2014
2013
5/6
Working for It: My friends, this is the big one. Captain America vs. Iron Man. It's going to have more heroes than either Avengers movie. The Russo brothers are directing again (I still don't know how they went from Community episodes to Captain America movies. They killed it in Winter Soldier). Basically every superhero in the MCU will be featured and Civil War is already getting some of the strongest reviews of any Marvel movie.
Working Against It: ...uhhh...
Verdict: I don't miss event movies of this magnitude.
Working for It: Tilda Swinton plays David Bowie but with the level of fame of Beyonce. She and her paramour (?) get a visit from an old friend (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson). I'm not really sure what happens. The trailer is pretty confusing. I'm guessing there's some sort of an existential crisis. Who knows?
Working Against It: I really have no idea what this movie is actually about. I don't know the director or writers. None of the actors are the kind that will get me in a theater by themselves.
Verdict: Maybe I'll look for it one day, but certainly not in theaters.
Working for It: With all the Star Wars craziness in pop culture right now, I'm certainly intrigued by a documentary about the effects of the first movies on the lives of several actors with smaller roles.
Working Against It: Or maybe there's too much Star Wars all around already.
Verdict: The decision will be made for me. It's not coming to a theater near me even if I was looking to see it.
5/13
Working for It: Another Blumhouse horror movie. This one is shot traditionally, about a boy who is cursed by some Native American demons. This has an odd collection of actors in it, many of whom aren't featured in the trailer. People like Kevin Bacon, Matt Walsh, Jennifer Morrison, Ming-Na Wen, Paul Reiser, and Tara Lynne Barr.
Working Against It: I'm not seeing a hook, and without an interesting hook, I'm not a big fan of this type of scary movie.
Verdict: I'll need to hear more about it actually being scary first.
Working for It: George Clooney plays a Jim Cramer type who gets held up at gunpoint by a man who lost all his money on a failed investment. Julia Roberts is Clooney's producer. Jack O'Connell (Unbroken) is the hostage taker. There's a bunch of other people you'll recognize and not be able to name. It's directed by Jodie Foster who has proven to be a skilled director. This looks like a vintage The Negotiator-type adult thriller that you don't see much anymore.
Working Against It: I'm still looking for someone to come up with a more interesting way to say "banks/wall street/corporations are evil". Foster has mostly cut her teeth directing on TV (Orange is the New Black, House of Cards). The last movie she directed was the decent, little-seen The Beaver in 2011. While I like the idea of giving a movie like this summer real estate rather than placing it in an October release date for Oscar consideration, I do wonder what to expect. Was it moved to May so if it fails they could blame Captain America or because it's an event movie?
Verdict: Clooney gets me to a theater. The last movie of his I didn't see in theaters was 2010's The American (It's true: I, II, III, IV, V*).
*I saw The Descendants but I was in between Movie Reactions at the time).
Working for It: Tom Hiddleston stars in "Snowpiercer on a Tower". The collection of actors (Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Elisabeth Moss, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans,...) gets my attention.
Working Against It: I don't know the director or writer. It doesn't look clever enough to lack as much subtlety as the trailer indicates.
Verdict: There's far too much potential for this to be tedious to risk seeing it in a theater (although I doubt it would ever reach a theater near me).
Working for It: Collin Farrell goes to a hotel where he either has to find a romantic partner or be turned into an animal. It has a very European cast including Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw (all seen at one time or another in a Bond movie), and John C. Reilly (who seems like the kind of actor who would show up at a casting call for the movie unannounced then turn out to be perfect for the role). It's looks sweet and depressing and romantic and I can't believe that Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman have nothing to do with this.
Working Against It: I don't know the director at all. This looks like a movie I'm supposed to like just as much as it looks like a movie I'd actually like. I don't know what the overlap of that Venn diagram will be.
Verdict: After Anomalisa, I'm very cautious about what emotionally poignant movies I seek out in theaters. This looks like a lock for my Netflix queue though.
Working for It: Kate Beckinsale is a woman in Victorian times trying to be a matchmaker for her daughter (Emma Greenwell, from Shameless). It's based on a Jane Austen story and written/directed by Whit Stillman. I've heard wonderful things about Stillmans last movie, Damsels in Distress. This movies looks lively and witty.
