2013 Preview: July

2013 is now halfway over, but there’s still six months of movies left to go before 2014. Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s year-long preview of the films coming out during 2013. This is Part 7 and today we’ll be looking at the films that will hit theaters during the month of July, which include a couple of sequels and some big blockbusters.

JULY 3- A pair of blockbusters hit theaters during Fourth of July Weekend, both of which will be opening early on the Wednesday before July 4^th.

*The first major release of the month is ‘Despicable Me 2’, the sequel to 2010’s surprise hit ‘Despicable Me’, which followed a super-villain named Gru (Steve Carell) who adopted three girls (Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher). These four return for the sequel, which sees Gru recruited by the Anti-Villain League to help deal with a powerful new super-villain. The rest of the voice cast includes Kristen Wiig (in a different role than the one she played in the previous film), Benjamin Bratt (who replaced Al Pacino, who left the project due to creative differences), and Steve Coogan.

*The other release that week is ‘The Lone Ranger’, the newest film from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The project was plagued by budget concerns but is now finally set to come out this week after being pushed back from a 2012 release. Armie Hammer stars in the main role of John Reid, a Texas Ranger who survives an ambush from a bunch of outlaws and takes on the new identity of ‘The Lone Ranger’, fighting crime alongside an Indian warrior named Tonto (Johnny Depp).

JULY 12- This weekend sees an Adam Sandler comedy and a big-budget sci-fi film from Guillermo Del Toro coming out.

*The follow-up to 2010’s ‘Grown-Ups’, ‘Grown-Ups 2’, will hit theaters this weekend. The majority of the main cast from the previous film (save for Rob Schneider) and director Dennis Dugan return for this new film, which sees Adam Sandler’s Lenny move back to his old hometown with his wife and their kids. Some new members of the cast include Andy Samberg, Taylor Lautner, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, and Shaquille O’Neal.



*The latest film from director Guillermo Del Toro, ‘Pacific Rim’, is the other major release of the week. This film takes place in the near future, where giant monsters known as ‘Kaiju’ emerge from a ‘portal’ in the Pacific Ocean and begin to wreak havoc on the planet. Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, and Rinko Kikuchi star as members of a Defense Corporation that builds giant robots called Jaegars to take on the invading Kaiju.

JULY 17- While there are quite a couple of films coming out only 2 days later, one film will hit theaters early on the Wednesday before July 19^th.



*After grossing more than 576 million worldwide with ‘The Croods’, DreamWorks will release their second major release of the year, ‘Turbo’. Ryan Reynolds (who also starred in ‘Croods’) stars as the titular ‘Turbo’, a garden snail who dreams of becoming a famous racer. This dream starts to come true after a freak accident gives him super speed. This movie will soon be followed by a TV series, Turbo F.A.S.T. (Fast Action Stunt Team) that will debut exclusively on Netflix in December.

JULY 19- Not including Turbo, a staggering 4 films will hit theaters this weekend (plus one for those in the U.K.).



*Speaking of Ryan Reynolds, another movie of his, R.I.P.D., will hit theaters two days after ‘Turbo’.  This film, based off of the Dark Horse comic ‘Rest in Peace Department’ by Peter M. Lenkov, follows a cop (Reynolds) who is killed in action and is then ‘enlisted’ in a ‘dead’ police department known as the R.I.P.D. He is then partnered with Roy (Jeff Bridges) and the two officers team up in order to take on evil spirits. The film is directed by Robert Schwentke (‘Red’) and also stars Mary Louise Parker and Kevin Bacon.



*Meanwhile, Schwentke’s 2010 action comedy ‘Red’ will get a sequel in ‘Red 2’, which hits theaters the same weekend. Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) takes over for Schwentke behind the camera for this film, which finds ex-CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) on the run from Interpol. John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, and Brian Cox reprise their roles from the previous film alongside newcomers Catherine Zeta Jones, Lee Byung-hun, and Anthony Hopkins.



*For the horror crowd, ‘The Conjuring’ hits theaters this weekend. The film is directed by James Wan (‘Saw’, ‘Insidious’, and the latter’s sequel, which comes out in September) and stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as a pair of paranormal investigators that try to help a family deal with a dark presence that is in their farmhouse.



