This coming Friday – the 2014 Summer Movie Season will officially swing into action with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and for the next four months, we’ll be treated to dozens of high-profile product from the studios. Per usual, there’s plenty of sequels – in addition to a rather high helping of comedies looking to break through.

This leads me to my personal Top 14 for ’14 of the Summer Movie Season. Let’s count them down from 14 to my #1, shall we?

14. Get On Up (August 1)

Chadwick Boseman found success last year playing Jackie Robinson in 42 and he’s got another historical figure on his plate here – R&B legend James Brown. Directing duties are handled by Tate Taylor, who helmed the sleeper hit The Help in 2011.

13. Transformers: Age of Extinction (June 27)

This could well end up the highest grossing film of the summer, but it’s a little low here because I frankly haven’t been impressed with this franchise. Michael Bay is still behind the camera, but Shia LeBeouf is out and Mark Wahlberg is in as the star.

12. Edge of Tomorrow (June 6)

Science fiction and Tom Cruise can work really well (Minority Report) or just OK (Oblivion). We’ll see how this one fares from Mr. and Mrs. Smith director Doug Liman. Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton costar.

11. Maleficent (May 30)

Angelina Jolie stars in the live action retelling of the Sleeping Beauty villainess title character with Elle Fanning as Cinderella. Two summers back, Snow White and the Huntsman scored with audiences and this one probably will, too.

10. Jupiter Ascending (July 18)

Since the Wachowskis made The Matrix fifteen years ago, it’s been a bit downhill with that weak third Matrix entry and Speed Racer. Their last feature, Cloud Atlas, was a commercial disappointment though I quite liked it. The $150 million sci-fi saga starring Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum certainly has my attention.

9. Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (August 22)

I’m a huge fan of Robert Rodgriguez’s 2005 original based on the Frank Miller graphic novel and I’ve been waiting a long time for this sequel. The impressive cast includes Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Brolin, and Eva Green.

8. 22 Jump Street (June 13)

Double Oscar nominee Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum return to reprise their roles from the 2012 comedy that earned $138 million domestically. I felt the original worked very well and hopefully they’ll keep it up here.

7. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2)

This is probably higher on other’s lists, but it’s not top five material for me solely because I thought the first one was rather mediocre. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone return alongside Jamie Foxx and Paul Giamatti as villains.

6. Neighbors (May 9)

Advance word is that this Seth Rogen/Zac Efron comedy is really funny and I see big box office results for this one. The trailer is a riot.

5. A Million Ways to Die in the West (May 3o)

However, my top anticipated comedy edge goes to this – the second comedic feature from “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane. You may have heard of his first – a little summer blockbuster from two years back called Ted. MacFarlane stars alongside Charlize Theron, Neil Patrick Harris, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, and Sarah Silverman.

4. Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1)

A Marvel Studios production based on characters that aren’t near as well known as other comic book heroes is looked at as a slight gamble box office wise. That can said of Guardians of the Galaxy, which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Benicio del Toro. It was also said for 2008’s Iron Man and that turned out, um, pretty well.

3. Godzilla (May 16)

Yes, the Roland Emmerich directed tale of the giant green monster was a massive letdown. However, this one’s got some truly awesome trailers and it stars Bryan Cranston – AKA Walter Freakin White.

2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (July 11)

When Rise of the Planet of the Apes debuted three years back, it marked one of the greatest popcorn flicks in recent memory so I’m all in to see how they follow it up. Andy Serkis returns for his brilliant motion capture performance as Caesar with Gary Oldman and Jason Clarke also in the mix.

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past (May 23)

Maker of the first two rock solid X-Men flicks Bryan Singer (let’s just leave his personal issues aside for now, shall we?) is back as the casts of the original franchise and the new First Class franchise mix together in this time travel tale. That means Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Halle Berry, and Jennifer Lawrence herself are all back and that’s enough to make this #1 on my must see list.

And there you have, folks! See you at the movies this summer.

 

In tonight’s edition of my 2013 Fall Movie Preview, we have three drama/thrillers boasting big stars and Oscar hopes.

