SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW PART 1: MAY

 There are two boom seasons for the mainstream film industry; the summer season, from May through to the end of August, and the holiday season, from mid-November through until Christmas Day.  The former is the biggest of the two, in length and in financial expenditure and reception.  It is a trend that is most often traced to June of 1975, when then-up and coming director Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the best-selling novel Jaws was given a revolutionary "wide release opening" of 400+ theater screens and 900+ by August, as opposed to the traditional method of regional releases that built on word of mouth as they spread across the country.  As what became the prototype of a major summer release, JAWS was a big budget, high concept adventure-thriller which Universal poured $1.8 million into an extensive marketing, including an unparalleled level of televised promotions.  The result was the biggest movie event in then-contemporary history and the first film to ever exceed a $100 million box office gross and the first certified "blockbuster".  A short two years later, in May of 1977, George Lucas' STAR WARS exceeded the JAWS box office numbers significantly and cemented in place what is still the current cornerstone of the Hollywood film industry, for better or worse.  Although these films, and the summer blockbusters of the following twenty-something years, were generally released within a time frame as early as late May and as late as late July, the past decade or so has seen the starting line for the summer blockbuster season creep into the first weekend of May

May 3rd

Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man

IRON MAN 3  (SCI-FI/ACTION)
PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content.
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley
This is the fifth year in a row for which a Marvel character has held a monopoly on kick-starting the summer season, and this one also kicks off the second chapter of Marvel Studios' revolutionary business practice.  Last year's season opener, THE AVENGERS, marked the conclusion of the "Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 1", including IRON MAN, IRON MAN 2, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER.  IRON MAN 3 begins "Phase 2", which will culminate with THE AVENGERS 2 in 2015.  KISS KISS, BANG BANG director Shane Black has taken the director's reigns from Jon Favreau and co-wrote the screenplay, and appears to be taking a somewhat darker turn.
Worth Seeing?:  Definitely, and for everybody, but especially young males.

Mulligan as Daisy and DiCaprio as Gatsby

May 10
THE GREAT GATSBY  (DRAMA/ROMANCE)

PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton
MOULIN ROUGE director Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's definitive novel of the Roaring 20s was originally slated for a release last Christmas but was pushed back for a summer release, presumably to avoid a head-on competition with LES MISERABLES, which was aiming for a similar demographic.  The advertising has emphasized a pulse-pounding, fast-living, flashy style that coincides with both the novel and Luhrmann's trademarks, but Luhrmann's a polarizing talent, so it could go either way.
Worth Seeing?:  Maybe; female audiences should be especially interested, but it may be difficult to enjoy if you haven't like Luhrmann's other films, like MOULIN ROUGE or ROMEO+JULIET.

PEEPLES  (COMEDY)
PG-13 for sexual content, drug material and language.
Starring: Craig Robinson, Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier
Tyler Perry didn't direct this one, instead he's producing Tina Gordon Chism's film, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference.  It's been marketed as just another Perry-styled black family comedy interwoven with melodrama and a family message, but if you fit the niche, why not?
Worth Seeing?:  Only if you're a Tyler Perry devotee.

May 17
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (SCI-FI/ACTION-ADVENTURE)
PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana, Bruce Greenwood

Cumberbatch and Pine in the obligatory "Dark Knight" interrogation.

The 2009 reboot of the original franchise was polarizing amongst the main fanbase of "Trekkies", but breathed new energy into the series and made it accessible and appealing for an even wider audience.  As such, this sequel, which director J.J. Abrams has specified is a "stand-alone" adventure, so those who didn't see the last one will be able to follow along, has a lot to live up to, and so far, the previews suggest it will deliver.  As plainly indicated in the title, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS is a much darker take on the adventures of the crew of the starship Enterprise, and although the rumors of a WRATH OF KHAN remake have been refuted, there certainly is a level of influence that has been noted in the marketing.  Cumberbatch, playing the modern archetype of a charismatic-but-cold terrorist villain, promises to be a real highlight.
Worth Seeing?:  Definitely, but probably with an interest skewed towards young males.