*Finally, in the U.S. (in a more limited release), there’s ‘Only God Forgives’, which reunites Ryan Gosling with ‘Drive’ director Nicholas Winding Refn. In this film, Gosling plays a drug smuggler in Bangkok, Thailand who is compelled to find out who is responsible for the death of his brother. The film was previously screened at Cannes, where it was actually booed by the Festival audience.



*For those in the U.K., ‘The World’s End’ will be released this weekend. The final film in Edgar Wright’s ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ will be released later in the U.S. in August (more on the film next month).

JULY 26- This weekend, there’s one release in the U.S. and another in the U.K.



*Hugh Jackman will reprise his role as Wolverine in two movies that are set to come out; 2014’s ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ and ‘The Wolverine’; the latter hitting theaters this year. Based off of the 1982 limited series ‘Wolverine’ by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, the film follows Wolverine as he travels to Japan, where he comes across a mysterious figure from his past and ends up losing his immortality. James Mangold (the 2007 remake of ‘3:10 to Yuma’) directs this film, which is set after the events of ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’.



*The latest adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ will be released in the U.K. this weekend. The first since Baz Luhrmann’s modern day remake in 1996, this version is a traditional take on the story (similar to Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film adaptation). Hailee Steinfeld (2010’s ‘True Grit’) and Douglas Booth star as Romeo and Juliet, along with Damian Lewis (Homeland) as Lord Capulet, Paul Giamatti as Friar Laurence, and Kodi Smit-McPhee (‘Let Me In’, ‘Paranorman’) as Benvolio.

JULY 31- The final release of the month is another early Wednesday release, two days before the first releases of August.



*Two years after 2011’s ‘The Smurfs’ grossed over 500 million worldwide, the miniature blue creatures return for a sequel, ‘The Smurfs 2’. The main cast from the previous film returns for this film along with director Raja Gosnell. In this film, the Smurfs’ nemesis Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette after creating two ‘evil’ Smurfs called the Naughties.

And that’s the lineup of films hitting theaters during July. Check back next month for Part 8, where we’ll be looking at the film lineup for August.

Short Review: Hotel Transylvania



 

I'm betting that many of you wrote this movie off before it even came out primarily because it stars Adam Sandler who, despite having a solid fan base, has never been a hit with critics. Even now, Sandler has hit a rough patch after 2011's 'Jack and Jill' received every award at the annual Razzies (rightfully so, by the way) and his summer film 'That's My Boy' was a box office flop. However, 'Hotel Transylvania' is a different story and really, it's the best film Sandler has done in a while. A lot of this stems from the film's director Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of such cartoon classics as Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack. Tartakovsky infuses the film with a great sense of energy, as shown by the film's pacing and its excellent animation. On top of that, it has a great father-daughter story and the film definitely had some funny moments (particularly during the end, which includes a great jab at Twilight). All in all, it's a great Halloween film for the kids that I'm sure even adults will enjoy as well.

 



Rating: 4/5

2012 End of Year Preview: Part 1 (September)

We've had quite a year so far when it comes to movies. We've had three exceptional superhero flicks, some very funny comedies, and the birth of the next big book-adapted franchise after Harry Potter. But 2012 is not over yet and now Oscar season will begin, where the films that weren't big enough for the summer come out. However, it's these films that will the top dogs competing for Oscar nominations come February 2013, including the latest pics from directors like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg. Of course, there are still some movies that will no doubt please mass audiences, from the latest James Bond flick to the prequel to Lord of the Rings. Now it's time to take a look at some of these upcoming flicks, month by month.

SEPTEMBER



*If for some reason you're a fan of the Resident Evil film franchise, then you're probably waiting for the next entry in the series, Resident Evil: Retribution on the 14^th. Now the reason I say 'if' is because, to be fair, while the Resident Evil franchise has performed pretty decent at the box office, it has received the typical reaction from both critics and audiences that most video-game based movies get. How will this new one fare with a returning cast of characters from all throughout the previous films?