Working Against It: I'm only in the mood for Victorian era anything occasionally. I'll probably need to see Damsels in Distress first because I like Greta Gerwig more than anyone in this movie.
Verdict: The best way I can put it is if I haven't seen Far From The Maddening Crowd yet, the odds for seeing this are low.
Working for It: Thomas Middleditch is trapped in Mexico after his friends (TJ Miller and Adam Pally) ruined his wedding. Also featuring Alison Brie, Krysten Ritter, Jason Mantzoukas, Jon Glaser, Lance Reddick, J.B. Smooth, Shannon Woodward, and Rosa Salazar. You may not know all of those names, but I do and I like them all. I think this almost came out at some point last year and got delayed.
Working Against It: These "TV All-Stars" movies (as I like to call them) are rarely exceptional and at worst, watchable. The writers/director are lightly credentialed.
Verdict: I will absolutely watch this movie, I just don't know when and there will be no urgency to see it.
5/20
Working for It: Jesus, if you need more than the title, I can't help you.
Working Against It: I never played the game. Sony is far from my favorite animation studio. Even a thoroughly likable voice cast including Peter Dinklage, Jason Sudeikis, Keegan-Michael Key, Kate McKinnin, Maya Rudolphm and Bill Hader - to name very few -isn't enough to overcome the greater question: Why?
Verdict: In a moment, you'll see why there's no room in my life for this movie.
Working for It: Neighbors is one of my favorite comedies of the last few years with one of my favorite casts already. Then they go and add Chloe Grace Moretz (and Selena Gomez and Kierset Clemons) to the sequel. Forget Civil War. Neighbors 2 is the movie I'm most looking forward to this May and maybe Summer 2016 as a whole.
Working Against It: Even if they lost Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne and Zac Efron and director Nicolas Stoller I'd probably still see this and be looking forward to it.
Verdict: Can I buy my ticket yet?
Working for It: A private eye (Ryan Gosling) and a collections bruiser (Russell Crowe) get wrapped up in a criminal conspiracy in 1970s Los Angeles. Director/co-writer Shane Black is a master of the buddy action-comedy (Lethal Weapon 1-4, The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). This looks like an Inherent Vice that I'm smart enough to follow.
Working Against It: Shane Black took a lot of heat for Iron Man 3. Most of the issues in that movie weren't his fault though.
Verdict: I intend to make this a 2-movie weekend, but if one must be cut, it'll be this.
Working for It: Greta Gerwig tries to give her boyfriend back to his ex-wife. The premise sounds wickedly fresh and Gerwig is the right lead to pull it off. Throw in Julianne Moore and Ethan Hawke as the couple she broke up as well as Bill Hader as Gerwig's friend and I'm intetested.
Working Against It: I haven't seen anything else of writer/director Rebecca Miller's and a lot of this movie will come down to the execution of the story. That leaves a lot of question marks.
Verdict: I'll be looking for it but not in theaters.
5/27
Working for It: Hey, remember when Alice in Wonderland made more money than Iron Man, Twilight, Harry Potter, and Shrek in 2010? Well, Disney is going to see how much of that had to do with an Avatar-induced 3-D craze. Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, and, really, everyone not named Tim Burton are back for pretty much the same movie. That's a strong cast and a lot of interesting visuals.
Working Against It: I kind of thought Disney would be smart enough to realize that the first movie was a fluke. It massively benefited from Avatar creating a demand for 3-D and Johnny Depp wasn't coming off a string of failures like Dark Shadows, The Lone Ranger, Transcendence, and Mortdecai. Wasikowska has been taking the indie route too much to have built a following. Even though creatively, the lack of Tim Burton probably doesn't mean much, it can't help the brand that he didn't return to direct.
Verdict: I just don't see it happening. Not with a viable alternative that weekend.
Working for It: The First Class group has to battle an ancient evil, played by Oscar Isaac, and his henchmen, including Olivia Munn. It looks like Jennifer Lawrence is pretty much taking the Wolverine role in X-2. They're adding youngsters like Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lana Condor, and Tye Sheridan and returning the likes of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Nocholas Hoult, and Evan Peters. And, Hugh Jackman alert! It's interesting to see how Fox is trying to keep pace with the MCU. This looks like a fantastic effort.
Working Against It: More isn't always better and X-Men hasn't been the most consistent franchise.
Verdict: I can't imagine missing this.
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