Directorial Retrospective: Edgar Wright

Welcome back to another installment of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s ‘Directorial Retrospective’ series. This is where I look at the filmography of any given director in the film industry. Through this series, we’ve covered an eclectic bunch of filmmakers, from blockbuster giants like Michael Bay and Tim Burton to award-winning favorites like David Fincher and Quentin Tarantino. And today, we’re looking at the filmography of a major fan favorite amongst film buffs; Edgar Wright. His newest film, Baby Driver, hits theaters this weekend and in honor of its release, today we’ll be looking at the films that have made him such a popular director. He’s best-known for his somewhat unintentional trilogy of comedy films known as the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy. The reason why I say that this trilogy is ‘somewhat unintentional’ is because the primary connection between these three completely different films (the first being a zombie film, the second a buddy cop action film, and the third film being a sci-fi thriller) is the appearance of Cornetto brand ice cream. Yes, folks, these films became a trilogy because of a running gag that was brought up during the second film’s promotional tour. However, these three films have gone on to become some of the most popular comedies in recent years. And today, I’ll be reviewing all three of them plus Wright’s other major directorial effort, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Just a quick disclaimer, though; there’s one film of his that I can’t include here because it’s not easily available online. The film in question is the 1995 western parody A Fistful of Fingers, which was his directorial debut. It did have a midnight re-release a few years ago in Los Angeles, but I wasn’t there for that so I can’t review it today. But to make it up to you folks, I’ll also go over the other big thing that Wright and frequent collaborators Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are known for; the short-lived TV series Spaced. How’s that for a slice of fried gold?

SPACED: THE TV SERIES (1999-2001)

Wright, Pegg, and Frost first became known via the short-lived, cult classic TV series Spaced. Wright directed all 14 episodes of the series, which ran for two seasons and was created by Pegg and Jessica Hynes, both of whom Wright had previously worked with on another short-lived series, Asylum. In Spaced, Pegg and Hynes star as Tim and Daisy, a pair of twenty-somethings who bond over their struggles to find new living arrangements. They manage to find a flat that’s going for a cheap price but are forced to act as a couple so that they meet the landlady’s requirements. And thus, one of the most underrated shows of all-time was born; seriously, this show is awesome. For one thing, it’s chock-full of hilarious pop culture references, from Tim’s never-ending disdain for The Phantom Menace to a zombie-fighting sequence that practically served as the genesis for Shaun of the Dead. It also served as an early showcase for Wright’s talents as a director when it came to visual comedy and tight editing (e.g. an argument between Tim and Daisy is intercut perfectly with gameplay from Tekken 2). But amidst all the great dialogue and wacky geek-related imagery, Tim and Daisy prove to be an extremely likable duo. Both Pegg and Hynes are fantastic in their respective roles, and they have terrific chemistry with each other without their characters ever getting into a fully ‘romantic’ relationship. They’re also backed by some highly memorable supporting characters, including Nick Frost (of course) as Tim’s military-loving best friend Mike and Mark Heap as Tim and Daisy’s ‘eccentric’ artist flat-mate, Brian. In conclusion, while it only lasted two seasons, Spaced proved to be an excellent show thanks to the efforts of Wright, writers/leads Pegg and Hynes, and its terrific ensemble cast. If you’re a fan of geek culture and you want to see how the Cornetto team got their start, give this show a watch; I bet you’ll love it.

Series Rating: 5/5!

SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)

While Spaced only lasted two seasons, Wright, Pegg, and Frost officially made a name for themselves in 2004 with a parody of George Romero’s classic …of the Dead franchise; Shaun of the Dead. This film is many things; obviously, it’s primarily a zombie film but at the same time, it’s also a romantic comedy/drama. A good chunk of the plot revolves around main protagonist Shaun (Pegg) attempting to rebuild the relationships that he has with his girlfriend Liz, his mum Barbara and stepdad Phil (“Don’t forget to kill Phillip!”), and so on and so forth. And it’s also a buddy film; of all the films in the Cornetto trilogy, this one arguably has Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s best overall duo (in terms of their comedic camaraderie) via Shaun and his lazy but loyal best friend, Ed. Of course, all of this is happening right around the same time… as a zombie apocalypse. Stuff like this, along with all the fun horror-based visual/dialogue cues that will require multiple viewings to truly comprehend them all, truly goes to show how well-written the screenplay by Pegg and Wright was, as was the latter’s knack for great visual humor. Now, I’ll admit that, of the three Cornetto films, this is probably my least favorite of the three. Let me be clear, though, this is in no way a criticism towards Shaun of the Dead. It’s an excellently-written comedy that serves as a loving homage to the various horror films that it parodies, while also giving us likable main characters and basing it around a simple story of a guy just trying to find meaning in his life… again, during a zombie apocalypse. At the end of the day, though, I guess it’s just because, as I’ve stated before, I’m not that big a fan of the horror genre, hence why I do prefer the other installments of this trilogy. Still, this film is a total blast from beginning to end and it’s easy to see why it became such a cult classic.

Rating: 5/5!

HOT FUZZ (2007)

After hitting it big with Shaun of the Dead, Wright, Pegg, and Frost teamed up again three years later for another hilarious comedy that paid loving homage to another genre of film. In this instance, Hot Fuzz lampoons the many classic films of the action genre, from Lethal Weapon to Point Break and even Bad Boys II. And it does so to brilliant effect, once again thanks to Wright and Pegg’s fantastic writing and their knack for a keen attention to detail. Wright even manages to make ‘non-action’ moments feel like they’re epic and intense sequences through concise editing, like when Pegg’s character, the no-nonsense Sgt. Nicholas Angel, first travels to the peaceful little town of Sandford, where he’s been re-assigned simply because he’s so good at his job that he makes all his fellow officers look bad in the process. But soon, various deaths start occurring all over town, and while initially viewed as nothing more than accidents, Nicholas figures out that there’s more to the story. And without giving it away, the big reveal surrounding this whole ordeal is brilliant and the climax is full of epically hilarious action sequences that revel in all the iconic clichés of the genre. Pegg, of course, is great as Angel alongside Nick Frost as the overly eager officer Danny Butterman, Angel’s new partner who is a big fan of all the classic action films. And, of course, there are also some great cameos as well from the likes of Jim Broadbent as Danny’s father Frank, Sandford’s Police Inspector, Timothy Dalton as the seemingly sinister grocery store owner Simon Skinner, and much, much more. Bottom line; this film is a modern-day comedy classic. If you haven’t seen it before, what the heck is wrong with you? Watch it now! Come on, it’s all for the greater good! (“The Greater Good!!”)

