2015
2014
2013
6/5
Working For It: It's written and directed by Paul Fieg (you know, director of Bridesmaids and The Heat, writer and creator of Freaks and Geeks), about a desk-bound CIA agent (Melissa McCarthy) who gets to finally go on a mission. Fieg is the only person to harnass what's great about McCarthy. The rest of the cast includes Rose Byrne, Jude Law, and Jason Statham who all have dabbled in comedy successfully without it being their motus operandi.
Working Against It: Since McCarthy broke out with Bridesmaids, no one has been willing to ask her to hold anything back, which has resulted in a lot of really loud, unpleasant characters that drag the movie down with them. Until I see someone contain her again, I'm not sure it can be done.
Interest Level: I'll see whatever Paul Fieg directs.
Working For It: People choose not to admit it, but there was a time when Entourage was a well regarded show. It won Emmys and had some critical acclaim. Yeah, that happened. Sure, it relied on a contrived formula and celebrated a lot of bro habits, but it wasn't a horrible show. It's not even that strange that it's getting a movie considering that another long-running, once acclaimed, now somewhat maligned HBO seires got a movie a well (Sex & the City). I have no doubt that I'll eventually end up seeing this movie, because I saw the whole series and occasionally really enjoyed it.
Working Against It: That doesn't mean that I intend to see it in theaters. Until I'm given a reason to think otherwise, this is a TV show and it's going to play better when watched as one. The Sex and the City Movie played like a condensed season and I have no reason to think this won't too.
Interest Level: Eventually. Not now.
Working For It: The first two Insidious movies were interesting and deeply tied together. Chapter 3 is going to be a prequel with a young Elise Rainier. The writer of the Insidious movies is directing this one, keeping things in-house.
Working Against It: Rose Byrne (and Patrick Wilson too to a lesser extent) is one of the main reasons for me seeing these movies. The biggest issue here though is that there's not much of a hook to the Insidious series if the cast continuity is lost. Seriously, what is the angle of Insidious? Poltergeist meets The Conjuring, sort of.
Interest Level: Greatly diminished.
Working For It: John Cusack and Paul Dano play reclusive Beach Boy, Brian Wilson at different points in his life. As far as biopics go, this is one I'd be interested to know more about.
Working Against It: For a movie that's been making its way through the film festival circuit, I'd expect to have a better idea about what it's about or heard better reviews.
Interest Level: Cautious and low
6/12
Working For It: I don't know about you, but I really want to see this. It's a direct sequel to the 1993 beloved blockbuster. I don't expect this to be perfect, but I expect it to be fun. Chris Pratt is ideal casting (I've already started hearing Chris Pratt backlash/fatigue, and those people just need to be quiet. He is a treasure!). It's also got
Working Against It: To expect Jurassic Park would be foolish. To hope for The Lost World or Jurassic Park 3 sounds about right.
Interest Level: I'll be seeing it that weekend.
Working For It: It's a coming of age story about a high school kid who is an aspiring filmaker and befriends a girl with cancer. The plot doesn't sound all that special. What sets this apart is that people went crazy for it at Sundance. You know what people went crazy for at Sundance last year? Whiplash. I think I made my point.
Working Against It: I will absolutely be seeing this. The only questions are "what will the release schedule look like?" or "will I be looking for it on Netflix instead?".
Interest Level: Very high
Working For It: This is a documentary about a group of siblings, who cope with living in relative isolation by reenacting their favorite movies. It's also from Sundance and it also has a lot of buzz.
Working Against It: What are the odds that a documentary opens wide enough for me to see it? I'm mostly not even considering this in theaters because it won't be an option, but even if it is an option, June is a busy month.
Interest Level: I'm definitely interested.
6/19
Working For It: Pixar is back! This is the first wholly original movie since 2012, and since Brave was them aping the Disney Princess model, really, Up is the last time that Pixar made something that I could only see them coming up with. The fact that it was at Cannes and people were complaining that it wasn't screening for the competition says enough. With a voice cast including Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith (Phyllis from The Office), Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, and Rashida Jones, they basically cherry picked my favorite parts of NBC over the last decade and put them in a movie. I only know that the plot is about the emotions in a young girl's head and that's all I need. This is in good hands.
Working Against It: It has been since 2009 that Pixar has really blown me away. Should brand-equity still hold up after that long? The short answer is yes.
Interest Level: I must've forgotten to mention that Amy Poehler is playing the embodiment of joy. C'mon. This is a lock.
Working For It: Guess what? It's another Sundance movie. And, guess what? It's another coming of age story. Where Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is praised all-around, the mostly unknown cast is what carries this story of a kid in a tough California neighborhood who uses an obsession with 90s hip-hop to cope with things.
Working Against It: How many worthwhile coming of age stories can there be? For me, a lot. I'm a sucker for those movies. Mileage may vary for others.
Interest Level: Happy to let this one slide to a rental.
6/26
Working For It: The first Ted was a huge hit in a summer that was devoid of comedy options. Seth McFarlane got humbled with last summers A Million Ways to Die in the West, but that doesn't seem to have tempered his enthusiasm for this sequel, returning the dirty teddy bear with Mark Wahlberg and bringing in the likes of Amanda Seyfried and Liam Nesson (it's so nice to see Nesson not in another Taken or Taken clone).
Working Against It: If there's one downside to McFarlane's brand of comedy, it's that it can be packaged very well into smaller bits. There aren't a lot of context jokes, so if you see too many previews for this movie, you're going to see too many of the good jokes ahead of time.
Interest Level: I'm certain to see it, although I'd invite excuses not to.
Working For It: I don't know anything about this, other than it looks like Snakes on a Plane: Kid's Edition and that makes me laugh. Also, Samuel L. Jackson as president. That's funny. I have to assume that Jackson's presence single-handedly moved this from a PG to a PG-13 rating.
Working Against It: It looks stupid and I won't be seeing this in theaters.
Interest Level: I won't be seeing this, probably ever
Working For It: It's American Sniper with a dog.
Working Against It: It's American Sniper with a dog.
Also Working For It: And Lauren Graham.
Interest Level: Just, no.
Working For It: People loved that Batkid story. It would be interesting to see the documentary treatment of it, to get the whole story and be inspired all over again.
Working Against It: I avoided this story completely the first time it came around. I got the gist of it. That's all I needed.
Interest Level: About the same as my desire to see the original video or story it's based on.
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