After a record-breaking June, July looks to keep the 2018 momentum going. I will have no trouble finding things to watch.
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2013
7/6
Find out what Ant-Man and the Wasp were up to
instead of the Infinity War.
Working For It: I like how the marketing is leaning into the absence of
these characters in Infinity War. I love Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly,
Michael Pena, and Michael Douglas.They're bringing in Walton Goggins, Michelle
Pfeiffer, and Laurence Fishburne this time. After more serious entries like
Black Panther
and - to a lesser extent - Infinity War, this movie looks like it's
hitting the jokes much harder. And don't think I didn't notice Chris McKenna in
the writing credits. Always a great sign.
Working Against It: I suppose it would be nice to have a little more idea of
what the plot is. They are still advertising this on how fun it is to see tiny
things getting made into giant things.
Interest Level: Excited
A Purge prequel about the very first Purge.
Working For It: It certainly will be interesting to see what a Purge
looked like before it was an established thing.
Working Against It: Then again, the idea of the Purge only works as an
already established thing. Going back to the first Purge strains believability
a little too much for me. Ignoring that though, I don't really care for the
conspiracy direction the series has gone in.They keep trying to over-complicate
a simple premise.
Interest Level: Curious
A former computer hacker looking to build a
different life with the woman he's fallen for gets chased by his past.
Working For It: This looks like a sweet enough RomCom. I feel pretty
certain that if I see this, I'll come out of it saying "that was
fine."
Working Against It: I don't recognize anyone in front of or behind the
camera. The way it's shot looks kind of like those low budget religious movies,
but there's no sign of religion in this trailer. The greatest obstacle this
film faces is remembering that it even exists.
Interest Level: Apathetic
A black man find success as a telemarketer by
adopting a "white voice".
Working For It: It stars Lakeith Stanfield (as I've said all summer,
every summer movie should have someone from the series Atlanta in it).
Also Tessa Thompson, Terry Crews, Danny Glover, Armie Hammer, and others in
supporting roles. The comedy is bizarre and inventive. The commentary is
clever. If they get this right, it could be a special movie.
Working Against It: This idea has a high ceiling and a low floor. The
central idea is immediately funny. I'm not convinced there's 90+ minutes of
things to do with it. Any idea that's given this much freedom could fall apart
easily. Hopefully it doesn't.
Interest Level: Intrigued
A documentary about Whitney Houston.
Working For It: I mean, if you are a Whitney Houston fan, I don't need
to do anything to convince you. This looks a lot like the documentary
Amy,
which won every possible award a couple years ago. The rise and fall structure
is easy to get wrapped up in.
Working Against It: I didn't really care for Amy. Music docs are
getting to be like music biopics: the beats are all the same. I'd like some
evidence that Whitney isn't just a carbon copy of the Amy structure.
Interest Level: Apathetic
7/13
The monsters go on a summer cruise.
Working For It: The first two Hotel Transylvania
movies broke September box office records. I'll be curious to see how it
handles the jump to the heart of the summer. The whole voice cast is back with
Adam Sandler and friends along with Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez. Sandler's
schtick still plays pretty well in animation.
Working Against It: The first two movies were mildly enjoyable at best. It's
hard to see how putting them all on a boat is going to make this one any
better.
Interest Level: Uninterested
The Rock plays a security specialist who has to save
his family in a high-tech skyscraper that's under attack.
Working For It: It's basically Die Hard except Dwayne Johnson is
an amputee. Johnson reteams with his Central Intelligence
director for something less comical. This is right on brand with other Johnson
movies like San Andreas and
Rampage.
No one is pretending this movie will be great, but it might be fun.
Working Against It: I'm not convinced that writer/director Rawson Marshall
Thurber has a straight action movie in him. Unless this movie has more humor
than the trailers let on, this looks more like a mid-to-low tier Johnson movie.
Interest Level: Apathetic
A documentary thriller about the underworld of
corporate political finance.
Working For It: It's also kind of a horror movie too. Anytime someone
starts looking behind the mechanics of politics, it's pretty terrifying. If I
need a good dose of "scared shitless" I might turn this on.
Working Against It: I feel like any attempt to simplify this issue into a 90
minute movie is going to miss a lot and make some lazy conclusions. Perhaps I'm
wrong.
Interest Level: Uninterested
A paraplegic tries to find a new lease on life as he
navigates sobriety.
Working For It: Directed by Oscar winner Gus Van Sant. Starring Oscars
nominees Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, and Rooney Mara. Jack Black too. The
credentials are all there.
