the case with Wind River as well thanks to solid performances from Renner and Olsen. The film even boasts music from legendary musicians Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. All in all, it looks like we have another strong awards contender with this one.
6 FILMS RECEIVED 2 VOTES
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES
The adventures of our favorite eccentric pirate, Jack Sparrow (“Captain Jack Sparrow!”, Sorry!) continued in the fifth installment of Disney’s global hit of a franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. And I do mean a ‘global hit’ because even though this film was the lowest-grossing of the franchise, domestically, it’s grossed nearly $800 million worldwide. In other words, while some critics feel like this franchise is running on empty at this point, it is clearly still a big hit with audiences. And as someone who isn’t afraid to admit that he’s liked all four of the previous Pirates films (yes, even the previous three sequels), I liked this one just as much. I mean, sure, despite its efforts to initiate a ‘soft reboot’ of the franchise, this film still tends to suffer from some of the same issues that many have had with these films as of late. Namely, a plot that sometimes gets overly complicated primarily through an over-abundance of characters. Still, at the very least, it never gets to the complicated levels of, say, At World’s End. And thanks to the strong direction from co-directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, along with the always terrific visual/production design, this is ultimately just another fun summer popcorn flick. But what’s next for this franchise? Despite one of the trailers proclaiming that this film was going to be the ‘final adventure’, the film’s post-credits scene suggests otherwise by hinting at the return of one of the series’ classic antagonists. At this point, however, we’re just going to have to wait and see if there are going to be any more adventures on the open seas.
ALL EYEZ ON ME
As some of you may have guessed from the title, All Eyez on Me is a biopic focusing on one of the most legendary rap artists of all-time, Tupac Shakur. Demetrius Shipp Jr. takes on the lead role of the man himself as the film, named after Tupac’s 1996 album of the same name, explores his career, from his early successes to some of the controversial incidents that he ended up in, like when he was put on trial for sexual assault in 1993. And, of course, it all culminates with his tragic death in 1996 at the age of 25 due to a drive-by shooting. However, unlike 2015’s big music-oriented biopic, Straight Outta Compton, All Eyez on Me has not fared well with critics. With a measly 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the site’s consensus notes that while Shipp Jr. is fine in the role of Tupac, the film itself is a by-the-numbers biopic. The film has also attracted some criticism from some of Tupac’s former associates over its portrayal of certain events, namely Jada Pinkett Smith, who befriended Tupac while they were at the Baltimore School for the Arts and is played in the film by Kat Graham. In short, those mediocre reviews and bad publicity, paired with the fact that I’m admittedly not very familiar with Tupac’s music, is why I didn’t really bother seeing this film when it came out. And from the looks of it, even if I was more familiar with Tupac’s work, it seems like this just didn’t do the man’s story justice.
BABY DRIVER
After his tumultuous exit from Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man, Edgar Wright came back swinging this year with another great directorial effort in the form of Baby Driver. Inspired by a music video that he directed back in 2003 for the band Mint Royale, Baby Driver is the thrilling tale of a young and innocent getaway driver who runs into trouble when he tries to get out of the business. This then leads to some amazing car chase sequences, all of which were done practically. And, of course, it’s all backed by Wright’s trademark visual flair, effectively making this one of the most visually appealing films of the year so far. The other great thing about this film is its soundtrack, which features tons of classic songs like ‘Tequila’ and ‘Bellbottoms’. And not only does this film feature a great soundtrack but the soundtrack is also tuned perfectly to the action, making these great car chases and shootouts even more epic. Pair all this with an excellent ensemble cast, highlighted by Ansel Elgort as the film’s charismatic title character and a scene-stealing Jamie Foxx, and you have a highly entertaining summer popcorn flick that has given Edgar Wright his most commercially successful directorial effort to date with over $208 million worldwide. Because even though Wright has become a fan favorite amongst film buffs thanks to films like the Cornetto trilogy and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, his previous directorial efforts have admittedly only been mildly successful at the box-office… or, in the case of the latter, an unfortunate box-office flop. Not this time, though…
GIRLS TRIP
Delving into a personal story for a moment, back in July I went on vacation to California, where I toured the various Hollywood studios, went to Disneyland, etc. At one point, I even went to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where one of the guests was actress Regina Hall. She was there to promote her new film, Girls Trip, and while I didn’t really have much interest in seeing it, it has clearly been a solid hit with critics and audiences. The film was directed by Malcolm D. Lee, who’s had several critical/commercial hits in the past including 1999’s The Best Man, its 2013 sequel The Best Man Holiday, and last year’s Barbershop: The Next Cut. Hall stars alongside Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Queen Latifah as a quartet of friends who get into all sorts of hi-jinx when they travel to New Orleans for a music festival. This raunchy, R-rated comedy has done quite well with critics, who have praised the film for its strong humor, layered characters, and its terrific ensemble. It’s also done quite well from a commercial perspective. Having earned over $127 million at the box-office, it’s the first comedy of the year to have a domestic gross of over $100 million. Simply put, it’s fared far better with critics and audiences compared to the other raunchy R-rated comedy from this summer that revolved around a group of women, Rough Night. As I know many have pointed out already, you can primarily chalk that up to the fact that this is a comedy centered around four African-American women which, sadly, is something that you don’t see very often. In other words, this film has been a huge and well-earned success for all involved.
THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD
Despite being released at the tail-end of the summer, The Hitman’s Bodyguard has proven to be a solid commercial hit. For one thing, it’s only the third film this year to have maintained the number one spot at the domestic box-office for at least three weeks in a row. Now, granted, it could be argued that this is because it was doing this during the latter half of August but, nevertheless, it’s fared quite well with audiences, and rightfully so. As I stated in my review of it a few weeks back, this is far from being a film that’s going to get a lot of attention during this year’s awards season. Instead, it’s just a simple but entertaining action extravaganza bolstered by its two main leads, Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. Simply put, with these two big onscreen personalities paired together, you can bet that this film will have them go through all sorts of wacky scenarios as they mow down bad guys along the way. And they do work excellently together which, for the most part, makes up for the fact that, again, this is an action film with a straightforward plot and some rather obvious plot twists. Still, for what it’s worth, the film does have some solid action sequences, and unlike his previous directorial effort, The Expendables 3, director Patrick Hughes doesn’t have to limit himself by toning them down so that the film can be rated PG-13. Nope, instead this film is R-rated and as such, it uses the charismatic personalities of its two main stars to full effect. Yeah, it’s still a rather mindless action flick at the end of the day, but for a film that came out during the final weeks of the summer, this was a decent way to close out the summer season at the theater.
BRIGSBY BEAR
Hands down the most popular film from this year’s write-in section, Brigsby Bear is a dramedy developed by several big-name filmmakers. It was produced by not only the trio of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer (AKA The Lonely Island) but also Phil Lord and Chris Miller (who now have a LOT of free time on their hands). It was also co-written by its main star, Kyle Mooney, who is currently one of the leads on Saturday Night Live and worked on this film alongside the fellow members of his comedy group ‘Good Neighbor’. In the film, Mooney plays a man named James who obsesses over a children’s show named Brigsby Bear. However, when he finds himself uprooted from his current living situation (i.e. he learns that the two people whom he thought were his parents were just holding him captive all these years), he embarks on a journey to give his beloved series the ending that it deserves. While I haven’t yet seen this film, it seems to me like it’s the 2017 equivalent of last year’s Swiss Army Man. By that, I mean that this is a film that’s undeniably strange but, at the end of the day, also benefits from a heartfelt story. In this case, it’s the story of a man who’s always lived a sheltered life as he’s now forced to adapt to living in the real world. Also, did I forget to mention that his ‘surrogate father’ is played by Luke Skywalker? Yes, Mark Hamill also stars in this film as James’ ‘father’ Ted alongside other big names like Claire Danes, Greg Kinnear, and Mooney’s SNL co-star Beck Bennett. In short, it seems like Brigsby Bear is one of those films that may not be everyone’s cup of tea but will most likely win over those who decide to give it a chance.