Rating: 5/5!

Also...

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (2010)

In between the second and third Cornetto films, Edgar Wright took on his first big ‘adaptation’ in 2010; in this instance, the source material was the best-selling graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by author Bryan Lee O’Malley. Wright and O’Malley worked closely on the adaptation, as the film was first announced after the release of the first graphic novel, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, in 2004. This was right around the time that Edgar Wright was brought on to direct after he had finished work on Shaun of the Dead. This close collaboration resulted in a solidly faithful adaptation of the series, as subsequent entries were released during the film’s long development period. However, the final graphic novel, Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, wasn’t released until after the end of the film’s production, thus having some minor differences while also including some elements from the film itself. Sadly, upon release, the film did poorly at the box-office as it wasn’t able to make back its reported $85 million budget… which is a shame because it’s an awesome film that, like Wright’s other films, is full to the brim with great homages to various facets of pop culture. In the case of Scott Pilgrim, that mainly comes from video games. The whole plot of the film, in which the titular character finds himself having to fight his new girlfriend’s seven ‘evil ex-boyfriends’, feels exactly like something you’d see in a video game, and the film is indeed structured as such. You don’t even need to be a gamer to appreciate this film’s many references, as they lend themselves excellently to terrific bits of visual and dialogue-based humor thanks to the, as expected, excellent screenplay by Wright and Michael Bacall (who also co-wrote the Jump Street films).

Now, with that said, I’ll admit that parts of this film could come off as being rather weird to those who aren’t really part of the gaming/geek community. Even as someone who is a gamer, this film is steeped so far into geek culture that I feel that some may potentially be drawn off by it. Plus, it does take a little while to get going and Scott isn’t always a likable main character, as mainly evident through how he handles his relationship with his previous girlfriend, Knives. However, once Scott finally starts to fight the Evil Exes, the film kicks into high gear to become an awesome mix of action and comedy just like Hot Fuzz, and it features some of the best fight sequences in recent years. And it’s all backed by an entertaining ensemble cast; Michael Cera is great in the title role as is Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Scott’s new girlfriend Ramona. Ultimately, though, the real stand-outs of the film come from Ramona’s Evil Exes, including but not limited to Chris Evans as a ‘pretty good’ action film star, Brandon Routh as a bass player who also has superpowers because he’s vegan, and Jason Schwartzman as the leader of the Evil Exes. Again, there are a lot of weird things in this film, downright goofy even. Thus, it does sometimes feel like the film teeters on the edge of being more style than substance. However, I’d argue that the film is most certainly more than just a series of flashy video-game inspired action sequences. If you’re able to accept all the crazy stuff in this film, you’ll find it to be one of the most highly entertaining films in recent memory. In fact, it's arguably the best ‘video game based’ film ever made… and it isn’t even based on a video game! (well, not primarily, at least)

Rating: 4.5/5

THE WORLD’S END (2013)

As noted before, the Cornetto trilogy didn’t officially become a thing until after the release of Hot Fuzz, mainly due to an unintentional running gag. During the promotional tour for Hot Fuzz, one interviewer pointed out the appearance of Cornetto Ice Cream in both it and Shaun of the Dead. Wright, who had put it in Shaun of the Dead as an effective hangover cure for the character Ed and then used it again in Hot Fuzz as a homage to its appearance in the previous film, joked that this was the plan all along as a homage to Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours trilogy. Those films, which were released from 1993 to 1994, were named after the three colors of the French flag; Blue, White, and Red. Each film was then themed around the primary ideals of the French Republic; liberty, equality, and fraternity. But as for Wright and Pegg’s trilogy, while the Cornetto reference was initially just joked about, the two eventually decided to tie it all together. As such, the Cornettos that appear in each film tie directly into their respective themes. A red strawberry Cornetto appears in Shaun of the Dead to signify the film’s bloody horror elements while a blue ‘original’ Cornetto appears in Hot Fuzz to allude to its police themes. And in 2013, this newly designated trilogy concluded with The World’s End, featuring the green mint chocolate chip Cornetto to signify its status as a science fiction story. And while I wouldn’t say that The World’s End is the ‘funniest’ of the three films, it’s arguably the best-written. Of course, being a film written by Wright and Pegg, it’s full of great visual gags, hilarious bits of dialogue, and a sharp attention to detail. For one thing, the opening narration from Pegg’s character, Gary King, directly alludes to future events in the plot, something that also occurred in Shaun of the Dead via one of Ed’s monologues. They even connect the events of the film to the names of the pubs that the main characters visit.

But at the same time, this is arguably the most well-layered script of the entire trilogy. It’s a story about a bunch of friends who attempted to do a legendary pub crawl in their hometown known as ‘The Golden Mile’ when they were younger. Unfortunately for them, they were unable to complete it. Years later, Gary reunites them all, even though the other four have clearly all moved on in their lives, to do it again, as he plans on seeing things through this time to the bitter end (“or lager end!”). Also, did I forget to mention that during this second go-around, they learn that their hometown has been invaded by robots that they refer to as ‘blanks’ or ‘smashy-smashy egg men’? It’s just like Shaun of the Dead, where a rom-com story was based around a zombie apocalypse. In this instance, we have a tale of best friends and a hometown pub crawl that’s set during an alien invasion. Ultimately, though, the whole thing about the main characters redoing something from their past ties directly into the overarching theme of the film. Gary is a person who craves for the more free-spirited adventures of his youth despite the inevitability of growing up. Thus, when he tries to do the pub crawl again as an adult, he soon realizes that things have changed quite a bit since he was younger, both in terms of how his friends have grown compared to him and how much their town has changed since the last time they were there (i.e. invaded by robots). Meanwhile, he’s still stuck in the past and it’s clear that he’s made a mess of his life because of it. By the end of the film, he admits to his best friend, Andy Knightley (Frost), that the reason why he’s still determined to finish the Golden Mile is that, in his eyes, it’s all that he’s got at this point.

