After a long, cold winter, mostly devoid of movies I’m actually interested in seeing, we’re about a month away from the start of the summer blockbuster movie season. We’ve got a slightly less crowded docket than usual this year with superheroes, AI’s, giant monsters, giant robots, and a talking raccoon, so let’s get right down to it.
Welcome to Biz Monkie’s Midnight Movie Reviews Summer 2014 Movie Preview!
Summer kicks off early this year with our first entry coming on April 4th, Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Starring Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, and Scarlett Johansson.
Synopsis: After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
Trailer:
Verdict: I’ve never been a huge Cap fan, but this looks very cool. Marvel has called this a “political thriller”, which continues their push into non-traditional genres with superheroes. Also, it sets the stage for next summer’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and may include our first look at two of the new characters, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson) in a post-credits teaser.
On April 17th, we have Transcendence, starring Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, and God The President Lucius Fox The Narrator Red Morgan Freeman.
Synopsis: Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him.
However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should.
Their worst fears are realized as Will’s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.
Trailer:
Verdict: I love a good “AI run amok” story, and Johnny Depp is at his best when he’s allowed to be really creepy. The concept isn’t terribly original, but should be fun nonetheless.
On May 2nd we have The Amazing Spider-Man 2, starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, and Paul Giamatti.
Synopsis: For Peter Parker, life is busy. Between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen Stacy, high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away, but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro, emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmaI1nInDOs
Verdict: I was just “so-so” on the first trailer, but after Sony’s announcement of a Sinister Six film, I’m pumped for this. Electro, Rhino, and Proto-Goblin? Sold. Also, I loved Dane DeHaan in Chronicle, and Jamie Foxx is always entertaining.
On May 16th, Godzilla, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olson, Bryan Cranston, and Ken Watanabe hits theaters.
Synopsis: An epic rebirth to Toho’s iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure pits the world’s most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence”
Trailer:
Verdict: In the absence of a clear-cut personal favorite like last summer’s ROBOT PUNCH MONSTER, I’ll settle for a serious reboot of one of the most famous and iconic movie monsters in history. There’s surprisingly little out there on Gareth Edwards’ film, but the cast looks great and early shots of the big guy himself seem very promising. Godzilla is one of my favorite characters, and I’m really excited about a serious, big budget take on the character that isn’t dubbed into English and doesn’t include Roland Emmerich anywhere within a fifty mile radius of the set or editing room.
Updated Verdict: I wrote the above before I saw the first actual trailer, rather than the teaser. I’m upgrading my reaction from “Sweet!” to “Problem Ded”. I am problem ded, and it’s Godzilla‘s fault.
We finish up the month on May 23rd with X-Men: Days of Future Past, starring *deep breath* Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen, Huge Jacked-man Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin (maybe?), Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Omar Sy, Peter Dinklage, Fan Bingbing, and Evan Peters.
Synopsis: Partially set in an alternate future where surviving mutants have been penned in concentration camps, giant robots called Sentinels patrol America, and most of the X-Men have been hunted and killed, the present day X-Men are forced to stop a key event from unfolding in order to keep that future from occurring.
Trailer:
Verdict: Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns was hot garbage, but his X-Men movies were good. I’m hoping that this will be redemption for him and connective tissue for the franchise. Also, it’s hard to make a terrible film with the two Sirs.
June 27th will feature the return of Bayhem in the form of Transformers: Age of Extinction, starring Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammar, Nicola Peltz, and Benton Thwaites.
Synopsis: As humanity picks up the pieces, following the conclusion of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Autobots and Decepticons have all but vanished from the face of the planet. However, a group of powerful, ingenious businessman and scientists attempt to learn from past Transformer incursions and push the boundaries of technology beyond what they can control – all while an ancient, powerful Transformer menace sets Earth in his crosshairs. The epic adventure and battle between good and evil, freedom and enslavement ensues.
Trailer:
Verdict: OPTIMUS PRIME RIDING GRIMLOCK *dies*. At this point, I’m pretty sure that Bay storyboards these movies by playing with the toys. That being said, the inclusion of a non-Megatron villain (Lockdown, in case you’re interested) may make for a more interesting dynamic and storyline. Or it could just be a $250 million CGI toy commercial. Honestly, I’m good either way.
Updated Verdict: Michael Bay definitely storyboards these movies by playing with the toys. Also, I think I speak for all Transformers fans when I say that I appreciate the fanservice of making Optimus’ alt-mode a cab-over-engine semi, for at least part of the movie.
July is absolutely barren this year, so we’re skipping ahead to the final entry in the series and my personal Most Anticipated Movie of Summer 2014, hitting theaters on August 1st, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, starring *really deep breath* Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly, Dave Bautista, Glenn Close, Peter Serafinowicz, and Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon and Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot.
Synopsis: In the far reaches of space, an American pilot named Peter Quill finds himself the object of a manhunt after stealing an orb coveted by the villainous Ronan.
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTZ2Tp9yXyM
Verdict: If you had told me in 2008 that Marvel would bring a movie featuring a talking racoon and a talking tree to the big screen before DC got a Justice League movie made, I probably wouldn’t have been that surprised, because DC has always been that incompetent. But, the fact that Marvel is actually putting this on the big screen is a huge risk for a relatively risk averse company, and shows real confidence in the product. Plus, if it succeeds, then Marvel should be more willing to tackle characters like Ms. Marvel or Black Panther.
Happy summer movie season, everybody!
