Mark Vader Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) With Harry Potter and Transformers grossing big bucks worldwide and Captain America being the final origin piece before "The Avengers" takes place next summer; the month of August comes in to conclude this years gargantuan summer season. Usually August is a month for sleeper hits rather than tent pole films, and this year is no different as there are plenty of offerings, from comedies to re-makes and re-boots of movies to satisfy many audiences. There is one movie that has been heavily marketed and treated like a tent pole film. That movie is "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". In present day San Francisco, a scientist looks for a cure for Alzheimer's disease by experimenting on a chimpanzee named Caesar. The development of animal intelligence brings about a war for supremacy between humans and apes. Fans of the "Apes" franchise may see this as a re-make or re-imagining of the 1972 film "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes", a film that many regard as the best of the "Apes" films. While some fans balked at first hearing of this film, especially after the lukewarm reception that Tim Burton's 2001 "Planet of the Apes" reboot received, early trailers have captured much interest to this film. Starring James Franco, Frieda Pinto, Andy Serkis, John Lithgow & Brian Cox. A cult-franchise that has laid dormant in almost 30 years finally returns to the big screen as Lionsgate releases "Conan the Barbarian". Muscle-bound warrior Conan the Cimmerian seeks to avenge the murder of his father and the slaughter of his village. Starring Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan & Rachel Nichols. A pair of horror films, one from the 80's and one from the 70's get updated treatments for the big screen. First Walt Disney Pictures gives us "Fright Night". Teenager Charley Brewster guesses that his new neighbor Jerry Dandrige is a vampire responsible for a string of recent deaths. When no one he knows believes him, he enlists Peter Vincent, the opportunistic host of his favorite TV show, to help him take down Jerry and his guardian. This movie appears to take an edgier darker tone than the 1985 original, but still looks to capture some good thrills. Starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Imogen Poots & Toni Collette. Relativity Media & producer Guillermo Del Toro bring us "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark". A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own. The original 1973 made-for-TV movie, was one of the better TV movies made and had some good creepy moments. This 21st century update promises to be one of the better horror films we've seen in awhile. Starring Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes and Bailee Madison. There is plenty of comedy this month too: Jesse Eisenberg stars in "30 Minutes or Less". Two fledgling criminals kidnap pizza delivery guy Nick, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank. As the clock ticks, Nick, with the help of his ex-best friend, Chet, deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship. Also starring Danny McBride, Nick Swardson & Aziz Ansari. Jason Bateman & Ryan Reynolds headline, "The Change-Up". After a night of drinking, family guy Mitch magically switches bodies his longtime friend Dave, a single, responsibility-free hedonist. As the guys experience the realities of each other's lives, they work on a way to get their old ones back. Also starring Olivia Wilde, Leslie Mann & Alan Arkin. In "Our Idiot Brother", A pot bust sends nice-guy Ned to jail, and though he's released early on good behavior, he returns home to discover that his girlfriend has left and taken his dog with her. Homeless and unemployed, he divides his time by couch-surfing at the homes of his three sisters -- and causing chaos in each of their lives. Starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel & Emily Mortimer. Rising starlet Emma Stone stars in "The Help". Jackson, Mississippi, 1962: aspiring writer Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan returns home after college, where unexpected friendships with African-American maids Aibeleen Clark and Minny Jackson result in a book that gives a previously unheard voice to a community's suffering. Also starring Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer & Bryce Dallas Howard. Anne Hathaway & Jim Sturgess star in "One Day". Emma meets Dexter on their night of their college graduation: July 15th, 1989. And for the next two decades, very July 15th reveals how the two are faring in life and love. In "Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D", A former spy returns to her old profession in order to stop a villain known as the Timekeeper and his nefarious plan for world domination. Helping her fight evil are her two stepchildren -- who had no idea about her past -- as well as some veteran spy kids. Starring Jessica Alba, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Jermy Piven, Danny Trejo & Antonio Banderas. In "Colombiana", Cataleya Restrepo, who was raised in the U.S. by her uncle to be a top-tier assassin, looks to settle with the Colombian drug lord who executed her parents when she was 10 years old. Starring Zoe Saldana, Michael Vartan & Callum Blue. In "Final Destination 5", Teen survivors of a suspension-bridge collapse soon begin to fear that there's no way you can cheat Death. Starring Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell & Alan Escarpeta. And "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie" is a concert documentary shot during the Glee Live! In Concert! summer 2011 tour. Calendar with trailers. 8/5 "Rise of the Planet of the Apes": http://www.apeswillrise.com/ "The Change-Up": http://www.thechangeupmovie.com/ 8/10 "The Help": http://thehelpmovie.com/us/ 8/12 "30 Minutes or Less": http://www.30minutesorless.com/ "Final Destination 5": http://finaldestinationmovie.warnerbros.com/index.html "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1088920601/ 8/19 "One Day": http://focusfeatures.com/one_day "Fright Night": http://www.dreamworksstudios.com/films/fright-night "Conan the Barbarian": http://www.conanthebarbarianin3d.com/ "Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D": http://spykidsmovie.net/ 8/26 "Our Idiot Brother": http://www.ouridiotbrother.com/#/home "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark": http://www.dontbeafraidofthedark.com/ "Colombiana": http://www.colombiana-movie.com/ That's all for now, Independent Films will be posted later. Enjoy! Edited August 5, 2011 by Mark Vader
CowgirlsFan Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Mark...another GREAT movie topic!! "The Change Up" will be my 1st choice to see followed by "One Day".