This overall theme of growth is also reflected in an effective role-reversal for Pegg and Frost. This time around, Pegg is playing the immature man-child while Frost is the sensible one that tries (and often fails) to get his former best friend to grow up, whereas in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz it was the other way around. And while their characters spend most of the film at odds with each other over an incident from their past, sort of like how Tim and Mike’s friendship from Spaced was impacted by an incident when they were younger, their comedic camaraderie is still just as great as ever, resulting in two of the best performances of their careers and arguably their best from this whole trilogy. And just like the other Cornetto films, they’re backed by an excellent supporting cast, which includes Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan as the other friends in their group (Oliver, Steven, and Peter, respectively) and Rosamund Pike as Oliver’s sister Sam, who happens to be an old flame of Gary’s. Thus, The World’s End is an incredibly satisfying conclusion to this trilogy of films that Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost collaborated on over the course of a decade. Again, it may not be the ‘funniest’ of the three Cornetto films (that honor goes to Hot Fuzz) but it may just be my personal favorite of the bunch because it’s a perfect representation of Wright and Pegg’s overall growth as filmmakers. This results in a film that is surprisingly full of emotional depth amidst all the cheeky British humor.  

Rating: 5/5!

Now, of course, if things had turned out differently, Wright’s next film would’ve been Ant-Man, a project that he’d been working on ever since the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2006. Sadly, he ended up leaving the project in 2014 due to creative differences with Marvel Studios’ now-disbanded Creative Committee. It is indeed a shame that he had to leave on that note on a film that he’d been working on for nearly a decade. Thankfully, though, Peyton Reed managed to do an excellent job in Wright’s place and made sure that the film wasn’t going to turn out as disastrous as the internet expected it to be. And to be honest, Wright was much better off working on a ‘true Edgar Wright’ film like Baby Driver instead of a film where he was clearly going to be limited by the influence of a Creative Committee (which, again, has thankfully been disbanded). Heck, right now we’re dealing with a similar situation with the Han Solo spin-off film. Its original directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, left the project due to creative differences with Lucasfilm, and while they’ve already tapped Ron Howard to take over for Lord and Miller, the internet’s already anticipating a disaster because, of course, it’s the internet. But as I noted last time, I’m sure that it will turn out just fine given the franchise’s recent track record… and by that, I mean everything since Lucasfilm was bought by Disney. Because, after all, Disney’s other big subsidiary franchise, the MCU, managed to do just fine with Ant-Man even after all its scandalous pre-production hubbub. And on that note, if there are still people out there who haven’t gotten over Wright’s Ant-Man departure yet… just remember that everyone involved in that production has clearly moved on from the whole ordeal with little issue.

And that concludes this Directorial Retrospective on the almost-complete filmography of Edgar Wright. Thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own thoughts on the Cornetto trilogy and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Also, you can expect a review of Wright’s newest film, Baby Driver, sometime this week. Until then… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63V-ZNDPChU

TOP 12 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2013: #6-4

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s end-of-the-year list of my Top 12 Favorite Films of 2013. This is Part 3, and today I’m listing Films 6-4.

As I stated back in my ‘Worst of’ list, this was a really, really crappy year for comedies. In fact, I flat-out said it was the worst year I’ve ever seen as far as this genre was concerned. 5 ‘Comedies’ were on that list, so I’m relieved that, for Number 6, we have my pick for the Best comedy of the year.

6. THE WORLD’S END



Thank god for Edgar Wright. While most of the year’s comedies were doing everything wrong when it came to making comedies, Wright and co-writer Simon Pegg showed everyone how it’s done with ‘The World’s End’, the final film in their Cornetto trilogy. Well, let me be clear, this isn’t exactly a ‘trilogy’ like you might expect because these three films are all different genres. 2004’s ‘Shaun of the Dead’ is a zombie film while ‘Hot Fuzz’ is a buddy-cop action film. ‘The World’s End’ is a sci-fi film and considering that ‘Shaun’ and ‘Fuzz’ are two of the funniest comedies of this past decade, it’s no surprise that this one is another success for all involved. Now, I wouldn’t call this the funniest of the trilogy but at the same time, I’d argue that it’s the best written overall. It has probably the most developed lead characters of the entire ‘trilogy’ in Pegg and Nick Frost’s characters Gary and Andy respectively and as such they’re the best characters the two have ever played.

‘The one and only’ Gary King is a man consumed with his dream of finishing ‘The Golden Mile’, a fabled pub crawl in their old hometown of Newton Haven, to the point where he still sort of has the mindset of a kid. On the other side of the spectrum we have Andy who, like the rest of their friends, has grown up and is also very angry at Gary for an incident that happened to them years ago. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the last two films because usually Pegg is the straight guy while Frost is the man-child. Here, it’s changed around and it works out very well. While Pegg and Frost are their usual excellent selves, the rest of the cast is terrific as well. You really see the camaraderie amongst the five main leads, and co-stars Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan all have their own shining moments in the film. ‘The World’s End’ may not be the funniest film in the Cornetto Trilogy, but it’s arguably the best-written… and like ‘Rush’, another one that unfortunately wasn’t a big hit here in America. Seriously, this film only earns $26 million while friggin ‘Grown Ups 2’ earns over $130 million… I’m just going to let Pegg’s expression in this still from the movie do the talking for me.



Number 5 is a film that proves that ‘a little party never killed nobody’, especially when that party is hosted by…

5. THE GREAT GATSBY



I’ll admit that I’m not exactly a big fan of director Baz Luhrmann’s work. 1996’s ‘Romeo + Juliet’ may have been a nice change in style by being a modern retelling of the story but it was still stuck with the Shakespearean dialogue of old. For the record, I haven’t seen any of his other films before ‘Gatsby’ but in the end, he was just the best choice to direct this movie. He’s a visual director, sometimes to the point of excess, and considering that author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘Great American Novel’ is also a tale of excess and the flash and glamour of New York in the 1920’s, the two just fit perfectly. That’s part of the beauty of this film. Sure, Luhrmann’s visual style is most certainly on display but it doesn’t overshadow the key themes of the novel; ideas like the aforementioned ‘excess’, the shallowness of the upper class, and the decline of the American dream as shown by the titular Gatsby’s efforts to woo the girl of his dreams.

