Summer Movie Preview 2013

Summer Movie Preview
By Tim Parks

It’s upon us again that time of year that facilitates pure escapism from reality, all in two hours or so, as the contents of popcorn tubs are eaten and sodas are drained of their last drop. The summer movie season is arguably the best chance during the movie going year to catch superheroes in action, a slew of sequels and other Hollywood event films. 

And here is a look at a smattering of the offerings that will draw you in, like moths to the flickering light of the projector housed inside of your local Cineplex.

I’m Super, Thanks For Asking
The third installment in the Iron Man franchise has Robert Downey, Jr,’s heroic alter ego grappling with tried-and-true good guy existential crisis: does the suit make the man or does the man make the suit? This doubt is put to the test when he takes on The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and will be assisted with by a few other Iron Men and even one Iron Woman, his girlfriend, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). May 3

Man of Steel has Metropolis’ favorite son coming out of cinematic retirement after the disappointment that was 2006’s Superman Returns. This time around, Superman (Henry Cavill) attempts to figure out what his purpose is on Earth and how he can literally use his powers for good.
This search for truth, justice and the American way is impeded by the appearance of fellow Kryptonians General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his evil female cohort Faora (Antje Traue). Meanwhile, his Clark Kent persona does his best to fit into his Daily Planet reporter duties, including his dealings with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and Perry White (Laurence Fishburne) in this film directed by 300’s Zack Synder and produced by The Dark Knight Rises’ director Christopher Nolan. June 14.
Hugh Jackman sharpens up his razor sharp claws as The Wolverine, the fifth film outing as the popular X-Men character. He travels to Japan and is literally confronted with a mysterious person from his past that may irrevocably alter his present and future. Could it be Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who was allegedly killed off in X-Men: The Last Stand? July 26.
Kick-Ass 2 reunites amateur superheroes Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moritz) and their arch nemesis Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who know goes under the pseudonym of The Mother F%&*^r. When he launches a campaign to dispose of the dynamic duo, they join forces with Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). August 16
Stop Me If You’ve Seen This One Before

One of the few remakes this summer is The Great Gatsby, which last made a cinematic appearance in 1974 and starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. The 2013 version stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire as the Midwest transplant who finds himself living in New York City and becoming entranced by the lifestyles of the rich and famous; most notably Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio). Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann is helming the adaptation of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel and is giving it a modern day spin by filming and releasing the 1922 set movie in 3D. May 10
Boldly go where a 2009 reboot went before with Star Trek Into Darkness. The crew of the Starship Enterprise, helmed by Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), find their future world in a state of crisis when a lone wolf John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) declares war on the planet. Kirk sets off on a personal vendetta against the madman, who is rumored to be Khan, and in doing so jeopardizes the lives of his crew, including Spock (Zachary Quinto). May 17
Get ready to hit the nitro for the sixth time, as Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson headline the latest Fast & Furious. The movie picks up from the last chapter with Diesel and Walker on the lam from pulling a $100 million heist, but get pulled into a mercenary-based group of drivers that will encompass 12 countries. May 24

On the very same day, another franchise is looking to recapture cinematic lightning in a bottle. The Hangover Part III continues the misadventures of everyone’s favorite blackout drunks , and will be wrapping up the popular, and profitable, comedy series up in this final chapter.
The Wolfpack sets out on a road trip this time around, but not for a wedding or bachelor party and hilarity ensues with Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and newcomer to this installment in the guise of John Goodman. May 24

The Lone Ranger was originally a character created for radio in 1933, then went onto television fame from 1949-1957 and starred Clayton Moore as the masked man and Jay Silverheels as his kemo sabe. There was a film, circa 1981, and now a new edition with Armie Hammer as the “Hi Yo Silver” uttering vigilante and reunites Johnny Depp with Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski with role as The Lone Ranger’s trusted sidekick Tonto. July 3

 

Red 2 continues the ass-kicking adventures of retired CIA operatives Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Mary-Louise Parker in a plot to find the whereabouts a missing portable nuclear device, and brings Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones into the action-comedy mix. August 2

Do you like movies about gladiators? Then you will most assuredly be checking out 300: Rise of an Empire, which chronicles the tale of Greek general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) and his quest to amalgamate all of Greece and stave off an attack from Persian enemies. August 23

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

The recent box-office success of Tom Cruise’s Oblivion has paved the way for summer’s most common thread plotline, the end of the world as we know it
After Earth stars Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith crash landing on Earth one thousand years after cataclysmic events occurred on our world, setting its citizens off to colonize Nova Prime. 13-year-old Kitai is forced to explore the brave new world on his own to recover their rescue beacon, as his father lies dying in the cockpit of their spacecraft. May 31
The comedy Rapture-Palooza has two teens battling their way through the outcome of a religious day of reckoning and set out to take on the Antichrist. June 7
Another comedic look at the end of days is This Is The End, which features real-life celebrities portraying themselves as Los Angeles is besieged by strange occurences and forces them to take shelter from the apocalypse at a party thrown by James Franco. The other stars along for the humorous tale include Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill, Emma Watson and Paul Rudd. June 12

Brad Pitt headlines World War Z as United Nations employee Gerry Lane who travels the quickly unraveling world as a zombie pandemic makes its presence known. June 21.
Mankind is doomed when legions of gigantic monsters called Kaiju emerge from the sea in Pacific Rim. The only solution for humanity comes in the form of Jaegers, which are giant robots, who are aided by two improbable heroes a washed up pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and a trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) in director Guillermo del Toro’s clash of the titans tale. July 12

Five childhood friends reunite to celebrate on recreating a legendary pub crawl that transpired 20 years prior, only to discover that they are the only hope for human kind’s survival when they converge on the pub known as The World’s End. This English comedy stars Simon Pegg and re-teams him with his Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright. August 23
So there you have it, a mere smattering of the movies that may hold your attention during the summer months. And just remember, the Hollywood powers-that-be may change some of the release dates mentioned.