This Friday brings us Prisoners from Canadian director Denis Villeneuve. It stars Hugh Jackman as a father whose child is abducted and when he’s frustrated with the lack of progress in the investigation, he takes matters into his own hands. The film raised eyebrows when it screened at the Toronto Film Festival to rave reviews. In addition to some critics saying it was Jackman’s career-best work, the same was said for costar Jake Gyllenhall. The rest of the sterling supporting casts includes Paul Dano, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, and Viola Davis.

Scott Cooper directed Jeff Bridges to a Best Actor Oscar for Crazy Heart and on November 27th comes his follow-up, the crime drama Out of the Furnace. This one has quite the impressive cast as well: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, and Sam Shephard. This is one of two pics for Bale this fall in his post-Batman career with American Hustle coming out too. We’ll get to that one soon enough.

Jason Reitman is known for his dramedies Thank You for Smoking, Juno, Up in the Air, and Young Adult. His next feature, Labor Day, is said to be quite a departure. It stars Kate Winslet as a single mom who takes in an escaped convict played by Josh Brolin. Don’t expect too much comedy in this one, unlike Reitman’s previous work. The pic opened to a somewhat mixed reception on the film festival circuit, though Winslet and Brolin are in Oscar contention. Labor Day opens Christmas Day (naturally).

Stay tuned for my next installment of the fall movie preview coming to the blog soon!

My 2013 Fall Movie Preview continues with a trio of horror flicks. This year, so far, has been a pretty decent one box office wise for the genre with hits including The Conjuring and Mama mixed in with some duds such as You’re Next and Dark Skies.

This Friday (the 13th) brings us Insidious: Chapter 2, the follow-up to 2011’s surprise hit. Stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne return and the film looks likely to capitalize on the solid box office success of the original.

We’ve basically seen most 70s/80s horror classics remade over the past decade and the trend continues with Carrie. Instead of Sissy Spacek, we’ve got Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore plays the creepy mom in the role made famous by Piper Laurie. Like most of the recent remakes, this seems a little unnecessary but who knows? We could pleasantly surprised (I’m skeptical). It’s out October 18th.

Last and probably least is All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which was actually shot in 2006 and stars Amber Heard. It’s already been seen at a number of film festivals and received mixed reviews. This is being distributed by the Weinstein Company in limited release and it doesn’t look to scare up too much business. It’s out (if you can find out) October 11th.

Interestingly, this will be the first late October season in a decade where we haven’t seen a Saw or Paranormal Activity movie. Instead, we get a flick that will probably be scary for others reasons: Jackass Presents Bad Grandpa

That’s all for now, friends! I’ll be back with plenty more autumn titles in short order.

 

Three true stories based on military related tales. Some of Hollywood biggest names involved. Two of them are surefire Oscar contenders.

My 2013 fall movie preview soldiers on this evening. We begin with Captain Phillips. The film is based on the 2009 Somali pirate hijacking situation. Tom Hanks stars as the title character whose vessel is overtaken. Behind the camera is Paul Greengrass, who directed the second and third entries in the Bourne franchise and United 93. He seems like the perfect director to handle this material and Hanks is already generating Oscar buzz. The trailer is very effective and the pic is out October 18.

We move onto The Monuments Men (December 18) from director George Clooney and featuring an A list cast that includes Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and Cate Blanchett. This World War II era pic centers on a team tasked with saving priceless cultural and artistic items before the Nazis destroy them. The producing team behind last year’s Best Picture winner Argo is shepherding this project. Could Oscar nominations follow? I’ve already written a separate blog post about that subject here:

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/oscar-watch-the-monuments-men/

Finally, we have Lone Survivor which tells the real-life story of a group of Navy SEALS and their experiences in Afghanistan. Peter Berg’s film stars Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, and Eric Bana. This seems like less of an awards contender, but you never know. Movies about our recent military conflicts have a checkered past. In fact, Captain Phillips director Greengrass and Monuments Men star Damon had a box office dud in 2010 with Green Zone. Director Berg hasn’t exactly been on a roll lately either. His last two projects, Hancock and Battleship, were not audience or critical favorites. Let’s hope for the best. Lone Survivor comes out in limited release on December 27.