This movie also made the bold choice of having a soundtrack that combines both modern rap from artists like Jay-Z and Kanye West with 20’s style jazz. Sure, from an outside perspective, that sounds like it wouldn’t possibly work but as a whole, it did actually work out in the end. It doesn’t get that distracting hearing the modern rap being played alongside jazz in the movie because Luhrmann succeeds at blending the two together, except for one point in the film when Gatsby and Nick are driving through the city. They pass by a car that’s playing ‘Izzo (H.O.V.A.) and I have to admit, I laughed at this part. Aside from that, the soundtrack is pretty darn good with its fair share of entertaining songs, like ‘A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All we Got)’, which is a fitting party song as it is played during the first of Gatsby’s parties, to Lana Del Rey’s ‘Young and Beautiful’, which is a really touching and somber piece to showcase the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. I know I said earlier that Frozen’s ‘Let it Go’ is the most likely to win ‘Best Original Song’ at the Oscars, but I hope that Del Rey’s song will at least get a nomination.

The film also boasts a terrific cast, as every actor/actress is well cast in their respective roles. In the lead role of Gatsby, Leonardo DiCaprio brings his usual A-game as he’s been routinely doing in this last decade. The unique thing about Gatsby is that he can be portrayed in different ways. Here, they go with the ‘hopeless romantic’ route while briefly touching upon the character’s ‘shady practices’. I like that they went this route because when you pair this with DiCaprio’s charm, you get a Gatsby that is both sympathetic and likable. Tobey Maguire is equally great as Nick Carraway, effectively serving as the narrator for the story. The film itself is pretty faithful to the novel, except for a change in the narrative structure. Instead of Nick narrating over the whole movie, he’s shown in a mental institution where his doctor recommends that he writes his story and overall it does work better from a film perspective. As for Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton, they get the most out of the roles of Daisy and Tom Buchanan, two characters who were admittedly rather one-dimensional in the book. Daisy is still as shallow as she was in the book, but Mulligan gets a lot of prime emotions out of the character and as for Tom, Edgerton’s clearly having fun being over-the-top in the role of Daisy’s brute of a husband.

‘The Great Gatsby’ is probably my favorite book that I read in high school. I wouldn’t say that it was the best time to read it (I think it’s more fitting to read in college), but it was the main reason why I was anticipating this adaptation of the story. It’s a great modern take on the story that keeps it where it should be, set in the 20’s, but does it with a modern flair from Baz Luhrmann. His visual style is there, but it’s not overshadowing the story and characters. As I said, he was the perfect choice to direct this film and in my opinion it’s one of the best book-to-film adaptations ever, especially of the last few years. I feel that F. Scott Fitzgerald would be pleased with this one.

I have a feeling that this will be my most controversial pick for this list. This is another film that has received a really mixed reception from audiences. In fact, I’d say that this was the most polarizing film of the year that actually did get really good reviews from critics (‘Man of Steel’ holds the honor of being the most polarizing film this year overall). Even my friend Matt and I are split on this; he lists it as his biggest disappointment of this year. As you’ll see, I had a different opinion. So for all of those who did not like this film, please hear me out on this…

4. STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS





I know I said this was a polarizing film, but in recent months, I’ve been hearing more negative things about it than positive. How negative, you ask? Well, at a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, fans literally rated it as the WORST Star Trek film in the series, and that is saying a lot considering some of the really bad entries in this series (like ‘Star Trek V: The Final Frontier’ or ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’). Apparently one fan even said that ‘the reboot films shouldn’t even count as films in the series’. Well then if that’s the case, then where would this franchise be if J.J. Abrams’ two films never existed? This franchise would still be dead after ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’ was a commercial flop and ‘Star Trek: Enterprise’ was cancelled. This is not the worst ‘Star Trek’ film; this whole idea has been way too overblown and I think a lot of people are being a little too overcritical.

But despite that, there are many people who still aren’t big fans of the film, especially fans of the franchise. So I know what you’re thinking… how am I, a guy who has gone on record saying that I prefer ‘Star Trek’ to ‘Star Wars’, to the point where I named this my most anticipated film of 2013 primarily based on my love of the last film, not disappointed by this film? Well, for the record, my opinion of this film changed on second viewing. I only saw the film once in theaters and at the time I gave it a pretty solid rating of 4.5/5. But after that, I started to wonder if that rating was justified because I found myself agreeing with some of the problems that people were having with the film. I didn’t see the film again until I got it on Blu-Ray the day it came out and after watching it, not only was my rating justified, but the movie got better on my opinion. I got to say, this year was kind of frustrating when it came to these big blockbusters because my initial opinion was clouded/‘corrupted’ by all of the ranting that went on towards not only this film, but ‘Iron Man 3’ and ‘Man of Steel’ as well. But back to this movie… honestly, most of the problems that people have with it don’t bother me.

For the record, I am a little disappointed that the writers did go back to an old Star Trek villain/story instead of doing something new, especially considering that they established a new alternate universe, which meant that they could do new stories without having to adhere to the franchise canon. The villain in question is arguably Star Trek’s finest/most iconic villain, Khan Noonien Singh, the star of what is still the best ‘Star Trek’ film, ‘Wrath of Khan’. However, ‘Into Darkness’ also shares plenty in common with ‘Wrath’, which is another thing that has bugged a lot of people. But in my opinion, I feel that the writers were successful at blending the old Trek with the new alternate universe. Let’s face it; the ‘09 film was more catered to those who weren’t big fans of the franchise (like me before I saw it). This one is a little more geared towards the fans of the series… and yet look how that turned out. I guess why I’m not as mad about this is because I was introduced to this franchise through the reboot. Don’t get me wrong, I still appreciate the original stuff and as I said, ‘Wrath of Khan’ is still the best Star Trek film. But as a ‘Star Trek’ fan, I’m more attached to the reboot series.