jeanbe Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 I'm really looking forward to Planet of the Apes. Burton's remake sucked and this one looks really good. Jason Momoa, I can totally see him as Conan after seeing him in Stargate Atlantis. I'll have to check that one out too.
shrader Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Why do they keep making final destination movies?
Gavin in Va Beach Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Why do they keep making final destination movies? They make money. HTH
Mark Vader Posted August 5, 2011 Author Posted August 5, 2011 They make money. HTH Also, Final Destination movies are not that expensive to make, especially since there are no high profile actors to pay. This is also why the Saw franchise lasted as long as it did. Hopefully people will go see quality horror movies like "Fright Night" & "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", which I have heard has gotten some good early buzz, instead of settling for the cheap thrills of FD5.
UConn James Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Huge fan of David Tennant here, so I'll probably be giving "Fright Night" a whirl, tho it's seriously not my genre.
shrader Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Also, Final Destination movies are not that expensive to make, especially since there are no high profile actors to pay. This is also why the Saw franchise lasted as long as it did. Hopefully people will go see quality horror movies like "Fright Night" & "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", which I have heard has gotten some good early buzz, instead of settling for the cheap thrills of FD5. I'll say right up front that I haven't seen most of these movies (Saw or FD), but at least with Saw it was a continuing story. Final Destination keeps telling the same exact story over and over, but with different characters. It has me really looking forward to next year when Marvel puts out Captain Canada and then follows that up in 2013 with Captain Kazakhstan.
ajzepp Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Looks like there are a few good looking offerings this month...and I'm in the camp that never saw the Burton remake of Planet of the Apes, but really looking forward to this current version. I saw the first two Final Destination films and thought they were a fun ride, but had no idea they were on the fifth one lol. I like that you have a nice sampling of some of the better younger actors in hollywood these days....Jesse Eisenberg, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, etc. And we also have a woman who I consider MAYBE the most beautiful woman on earth...the lovely and talented Freida Pinto
Dante Posted August 5, 2011 Posted August 5, 2011 Huge fan of David Tennant here, so I'll probably be giving "Fright Night" a whirl, tho it's seriously not my genre. The original was pretty good. Decent premise. I like the idea of Farrell playing the villain.
shrader Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 The original was pretty good. Decent premise. I like the idea of Farrell playing the villain. He must be having some fun with his career right now, mixing things up a bit. It was just a pretty brief role, but he was great in Horrible Bosses.
Mark Vader Posted August 8, 2011 Author Posted August 8, 2011 Saw "Apes" tonight, outstanding movie. If you were disappointed in Tim Burton's reboot of the series, have no fear, you will love this entry. Great effects; the motion capture is amazing. Good story, acting & action makes this one of the better summer movies I have seen this year.
CosmicBills Posted August 8, 2011 Posted August 8, 2011 Saw "Apes" tonight, outstanding movie. If you were disappointed in Tim Burton's reboot of the series, have no fear, you will love this entry. Great effects; the motion capture is amazing. Good story, acting & action makes this one of the better summer movies I have seen this year. Surprisingly I have to agree. Saw it tonight as well, it's a lot of fun. The best of the tentpoles this year for me. Though Crazy Stupid Love is my favorite of the summer.
/dev/null Posted August 8, 2011 Posted August 8, 2011 Jason Momoa, I can totally see him as Conan after seeing him in Stargate Atlantis. I'll have to check that one out too. He went from Ronan to Conan
Dr. Fong Posted August 8, 2011 Posted August 8, 2011 I wasn't excited about the prospect of a new Conan movie, but I saw a trailer in the theater this weekend and I think they just might have pulled a good movie together. I'm still a bit leery, but I have a lot more hope for it being good than I once did. Really all they had to do to make a good movie was do an adaptation of Busiek's Conan run for Dark Horse and then come up with an effects budget.
CosmicBills Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 Do you guys recommend seeing Apes in 3D? I saw it on a normal screen -- and it was still fantastic. I'm over the 3D thing. I think some of the sequences would look cool in 3D (they gave me vertigo in 2D so I imagine that's even more so in 3D). But that's me. I think you'll dig either way you see it.
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 Q: on the Conan film...Are we going to see Fulsa Doom in the movie and who the hell could play Doom other than James Earl Jones?
Doc Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 Q: on the Conan film...Are we going to see Fulsa Doom in the movie and who the hell could play Doom other than James Earl Jones? It's Thulsa.
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