Has anyone looked at what else is coming out this summer? I'm actually glad I have a 2 year old to avoid feeling "obligated" to go to the movies this season.
Here's the quick breakdown I did -- if I'm missing something, by all means post!
6-17
FINDING DORY - by all accounts a mediocre Pixar outing (still good enough to get 95% on the Tomato Meter, apparently lol) but will make a fortune. Still, nobody is saying it needed to be made or should have. Have to bring Theo though so I'm going tomorrow!
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE - The Rock and Kevin Hart chum around. Pass.
6-24
INDEPENDENCE DAY 2 - Big-time wildcard, since the original is not exactly revered like JURASSIC PARK (nobody is expecting JURASSIC WORLD styled grosses), and who knows how it's going to do. Trailers look very "meh" to me, but I might be persuaded to go if the reviews are okay. As of now though, pass.
FREE STATE OF JONES - Biggest counterprogramming of the summer but it's bounced around the release schedule so much, it raises red flags about its quality. Pass.
7-1
TARZAN - Looks atrocious, heavy CGI, etc. Will see on video, not making plans for the theater unless the reviews are good. Margot Robbie as Jane though...
PURGE Sequel - Not even being shot in Woonsocket (RI) is enough to get me there. Pass.
THE BFG - Doesn't look appealing to me whatsoever, so this is another Spielberg film I'm passing on in theaters. Will see on video.
7-8
SECRET LIFE OF PETS - May have to bring Theo. Otherwise, pass.
MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES - Dumb looking R rated comedy. Pass.
7-15
GHOSTBUSTERS - Do I need to say anything else.
7-22
STAR TREK BEYOND - pass (lol)
ICE AGE XXXX - pass
7-29
JASON BOURNE - yet another sequel, but I may have to see this one. On the fence "will attend"
BAD MOMS - idiotic R rated comedy, pass
8-5
SUICIDE SQUAD - one of the few I am interested in, but it may depend on reviews. As of now, "will attend"
NINE LIVES - Kevin Spacey reincarnated as a cat in a family comedy from Luc Besson's company. PASS
8-12
PETE'S DRAGON - pass
SAUSAGE PARTY - Seth Rogen's R rated animated comedy. lol. pass
There is not a single movie on that list that would motivate me to spend money to buy a ticket in a movie theater. And there are only a couple of those movies that would potentially interest me as home video options - namely The Secret Life of Pets, which had a charming trailer, and Jason Bourne which will either be interesting or a tired retread.
Two of the movies are pointless sequels being offered up 10-20 years after their sell-by date - I wouldn't be surprised to see Finding Dory do good-well in box office but still be pointless, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Independence Day retread bomb hard. I fully expect Ghostbusters to bomb and honestly can't see what the appeal is for anyone to sit through it. (I note at this time that Melissa McCarthy has wisely chosen to participate in the new Gilmore Girls TV series)
I also have a feeling that the Star Trek movie will not bring in the dollars Paramount was hoping for, and this is after they really cut the budget and filmed it in Canada to avoid this problem. With the Into Darkness failure, they had admitted in 2013 to spending at least 190 million but apparently spent upwards of 200 what with the 3D conversion in Post only to see that movie fail fall short of breaking even by about 150 million dollars. I do think that Into Darkness has likely broken even by now with home video dollars, particularly after Paramount deliberately issued multiple versions of the movie to different sales outlets in the cynical but correct idea that gullible fans would repeatedly purchase the same movie to get all the extras. A failure with the new movie, which seems all but certain given how truly awful the trailers have been (and how unimpressed the fans have been with them) should mercifully end the feature film iteration of this Trek theme and allow the cast to move on to better uses of their time. Of course, there's still the new Canadian Star Trek web series waiting in the gate - given that it's coming from Alex Kurtzman, it sounds likely to use as many resources as possible from the Abrams movies, particularly given that younger viewers will only know Trek from those films, as strange as that may sound for older Trek fans who still remember what the series was supposed to be about.
Suicide Squad will be an interesting problem to watch as far as Warner Bros goes. Based on the desperation reshoots they rushed through this spring, it sounds like WB execs are more than concerned about the hole they may have dug themselves with this "DC Universe" franchise idea. They are currently gambling that somehow Zack Snyder can suddenly become a wonderful director/producer with his continuing presence on the Justice League movie, although they've clearly removed several of the creative controls from his hands. This is in spite of the BS movie doing disappointing business - essentially breaking even with a little room to spare, and that was almost completely from the first couple of weeks in the box office, at which point it quickly tailed down as word got out about how bad it was. If Suicide Squad fails to break even, or more likely, bombs, that could set off a complete panic at WB. (Frankly, they should have taken the advice people were giving them in March to hold off on anything they had not already started filming) If Suicide Squad and then Wonder Woman and Justice League each fail (and likely in increasingly large craters), that would mean a loss to WB of over a billion dollars. This is the reason I noted a few months back that we could be seeing a bunch of execs being jettisoned at WB, or frantically running away from it. Between this mess and the current situation at HBO (massive losses and disappointments with Vinyl, Lewis & Clark, Westworld, Videosyncrasy, etc), these are losses that could have severe consequences throughout Time Warner.
I hate to say this, but this really does look like a good summer to be outside during the day (if you're not at work) or watching TV at night.
You guys still have confidence in Steven? lol. Honestly I wish I still did. I just can't wrap my head around how awful BFG looks. Nearly all-rendered CGI nonsense -- if it didn't have Spielberg's name attached I'd be avoiding it like THE SMURFS 2. Maybe it will turn out better than the early reviews, but after reading several of them, I can't imagine forking down cash to see it.
TARZAN also looks terrible, but that will be no surprise if it is, given the movie's reported reshoots, poor test screenings and the fact David Yates left the movie to make the Potter prequel in post-production. No sign of confidence going on there.
Finding Dory may be "pointless" and "unnecessary", but it's also pretty damn delightful, easily the best Pixar sequel outside of the Toy Story films. I had a great time with it.
AndyDursin wrote:You guys still have confidence in Steven? lol. Honestly I wish I still did. I just can't wrap my head around how awful BFG looks. Nearly all-rendered CGI nonsense -- if it didn't have Spielberg's name attached I'd be avoiding it like THE SMURFS 2. Maybe it will turn out better than the early reviews, but after reading several of them, I can't imagine forking down cash to see it.
For me it isn't an issue of confidence - he just gets a lifetime pass from me for his body of work as a whole. The only recent film of his I thought was horrible was TINTIN. I like WOTW from an analysis standpoint in his work as a whole (separated family, abandonment, male character going through a journey that matures him to become the husband/father he should be, etc.) but the movie is not among his best. He is kind of like Woody Allen for me at this point - I will buy/watch anything he directs just because I am a lifelong fan of their movies in general.
Monterey Jack wrote:Finding Dory may be "pointless" and "unnecessary", but it's also pretty damn delightful, easily the best Pixar sequel outside of the Toy Story films. I had a great time with it.
Our son certainly had a great time with it. I thought it was OK and perfect for kids, but nowhere near as charming, funny or engaging as the first film. Movie felt like it had 5 endings and what was really the climax comprised the entire 2nd half of the movie.
The Octopus was fun though, and the post-credits scene was great.
I had a great time with it.