As for the film itself, it’s not like they just copied the plot of ‘Wrath’; Khan’s not looking for the Genesis Device in this. If it was, then I’d be more critical about them ‘ripping off’ ‘Wrath’. Really, the only major comparisons that this film has to ‘Wrath’, aside from the obvious, is a major death scene at the end and the infamous yelling of Khan’s name, albeit with a twist. This time, the roles are reversed; Kirk is the one who dies to save the crew from their demise and Spock is the one who yells, ‘KHAANN!!!’ in anger after Kirk dies. It may seem pointless to do these scenes again, even when they switch Kirk and Spock’s roles around, but I think they still are effective… well, more in the case of the death. I’ll openly admit that I was tearing up during this scene because of how well-developed Kirk and Spock’s relationship is (more on that later, along with another controversial aspect of Kirk’s ‘death’). The yell… okay, they could’ve gotten away without adding that, but it’s not like there’s no reason for why Spock does this. Sure, Khan did not get them into the situation that they were in, facing probable destruction after being attacked by Admiral Marcus and his ship, the USS Vengeance, but he was the one responsible for firing the shots that ultimately sent the Enterprise falling down to Earth. It probably wouldn’t have happened that way if Khan didn’t take over the Vengeance… but I’m just speculating here.

I really do like the route they went in developing this universe’s take on Khan. Because this is an alternate universe, I can accept some of the changes that they made in regards to his backstory, like how he wasn’t first discovered by the Enterprise… or heck, even the fact that here he is a white British guy. I know he’s supposed to be Indian, but folks even the great Ricardo Montalban wasn’t the right nationality when he played the character. I like that in this one Khan starts out as a pawn of Starfleet who goes rogue when he thinks that they killed the rest of his crew. That actually makes him quite sympathetic to a certain extent, mainly during the scene where he reflects upon his situation, because while obviously I don’t agree with what he’s doing, at least he has a justified reason for doing it. Starfleet took his crew, who are like family to him. After all, “Is there anything you would not do for your family?” I also like that they didn’t kill this Khan off like they did in ‘Wrath’ so that he could possibly return in another ‘Star Trek’ film (or TV series, perhaps).

Of course, you can’t deny that Benedict Cumberbatch is outstanding in the role. He’s not Ricardo Montalban, but he doesn’t have to be. This is an entirely new take on Khan and he’s just as menacing as Montalban’s Khan was. He steals the spotlight whenever he’s on screen and has a very commanding screen presence. This is one advantage that this film has over the previous film… a better villain. I’m not saying that Nero was a bad villain in the last film; he just wasn’t a ‘standout’ villain like Khan was. However, because that film was more focused on the relationship between Kirk and Spock, it’s understandable as to why this was the way it was. This film is a different story… it has one of the best Star Trek villains in the entire franchise, even if the character already appeared in another Trek film. In fact, I’d say Cumberbatch’s Khan is right behind Montalban’s Khan when ranking the best Star Trek villains, if not just a few spots behind him.

The other main reason why I like this film as much as I do is because of the relationship between Kirk and Spock. Say what you will about the writing, but the writers did a great job at developing their relationship. That relationship is in a bit of a slump in this one after Kirk violates the Prime Directive in order to save Spock from death. Spock reveals this to Starfleet, and as a result, Kirk loses command of the Enterprise for a while. Obviously, Kirk is not too happy about this and it shows how different this two are when it comes to their actions. Kirk is still kind of the brash rebel who doesn’t agree to the rules while Spock is the by-the-book Vulcan who is still struggling to control his emotions. Their relationship carries the film and Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are both fantastic as they were in the last film. It is because of their great camaraderie that made Kirk’s death scene so sad. Sure, it’s sort of the same scenario as ‘Wrath of Khan’, but the dialogue between them has different meaning to it. In ‘Wrath’, Spock reminded Kirk that ‘the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few’. Here, Spock realizes that it was because of their friendship that Kirk violated the Prime Directive in order to save him, something he hadn’t realized at first. Now about Kirk’s death…

I know what you’re all going to say. That is regarding what happens ten minutes later. After Spock and Uhura capture Khan in San Francisco, they use his blood, which is revealed to have regenerative properties, in order to bring Kirk back from death. Because of this, many view Kirk’s death as being ultimately pointless and I’m pretty sure the ending is the most controversial part of the film. I can’t deny the fact that Khan’s blood is basically a deus ex machina and the fact that this is revealed through a scene of Bones testing out the blood on a Tribble doesn’t help hide that fact. But the idea of bringing a character back to life is something that has happened before on ‘Star Trek’. Remember ‘Search for Spock’, where they brought back Spock after his death in the previous movie? Well in my opinion, I’m glad Abrams and the writers didn’t decide to make the next Star Trek film, ‘The Search for Kirk’. At least they decided to speed that process up. Yes, the ending is a little bit rushed because of that, but it’s still pretty damn awesome. I do like that this one didn’t end in a space battle; you rarely see a ‘Star Trek’ film have a finale that doesn’t take place in space and the fact that this finale takes place here on Earth is even more compelling. Heck, in this film’s ending, Spock is a real badass.

Now I don’t think this movie is perfect. Why? Well, to quote the scene where Patton Oswalt performs a filibuster by talking about his story idea for ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ from ‘Parks and Recreation’, “the female part is a little underwritten”. I’m not referring to Uhura because I’m fine with how they’re using her right now and for her relationship with Spock, although she sort of disappears during the scene where the Enterprise is falling to Earth, only reappearing until after Spock leaves the bridge to see to Kirk. I’m more referring to the character of Carol Marcus (another established role from ‘Wrath’). Overall, I’m fine with Alice Eve’s performance in the role; I think she did a fine job. But she really did not get anything to do in this movie. Sure, she disables one torpedo, but aside from that all she does is strip down to her underwear (you can’t deny it, fan boys, that was clearly a fan-service moment). I do like that they didn’t immediately make her the love interest for Kirk, but I hope that she’s given more to do in the next film. The relationship between her and her father, Admiral Marcus, is also very non-existent. As for him, his sudden turn as a villain is a little rushed. I say that because he starts off as a good guy, but then he’s suddenly willing to kill the whole crew of the Enterprise just so that he can eliminate Khan.