*If you're not into Resident Evil or more importantly if you have kids, then they'll probably want to see Pixar's classic 'Finding Nemo', which returns to theaters in 3-D the same weekend. What can be said about this flick that hasn't been said already? It is easily one of the finest animated films ever made with a really touching father-son story and some of the best animation Pixar has ever done. Finding Nemo is the latest film this year to be re-released in 3-D, following in the footsteps of Star Wars Episode I, Beauty and the Beast, and Titanic. It will be the first of two Pixar movies to be re-released this year in 3-D (more on the other one in the December preview).

*That's not the only major re-release this month though. That other classic film is director Steven Spielberg's 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', the first in the Indiana Jones series which will hit IMAX theaters for a special one-week engagement starting on the 7^th. This comes in conjuction with the upcoming Blu-Ray release of the film, and the process to convert the film to the IMAX format was supervised by none other than Spielberg himself.

*The weekend of September 21 is certainly going to be busy, with one of the most crowded group of wide-releases. The first is Dredd 3D, a new adaptation of the comic book series 'Judge Dredd'. It follows in the footsteps of a previous adaptation in 1995 starring Sylvester Stallone. However, this version was both a critical failure and a commerical disappointment. This new version stars Karl Urban (Star Trek) in the lead role of Judge Dredd and so far has received well by critics. At the time this is being written, Dredd holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

*Meanwhile, the next big release of the week is 'House at the End of the Street', a PG-13 rated horror film. Now, usually PG-13 horror films aren't really that good, but this flick might attract some big numbers at the box office as it stars none other than Katniss Everdeen herself, Jennifer Lawrence. But for the record, this was filmed before 'The Hunger Games' so this might just be the studio trying to bank on the success of its female lead.

*Finally, we have the main sports film of the year, Trouble With The Curve, a drama about an aging baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves who is given a last chance to prove his worth the organization. Why is this film worth bringing up? Because the lead is none other than Clint Eastwood, in his first major starring role since 2008's Gran Torino. This movie also has a solid supporting cast including Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, and John Goodman.

*For the September 28^th weekend, Sony Entertainment has two films competing for the number one spot. One is a animated family flick, Hotel Transylvania. The plot follows Dracula, the owner of a monster hotel who tries to defend his daughter from falling in love with a human who stumbles upon the place. The voice cast includes Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, and Selina Gomez. Now, I'm probably sure many of you already wrote this film off because of Sandler, but you might be pleased to know that this isn't from his studio Happy Madison. Instead, it's from the mind of cartoon legend Genndy Tartakovsky, who created cartoon classics such as Samurai Jack and Dexter's Lab.

*If you're looking for a more mature flick that weekend, look for Looper, a sci-fi flick from director Rian Johnson. In the lead role is 'Robin' from The Dark Knight Rises, Joseph Gordon Levitt who also starred in Johnson's previous two flicks, Brick and The Brothers Bloom. He also co-stars with Bruce Willis, who plays an older version of Levitt's character, who is an assassin for a criminal organization in the future who hires people like Levitt to get rid of their enemies by sending them back to Levitt's time. However, Levitt's character is faced with conflict when one of his targets is none other than his future self.

LIMITED RELEASES

Of course, there are also a few 'Oscar potential' flicks that will first hit theaters through limited releases. There's two worth noting for September.

*The first is 'The Master', the latest from director Paul Thomas Anderson. Joaquin Phoenix (in notably his first major acting role since his supposed retirement) plays a drifter who meets the charismatic leader of a new religious based organization in the post WWII era, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Expect this film to be released on the 14^th.



*The other major limited released flick is 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower', based off of the hit book of the same name by Stephen Chbosky, which was published in 1999. The film will be directed by Chbosky himself, and star Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Erza Miller in the lead roles. It hits theaters on the 21^st.

There are a few other releases this month, but these were the main ones I felt were worth talking about. Stay tuned for the next entry in this 4-part look into the rest of the year's films, where we look at the month of October with the sequel to one of Liam Neeson's biggest hits, the next Ben Affleck helmed flick, and the latest entry in a popular horror franchise.