July 2015 Watchlist

Article by Gabe Zia
So with June over tomorrow, I'm going to take a look at some movies coming out this month. Some movies from June I didn't post any reviews of. I saw Slow West, but haven't found the time to write my review, and Dope never came out where I live, so that was an obstacle for obvious reasons. However, I'll try to see Dope sometime this month. In the meantime, here are some new releases to look forward to.

July 3rd

Terminator Genisys

This was the movie that, for the longest time, I had given the benefit of the doubt. But in more recent days, I have all but entirely given up on this movie. Especially with this whole thing where John Conner has been somehow transformed into some kind of human/terminator hybrid (which is really weird and not at all needed), I've pretty much lost hope in this movie. I have a few reasons for keeping this on the list, the only big one being that the T-1000 is in the movie, which is pretty awesome.

The Overnight

This is another film I heard of from Sundance, and I've heard nothing but good things about it. First off, it's got a fantastic cast, with Taylor Schilling from Orange is the New Black, Adam Scott, and Jason Schwartzman, all usually hilarious actors in whatever they're in. Based on the trailer, this movie looks really funny as well, featuring a sense of realistic humor, which is something I always love to see in films. It's one of the more underground films of the month, but one I'm certainly looking forward to.

July 10th

Big Game

I've been waiting for this movie for so long, it looks like a total cheesy 80s action movie, which is never a bad thing. In case you haven't heard of it before, the plot here is that Air Force One has been attacked, the president escaped, and landed in the middle of Finland. This Finnish teenage hunter meets him, and the two of them have to survive against the terrorists trying to kill the president. Oh, did I mention the president is played by Samuel L. Jackson? Because the president is played by Samuel L. Jackson.

Self/Less

This movie is a bit of a difficult situation for me, because I honestly have no idea of what to think of it. On the one hand, I really like the premise, and Tarsem Singh has shown us that he can deliver a film with a unique visual style (for example, The Cell). However, this film also looks a little confusing, and Singh has also been known to be a little pretentious and confusing (for example... also The Cell). The trailer it intriguing enough, but I'm still reasonably skeptical.

Minions

When I heard there was a Minions movie being made, I was really conflicted at first. Because it could be hilarious slapstick, but it could also be really stupid, with the main characters never really speaking any comprehensible language. The trailers have surprised me though, and the more trailers come out, the more surprised I am by this movie. Normally, the idea of a bunch of characters who speak gibberish getting their own spinoff would seem really dumb, but I keep finding myself wanting to see this movie.

July 17th

Ant-Man

Ant-Man is one of those movies that, the closer we get to release, the more excited I am for it. I started out really skeptical about this movie, especially with Edgar Wright no longer being attatched to the project. However, with more trailers and a better look at the film overall, I gotta say, Ant-Man looks fairly impressive to me. I still have a bit of cautious optimism, but as of right now, I think it looks really good.

Trainwreck

Judd Apatow movies can go one way or the other for me. They can either be really good and really funny, or they can get way too serious in the final act of the film and drag on for 30 minutes way too long. Hopefully, Trainwreck is the former. I like Bill Hader, I like Amy Schumer, and from the trailer it looks like they have good chemistry. This is another movie I'm hoping is good, despite fairly mediocre expectations.

The Stanford Prison Experiment

This movie caught my attention a while back. Not just due to what I've heard from Sundance, but the fact that it's about an interesting story. The Stanford prison experiment is one of the most controversial and one of the darker experiments at Stanford, the results of said experiment being fairly terrible. So, it's fair to say that I'm interested to see this story and this experiment brought to life on film.

July 22nd

Sharknado 3

I feel as though I should feel ashamed about myself when I talk about the Sharknado movies. They're, in my opinion, the ultimate guilty pleasure. They're so stupid, and so over the top ridiculous. The first movie was the average, run of the mill, B movie, which was fun enough. Sharknado 2 was straight up Army of Darkness territory, with ridiculous action and hilarious cameos. Sharknado 3 just looks off the rails bonkers, and I can't wait to watch it.

July 24th

Paper Towns

I'm usually not in any way a fan of the "teen drama" sort of thing, however having recently finally watched and surprisingly enjoyed The Fault in our Stars on Netflix, I'm pretty interested to see some of John Greens other work put to film. Keep in mind, I haven't read the book for either Fault in Our Stars or Paper Towns, but nonetheless I'm interested.

July 31st

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

The Mission Impossible series has been slowly getting better and better over time, with the last film, Ghost Protocol, being easily the best in the series. So, with that, Rogue Nation has a lot to live up to. I was fairly surprised when I found out Brad Bird wouldn't be returning to make this movie, seeing as how he did such a good job with the fourth film. However, I trust that they won't mess this up, and I trust that Rogue Nation will live up to the hype.



Vacation

I love the original Vacation, hands down one of my favorite comedies. So when I found out there was a remake, at first I was really worried, because comedy remakes can be either really good or really bad, usually the latter. However, having recently seen the trailer, my thoughts on this movie have completely changed, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not sure how Ed Helms will do if being compared to Chevy Chase - which he will, it's inevitable, he'll be compared to Chevy Chase - but I have high hopes for this movie.

Best of June 2015: Me & Earl & the Dying Girl

At first, I absolutely thought this movie would end up as just another Fault in Our Stars teen drama. However, I was delightfully surprised with Me & Earl & the Dying Girl. It was one of those movies that had a near-perfect balance of comedy and drama, with some of the most hilarious bits of narration I've seen in a while, and later some of the real somber and unexpected moments where you feel absolutely broken inside. It's entertaining, it's memorable, and it makes you feel all sorts of emotions. It's one of the pleasant surprises of 2015, and it was my favorite film of last month.