5 Summer Films Still To Come

The past few weeks have been a full on onslaught of movie releases. The likes of Pirates Of The Caribbean and Transformers have been getting people into the cinemas like you wouldn’t believe. Despite the downturn in the economy, the movie making business soars forward, making more money then ever. In fact, despite all of the downright slimy things studios have been trying to pull lately, I would say that this has been a really good year for the American film industry, especially considering the current economic climate.

Unfortunately, the first half of the summer is usually filled with better movies, many of the best released being reserved for May and June. Now that we have entered the second half of the summer, the question has become, “what is there left to watch in theaters this summer?” Well, fear not my fellow movie goers, because I am here with a list of all of the movies that I am still dying to see this fine Summer.

I would like to point out that I really wanted to put the upcoming Muppets movie on this list. Every piece of promotional material for it just drips of pure charm, and lead actor/writer Jason Segel seems to be the worlds biggest Muppet nerd, even off camera. It seems to be the perfect reboot, and I can’t wait to see it. But sadly the movie is not coming out till November. I considered sneaking it in, but ultimately I just decided to throw in this shout out here.

5. Cowboys And Aliens – July 29

Cowboys And Aliens is the upcoming film by Jon Favreau, about a posse of cowboys and a mysterious traveling gun slinger who go toe to toe with an alien invasion. It stars Harrison Ford as the leader of the posse, and Daniel Craig as the mysterious newcomer. Yes, this is essentially a movie about James Bond and Han Solo battling an alien invasion in the old west. This seems right to me on so many levels, I can’t even begin to describe them. And that isn’t even getting into the fact that is based off a graphic novel by the brilliant writer, Fred Van Lente.

But by the same token, I am very, very worried about this movie. To say this project is ambitious, isn’t quite a start. This is a serious risk. Adapting an almost unknown graphic novel, into a movie is a huge risk in this day and age is always a risk. Even the relatively popular Green Lantern still produced a massive flop. And that was a movie about super heroes. America loves super heroes. But cowboys haven’t been a big earning genre for movies in a long time. I mean a John Wayne long time. Though, alien invasion flicks seem to be doing okay. Skyline, despite being a truly horrible piece of cinematic garbage, somehow made more then triple the budget, and Battle LA was a relative financial success. Though, I don’t quite understand the point of adapting it from a comic book. If you are making a movie with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, you are going to get the nerds into the cinema either way.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdmupNxobP0[/youtube]

If anything, this film serves as a beacon of hope for the future. In a day and age where film studios don’t want to create a film unless it feels safe to them, the existence of this is proof that somewhere there is still a producer who is willing to make big money gambles on strange films. And as a fan of strange films, I appreciate it. So I want to go see this to make sure that’s it good. Plus if this thing is a flop, then it might make some producers play things a little more close to the chest. And god knows I don’t want more of that.

4. Another Earth – July 22

As someone who spends a lot of their time writing and thinking about films, I would be remiss if I failed to notice the Sundance Film Festival. It’s almost like a wet dream for film nerds. That is the reason I caught the attention of this little number. It was making the rounds at Sundance, and it got the attention of a number of people, me and the good folks over at Fox Searchlight Pictures included. I didn’t get a chance to see it then because going to Sundance is not something I have the budget for, yet I am perfectly happy to get the opportunity to see it once it comes out in wider release.

The film is Sci-Fi drama about a woman who after spending several years in prison is released, and tries to find a way to get to the mirror earth that is floating in earth’s orbit. I don’t quite understand how that would be possible, considering gravity and how would that effect our orbit, but so long as they try to provide an acceptable explanation, I will generally be lenient. Unlike a certain other movie this summer *caugh transformers caugh*. You don’t get to see nearly enough Sci-Fi films come out of Sundance. The low budgets are best suited fro the kind of drama and comedy work that they bring out every year, so I am very pleased to see them mix some out of this world elements in.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8hEwMMDtFY[/youtube]

Still, the fact that it’s release isn’t going to be very big bothers me. It’s almost as if the studio system is writing off all of the people who happen to enjoy thought provoking, touching movies to action explosion jamborees. As someone who can appreciate both, this kind of thing angers me. If only there were more cinema snobs, then the movie would be easier to watch. To say that it kind of thing irks me is far from an understatement.

  3. Captain America: First Avenger – July 22

Okay, so this is a superhero movie taking place in world war two. It features a scrawny recruit who volunteers for a brand new treatment to make him the wolds greatest soldier, only for the scientist doing it to be killed as the process is finished. Joining up with a secret agent, a brilliant inventor, an old friend from Brooklyn, and a team of crack commandos, he goes off to fight a Nazi science division who have lasers while dressed in red white and blue. And let me be very clear about this, that sounds awesome.

