This is the second and final part of the site’s extensive summer preview.
The first article can be found here
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (15th July 2011) – A strong contender to be the season’s largest earner, this heavily hyped franchise climax is probably the film to see this summer. The last two entries in the series were startlingly good, especially last November’s “Deathly Hallows: Part 1”. Warner hasn’t had to push the marketing too hard (everybody and their pet Chihuahua know this thing is coming), although the materials they have assembled thus far have boasted a mightily epic tone. I’m pumped. Excite-O-Meter – 10/10
Hobo with a Shotgun (15th July 2011) – Probably going to be the subject of a small release (it’s opening alongside Harry Potter after all), but genre fans will probably be keen to check out this sister project to Grindhouse. Starring Rutger Hauer, the film’s title feels pretty self-explanatory, and reviews from the USA have been rather respectable. Certainly our own Managing Editor, Ian Loring, was a big fan; he penned a very enthusiastic review several weeks ago, and he’s always right (I have to say that). Excite-O-Meter – 7/10
Cars 2 (22nd July 2011) – I have a real soft spot for 2006’s “Cars”, despite the fact most consider it one of Pixar’s less inspired creations. However the film was a box-office hit (and a toyshop behemoth), so a sequel was a certainty. All the original characters look set to return; with the plot more seemingly spy orientated this time. Haven’t been overly bowled over by what I’ve been exposed to thus far, but hey, Pixar have never let me down before. Excite-O-Meter – 7/10
Horrible Bosses (22nd July 2011) – A bawdy studio comedy in which a trio of downtrodden employees decide to kill their respective bosses. The casting looks awesome (Jason Bateman, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell and Donald Sutherland amongst numerous others), but the trailer is very ordinary. It’s unclear just how dark the movie will be (probably not very, it is a tent pole release for New Line after all), whilst director Seth Gordon has a mixed track record (“The King of Kong” and “Four Christmases”). Only time will tell, it could be great, it could be dreadful. Excite-O-Meter -5/10
Trust (22nd July 2011) – David Schwimmer directs this tale of a young girl who develops a relationship with an online predator, whilst her parents (the tantalizing duo of Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) feel the stinging repercussions. The film has received good word of mouth so far (Roger Ebert awarded it a whopping 4/4), which combined with the haunting trailer and promising cast leaves me hopeful. Unlikely to do much business against “Cars 2” and “Horrible Bosses”, but it could very well work out to be the best film released that weekend. Excite-O-Meter – 8/10
Captain America: The First Avenger (29th July 2011) – Chris Evans steps into the Marvel universe as Captain America, overseen by notoriously erratic filmmaker Joe Johnston. Neat nods to the comic books seem to have abated the fanboy storm, although I’m still not convinced that’s enough to guarantee it’ll be a fun blockbuster. Johnston has openly stated he enjoyed the shoot and has real confidence in the final product (as opposed to his last feature “The Wolfman”), but I’m going to remain skeptical on “Captain America” for now. Excite-O-Meter – 6/10
Zookeeper (29th July 2011) – If a genuinely funny guy like Eddie Murphy can’t make talking to animals funny, then Kevin James doing the same thing really doesn’t sound like a good idea. It’ll probably break $100 million though. Excite-O-Meter – 2/10
Mr. Popper’s Penguins (5th August 2011) – Granted Jim Carrey is a hell of a lot funnier than Kevin James, but really, we don’t require two CGI animal movies within the space of a week. I’ll watch it for Carrey, but I’m not hopeful. “Mean Girls” filmmaker Mark Waters called the shots. Excite-O-Meter – 4/10
Super 8 (5th August) – Steven Spielberg (as producer) and J.J Abrams (as director) combined on this project, and the results are sure to be at least watchable. The storyline is still a little vague, but the tone offered by the trailer felt enjoyably old school, with the movie appearing to be a blend of PG-13 horror, coming of age themes and magical elements. I’m confident it will deliver an interesting time at the multiplex. Has the potential to be a real dark horse at the box-office. Excite-O-Meter – 8/10
The Change-Up (5th August) – Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman team up for this raunchy body swap production. The concept is stale, the trailer inconsistent and the director lame (David Dobkin of “Fred Claus” fame), but there’s no denying both leads have a real aptitude for getting laughs. Against “Super 8” and “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” it doesn’t appear to have much of a financial chance (Reynolds and Bateman aren’t at Carrey level yet), unless it happened to be really, really hysterical. Which it very probably won’t. Excite-O-Meter – 4/10
The Smurfs (10th August) – The Smurfs head to New York, in 3D. Apparently Katy Perry is in it. Neil Patrick Harris is the human whom The Smurfs seemingly befriend. What date is “Zookeeper” out again? Excite-O-Meter – 1/10
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (12th August 2011) – This film has had some minor behind the scenes trouble, and you really have to question the box-office viability of a “Planet of the Apes” prequel these days. James Franco heads up the human cast, whilst Andy Serkis monkeys around using motion capture. A slight and kind of silly trailer hit the web last month to uncertain reactions, whilst Fox’s blatant lack of faith in the project (they’ve rescheduled it multiple times and released as little footage as possible) speaks volumes. I’d love for it to be anything more than unnecessary and mediocre, but at the minute, I’m doubtful that’s going to be the case. Excite-O-Meter – 4/10
Don’t be Afraid of the Dark (12th August 2011) – Yet another film that has endured ominous rescheduling, this Guillermo Del Toro scripted horror at least has the benefit of a spectacularly eerie trailer. It’s nice to see Katie Holmes taking a major leading role again (I’ve always sort of admired her), and director Troy Nixey at least has the visual credentials to ensure it should look effective. Excite-O-Meter – 6/10
Cowboys and Aliens (19th August 2011) – Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig headline this sci-fi/western, which at the minute is shaping up to be one of the summer’s more amusing diversions. Directed by Jon Favreau (the “Iron Man” franchise) there’s a very solid chance this could turn out to be a hoot and a half. Its August placement is a little worrying (blockbuster fatigue sets in around this juncture), but based on what we’ve seen so far, it should be a cracking slice of entertainment. Excite-O-Meter – 8/10
The Inbetweeners (19th August 2011) – Big screen adaptation of the admittedly very strong British comedy series. It will have literally no global appeal, but it should perform adequately within the UK, and you never know, might actually be quite decent. This sort of thing doesn’t generally work (“Magicians” anyone?) but until we get to glimpse a little more, I’m going to stay optimistic. Excite-O-Meter – 7/10
Spy Kids 4 (19th August 2011) – Jessica Alba appears to be wearing spandex. The film (like most of Rodriguez’s family ventures) will likely be atrocious. Excite-O-Meter – 1/10
Final Destination 5 (26th August 2011) – The last two entries in this perplexingly bloated franchise were seriously bad, and so I’m really not very interested in a fifth undoubtedly bloody spin on the concept. Expectations are literally at nada, and I doubt I’m the only one who feels that way. Excite-O-Meter – 2/10
Conan the Barbarian (26th August 2011) – Marcus Nispel reboots the franchise minus Arnie. Could be disposable fun, will probably be “Prince of Persia” style junk. Its late summer release date isn’t encouraging, neither are the promotional materials available thus far. In my own humble opinion it’s a very likely candidate to tank at the box-office. Excite-O-Meter – 3/10
Nice content and review