In the end, I don’t consider ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ to be a masterpiece or even the best in the franchise. But as a whole, the majority of the problems that many are having with don’t bother me in the slightest. I think that the writers were successful at telling an old Star Trek story in a new way and I’m fine with this universe’s portrayal of Khan. J.J. Abrams once again delivered on another exciting sci-fi action film and I’m eagerly awaiting to see what he does for ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’. But if I were to say one thing, J.J., it is that you should stop apologizing for everything about this movie, which you have been doing for the last few months. Don’t apologize for over-using lens-flare in your movies; I think that everyone’s being way too critical about such a minor/trivial detail of these movies. It’s not that big of a deal folks. Also, don’t apologize for trying to keep Khan’s identity a secret. I can’t blame you guys for trying to do that because I knew that Cumberbatch was Khan going in and I’m pretty sure everyone else knew too. Let’s face it, if they did reveal that he was Khan, then everyone would just ask them how this Khan would be different. In short, they were going into a no-win scenario (a ‘Kobayashi Maru’, if you’ll allow me to coin a phrase).

Check back tomorrow for the final part of this year-end list for my Top 3 Favorite Films of the Year.

The World's End (2013) review

Out of all of the film trilogies that we have seen over the years, one easily stands as the most unique trilogy ever made. That honor belongs to the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (AKA the Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy or, just simply, the Cornetto Trilogy), consisting of 2004’s ‘Shaun of the Dead’, 2007’s ‘Hot Fuzz’, and finally, 2013’s ‘The World’s End’. Now, at first glance it may seem that these three films have nothing in common because aside from the fact that all three are directed by Edgar Wright and star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the lead roles (along with some recurring cast members), each film is part of a different genre. What links them together, you ask? Cornetto Ice Cream, that’s what. It makes an appearance in every one of the movies. Ok, in reality this is mainly just a joke that Wright and Pegg came up with after ‘Hot Fuzz’, but whether or not you consider these films a trilogy, one thing has been certain; these are fantastic films. The previous two films in this ‘trilogy’, ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’, are two of the greatest comedies in recent years, and ‘The World’s End’ is no different. Is it the funniest of the three? Not really, but it’s probably the smartest and a fitting conclusion to this ‘trilogy’.

When they were teenagers, five friends; Gary King (Simon Pegg), Andy Knightley (Nick Frost), Oliver Chamberlain (Martin Freeman), Steven Prince (Paddy Considine), and Peter Page (Eddie Marsan), attempted ‘The Golden Mile’, an infamous pub crawl in their hometown of Newton Haven consisting of 12 pubs starting with ‘The First Post’ and ending at the fabled ‘The World’s End’. However, they never made it to ‘The World’s End’. 20 years later, Gary reassembles ‘the old team’ to attempt ‘the Mile’ once again and together the five friends head back to their hometown. When they return, though, they realize that something is different about their town and they soon learn the reason why. The residents of the town have been replaced by invading robots. As the five friends try to survive the night, completing ‘The Golden Mile’ soon becomes the least of their worries.

You have to hand it to writers Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg for these three movies because they are more than just comedies. With ‘Shaun of the Dead’, it was a zombie film, romance film, and comedy film all rolled into one; a loving homage to George A. Romero’s ‘Dead’ series. ‘Hot Fuzz’ was inspired by numerous action films from the 80’s and 90’s. As for ‘The World’s End’, it is, obviously, a sci-fi comedy, and here it seems like they’re mainly taking inspiration from ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’. But how does the film fare as a comedy? Well, like with the last two ‘Cornetto’ films, it is very hilarious. Is it the funniest of the trilogy? Not really, but I’d say this film holds the honor of being the smartest written, with a good cast of fleshed-out characters and a few touching moments here and there. The film is very entertaining from beginning to end and there’s never a dull moment.

A lot of this is thanks to the great cast. As the two leads, Pegg and Frost are once again terrific. The dynamic between the two is a little different here than it was in the last two films. Here, Frost’s character Andy is actually rather pissed off at Pegg’s character Gary for an incident that happened years before. In fact, Frost is playing the ‘straight man’ compared to Pegg this time around (sort of a first in this trilogy) and, without spoiling anything, he has some badass moments in this film. But while Pegg and Frost headline the movie as they did in the last two films, the rest of the cast is terrific as well. You can definitely see the great camaraderie that the five friends have and it never feels like Pegg and Frost are overshadowing the other three. Freeman, Considine, and Marsan all have their own great moments in this film.

‘The World’s End’ is one of the most entertaining films of the year. In a year where a lot of comedies have not been that good, this is easily the best comedy of the year so far. I can’t really say that it’s the best, or even the funniest, film in the ‘Cornetto Trilogy’; even that’s up for debate as all three of these films are excellent for their own reasons. But ‘The World’s End’ is probably the smartest of the three thanks in part to its fleshed out characters and Wright and Pegg’s clever writing that has been consistent throughout the trilogy. Whether or not the ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ stands as a true ‘trilogy’ is up for debate, but in the end (no pun intended), they are three of the best comedies of the last decade. It’s just sad that, despite the fact that these are much-loved films, they never do well at the box office (the fact that this might get out grossed by ‘Grown Ups 2’ is just sad).

Rating: 5/5! (The same rating I also give to ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’)

2013 Preview: August

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s Year-long preview of the films set to come out during 2013. This is Part 8 and today we’ll be looking into the final month of summer with the films coming out during the month of August.

AUGUST 2- While one holdover from July, ‘Smurfs 2’, opens early on the Wednesday of that week, one new release is set to come out on the first Friday of the month.

*The first major release of the month is ‘2 Guns’, an action/crime comedy from director Baltasar Kormakur, whose last project was 2012’s ‘Contraband’. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg star as a DEA and NCIS agent, respectively, who investigate one another, believing that they are stealing money from the mob. They are then forced to work together when they learn that they were both set up by the mob. The film is an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by Steven Grant.

AUGUST 7- The weekend of August 9-11 is going to be busy. Four films are set to come out, 2 of which are opening early on the 7^th.

