A Guide to Summer Blockbusters – July 2013
June 21, 2013
Right now, we are halfway through summer vacation, meaning half of the summer blockbusters have already hit the big screens. If for some reason you want to know what you missed in the previous two months, you can have a look at May and June here.
The Lone Ranger 07/03/13 (Trailer)
“The Lone Ranger” already has a lot of controversy surrounding it. Johnny Depp is playing the character Tonto, an American Indian character. Depp himself is actually part Cherokee and has permission from a local tribe so I am curious as to why people even still care. In fact, he has said he hopes to combat racism by giving a new look to the very stereotypical character, and making him more than a sidekick. Disney seems to be launching this series with the clear intent of making a new “Pirates of the Caribbean,” so if it actually does really well over July 4, look for quick announcements for a trilogy right after.
Despicable Me 2 07/03/13 (Trailer)
“Despicable Me” is a story about a villain who learns to love for three little girls and change his life. “Despicable Me 2” argues that somehow this man is still known for being a villain, and they need his brain in order to help save the world from a bigger threat: Aliens. I start to question how this man is still considered a villain. He only does good and saves the world. Either way, I didn’t think the first film was that great, I just thought the little minions were really cute, so that is what I am most looking forward to. Do they sell those as stuffed animals?
Pacific Rim 07/12/13 (Trailer)
I think we are all thinking the same thing here. Giant robots fighting giant aliens is awesome. It is the best part of Power Rangers, and “Pacific Rim” wants to make it into an amazing movie. Heck, it also features Idris Elba and Ron Perlman, two gentlemen who I would always watch a movie for, and it is directed by Guillermo del Toro, who gave us “Hellboy!” I believe a sequel has already been planned, depending on the box office numbers, which should be great because it has no real competition that week. It basically fits the definition of a pure summer blockbuster popcorn flick.
“Red 2” is the sequel to the now cult hit, “Red,” based loosely on a graphic novel of the same name. In it, we have some former federal agents, now Retired and Extremely Dangerous (thus the title), going around and causing a ruckus. More importantly, John Malkovich is in it, and generally anything he does is worthy of a watch. His character was the best part of the first film, so I have high hopes he will be incredible in this one as well. It is hard to tell whether or not this film will be able to surpass “R.I.P.D.,” as both movies appear to be action comedies, so most likely they will hurt each other’s potential.
Alright, imagine a movie where we have a grizzled vet who has been on the force for a while, getting a young partner who is new to the field. These men have to battle supernatural entities that are invading/disrupting Earth, while remaining secret from your everyday average human. Now, were you thinking of “R.I.P.D.” or “Men In Black?” Sure, “R.I.P.D.” has been a graphic novel since 2003, but by then “Men In Black” already had two movies. I think most viewers will have a problem separating the two, and they will claim this one is just a strange ripoff. Jeff Bridges is in it, an Academy Award winning actor, but he seems a bit too ridiculous for my taste. I personally am afraid it will be too cheesy without having enough original plot or interesting action to back it up.
Hey, this seems like a good idea. Let’s a take an animal, make him talk, and have them dream of doing things that he cannot do. Like a slug wanting to race and go fast. Hilarious! “Turbo” seems like it came about on a lazy day of writing, and for whatever reason the movie executives thought it would be an amazing idea. Even better, they got Ryan Reynolds to voice the lead, his most recent voice work coming from the “The Croods,” which flopped. I will admit, I like that he is starring in two movies that come out in the say day, but given this is the second CGI kids flick this month, it will probably not make bank.
The Wolverine 07/26/13 (Trailer)
After the incredibly abysmal “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” Fox has decided to do a sequel, simply called “The Wolverine.” The optimist in me believes that they have learned from their mistakes, and it will be an awesome action movie about an interesting character. At the same time, I think about all of the bad superhero films they have released recently and sigh. Wolverine in Japan lead to some interesting plot lines in the comic world, but whether it can be transferred to film is yet to be seen. As it is the only huge movie to come out that week, it is likely to hit some big numbers. I just hope it deserves them.
The Smurfs 2 07/31/13 (Trailer)
“The Smurfs 2” almost didn’t get mentioned in this July blockbuster review, but they decided to jump the gun and release the film on a Wednesday now, putting it right over the line. The first “Smurfs” movie was decently entertaining on its own right, I just think they went for too many gimmicks overall. Which is why I am not surprised to see the gimmicks continue with the sequel, which wants to turn Smurfette into a “Naughty”, opening up plenty of jokes about her voice actress Katy Perry. This will be the third big CGI animated movie in July, whereas the previous months each only had one big release. “The Smurfs 2” will end up doing well only if the families aren’t “movie’d out” by the end of the month.
