July 3
Despicable Me 2: I never saw the first one, and probably won't see this one until I'm caught up. And while I certainly wouldn't mind seeing either one, I'm not in a big hurry to do it. (Pass)
Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain: I like Kevin Hart, but see no need to seek out his comedy special in theaters. This sounds like a good Netflix choice some snowy winter's eve. (Rental or Pass)
The Lone Ranger: Despite my promise to go into movies with fewer preconceptions and expectations, there are some that I want to go through the critical and audience wringer before I decide to see them. This movie is a perfect example. I've never been very interested in the Lone Ranger story, and when everything I've read is about Johnny Depp's casting, rather than anything having to do with the actual film... Well, I'm suspicious. If it gets a very favorable response, I'll probably rent it someday, but it's unlikely I'll see it in theaters. (TBD)
July 5
The Way, Way Back: Now, this one looks interesting. This is Nat Faxon and Jim Rash's new movie, and stars Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell, and Toni Collette. We're off to a good start! A boy getting bullied by his prospective stepfather (Carell) finds refuge at a nearby water park. I'll almost definitely see this at some point, even if it's not in theaters. (Must-See, though possibly in Rental form)
July 12
Crystal Fairy: Michael Cera travels across the desert with a shaman to find a hallucinogenic cactus. I mean, never say never, but that doesn't sound very promising. (Pass)
Dealin' With Idiots: Jeff Garlin meets with the parents of young basketball players. OK, well, I'm not a huge Garlin fan, I hate basketball, and the title is off-putting. I'm pretty comfortable guessing that I can let this one slip by. (Pass)
Grown Ups 2: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! KILL IT WITH FIRE! (Pass)
The Hot Flashes: Brooke Shields, Wanda Sykes, and Camryn Manheim form a basketball team to take on a group of high school athletes. What did I just say about basketball? I like the cast, and would be interested to see what they can do together, but not as this story. (Pass)
The Hunt: Mads Mikkelsen has been tearing it up (literally!) on Hannibal, and won a Best Actor at Cannes for this film, in which he becomes the target of mass hysteria after being falsely accused of sexually assaulting a child. It's not a movie I'll rush right out to see on opening day or anything, but I'd very much like to see it at some point. (Rental)
Pacific Rim: Like The Lone Ranger, this is another highly-anticipated movie that I'm just not sure about, and I'd like to see the critical/audience reaction to it before I decide. In theory, giant robots battling giant monsters sounds epic, and Guillermo del Toro is a great director. I've seen the trailer, though, and it left me oddly cold. This would be a good Rum Movie, but if I can't put that together, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. (TBD)
July 17
Turbo: Some children's movies appeal to me as strongly as if I were the target audience. This is not one of them. I'd be happy to take my nephew to a movie like this, but if I don't have some actual child accompaniment, I doubt I'll work up the effort to see it. (Pass)
July 19
The Act of Killing: A war documentary. No matter how good it is, this type of movie is usually not something I enjoy. (Pass)
The Conjuring: A horror film along the same lines as Insidious. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farminga are supernatural investigators who assist a family that needs an exorcism. Meh. (Pass)
Evidence: Stephen Moyer and Radha Mitchell track down a murderer who strikes at a gas station. That's not much to go on, but is at least mildly interesting. Then I looked it up and found out it's a found-footage horror flick. BZZZZZT. (Pass)
Girl Most Likely: Kristen Wiig is an interesting actress. I think she's extremely funny when it comes to straight-out comedy, but can she really sell the dramatic bits of movies? The trailer for this one was pretty intriguing. Wiig has a strained relationship with her mother (Annette Bening), and sleeps with Darren Criss, and stages a suicide attempt. So like I said, I'm not really sure this character type is one that screams "Get me Kristen Wiig!" but I'm willing to see how it goes. (Rental)
Only God Forgives: This is a moody movie starring Ryan Gosling and was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, but is apparently not named Drive. It's a Thai gangster movie, and according to Entertainment Weekly, involves a "heap of mother issues". No, thanks. (Pass)
RED 2: I liked the first RED quite a bit, but I'm not sure it was begging for a sequel. This sounds like it would be a fun date night movie in front of the television. (Rental)
R.I.P.D.: This one sounds supremely weird, even for a movie based on a graphic novel. OK, so dead law enforcement officials protect the living inhabitants of Earth from monsters, and when people look at Ryan Reynolds' ghost cop, they see a Victoria's Secret model. Still with me? It's entirely possible that this movie can skate by on its strangeness alone; stuff like this can make for a fun movie. Jeff Bridges usually doesn't steer me wrong. I guess I'd call myself cautiously optimistic about this one, even if it has the potential to suck harder than any other movie on the July calendar. (TBD)
July 26
Blue Jasmine: This is Woody Allen's latest movie. It stars Alec Baldwin and Cate Blanchett as a married couple, and when Baldwin wants to trade her in for a younger model, Blanchett heads to San Francisco. I never saw To Rome With Love, but I've been enjoying Allen's recent work, so this one should probably at least stay on my radar. (TBD)
Fruitvale: This is a tough one. I liked Michael B. Jordan in The Wire and Chronicle, and Octavia Spencer is always good. That said, I really don't see the need to relive the horrific killing of Oscar Grant by an Oakland transit cop. There's nothing I can do about the injustice, and I won't be able to wring entertainment out of seeing the story dramatized. I wish the movie and its stars all the success in the world, but I will not be in the audience for this one. (Pass)
Stranded: Christian Slater is an astronaut whose team gets stuck on the moon, and encounters monsters. That sounds eminently skippable. (Pass)
The Wolverine: Lots of tough choices this month. The last Wolverine movie... Well, I can't say it sucked, because that would imply it was interesting enough to be bad. Will setting this one in Japan help liven it up? Have anyone learned their lesson from that last debacle? I don't know the answer to either of those questions, and I'm reluctant to plunk down money for a ticket until I do. (TBD)
July 31:
The Smurfs 2: Sure. If you pay me $10 million to see it. (Pass)
July TBD:
Passion: This one appears to be all over the map as far as a release date. It may not even be until autumn. It doesn't matter, because the description I found (a German advertising executive and her assistant battle over creative credit and other career issues, and apparently use lesbian advances as a tactic) doesn't really appeal to me. (Pass)
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