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Thursday, July 3, 2014

Coming Soon: July 2014

Hello once again everyone! June was certainly an odd month that started off strong, only got better, and then ended weakly. It's average score was 8.0 which was 6.3% higher than previous Junes. So all in all, a slightly better month than usual although it was still crushed by May's stellar 8.6 average score. Let's recap shall we? Remember to click the titles for the Rath's Review!

Edge of Tomorrow: It surprised critics and those that actually saw it (its box office was slightly disappointing). I personally loved it, although I saw it as a "one-time" view and wouldn't really need to watch it again. That being said, it's one heck of a ride the first time with a surprising amount of humor attached. (Rath's Review Score: 8.5/10)
The Fault in Our Stars: Dear Lord was this movie emotional. I rarely cry in movies out of sadness. It takes quite a bit for me to get the waterworks going and only a handful of movies have accomplished that. The Fault in Our Stars is a beautiful, tragic film that is anchored by some stellar performances. A very well done romantic film. (RRS: 9/10)
22 Jump Street: It's the sequel that did what sequels are supposed to do: be better than the original. While I'm not sure it bests its predecessor, it's at least evenly tied with it in terms of laughter. The movie's self awareness of being a sequel is hilarious and Lord and Miller have their second hit of the year, both critically and commercially. (RRS: 9.5/10)
How to Train Your Dragon 2: I made sure to catch the original before I went to go see this (the review of which you can find HERE). Similar to 22 Jump Street, HTTYD2 is a sequel that is every bit as good as the original. Quite a delight in a year where animated movies have been some of the year's best. Sadly, this isn't doing well at the box office. GO SEE IT PEOPLE!! (RRS: 9/10)
Jersey Boys: I love the Four Seasons and I like Clint Eastwood as a director. But this film was as flat as a month old Coke. Performance-wise it was strong, but the R-rating was useless, the underlying plot about Mob ties was over dramatized, and the musical numbers were lacking magic despite the music being good. A very forgettable movie about a musical and group that deserved better and a director who knows he can do better. (RRS: 5.5/10)
Transformers: Age of Extinction: I suggest you read my review for my sentiments towards the franchise and its director as a whole. Overall, critics unfairly hate on this franchise and at this point you know exactly what you are buying when you buy a ticket to a Michael Bay Transformers. This installment has a MUCH better human cast, but overindulges at being nearly 3 hours long. That being said, the first half of the film was probably some of the best the franchise has had to offer. (RRS: 6.5/10)

Most Surprising: Edge of Tomorrow
Most Disappointing: Transformers: Age of Extinction
Best Film: 22 Jump Street
Worst Film: Jersey Boys

I just realized that I think this is my first month EVER that I saw every film that I had listed the previous month...and somewhere my wallet is crying. Also, one last note: there is a film generating quite a bit of buzz, called Snowpiercer, that I plan to see as soon as it makes its way to Denver. I'll go ahead and recap it next month *fingers crossed* even though it came out in June.

Let's see what's on tap for July! Remember to click the movie titles for their trailers!

Why It's Worth Seeing: I honestly don't know much about this one and I find its July release frame a bit odd. But it does look sufficiently creepy and it has a big name star, Eric Bana, in the main role. As horror movies are usually lower budget, big name stars are few and far between. His involvement makes me wonder if he saw something special in the script, or if they had a lot of money.
What Could Go Wrong: Typical horror pitfalls. Given that the buzz around this one has been fairly mum, I don't foresee it being anything special despite its star power.


Why It's Worth Seeing: Melissa McCarthy has been pretty funny in supporting or co-roles for her recent comedies. She has a unique brand of her own between physical comedy and stupid comedy.
What Could Go Wrong: I'm not sure she is funny enough to lead her own feature film. The trailer seems rather dull to me and I think that a lot of jokes (i.e. fat jokes) will be recycled to death.


Why It's Wroth Seeing: I think we all had our feet in our mouths a few years ago when Rise of the Planet of the Apes came out and was actually really good. One of the more surprising films of that year actually, along with Fast Five. Dawn looks to continue the darker look of the new franchise, especially given the fact that the previous film's two leads (along with most of the world's population) have died due to the outbreak at the end of the last film. Andy Serkis will undoubtedly impress as will the rest of the cast.
What Could Go Wrong: I hope the action of the first stays strong and I hope the movie doesn't overindulge in the horror aspect of the situation. Also I question if it has been too long since the previous film to whether or not people are still interested.


