*Actually, on second observation, last August, despite setting a record for that month by a lot, was that great. Guardians snuck into the month and Ninja Turtles far exceeded expectations. That was about it though.
2015
2014
2013
8/7
Working For It: It's been eight years since the last Fantastic Four movie. While I have qualms with the decision to reboot yet another franchise, I can't argue with the casting. Miles Teller (Whiplash, The Spectacular Now) and Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station, Friday Night Lights) are two of my favorite actors right now. I'm yet to find something that I love with Kate Mara in it, but she's never the part that disappoints me in those projects. They even have Billy Elliot himself, Jamie Bell, playing The Thing. Throw in Tony Kebbell who was excellent as Koba in last year's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and I'm not sure if there's a misstep made in picking the on-screen talent.
Working Against It: Director Josh Trank's only previous feature experience is Chronicle. While I quite enjoyed that, it's a very different from a superhero movie. Then again, such a thing didn't matter much to Colin Trevorrow directing the third highest grossing movie of all time earlier this year. Of course, there's also the concern that there's not enough collective interest in this franchise. This could be the first major victim of superhero fatigue.
Interest Level: Higher than it should be.
Working For It: This is a movie about a couple (Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall) and an old classmate (Joel Edgarton) of the husband's bringing out the truth about his past or something. The second tier cast has a lot of interesting "TV Talent" including Allison Tolman (Fargo), Busy Phillips (Cougar Town), Katie Aselton (The League), and David Denman (Roy from The Office). When there's this many people that I like in something, it's encouraging.
Working Against It: The advertising for this so far has been specific in its vagueness. There's a mystery about Bateman's past. That is built up a lot. Too much, I fear. Surprise twists normally work better than anticipated ones. This is Edgarton's directorial debut. He also wrote the screenplay. Depending on how this is, I could either come away liking him a lot more or wishing he'd just stick with acting.
Interest Level: Lowish.
Working For It: It's Meryl god-damn Streep as an aging rock star.
Working Against It: The rest of the movie looks pretty quaint. I'm willing to let myself be surprised to find out that it's really good, but this has all the telltale signs of being one of those movies that Streep carries the whole way through (See: The Iron Lady).
Interest Level: Not high in theaters.
Working For It: Aardman Animations is back with another claymation movie. You know those guys who made Chicken Run, and Flushed Away, and Wallace and Grommit? Now they have another movie. This one has to do with a bunch of sheep going to the city to rescue their farmer. I just like the idea of animation with a British sensibility making its way over here.
Working Against It: Sadly, I don't respond to that British animated sensibility very well. I simply haven't enjoyed any of the Aardman Animation productions I've seen.
Interest Level: Very low.
Working For It: It's a Sundance darling about a teenage girl going through a sexual awakening. It's an indie movie and by all accounts, it doesn't handle its central topic in a tawdry way. Bel Powley is apparently a big discovery coming out of this. Kristin Wiig's in it too. That's fun.
Working Against It: I'm sure it's good, but sometimes a movie is so indie that it hurts. This looks like it may cross that threshold.
Interest Level: Not high at all.
8/14
Working For It: Could this be more of a Guy Ritchie movie? After seeing the preview, I didn't need anyone to tell me that it was the guy who brought us Sherlock Holmes and Snatch. Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer are interchangeable Brits although one is playing a Russian spy. Alicia Vikander made a big impression on me earlier this year in Ex Machina. Apparently Hugh Grant's in this too. I rather love Hugh Grant.
Working Against It: You should know by now if a Guy Ritchie movie is for you or not. The Sherlock Holmes movies left a lot of people cold. I didn't dislike them, but I am wondering if Guy Ritchie is just one of those directors who gets overwhelmed when the budget of his movie is too big.
Interest Level: Moderately high until I hear otherwise
Working For It: It's a biopic about NWA. That's all you need to know to figure out if you are going to see this or not. The group definitely has an interesting history and there's plenty to cover. Done well, this could be a very good movie.