May Flower Power at the Movies

By Tim Parks

 

Since April showers bring May flowers, it might explain why a flowery crop of chick flicks has sprung up in cinemas. And this month also signals the beginning of the flood of big budget action movie season – so just check your brain at the door and sit back and let the spectacle wash over you. 

Flicks With Chicks

 If you don’t know that the sequel to Sex and the City: The Movie is coming to your local multiplex by month’s end, then hand over your gay card right now! On second thought, you may as well just burn it – it’s just taking up room in your wallet.

The sequel picks up two years after the events in the first installment and finds Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her cohorts in the thick of things, with a gay wedding and cameos by Liza Minnelli, Penelope Cruz and Miley Cyrus – two out of three ain’t bad applies here – thrown in for good measure.

Mr. and Mrs. Big (Chris Noth and SJP) begin to realize that the honeymoon may be over, in relation to their newlywed status. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is back on track with Steve (David Eigenberg), while Charlotte (Kristin Davis) suffers from a case of the “be careful what you wish fors,” as she navigates her way through motherhood. And Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is busy, well, being Samantha. When she’s not throwing out sassy one-liners, the panther manages to find time to become involved with a younger European architect.

When the gals take a ladies-only vacation to Abu Dhabi to get away from it all, Carrie finds herself face-to-face with her ex Aidan (John Corbett), and she can’t help but wonder if their encounter on the other side of the world is meant to be. Opens May 27.

 Just Wright finds stars Queen Latifah as Leslie Wright a “straight shooting physical therapist” that scores a dream job working with NBA hotshot Scott McKnight (Common), who has been sidelined by an injury.

The only snag in this scenario is, drum roll please, she falls for her client! But wait, there’s more, as McKnight ignores the obvious signs of Ms. Wright and sets his sights on her best friend Morgan (played by Paula Patton of Precious).

The world of sports intermingles with the game of love in this battle of the sexes romcom, which also co-stars Foxy Brown actress Pam Grier as Latifah’s mom. Opens May 14.

 Hollywood’s newest “It girl” Amanda Seyfried headlines Letters to Juliet, in which she portrays Sophie, an American broad abroad, in the fair city of Verona. If the municipality has a familiar ring to it, that’s because it was the setting for Shakespeare’s penultimate star-crossed lovers tale Romeo & Juliet.

Sophie becomes a Capulet by proxy, as she volunteers with other women who respond to writers that seek advice from the fictional heroine about the ways of love. And the mail system in Verona may be a tad on the slow side, as Sophie stumbles upon one letter dating back to 1957. She seeks out its author (Vanessa Redgrave) and motivates her to find her Love’s Labour Lost. The consequence of this act has a domino effect in the area of amour for both women. Opens May 14 and if you are affronted by “brief rude behavior, sensual images and incidental smoking,” you may want to gloss over this, per the ratings board.

 I Need A Hero

 The Marvel Comics adaptation train rolls on for another summer outing, as Iron Man 2, blasts his ways into theaters with all of his superhero strength to hopefully beat the sophomore slump.

Robert Downey, Jr. returns as billionaire inventor Tony Stark, who takes on Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, a Russian foe who creates his own version of Stark’s super suit.      

The U.S. government, especially its military division, is clamoring to find out the trade secrets of his Iron Man technology, as well. Scarlett Johansson slinks onscreen in a skin-tight outfit as secret agent Black Widow, and Gwyneth Paltrow plays good girl Pepper Potts again. Samuel L. Jackson also appears in the sequel as Stan Lee creation Nick Fury, which will just fuel more interest for the long stalled Avengers film. Opens May 7.   

 Sufficed to say, Jake Gyllenhaal developed a loyal gay following from his role in Brokeback Mountain, so he is bound to please his pink fans with his turn as the video game-based hero Prince of Persia.

The actor buffed up for his role in the subtitled The Sands of Time, in which he joins forces with a princess (Gemma Arterton) to keep an ancient dagger out of the hands of Sir Ben Kinglsey, which holds the key to unleashing a sandstorm that allows its owner to rule the world, and like Cher, turn back time. This May 28 Walt Disney Pictures release is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the same creative mind that brought us the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. 

 High-way To Heaven

 Holy Rollers is a limited release based-on-a-true-story tale about a group of European Hasidic Jews who were used as drug mules in the ’90s to smuggle Ecstasy stateside. In turn, it is also the tale of Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg), an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn, who is asked to transport “medicine” for an Israeli arms dealer and his girlfriend by a charismatic neighbor. Gold is exposed to the gritty underbelly of the Manhattan and Amsterdam nightlife scene, while trying to hide his secret identity from his family. May 21.  

This article was first published in May 2010.