I’m a big fan of the character, for the way he subverts everything we know about an atypical super-patriotic hero. He represents the ideal of what America should be, rather then the government or even the people, putting an interesting spin on the way he reacts to various situations. And Chris Evans as the lead? This guy has been listed in my brain as one of my absolute favorite actors after his shock and awe inspiring performance in Scott Pilgrim Versus The World. I could not be more excited to see him donned in the red white and blue.

But that’s the thing. This movie is VERY patriotic. Every aspect of this movie seems to be screaming the name America like it was playing the Team America: World Police soundtrack on repeat. I don’t have any problems with this myself, but it does raise a very important issue for the movie. There was already some controversy over the movie allowing foreign countries to opt the words Captain America from it’s name, instead just titling the film First Avenger. In a day and age where film studios have to focus on getting a good international just as much as they do getting a good domestic gross, a overpatriotic movie is not a good way to make a profit.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JerVrbLldXw[/youtube]

But they have to make this movie, as it is part of the buildup to next year’s Avengers movie. This movie serves as the final piece of mythos that needs to be in place before it can come out. Therein lies the reason I pretty much have to go see it. Avengers is a project unlike anything else in film history. Putting together a superteam franchise from another medium by making separate movies as mini prequels for the movie seems preposterous on paper. More then a billion dollars has been poured into making the Avengers movie, through all of the five films released before they even have gotten to the actual movie. Including it, this franchise is already among the biggest in film history. The fact that not only are they doing it, but also somehow getting away with it is both disturbing and oddly comforting. And if I’m treated to an awesome ride along the way, then who am I to complain?

2. Killer Elite – September 23

I know that September isn’t exactly part of the summer, and that Muppets was kicked from it’s second place position by the exact limitations of summer. Yet, there is a definite case for calling this movie a summer film, and it is most certainly a film I am almost dying to see. I’m dying as hard as the bad guys in this movie.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F1wrDsUqYc[/youtube]

I don’t even quite know what the plot of the movie is. I think it has something to do with a war between hit men, but the plot is totally irrelevant. Ignore it. There is one reason to watch this movie. Well technically three. It’s because some genius had the brilliant idea to make a movie about a war between Jason Statham, Robert De Niro, and Clive Owen. I’m not entirely sure who was the one who did the casting for this movie, but whoever it is deserves some kind of medal. Possibly the same medal they give to the guy who did the casting for The Expendables or The Dark Knight. I don’t really know.

In all seriousness I’m fairly certain this isn’t going to be a very good movie. The guy making it has never made a feature film before, and it doesn’t seem like Statham, Pacino, or Owen had an actual hand in the production of the film. Yet none of that seems to matter to me. Simply put, this movie is promising me a good time. Not a good movie, not even a fun movie, just a fun time. And if it goes well it might even end up becoming Crank mixed with Heat. And THAT is a movie I would want to see.

1. Harry Potter And the Death Hallows: Part 2 -  July 15

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DnbTjk7ho4&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

This one is also a bit of cheating on my part. As of today the movie is going to be released in several countries, so it is less something to look forward to in the next couple of months, as it is in the next couple of days. Still though, that isn’t quite true. Unless you have a ticket pre-ordered a few weeks ago, it is going to be a very long time before you see this movie. I fully expect it to surpass Pirates 4 as the biggest movie of the year.

The movie will generally follow the second half of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book. The first half was covered in the seventh movie’s perfectly paced adventure, leaving the thrilling climax for the last movie. Here it finally is. Harry potter. Voldemort. Their respective allies by their side, going to battle with each other. It’s the kind of thing that even makes the perfect sound bites for how to make a conclusion to an epic movie series.

Here we have the epic conclusion of an eight movie mega franchise, based on quite possibly the most successful book series of the modern age. If this movie wasn’t a giant conclusive explosion of entertainment I would want my money back. But as someone who has read Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows multiple times, I can assure anyone who hasn’t of the following. This movie will be action packed. A thrill ride and emotion roller coaster unlike almost anything you will see in theaters this year. But you don’t need to take my word for it. Right now the film is still holding a ninety-seven percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The kind of score you don’t get by accident. The critics love this thing. I see no way this could blow up in my face. Famous last words, I know. But this movie seems to be the perfect end to the Harry Potter franchise.

Until Harry Potter nine is announced, that is. But I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

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Article Written by David Rosen (1 Articles Published)

David Rosen is an aspiring comic book writer, who is a avid consumer of almost every type of media he can get his hands on. A self professed geek, he is knowledgeable in everything from comic books to movies. You can find more by David at www.callitlikeiseeit.com

Follow David Rosen on Twitter @calllikeiseeit

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