Working Against It: I had to get pretty far down the cast list before I recognized a name. Granted, that says more about minority casting in Hollywood, but recognizing a name or two would instill a little more trust in this. The director, F. Gary Gray has directed everything from Friday, to Set It Off, to The Negotiator, to Law Abiding Citizen. Oh, and The Italian Job. I'm not sure which of those prepares him for this. There's not a lot of screenwriting experience among the four people credited either...Yeah, this movie could easily be a mess.
Interest Level: Looking for any reason to make it higher.
Working For It: It's an animated soccer movie from a couple years ago that's being redubbed for America. The original movie is Argentinian and like Shaun the Sheep Movie, I like that we're getting animation from another country.
Working Against It: I just wish I liked soccer more. Also, I'm not particularly inspire by a voice cast of Matthew Morrison, Ariana Grande, and Nicholas Hoult. Finally, the US is the last place to get this movie. It's didn't blow up anywhere other than Argentina and the reviews are pretty middling. Those are bad signs.
Interest Level: Almost non existent.
Working For It: Did you like Frances Ha? I did. Same director. I looks like Greta Gerwig is the focus, but not the main character (kind of in a Great Gatsby way). I'm not sure what it's about. I'm not particularly sure that I care.
Working Against It: I do like Noah Baumbach's movies (he did Greenberg and The Squid and the Whale too), but I'm ok with saving them for when I'm in the right mood. If that mood strikes while this is in theaters, I'll see it then. Otherwise, there's already a place in my Netflix queue for it.
Interest Level: Interest far exceeds anticipation.
8/21
Working For It: Jesse Eisenberg is a stoner who has forgotten that he's a highly trained government operative. The government decides to take him out because he's a liability. He and his girlfriend (Kristen Stewart) have get away safely. It's stoner Jason Bourne movie. The trailers look pretty funny.
Working Against It: I hated Project X which is the only other film that Nima Nourizadeh has directed. That's badly coloring my opinion of a movie that looks otherwise very enjoyable.
Interest Level: High, despite heavy concerns.
Working For It: I'm not really sure. It's based on the video games. People like those games right? Apparently it's a sequel, but without Timothy Olyphant as the lead.
Working Against It: The first movie was 8 years ago. It looks like this has a completely new cast. We've finally reached the point in the summer where this type of movies start showing up in droves (and by that, I mean burn-off releases).
Interest Level: I can't imagine it being any lower than it is.
Working For It: It's a Peter Bogdanovich screwball comedy with interconnected stories, featuring a large assortment of actors who were available at the time.
Working Against It: If you haven't heard of Bogdanovich, that's because he hasn't been working a lot in recent years, and before that, he was primarily doing TV-movies. He's far removed from The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon and the quality of the cast reflects that.
Interest Level: Low.
8/28
Working For It: The releases are getting dicey by the last week in August. All I have to go off for this is that the poster is a big picture of Emma Watson. That could be enough for me. She doesn't do enough movies. I can't wait for that live action Beauty and the Beast.
Working Against It: This could be an awful movie. That may even be readily apparent if I actually watch a trailer for it. I'm not sure if even that will ever happen though.
Interest Level: Way down.
Working For It: It's a horror movie about a woman with demon sons or something. It's got Shannyn Sossamon who I still have goodwill with for being in A Knight's Tale 14 years ago.
Working Against It: I only recognize the first Sinister by name alone. I'm not sure what the connective tissue is for the two movies. I'm not sure that I particularly care.
Interest Level: Noticing a trend? Low again.
Working For It: I've been looking forward to this one since I heard about it at Sundance. It's has the flawless Margot Robbie living in a post-apocalyptic world alone until she finds Chiwetel Ejiofor followed by Chris Pine. This turns into some sort of love triangle. That cast and setting is all I really need to know. The director last did the little-seen Compliance. With the tone of that movie, this could be a very tense viewing.
Working Against It: On its own, a love triangle doesn't sound very interesting. I have to imagine there's more too this than that.
Interest Level: Exceedingly high
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