*‘Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters’ is the second installment in the ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympian’ film series (based off of Rick Riordan’s bestselling novels) and the sequel to 2010’s ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’. Thor Freudenthal (‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’) takes over directing duties from Chris Columbus for this film, which sees Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), the demigod son of Poseidon, embark on a journey to find the Golden Fleece in order to save his training ground, Camp Half-Blood. Brandon T. Jackson and Alexandra Daddario reprise their roles as the satyr Grover and Annabeth, demigod daughter of Athena, respectively, alongside newcomers Stanley Tucci as Dionysus and Nathan Fillion as Hermes.

*‘We’re the Millers’ is a comedy directed by Rawson Thurber, who directed 2004’s ‘Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story’. Jason Sudeikis stars as a drug-dealer tasked with transporting some marijuana over the border. To do so inconspicuously, he hires a fake family, including his stripper ‘wife’ (Jennifer Aniston) and their two ‘kids’ (Emma Roberts and Will Poulter).

AUGUST 9- As for the two releases that are set to come out officially on the Friday of that weekend…

*After the success of 2009’s ‘District 9’, Neill Blomkamp returns with another original story, ‘Elysium’. In this film, which takes place in the year 2154, the rich live on a luxurious crime-free habitat called Elysium while everyone else remains on the war-torn Earth and are struggling to escape the planet. Matt Damon stars as a factory worker who attempts to get to Elysium after he ends up with a cancer virus. The film also stars Jodie Foster as the secretary of Elysium and Sharlto Copley as the leader of her secret police force.

*The final release of the August 9-11 weekend is ‘Planes’, a spinoff of Disney/Pixar’s ‘Cars’ franchise. Produced by DisneyToon Studios (the company behind Disney’s direct-to-video projects), the film was originally supposed to be a direct-to-video release. But, because Disney was impressed by some of the completed sequences, they decided to have it released in theaters. The film follows a small-town plane named Dusty (Dane Cook, who replaced Jon Cryer in the role) who dreams of becoming a racing plane, despite the fact that he’s not built for racing and he’s also afraid of heights. The film’s supporting cast also includes John Cleese, Val Kilmer, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

AUGUST 16- Another big week with four major releases.

*While the original ‘Kick-Ass’ was not a huge hit at the box office when it was released in 2010, its solid critical and audience reception has led to a sequel, ‘Kick-Ass 2’, which will hit theaters this weekend. Jeff Wadlow (‘Never Back Down’) takes over for Matthew Vaughn as director for this new film. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz reprise their roles as Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, respectively, who join forces with a team of up-and-coming superheroes, led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey) to take on Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who is reborn as the super villain known as ‘The MotherF***er’.

*Two historical dramas are set to hit theaters this weekend. The first is ‘Jobs’, a biopic based on the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who passed away on October 5, 2011. Ashton Kutcher stars as the entrepreneur/inventor while Josh Gad stars as Apple I/II inventor and company co-founder Steve Wozniak. It’s the story of how Jobs and Wozniak started the personal computer revolution with the help of Wozniak’s invention, the Apple I.

*The other ‘biopic’ is ‘The Butler’, which is based off of the real-life story of Eugene Allen, who served as the official butler at the White House for eight presidencies from 1952-1986. The film is directed by Lee Daniels (‘Precious’) and stars Forest Whitaker as the fictional version of Allen, Cecil Gaines. The film also stars Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, and for the Presidents of the United States; Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower, James Marsden as John F. Kennedy, Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson, John Cusack as Richard Nixon, and Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan.

*The final release that weekend is ‘Paranoia’, a thriller that stars Liam Hemsworth as a worker at a technology corporation who is tasked with an espionage assignment at a rival company when he is faced with losing his job after a prank. Gary Oldman stars as the CEO of the company Hemsworth’s character works for while Harrison Ford stars as the CEO of the rival company.

AUGUST 21- Three films come out this weekend, although one opens early on Wednesday

*‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’ is the latest adaptation of a popular book franchise; in this case, ‘The Mortal Instruments’ series from author Cassandra Clare. Directed by Harald Zwart (the 2010 ‘Karate Kid’ remake), the film stars Lily Collins as Clarissa ‘Clary’ Fray, a young girl who learns that she is the daughter of a Shadowhunter, a half-angel/half-human warrior and that she also has the abilities of these warriors despite the fact that she is not one of them. She uses these powers in order to rescue her mother (Lena Headey).

AUGUST 23- As for the two films set to come out on that Friday…

*While it was released in the U.K. on July 19^th, ‘The World’s End’ will hit U.S. theaters on August 23^rd. It is the third and final film in the ‘Cornetto Trilogy’, a series of comedy films from director Edgar Wright which also includes 2004’s ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and 2007’s ‘Hot Fuzz’. This film follows five friends (played by Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan) as they attempt an epic pub crawl in their hometown, which they had attempted years ago but failed to complete. However, they soon learn that things have changed in their town and completing this pub crawl becomes the least of their problems.

*‘You’re Next’ is a horror-thriller directed by Adam Wingard (who worked on the anthology films ‘V/H/S’ and ‘V/H/S 2’). The film, which made its debut at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, is about a group of serial killers who descend upon a family reunion.

AUGUST 30- Two films close out the month

*In ‘Closed Circuit’, Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall play a pair of lawyers (and ex-lovers) who take on the case of an alleged terrorist.

*Finally, there is, for the fans of the group, ‘One Direction: This is Us’, the latest 3-D concert film (directed by Morgan Spurlock (‘Super-Size Me’) following the boy band ‘One Direction’.

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.

Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2013

As 2012 comes to a close, it's time to look ahead to next year's batch of movies. 2012 was easily one of the best years for movies ever, so it will be interesting to see what's to come next for 2013. So, here are my Top 10 Most Anticipated films of 2013.

10. MONSTERS' UNIVERSITY:



I'm starting this list off with the sole animated feature on this list, the latest from Pixar and the prequel to 2001's 'Monsters' Inc'. Now of course, Pixar hasn't really been on that good of a run lately after their first non-Toy Story sequel 'Cars 2' was a critical flop and their most recent film 'Brave' received a similar mixed reception. Who knows? This might end up the same way too. But, I feel like it could still work. John Goodman and Billy Crystal are back as Sulley and Mike, and I'm interested to see how they are going to handle the whole 'college' situation through the eyes of monsters.