That does it for this edition of the fall movie preview! I’ll be back with more titles very soon.

Some familiar characters make their way to the multiplex this fall in the latest edition of my 2013 Fall Movie Preview.

The current Captain Kirk, Chris Pine, is the fourth actor to take on the role of Jack Ryan in the film of the same name, out Christmas Day. Alec Baldwin originated the role based on Tom Clancy’s novels in The Hunt for Red October. Harrison Ford followed with Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. Ben Affleck became Ryan (you might have heard casting news about him recently) in The Sum of All Fears. Kenneth Branagh, who last directed Thor, is behind the camera and costars in the pic along with Keira Knightley and Kevin Costner. Pine has had luck before in a known franchise with Star Trek and we’ll see if that trend continues. Not much is known about the plot, but the first trailer is expected to hit within days.

Before his most successful franchise, The Fast and the Furious flicks, Vin Diesel starred in 2000’s Pitch Black and then the 2004 sequel The Chronicles of Riddick. David Twohy (director of both) returns to helm Riddick, with Diesel in the title role. While Chronicles was considered a box office disappointment, Vin’s recent exposure in the wildly successful Furious pics could help the performance. It’s out September 6.

Finally, Machete (played by Danny Trejo) made his debut in one of the fake trailers in 2007’s Grindhouse. That led to his own feature film in 2010 with Machete, which sends up 1970s revenge pics. It earned only $26 million domestically, but a sequel is following anyway with Machete Kills, out October 11. Director Robert Rodriguez is back again and the sequel (like the original) has one heckuva supporting cast that includes Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Antonio Banderas, Charlie Sheen (billed as Carlos Estevez), and Mel Gibson.

That’s all for now. I’ll be back with previews of more autumn offerings soon!

Family audiences have had plenty to choose from when it comes to animated features in 2013. The Croods. Epic. Monsters University. Despicable Me 2. Turbo. Planes. This fall they can add three more possibilities to the mix.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (out September 27) is the sequel to the 2009 original which made a decent $124 million domestically and confused millions of young children’s culinary concepts with meteorology. Some recognizable names return for voice-over work including Bill Hader, Anna Faris, and James Caan in the Sony Pictures Animation release. It’s certainly been a good year for animated sequels so far (hello Despicable Me 2 and your $350 million domestic gross) and we shall see if Meatballs continues that trend.

Disney gets in on the action November 27 with the release of Frozen, loosely based on the works of Hans Christian Andersen. Disney and fairy tales is a combination known to work from time to time so expectations are understandably pretty high.

Walking with Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie is based on a 1999 BBC miniseries and comes from BBC Earth Studios (not your typical purveyor of animated entertainment). Kids love dinosaurs and the 20th anniversary re-release of Jurassic Park this past spring did solid business. It’s out December 20 and that Christmas vacation time release could be a bonus.

So there you go parents! Three pictures to mark down for family night during the remainder of 2013. My fall movie preview will continue shortly on this here blog.

If you haven’t yet had your fill of sequels this summer season, have no fear. There’s three big ones coming to the silver screen this fall. Four actually. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues was already covered in another post that you may peruse here:

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/2013-fall-movie-preview-anchorman-2-the-legend-continues-jackass-presents-bad-grandpa-tyler-perrys-a-madea-christmas-delivery-man/

We begin with Thor: The Dark World, the follow-up to 2011’s original which grossed an impressive $181 million. Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, and Tom Hiddleston are all back. Certainly the exposure of Thor in The Avengers should help the numbers. Iron Man 3 got an Avengers bump this summer as it opened stronger than the second installment. Kenneth Branagh is not back as director (he’ll have Jack Ryan in December… more on that film in another post). Now it’s Alan Taylor behind the camera. He’s known mostly for his TV work, having directed episodes of “The Sopranos”, “Mad Men”, and “Game of Thrones”. Thor: The Dark World is out November 8.

