July Movies: Lone Ranger, Wolverine, & Pacific Rim.....

[Corp000085]

Lone Ranger was great. Very campy, but it was worth the cost of matinee admission.

[mrags]

Wow. Pacific Rim was pretty awesome. The cgi along with the 3d was really good IMO. Action was non stop.

[ajzepp]

Wow, everyone I know who has seen Pacific Rim already has just raved about it...I'm so stoked! I'm going Monday night for sure.

 

Do you guys think the 3D version is the one to go with?

[mrags]

Absolutely go to the 3D. And if you have an IMAX, spend the money for it.

 

The 3D is probably the best I've seen on screen since Avatar.

[ajzepp]

Okay cool...I have an IMAX pretty close, so usually it's pretty hard to resist lol.

 

Thanks man.

[dpberr]

Add me to the list who found Pacific Rim to be one incredible example of movie making. First movie in a very long time I'd think about seeing again in the theater.

[mrags]

Add me to the list who found Pacific Rim to be one incredible example of movie making. First movie in a very long time I'd think about seeing again in the theater.

i know my fiancé wants to see it. Can't wait to watch it again myself. Already spent $16 on it in the IMAX in 3D. I'll gladly pay another $32 to see it again.

[Mark Vader]

Too bad "Pacific Rim" opened at number 3 this past weekend, but it did get an "A-" from Cinemascore.

 

It will have to make big money internationally to become a sensation. It still has yet to open in China, which is a big market.

 

Guillermo Del Toro reportedly was already working on a sequel, even though his plate is full with other projects.

[Doc]

Too bad "Pacific Rim" opened at number 3 this past weekend, but it did get an "A-" from Cinemascore.

It's the "Shawshank Redemption" phenomenon. Should have named it better.

[mrags]

Too bad "Pacific Rim" opened at number 3 this past weekend, but it did get an "A-" from Cinemascore.

 

It will have to make big money internationally to become a sensation. It still has yet to open in China, which is a big market.

 

Guillermo Del Toro reportedly was already working on a sequel, even though his plate is full with other projects.

i had a feeling there would be a sequel. Already looking forward to it.

[Mark Vader]

It's the "Shawshank Redemption" phenomenon. Should have named it better.

Yeah, there are some people that think the title is not exciting for the type of movie it is.

[Kevin]

I thought Lone Ranger was a great movie. I don't get the rotten apple rating.

[Mark Vader]

Sorry it has taken me long to get this post up. Here are this month's Independent Films.

 

Director Woody Allen releases his latest film "Blue Jasmine". A life crisis causes a woman to head to San Francisco, where she reconnects with her sister. Starring Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Louis C.K., Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard, & Michael Stuhlbarg.

 

"Fruitvale Station" is the true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008. Starring Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer & Kevin Durand.

 

In "The Time Being", An artist meets a mysterious and wealthy benefactor and their relationship is not what it appears to be. Starring Sarah Paulson, Wes Bentley, Ahna O'Reilly & Frank Langella.

 

Greg Kinnear & Jennifer Connelly star in "Stuck In Love". An acclaimed writer, his ex-wife, and their teenaged children come to terms with the complexities of love in all its forms over the course of one tumultuous year. Also starring Logan Lerman, Lilly Collins, Nat Wolff & Kristen Bell.

 

Ryan Gosling & Kristin Scott Thomas star in "Only God Forgives". Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok's criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother's recent death.

 

James Cromwell & Genevieve Bujold star in "Still Mine". An elderly couple fight against local authorities in rural New Brunswick to build their final home.

 

In "The look of Love", The life of Paul Raymond, the controversial entrepreneur who became Britain's richest man. Starring Imogen Poots, Anna Friel & Steve Coogan.

 

In "V/H/S/2", Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his house and find collection of VHS tapes. Viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be dark motives behind the student's disappearance. Starring Lawrence Michael Levine, Kelsy Abbott, Adam Wingard & Hannah Hughes.

 

MIchael Cera & Gaby Hoffmann star in "Crystal Fairy". As Jamie travels in Chile, he invites an eccentric woman to join his group's quest to score a fabled hallucinogen, a move that finds him at odds with his new companion, until they drink the magic brew on a beach at the edge of the desert.

 

Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah & Wanda Sykes are "The Hot Flashes". An unlikely basketball team of unappreciated middle-aged Texas women, all former high school champs, challenge the current arrogant high school girls' state champs to a series of games to raise money for breast cancer prevention. Sparks fly as these marginalized women go to comic extremes to prove themselves on and off the court, and become a national media sensation.

 

"Computer Chess" is A 1980s-set story centered around a man vs. machine chess tournament. Starring Kriss Schludermann, Tom Fletcher & Wiley Wiggins.

 

In "Big Words", Members of a once-promising hip-hop group, now in their late 30's, struggle with regret, disappointment, and change on Election Night 2008. Starring Dorian Missick, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Darien Sills-Evans & Suzy Jane Hunt.

 

In "Just Like a Woman", Two women get on the highway heading to Santa Fe. Marilyn dreams of winning a contest held by a famous belly dancing company, while her friend, Mona, has a secret: she's a fugitive from justice. Starring Sienna Miller & Golshifteh Farahani.

 

A few foreign imports are here this month.

 

From Denmark comes "The Hunt". A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie. Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen & Annika Wedderkopp.

 

From China & Hong Kong comes "Drug War". A drug cartel boss who is arrested in a raid is coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation. Starring Louis Koo, Honglei Sun, Yi Huang & Michelle Ye.

 

From Iceland comes "The Deep". Based on actual events, a fisherman tries to survive in the freezing ocean after his boat capsizes off the south coast of Iceland. Starring Olafur Darri Olafsson.

 

And there are documentaries as well.