WELL, FOLKS, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, I'M ABLE TO DO A RANKED LIST FOR THE TOP 5 VOTE-GETTERS (TECHNICALLY 6 AS TWO FILMS ENDED UP TYING AT THE NUMBER 3 SPOT)
5. SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (4 VOTES)
Despite being the second reboot of the Spider-Man franchise in half a decade, Spider-Man: Homecoming has been a much-deserved success for all involved. For the beloved web-slinger and his current distributor Sony, it was their most well-received franchise outing since Spider-Man 2 way back in 2004. And as for Marvel Studios… well, it was just yet another whirlwind success for them as always. Yes, this was a co-production that was released under the Sony banner but still counted as an entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After making a stellar franchise debut in Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland’s excellent iteration of Peter Parker transitioned into the lead role for this film. And he does so in glorious fashion, with Spider-Man: Homecoming serving as another fun entry in the MCU while also doubling as an entertaining high school comedy reminiscent of John Hughes flicks. Plus, while the film is still part of the larger MCU, it doesn’t have the same kind of overall scale compared to something like the Avengers films. This ends up helping the film maintain a more suitable, grounded atmosphere, which I guess you could say ties in perfectly to the main bit of advice that Tony Stark (who’s used excellently in the film without ever overshadowing Holland) gives to Peter, ‘Stay Close to the Ground’. Really, aside from the film being perhaps a tad bit overlong (e.g. when it gets to the actual Homecoming for which the film is named for, we still have at least a half hour to go), Spider-Man: Homecoming is a great start for this new franchise of Spider-Man films. And yes, I know that Sony’s current plans for the franchise are a bit odd given that they’re working on some spin-off films that are apparently unconnected to the main series, but as for the adventures of our favorite neighborhood web slinger, I’d say that he’s back in good form.
4. THE GLASS CASTLE (5 VOTES)
One of the most unexpectedly popular films from this year’s poll was The Glass Castle, based on the 2005 novel of the same name by author Jeannette Wallis. The film, like the novel, is a memoir detailing Wallis’ early life when she and her family lived a nomadic lifestyle, even though it was a period that was often spent in poverty due to her father frequently being out of work. Brie Larson stars as Wallis while Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts star as Wallis’ parents Rex and Rose Mary, respectively. Released in the middle of August, the film admittedly didn’t fare too well with critics upon release, with just a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that while the cast was great and the story was worth telling, they felt that the overall execution wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been. From what I’ve read, it seems like their biggest gripe with the film was its decision to try and have the audience sympathize with Wallis’ parents despite their questionable parenting techniques. Still, given how many votes that this film got in this poll, it seems like audiences felt far more positively about it by comparison. Thus, while The Glass Castle may not end up being a major awards contender this year, it looks as if audiences were, at the very least, satisfied with this dramatic true story.
3. DESPICABLE ME 3 (6 VOTES – TIED)
Illumination Entertainment clearly had a hit on their hands with the original Despicable Me back in 2010. Since then, these Despicable Me films have turned the studio into one of the biggest animation companies in the industry, even though their films haven’t exactly been that popular amongst critics. This trend continued with the third installment of the main series, Despicable Me 3, which, at the time that I’m writing this, just crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box-office. And while I haven’t seen any of the previous films in the series, I’ll admit that this one managed to attract my attention in the months leading up to its release, and that’s mainly because of who they got to play the villain. For the role of 80’s obsessed supervillain Balthazar Bratt, they cast none other than South Park creator Trey Parker. This is quite mind-blowing, if you ask me, given that these two franchises couldn’t be any more different in terms of their target audiences. Though with that said, I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t give Parker’s SP co-creator Matt Stone a supporting role as one of Bratt’s henchmen. The film also saw the introduction of main protagonist Gru’s long-lost twin brother, Dru. And that’s all that I can say about this film, really, as I’ve yet to see it. From the looks of it, it just looks like another enjoyably wacky albeit rather basic-plotted animated film that delivers on everything that fans love about this franchise, including the strong relationship between Gru and his adoptive daughters and, of course, the scene-stealing Minions. In short, while several animation fans that I know aren’t too happy about this series’ continued success, at the very least it continues to be a hit with audiences. And given that this is the series’ second installment in a row to gross over $1 billion worldwide, I think it’s safe to say that this franchise isn’t done yet.
3. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (6 VOTES – TIED)
One thing’s for certain with this annual poll, and that is that Marvel Studios’ films are always going to be amongst the front-runners of any given year. That is once again the case this year with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to the studio’s smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy, which managed to land one of the top spots in the 2014 poll. And while this didn’t end up taking the top spot this year, it seems like many of you agree with me that this was, in fact, better than the first film. This certainly isn’t a sentiment shared by most critics, though, because as I’ve noted before, many felt that while the film was good, it just wasn’t ‘as fresh’ as the original. But with all due respect, critics, I strongly feel that you’re undervaluing this film just because it’s a sequel. Because even though it is a sequel to one of Marvel Studios’ most beloved installments, it manages to have a stronger story compared to its predecessor. From the well-layered themes of fatherhood and how it all ties to Star-Lord’s character growth to all the great character development that the other Guardians are given, this film’s story helps to make it even more emotionally poignant than the first. Seriously, the finale of this film is quite arguably one of the best things that Marvel Studios has ever done. Simply put, writer/director James Gunn manages to raise the bar once again with this sequel. And while he does retain several of the things that we loved about the first film, including the great soundtrack, colorful visuals, and lovable characters, he doesn’t just completely rehash what we saw before in a fun but ultimately lackluster sequel. Instead, he further develops the Guardians in all the right ways to make another thrilling, humorous, and all-around emotional sci-fi adventure through the cosmic side of the Marvel universe. Thus, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 somehow managed to overcome its equally fantastic predecessor to become my new number one favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
2. WONDER WOMAN (7 VOTES)
Remember a few weeks back when I published the announcement post for this year’s poll, in which I stated that I speculate that there’d be a clear front-runner this year? Well, I figured that Wonder Woman was going to be that film given how big of a critical/commercial hit that it’s been. But, surprisingly, it was outdone by another film by just a single vote. Still, there’s no denying how much of a success that this has been for all involved. It’s the highest-grossing film ever to be directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins, who’s just recently signed on for the sequel (hurrah!). It was the long-awaited solo outing for one of DC’s most famous heroines as well as being the first big female-led superhero film of the genre’s modern era. And, of course, it was the first big critical success for the DC Extended Universe after the franchise suffered an especially brutal 2016 due to the extremely harsh and negative reactions to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Simply put, Wonder Woman is just a phenomenal film in every sense of the word. Gal Gadot proved several of her critics wrong with a terrific lead performance in the title role. Said role is incredibly well-layered to showcase Diana’s growth as the naïve young woman raised away from the rest of the world who gradually learns about humanity’s dark side when she becomes involved in World War I. She’s paired excellently with Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, who manages to be more than just a simple love interest without overshadowing Diana in her own film. Add in some awesome action sequences and a great tone that effectively balances light-hearted antics with serious and emotionally affecting wartime tragedies and you have a fantastic entry in the superhero film genre that has undeniably inspired millions of people both young and old.
AND THIS YEAR’S WINNER, WITH 8 VOTES…
DUNKIRK
Yes, the two biggest summer hits this year from Warner Bros. managed to be the big frontrunners of this year’s poll. And to make this scenario even more coincidental, both films’ stories are based around a World War; World War I in the case of Wonder Woman and World War II for director Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Dunkirk. It’s the true story of the perilous evacuation of over 400,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk across the British Channel. And while Nolan did get some flak initially for making this a PG-13 rated war film, he more than makes up for it by establishing a terrific amount of tension without ever getting gory with the action sequences. Of course, like any Nolan film, it also boasts several of his directorial trademarks that highlight his passion for old-school filmmaking. Whether it’s by using practical effects and real battleships/planes for all the combat sequences or shooting the film on 70 mm film to give audiences an even more immersive experience when viewed on a big IMAX screen, Nolan continues to be one of the best directors in the industry because of this. He even maintains his tradition of creating non-linear narratives by having the film focus on three separate moments from this incident that all take place over the course of different periods of time. Sure, it may be a bit confusing at times to keep track of everything, but never to the point where you’d get completely lost, either. Thus, I think it’s safe to say that Dunkirk has been Nolan’s most critically successful directorial effort since The Dark Knight. Because while some were disappointed by The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar, Dunkirk is currently being touted as one of the major frontrunners for this year’s awards season.
And those were the results of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s fourth annual End of Summer Fan Poll. Once again, I’d like to thank everyone who either voted in the poll or helped to spread it around on social media. Until next year, folks!
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