9. THE WORLD'S END



One of two comedies on this list, 'The World's End' is the third in a trilogy of films from director Edgar Wright starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost known as 'the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy'. Of course, this is following in the footsteps of two of the best comedies in recent years, 2004's 'Shaun of the Dead' and 2007's 'Hot Fuzz'. What made both of those comedies work so well is that they were more than just comedies. 'Shaun of the Dead' was also a zombie film and a romance, while 'Hot Fuzz' was also an action movie. Who wouldn't be looking forward to this trio's latest film?

8. THE GREAT GATSBY





Now this film was originally supposed to be released this year (today, in fact, December 25th), but was moved to 2013 because it conflicted with star Leonardo DiCaprio's other film, 'Django Unchained'. For me, this new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel of the same comes out after I recently read the book at school and I do remember I did like it. Before any trailers even came out for this film, I was a little worried when considering director Baz Luhrmann's other adaptation of a classic story, 'Romeo and Juliet'. The end result was a modern adaptation of the story that still retained the original Shakespearean dialogue, basically an uneven mix. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be the case here and with a cast that includes DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, and Joel Edgerton, I'm certainly sold.

7. ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES



The other comedy on this list is the long-awaited sequel to 2004's 'Anchorman', one of the funniest comedies ever made largely due in part to the performances of Will Ferrell as anchorman Ron Burgundy of Channel 4 News in San Diego along with the fellow members of the Channel 4 News Team. While there hasn't been much revealed about the plot yet, this is a comedy that I will not be missing. 'Great Odin's Raven!'

6. THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG



So with one Hobbit film out of the way, it's time to look ahead to the second, 'The Desolation of Smaug'. This was originally supposed to be titled 'There and Back Again' when this was supposed to be the final Hobbit film, but of course this is now the second and 'There and Back Again' will hit theaters in 2014. I am a little worried that there might not be enough material that would warrant a sequel because of how small Tolkien's original novel was compared to 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. Really though, I am just hoping that this one fixes the pacing issue from the first one and that it won't feel like the 'Extended Version' like 'An Unexpected Journey' felt like.

5. THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE



With Harry Potter and Twilight out of the way now, 'The Hunger Games' has the 'book series adapted to movie' market all to itself with the release of 'Catching Fire'. Like those other franchises, this new film will also see a change in director from Gary Ross to Francis Lawrence ('I Am Legend'), who will also be directing the two part adaptation of 'Mockingjay' (therefore Lawrence becomes the 'David Yates' of the Hunger Games franchise). I'm just hoping that Lawrence will fix the editing and camerawork problems from the last movie. But still, with a cast of newcomers that include Phillip Seymour Hoffman, I can't wait for this new film.

4. MAN OF STEEL



This has been a project that I have been rather worried about, and not because it's DC's second attempt at rebooting the Superman franchise following 'Superman Returns' in 2006. For me, it was more because of who is directing it; Zack Synder. While '300' was a terrific movie and 'Watchmen' was mildly entertaining, nothing can excuse Synder's 2011 'Sucker Punch', which was my pick for the worst film of 2011. The only saving grace for me was that Christopher Nolan was producing it and that Synder wasn't part of the writing team behind it (that honor belonged to Nolan and David S. Goyer, a much better choice). But I have to say, the trailers for this film (and that does include the Comic-Con footage, which I did manage to find a good version of here on the Internet) have blown me away. Why? Well, because it doesn't even look like a Synder movie. It feels more like Nolan's 'Batman' movies. I don't know if that will necessarily work for the Man of Steel, but it has certainly doesn't have me worried as much as I was after seeing Sucker Punch.

3. THOR: THE DARK WORLD



And now we get to the first Marvel movies that come out in the wake of 'The Avengers'. While it may not be the first one out of the gate, I am very much looking forward to 'Thor: The Dark World', the sequel to one of my personal favorite 'Pre-Avenger' movies, 2011's 'Thor'. I really loved that movie, not just because it was the first great movie in a rather weak year for movies, but because of how director Kenneth Branagh brought a character like Thor to the big screen with such class so that the end result would not be too cheesy. Not only that, but lead Chris Hemsworth proved his star/charm power as Thor. Branagh isn't back for the sequel, but a director who had previously helmed episodes of HBO's 'Game of Thrones' is a pretty good trade.

2. IRON MAN 3



But of course, who isn't excited about Marvel's first 'Post-Avenger' movie, Iron Man 3, especially considering that the Iron Man movies have pretty much become the key jewel of Marvel Studios if you think about it. I'm intrigued to see what new director Shane Black, famous for writing 'Lethal Weapon' and directing the cult hit 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' (also starring Robert Downey Jr.), will bring to this new Iron Man film. From what has been shown so far from the trailers, it looks like Black is taking the franchise in a new darker direction. Let's just hope he doesn't get rid of the humor, a key aspect of both Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Stark and the character itself.

So what film am I looking forward to more than 'Iron Man 3' and 'Thor 2'? That movie, my friends, is...

1. STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS



It's all thanks to director J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot, which got me hooked on the Star Trek franchise. What made the 2009 film so great is that it appealed to both newcomers to the franchise (like I was at the time) and the already established fans of the franchise. Not only that, but the cast did a phenomenal job and filled the shoes of legends like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (the latter making a well-handled cameo appearance in the film). I couldn't be anymore psyched for this new film, once again helmed by Abrams (who is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors following 2011's 'Super 8'). The big selling point this time would have to be Benedict Cumberbatch as the main villain, who I'm already betting will give Ricardo Montalbán's Khan a run for his money as one of the best villains in franchise history. Heck, who knows, maybe he actually is playing Khan. I can't say I totally buy this 'John Harrison' name they recently gave him. But then again, the movie doesn't come out for five more months so we'll just have to wait and see.

And those are my ten most anticipated films of 2013. I know I'm leaving out some other big name films so what are some of your most anticipated films for the coming year?