Working Against It: If it wasn't for those credentials, I wouldn't be
interested at all. I hate the title. I'm not a fan of the trailer. The premise
is pretty nonenticing. There just isn't anything for me to grab a hold of.
Interest Level: Apathetic
An 8th grade girl navigates her last week of school.
Working For It: This is the last movie I'd expect from stand up comedian
Bo Burnham, working as the writer and director. From what I've seen, it
captures the experience of being in 8th grade really damn well. Word out of
Sundance was great.
Working Against It: Never forgot. 8th graders are the worst and following
one around for 90 minutes sounds like a fate worse than death.
Interest Level: Intrigued
7/20
Denzel Washington returns as a vigilante getting
revenge for his murdered friend.
Working For It: There doesn't need to be a lot to these movies. It's
another collaboration between Denzel and Antoine Fuqua. Denzel is an uber-efficient badass; a one man wrecking ball who takes down a lot of bad
people.
Working Against It: Between Liam Nesson, Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis,
and a few others, there's only so much appetite for movies about grizzled
badasses born before the LBJ administration who play by their own rules. Right?
Interest Level: Curious
Sophie finds out more about her mother's past after
she learns that she's pregnant.
Working For It: The whole cast is back, complete with younger versions
of themselves cast for flashbacks. Oh, and there's Cher, which feels like a big
deal in this situation. And who doesn't love ABBA?
Working Against It: 10 years is probably a little too long to wait for a
sequel. The first movie was so well received, why press your luck by making a
sequel.
Interest Level: Intrigued
A group of friends accidentally get logged into the
dark web and are hunted down by the people on it.
Working For It: This isn't at all tied to the original
Unfriended
except that it's all told through the freinds' Skype call. That's a good way to
go. It's an inventive slant of the found footage style.
Working Against It: They are still working the kinks out of the format. I
worry that by the time they really figure it out, audiences will already be
fatigued by it. Writer/director Stephen Susco has a lot of middling horror
movie under his belt. Nothing that suggests he's just looking for the right material.
Interest Level: Curious
Daveed Diggs is a former convict on probation
trying to stay out of trouble.
Working For It: I'm definitely curious about costars Daveen Diggs and
Rafael Casal co-writing it.
Working Against It: The trailer makes this look like it's about six
different things at once. I don't trust the crew behind this movie to pull that
off with grace.
Interest Level: Uninterested
A documentary investigating our generation's desire
for wealth.
Working For It: There's a lot of people with crazy amounts of wealth. It
could be educational to look closer at it.
Working Against It: I think my biggest pet peeve in life is people talking
about how the current generation is different (normally in a negative way) than
any generation before it. People have always done stupid things with money. The
only things that have changed are our ability to document it and the stuff we
can accumulate now is nicer than it's even been (and the same will be true in
10, 20, 40, etc. years).
Interest Level: Repelled
7/27
Ethan Hunt and his team scramble to fix things after
a mission goes wrong.
Working For It: What do you really need to know about Mission Impossible
at this point? Tom Cruise's team is made up of Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg,
Ving Rhames, and possibly others this time. Michelle Monaghan appears to have
more of a role that past installments. Newcomers include Vanessa Kirby, Angela
Bassett, and Henry Cavill.
Working Against It: I'm a little sad to see Christipher McQuarrie back as
the director. I kind of liked how before this, each movie was a different
director bringing their own spin to the material. This should be fine though.
Paramount is fully invested in the franchise, and Tom Cruise and his production
partners know how to make them entertaining.
Interest Level: Excited
The Teen Titans try to get a movie made about them.
Working For It: Do I need to start watching this TV show? That trailer
was hilarious.
Working Against It: I feel like this is covering a lot of the same ground at
The LEGO Batman Movie. It's
even got Will Arnett.
Interest Level: Curious
A coming of age story about a young man who gets
sent to Cape Cod for the summer, finds a girlfriend, and starts selling weed.
Working For It: It doesn't get more A24 than this. Indie. Coming of age.
Stars like Timothee Chalamet and Maika Monroe. Stylized direction. A hint of
menace. This is one of those movies I'm a lock to see, even if I don't end up
liking it.
Working Against It: This does kind of have the look of a movie that's only
getting released because Timothee Chalamet is and Oscar nominee now.
Interest Level: Curious
A bored housewife starts training to be a puzzle
champion.
Working For It: Kelly MacDonald is always great. This feels like a weird
mix of Butter and
Searching for Bobby Fischer.
Working Against It: I don't know. Do I really want to watch a drama about
building puzzles and possible infidelity?
Interest Level: Apathetic
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