November 27th brings us The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the second pic in that franchise. In the spring of last year, the original earned a fantastic $408 million domestically and the sequel is likely to have the highest opening of any movie this fall. Once again, we have a new director taking over. Gary Ross is out and Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) is in. Jennifer Lawrence (a newly minted Oscar winner since the original’s release), Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, and Stanley Tucci all return with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, and Amanda Plummer joining the mix.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the second of the trilogy and Peter Jackson’s pic will look to match the $303 million domestic performance of last winter’s original. The familiar faces return: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Orlando Bloom, and Christopher Lee, among others. While the first was a big hit, critical reaction was mixed and we’ll see if the reviews for Desolation keep that trend going or move it into Lord of the Rings acclaimed territory. The picture will be released December 13.

That’s all for now, my friends! I’ll be back with another installment of my 2013 Fall Movie Preview soon enough.

Tonight we press forward with my 2013 Fall Movie Preview with four comedies coming to us over the next few months. I already covered three comedies last week that all happen to feature Robert De Niro – The Family, Last Vegas, and Grudge Match. You can read that post here:

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/2013-fall-movie-preview-the-family-last-vegas-grudge-match/

We begin with the return of Johnny Knoxville and many of his Jackass collaborators in Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa. The picture (out October 25) features Knoxville as a popular character from the show – an elderly grandpa who displays inappropriate behavior with his grandson in front of unsuspecting (and real) people. Judging from the trailer, this pic seems to be done in a Borat/Bruno style and I must say it looks pretty darn funny.

If you’re Christmas wish list includes Tyler Perry’s return as Madea… well, you’re in luck! This is the 8th (yes 8th) entry in the popular Madea franchise and there’s no reason to think this won’t perform just as well as the others. A Madea Christmas is out December 13. No trailer is available at press time.

Vince Vaughn has had a fairly bad run of luck with his recent comedies, most recently The Watch and The Internship. He’ll try to reverse those fortunes with The Delivery Man, where he plays a sperm donor who unknowingly has fathered 533 children (take that Octomom). The trailer isn’t overly effective, but Vaughn has to eventually break out of his rut, right? Not sure if The Delivery Man will do it, but who knows? It comes out November 22.

And now to what is surely this season’s most anticipated comedy, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. It’s been nine and a half years since Ron, Champ, Brian, and Brick graced the silver screen in summer 2004. Upon its release, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was a solid though unspectacular box office performer (it earned $85 million). Since then, however, the original has taken on a life of its own. It’s probably the most quoted comedy of the past decade and it’s earned a reputation as being one of the great comedies of recent times. In addition to returning cast members Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Vince Vaughn, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, and Luke Wilson, look for Kristin Wiig to join the party. And there’s reported cameos from Harrison Ford, Tina Fey, Jim Carrey, and others. Obviously the pressure is on for the sequel to recapture the magic. We will see and I know I’ll be there on December 20 to find out!

The 2013 Fall Movie Preview will continue soon with some high-profile sequels that bring back Katniss and Thor. Stay tuned!

 

This evening the 2013 Fall Movie Preview gets kicked off with a trio of comedies featuring Robert De Niro. Apparently the guy never stops working and we’ll have September De Niro comedy, November De Niro comedy, and December De Niro comedy. This is in addition to Mr. De Niro appearing in David O. Russell’s awards contender American Hustle in December, but we’ll cover that picture later on.

Not too long ago on the blog, I wrote an extensive post about Bob’s decline in the film world over the past decade plus. You can find it here:

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/what-about-bob-the-decline-of-de-niro/

For quite some time now, De Niro has not exactly been choosy about what movies he picks to be a part of. New Year’s Eve anyone? Godsend? Hide and Seek?

Bob’s history with comedy has seen highs (Midnight Run, Analyze This, Meet the Parents) and lows (Analyze That, Little Fockers, Showtime). It remains to be seen what category this trio of titles falls into.