 

"Terms and Conditions May Apply" is a documentary that exposes what corporations and governments learn about people through Internet and cell phone usage, and what can be done about it ... if anything.

 

In the documentary "Blackfish", Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.

 

"The Act of Killing" is a documentary that challenges former Indonesian death squad leaders to reenact their real-life mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.

 

Finally "Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me", is a feature-length documentary film about the dismal commercial failure, subsequent massive critical acclaim, and enduring legacy of pop music's greatest cult phenomenon, Big Star.

 

Calendar with Trailers. Note: These dates are for Exclusive or Limited release. These movies may appear in your area at a later date.

 

7/3

"Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me": http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi951429401/

 

7/5

"Stuck In Love": http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3012273689/

 

"Just Like a Woman": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1583916569/

 

"The look of Love": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi582788633/

 

7/12

"Fruitvale Station": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi387884569/

 

"The Hunt": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2244519449/

 

"V/H/S/2": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3899696665/

 

"Crystal Fairy": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1639295257/

 

"Still Mine": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3517163801/

 

"The Deep": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1849533977/

 

"Terms and Conditions May Apply": http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2776934681/

 

"The Hot Flashes": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1918871065/

 

7/17

"Computer Chess": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2944772377/

 

7/19

"Only God Forgives": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1179428377/

 

"Blackfish": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3228149273/

 

"The Act of Killing": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2071766553/

 

"Big Words": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2810554649/

 

7/26

"Blue Jasmine": http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2080155929/

 

"The Time Being": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2559879449/

 

"Drug War": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1268754713/

 

That's all for now. I'll have the August movies up later. Until then.....Enjoy!

[mrags]

I'd like to add that I saw Pacific Rim again last night in IMAX 3D. Turning into one of my favorite movies. The acting the 2nd time around isn't nearly as good as I thought. Your talking about 2 people that have really only experienced FX series' as their acting career. But I also think the parts played were supposed to be that way a little bit. At least Charlie Days character.

 

For visual stimulation, there's not much that I can think of that's better. If you haven't seen it and you really like visually pleasing movies (other than porn), do yourself a favor and head to Regal today. But trust me when I say, spend the extra bank on IMAX 3D. With the aliens and robots being so huge, it's really worth it.

[Mark Vader]

I'd like to add that I saw Pacific Rim again last night in IMAX 3D. Turning into one of my favorite movies. The acting the 2nd time around isn't nearly as good as I thought. Your talking about 2 people that have really only experienced FX series' as their acting career. But I also think the parts played were supposed to be that way a little bit. At least Charlie Days character.

 

For visual stimulation, there's not much that I can think of that's better. If you haven't seen it and you really like visually pleasing movies (other than porn), do yourself a favor and head to Regal today. But trust me when I say, spend the extra bank on IMAX 3D. With the aliens and robots being so huge, it's really worth it.

Granted you see a movie like "Pacific Rim" for the monsters and robots, not for the acting.

 

Having said that, I found the acting to be pretty good. Not Oscar worthy, but considering what type of movie it was, the acting worked well.

 

At least it was not the type of acting we got from the Transformers series.

[ajzepp]

I'm just thankful that Shia LeBouf isn't in it...

 

I was hoping to see it Sunday night but didn't get a chance...going to hit the IMAX tomorrow hopefully.

[Mark Vader]

I'm just thankful that Shia LeBouf isn't in it...

 

I was hoping to see it Sunday night but didn't get a chance...going to hit the IMAX tomorrow hopefully.

Any of this month's indies jump out at you aj?

[ajzepp]

Any of this month's indies jump out at you aj?

 

I'm definitely glad to see Kinnear back...what the heck happened to him? The guy was starting to emerge as an actor.

 

The one that I WAS interested in is just getting crucified in the reviews..."Only God Forgives" has a pretty great cast and looks solid on paper, but supposedly it's absolute garbage. I only put so much stock into the critics, but this one looks like it may be a real disppointment.

 

Any time Woody Allen has a new project it's definitely worth taking a look. I really enjoyed Midnight in Paris.

 

Overall looks a bit thin compared to how the list usually appears, but hopefully some of these will be pleasant surprises.

 

Any of them that you really have your eye on?

[Mark Vader]

I'm definitely glad to see Kinnear back...what the heck happened to him? The guy was starting to emerge as an actor.

 

The one that I WAS interested in is just getting crucified in the reviews..."Only God Forgives" has a pretty great cast and looks solid on paper, but supposedly it's absolute garbage. I only put so much stock into the critics, but this one looks like it may be a real disppointment.

 

Any time Woody Allen has a new project it's definitely worth taking a look. I really enjoyed Midnight in Paris.

 

Overall looks a bit thin compared to how the list usually appears, but hopefully some of these will be pleasant surprises.

 

Any of them that you really have your eye on?

Greg Kinnear will never be a leading man. He's a good actor, but not a bankable one. As long as he is part of an ensemble or in supporting roles he will continue to do well.

 

"Only God Forgives" got slammed at it's debut at Cannes. Oh well, everybody has their off days.

 

For me, I think the documentaries "Blackfish" & "The Act of Killing" look good, but more than likely they'll have to wait for dvd.

 

"Stuck In Love" could be fun, although it looks a lot like "Crazy, Stupid, Love".

 

"The Look of Love" could be good, I do like Anna Friel.

 

"Fruitvale Station" is getting massive hype, but I'm a bit skeptical on that one.

 

I like some of Woody Allen's movies and Cate Blanchett might be the best female actor around today, so I might see "Blue Jasmine".

[shrader]

I saw Despicable Me 2 last week. It was a bit of minion overload. That and the story didn't work at all. The first one was fun seeing the girls slowly win him over. This time around, it just seemed forced, trying to recreate that same process with the female agent.