May 24
EPIC  (ANIMATED/FAMILY/ADVENTURE)
PG for mild action, some scary images and brief rude language.
Voices of: Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Colin Farrell
This animated family film from Blue Sky Studios, the makers of the ICE AGE series, has invited many comparisons to other movies, but it appears that it isn't actually a direct ripoff of anything; instead, it seems to be a mishmash of directly ripped-off elements from various other movies, including AVATAR (not exactly the most original movie in the first place), FERNGULLY: THE LAST RAINFOREST and HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS.  Blue Sky's movies are rarely much more than tolerable for the adult who will take the actual audience of interest, young children, to them, and this doesn't appear to breaking that trend.  Still, there's value in that, and girls will enjoy seeing a female lead and boys will like the action.
Worth Seeing?:  Not likely, except in the case of finding a way to occupy children for an hour and a half.
 FAST & FURIOUS 6  (ACTION/CRIME)
Not yet rated, but specifically tailored for a PG-13

This one picture alone stands for everything the franchise is.

Starring: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker
To surprise of just about everyone, when FAST FIVE was released in 2011, it reinvigorated the then-ten years old series by getting a positive critical reception and the biggest box office of any of its predecessors.  The series is basically a heavily watered down and glossed over series of old-fashioned exploitation films, with its focus on romanticized criminal activities, motor-head machismo tones and scantily-clad, smack talking women, so the expectations aren't very high.  I'm skeptical that this one can recreate the success of FAST FIVE, but there definitely is something to be said for souped-up cars and armored tanks battling at freeway speeds, as shown in the trailers.
Worth Seeing?:  Certainly not as a piece of even "semi-sophisticated" moivegoing, but probably as a Saturday matinee type of show if you're in a funky mood.

A Pieta among movie posters.

THE HANGOVER PART III (COMEDY)
R for pervasive language including sexual references, some violence and drug content, and brief graphic nudity.
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong
The Wolfpack returns for the final chapter of the HANGOVER trilogy, with another all-too-ridiculous mishap, this time when their friend Doug (Justin Bartha), who they lost in the original 2009 film, is kidnapped by gangsters who want Phil, Alan and Stu to deliver the flamboyant Mr. Chow (Jeong) to them.  Expect plenty of more hard-R high-jinks and not a ton of originality beyond jokes where no one else would venture, but optimistically speaking, this part also focuses more on Alan (Galifianakis), the funniest character of the series, and the ridiculously dramatic "climactic finale"-based marketing has been amusing.
Worth Seeing?:  No, probably not, but if you saw the first two, you might as well.  Just don't expect a whole lot.



May 31
AFTER EARTH  (SCI-FI/ADVENTURE)
PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and some disturbing images.
Starring: Jaden Smith, Will Smith

A Triceratops shitpile among movie posters.

After a disastrous streak of intensely-loathed films, the last of which was THE LAST AIRBENDER (2010), which failed to make a profit at the domestic box office and holds a 6% rating on RottenTomatoes, formerly-promising director M. Night Shyamalan has decided to film someone else's screenplay, albeit after making some tweaks of his own.  Regardless, it still sounds ridiculous enough to be Shyamalan's pen, detailing the story of Cypher Raige and his son, Kitai, played by the father and son duo, Will and Jaden Smith, who crash land on Earth 1000 years after cataclysmic event forced humanity to leave.  Now the Earth is inhabited by monstrous creatures and Kitai must find help after Cypher is injured.  Frankly, it just looks awful, but it should be really interesting to see how a film like this, directed by Shyamalan, does with Will "King of the Summer Box Office" Smith as top billing.  By now though, the marketing department has learned to keep the Shyamalan name off of the posters and previews.
Worth Seeing?:  Um, no, of course not; are you crazy?  Maybe if you were viewing under the influence of...something.
NOW YOU SEE ME  (THRILLER)
PG-13 for language, some action and sexual content.
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher
This glitzy, hip thriller looks an awful lot like OCEAN'S 11 with magicians, but that's not necessarily to its detriment, and it's the sort of thing that could play to 2010's CLASH OF THE TITANS director Louis Leterrier's flare for shallow and flashy action.  Ruffalo plays an FBI agent in pursuit of a team of Robin Hood-esque illusionists headlined by Freeman, who pull off elaborate heists during their performances.  In addition, the crackerjack cast includes the always-excellent Eisenberg, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS' Melanie Laurent, Harrelson and Michael Caine.


Worth Seeing?:  It's nothing to get all hyped up over, but if you're going out anyway, it could be a pleasant diversion.

Check back in a month for Part 2:  June!