September De Niro comedy is The Family, where the star once again parodies the fact that he’s played several gangsters in much more serious pics. Here, De Niro plays an ex Mob boss in the witness protection program living in France. Tommy Lee Jones costars as the lawman tasked with keeping him in line and Michelle Pfeiffer plays De Niro’s wife. Pfeiffer did the Mafia parody thing some 25 years ago in Jonathan Demme’s well-regarded Married to the Mob. While this sounds like a tired premise, The Family has some talent behind it in the form of director Luc Besson. He’s directed good films such as 1991’s La Femme Nikita, 1994’s The Professional, and 1997’s The Fifth Element. I hope it works. The Family comes out September 13.

Moving to November De Niro comedy – we have Last Vegas, a high concept pic bringing together four Oscar winners: De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline. It basically looks like Grumpy Old Men meets Bachelor Party but the impressive cast could bode well at the box office, as long as its not terrible. Jon Turtletaub, best known for directing the National Treasure flicks, is behind the camera. Last Vegas is out November 1.

And, finally, December De Niro comedy is Grudge Match, which teams De Niro and Sylvester Stallone as grumpy old boxers who engage in one last bout. Of course, it’s not lost on the makers of the pic that both leads have starred in very well-known pugilistic tales before (the Rocky franchise and Raging Bull). Like Last Vegas, the high concept could work with audiences and Warner Bros. has scheduled its release for Christmas Day. NOTE: NO TRAILER FOR THIS AT PRESS TIME.

So if you’re in the mood for a comedy this autumn and you like De Niro, have no fear. This is a gold mine for you!

The 2013 Fall Movie Preview will continue shortly with more comedy offerings that don’t have Bob in it….

This morning at Comic Con, Warner Bros. made the announcement that Man of Steel 2 will be released in 2015 with Zack Snyder returning to direct and Henry Cavill back to star. The studio made another revelation about the film that is already making headlines: Batman will be in it! Christian Bale has already announced he will not be back as the Caped Crusader, so expect plenty of speculation beginning now about who will be cast in the iconic role.

Man of Steel 2 joins a rather amazing list of pictures scheduled for 2015. This is a year that unquestionably stands out for film geeks. Let’s consider that these characters will grace the silver screen in that year: James Bond. Batman. Superman. Ethan Hunt. The Terminator. Iron Man. Jack Sparrow. And a whole lot more.

The two most hotly awaited movies: the sequel to last year’s The Avengers with Joss Whedon back directing and the whole gang back including, of course, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man/Tony Stark. Oh… and then there’s Star Wars Episode VII from JJ Abrams. You’ve probably heard of it.

That duo is enough to get excited for 2015. However, if it’s more sequels you want, don’t worry! 2015 is when we’ll likely see Avatar 2. That would be the sequel to the highest grossing film of all time.

Do you like fifth installments of franchises? No worries. Pirates of the Caribbean 5 with Johnny Depp returning as Jack Sparrow will be out. So will Terminator 5, reportedly with Arnold Schwarzenegger back in his signature role. And Tom Cruise will reprise his Ethan Hunt character in Mission: Impossible 5.

Do you like fourth installments of franchises? No worries. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II will be released. So will Jurassic Park IV. 

How about just second installments? Other than the aforementioned follow-ups to Man of Steel, The Avengers, and Avatar, we’ll see a sequel to 1996’s Independence Day. Apparently Will Smith won’t be back, but Jeff Goldblum will!! Kristen Stewart is returning in Snow White and the Huntsman 2.

For the kids, Pixar is putting out Finding Dory, the sequel to 2003’s Finding Nemo. Kids can also enjoy seeing Charlie Brown and the gang in the animated Peanuts.

James Bond returns in the as-yet-untitled 24th 007 picture. Skyfall director Sam Mendes is back along with Daniel Craig.

For more comic book action, Marvel’s Ant-Man directed by Edgar Wright will be out, as will a Fantastic Four reboot from Chronicle director Josh Trank.

Thor director Kenneth Branagh will bring us a live-action version of Cinderella. Michael Fassbender stars in the film version of the wildly popular video game Assassin’s Creed.

So… needless to say, 2015 is going to be a big year at the box office. There are three legitimate contenders – Star Wars Episode 7, Avengers 2, Avatar 2 – that stand reasonable chances of breaking a lot of box office records. Get ready, my friends!