Why It's Worth Seeing: The first Purge was well liked by most people who saw it despite the lashing that the critics provided it with and the premise of 12 hours of legal crime in order to prevent crime for the rest of the year is still highly intriguing. From the trailer, this film looks to explain new territory of the premise which is exactly what a sequel should do.
What Could Go Wrong: Again, usual horror pitfalls. Also, the trailer seems to give off a thriller and horror vibe. They are similar genres, but still different enough to where if the movie can't decide on which it is, it might suffer for it.

Why It's Worth Seeing: Cameron Diaz and Jason Segal are both funny people with the potential to be funny given the right script. The trailer for this one shows that the film at least has a few funny scenes along with a stellar premise.
What Could Go Wrong: Simply put: the competition. I've laughed a lot this year. 22 Jump Street, Neighbors, Grand Budapest Hotel, and the LEGO Movie have had me in stitches. Before their releases I had good vibes from their trailers. Sex Tape, at this point in time, seems pretty forgettable already. 



Why It's Worth Seeing: For starters, it's bound to be better than the year's earlier attempt at this hero. Dwayne Johnson sells a movie by himself anymore and he should carry it better than Lutz did. Not to mention, the film looks like it could lean into rated R territory, which, let's be honest, is the only proper rating for Greek mythology stories.
What Could Go Wrong: I have a sneaking suspicion that this film may feel a lot like the Titans films. Not necessarily bad, but just really forgettable with somewhat lame action, fake special effects, and lack of a riveting mythology story. Hopefully the final film is better than the trailers.


Why It's Worth Seeing: The premise, despite being awkwardly similar to Limitless, is amazing and Johansson is a leading lady through and through. It's about time that she gets a kick-butt film of her own. The trailer doesn't give away too much and I get good vibes from it. It indicates both originality and entertainment.
What Could Go Wrong: I think the biggest thing that could go wrong, as is the case with any piece of original sci-fi, is the chance that the story doesn't take full advantage of its premise. I also worry that it may be too similar to Limitless.


Why It's Worth Seeing: Ok, ok. I admit, the Step Up films are some of my guilty pleasures. I think they are usually just above "OK" but they feature some stellar dancing. The last one in particular had some INSANE dancing and I really loved it. If this one can keep the series fresh with the characters that people love by now, and have some awesome dancing, I'm sure I'll love it again.
What Could Go Wrong: Well for starters, none of these kids can effectively act. But that's a given going into the film. From the trailer it seems to me like the dancing is really, really generic. If you're specialty for your film is dancing, it should be your strength. As much as I hate to say it, the film will be atrocious if it can't produce some stellar dance numbers like the last one did.

Must See (in order): Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Lucy
On My Radar: Deliver Us From Evil, The Purge: Anarchy, Hercules
Predicted Duds: Tammy, Sex Tape, Step Up: All In


July looks to be a bit of an odd month and fairly blockbuster free. We will see how it all pans out! As always, be sure to come on over and follow me through Blogger at RATH'S REVIEWS and like me on Facebook HERE! I follow-for-follow 100%. Thanks again! 



If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

5 comments:

  1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' early reviews are phenomenal! I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out. Lucy is also the other movie on my radar. However, I have not even seen Limitless and it was the first thing that I thought of when I saw Lucy's trailer. Hope it turns out well, ScarJo is the best!

    -James

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    1. Yeah Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' early reviews are really getting me on the hype train. Limitless was an entertaining movie so I'll be interested to see what they can do with a female protagonist.

      Thanks James!

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  2. Really hope Lucy doesn't disappoint! And I hope Choi Min-sik has a big role

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    1. Luc Besson (sp?) doesn't have the most stellar track record, but it definitely has some big stars attached that could make it special.

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  3. I saw the 11:20 P.M. showing of Lucy yesterday. It was a pretty good sci-fi flick, even though some of the science in the film was a bit far fetched. Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman gave pretty good performances throughout the movie. The action scenes were cool to watch as well. Has anyone here at JandJ Productions seen it yet?

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