May Preview

Oh, thank you! Summer has arrived. The past couple months has had a lot of scraping the barrel to find anything that I really wanted to see. We are finally moving into legit 2 (maybe 3 or 4) movie weekends.
April was probably the weakest month of the year in terms of what I did see. Evil Dead was a physical bust on my end. 42 and Oblivion were derivative (I hate using that word, but it fits). Pain & Gain was a fun distraction. Little more.
Now, it's time for some genuine popcorn fun, big time sequels, and film festival releases.

5/3

The Lock: Iron Man 3

 I hope this leads to a Full Monty situation.

Robert Downy Jr. is back with Gwyneth and Don, adding Ben Kingsley among others to the mix. I found Iron Man 2 to be a bit of a stumble, but part 3 looks to be coming off the Avengers with renewed vigor. Even if it doesn't manage the seamless balance of the original 2008 hit, it's hard not to see this as the blockbuster to beat in 2013
Odds I'll See It: 100% I literally cannot think of an alt. narrative that involves me not getting a chance to watch it.

In Consideration:

 Walking the fine line between inspired and awful makeup.

The Iceman - I know very little about this other than a cast including James Franco, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, and David Schwimmer piques me interest. A movie treatment of the contract killer, Richard Kuklinski sound more like an Instant Queue movie to me, although I could be swayed if reviews start coming back highly in favor.
Odd I'll See It: 5%

5/10

The Lock: The Great Gatsby

 Now that's a good looking cast.

I've never read the book, so I lack that comparison to deter my interest. Honestly, I've been intrigued by this since I saw the first preview. The distinctive Baz Luhrmann production looks every bit as loud and flavorful as you'd expect and there's no way a saying no to a cast including Leonoardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan to only name a few.
Odds I'll See It: 85%

5/17

The Lock: Star Trek Into Darkness

Anyone else annoyed that it isn't called Star Trek 2?

When it comes to movies that I am legitimately, midnight showing excited for, maybe one movie has me more excite than this one. JJ Abrams has an obvious love of the original and his tight-lipped approach is a lot of fun leading up to it. Throw in a cast of essentially character actors (John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg - all of whom I love seeing in anything) with a couple legit leading types (Zoe Saldana and Chris Pine) and some new faces (Alice Eve, Benedict Cumberbatch) and I'm itching for another fix.
Odds I'll See It: 100%

5/24

The Lock: The Hangover Part III

 I repeat. NOT the Beatles. NOT Abbey Road

I love comedies above all. Even though I only liked the first then thought Part II was one of the worst sequels I've seen in a long time, I'm not going to just ignore a $200 million comedy. Won't happen. Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper each have their own charm. Zack Galifianakis is a major comedic personality that isn't my taste most of the time, but is still fun to watch. I hope that by dropping the "hangover" plot of the first 2, this can be what a comedy sequel should be: characters that we like, doing something new.
Odds I'll See It: 80%

In Consideration:

Who ever would've thought they'd make it to 6?

Fast & Furious 6 - I almost listed two locks for this week. I'm not the biggest fan of this franchise, but I think it's been well established at this point that I'll see virtually any movie that promises big action or big box office returns. I have seen the other five movies. It has been a fun evolution to watch. I can't believe this is the sixth one. Let's see. This one still has Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and Dwayne Johnson, plus the return of Michelle Rodriguez and the addition of Jason Statham, so, yeah, this brand is pretty well established.
Odds I'll See It: 60%

I'm starting to think this is the only picture anyone has of this movie.

Before Midnight - I recently saw the first two movies of this unlikely franchise and was very impressed by them. Everything I've heard about this one from Sundance is that it's every bit as good. It is guaranteed that I will watch Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise these roles. Whether it be in theaters though, is mostly dependent on how loaded the schedule is. I assume this will slowly expand so we'll see.
Odds I'll See It: 40%

Ferngully, much?

Epic - I don't see this bombing. Regardless of box office gross, my track record of seeing animated movies without the Disney logo, so I will probably wait for it to make it to video. There's a slight chance I'll see it based solely on the voice acting of Amanda Seyfried, Jason Sudeikis, and...Pitbull? Ok, nevermind.
Odds I'll See It: 2%

5/31
The Lock: None

In Consideration:

That kid is like a clone of his father.

After Earth - Hopefully, since M. Night Shyanalan didn't pen the screenplay, they won't have to force a stupid stupid twist. All I really know about it is that Will and Jaden Smith are in it and it's about a future Earth. I always like a Will Smith vehicle. I do realize this is more about dad helping to get a starring vehicle for son though. It has the look of a big enough summer movie that I'm likely to go ahead and see it simply because of that.
Odds I'll See It: 60%

I think all ads for this should disappear after 5 seconds.

Now You See Me - I thought this one was coming out a lot earlier in the year when it would've been a lock to see. It the thick of summer releases, the chances lower significantly. I like the cast of Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, and Woody Harrelson among others. The plot looks a little too "We are the 99%" which is worrisome but there also seems to be a thriller element which could be a lot of fun.
Odds I'll See It: 50%

Fact: Jumping in a lake = freedom

The Kings of Summer - Another Sundance movie I've been waiting for. One of those all-star TV supporting casts with Alison Brie, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Nick Offerman to supplement the young cast at the center of the film. It sounds like a coming-of-age indie sorta-comedy which can go either way. As it gets closer to release, I'll re-evaluate seeing it.
Odds I'll See It: 30%

When are they pulling out the Ouija board?

The East - Seriously? A fourth movie to consider this weekend? I suspect a couple of these will take some time to expand which could help the plausibility of seeing one's like The East. It's from the same director (Zal Batmanglij) as The Sound of my Voice which was a really interesting movie from last year that didn't quite live up. I get the sense this one, about an anarchist terrorist group will probably fall similarly short of its promise. Brit Marling was good in Voice, so it's nice to see her reteaming with Batmanglij. I don't see enough of Ellen Page either so that could sway me.
Odds Ill See It: 10%