Friday 2 May 2014

2014 Summer Blockbuster Preview



It's May which can only mean one thing; blockbuster season is nearly upon us! 

2014 has been a solid year for big movies so far this year - both Captain America and Amazing Spider-man have been ace, as has The Lego Movie. Things are only getting started however, with some of the years biggest movies swimming into view over the next few months. From robotic dinosaurs, apes riding horses to time-travelling mutants and talking raccons, the 2014 blockbuster season has it all...sort of.

Be sure to let me know which big movie you are looking forward to most!

Anyway, here's a run-down of the big movies you can expect to see in cinemas over the next few months here in Australia. And yes, I know it's technically winter. I still refer to these movies as 'summer movies'; force of habit!


May


We're going to see some pretty big films drop this May. Without a doubt, the biggest (pun intended) is going to be Godzilla, the much anticipated remake from director Gareth Edwards. The trailers for this film have been awesome, the cast (headed by Bryan Cranston) looks great and the overall approach looks genuinely terrifying. If done right, this could be a fantastic monster movie. Personally, I can't wait.

X-Men: Days of Future Past
The week after Godzilla is the X-Men mash-up we've been hearing so much about, Days of Future Past. Director Bryan Singer is returning to the series he started by bringing together the casts of First Class and the original trilogy. This movie looks massive, with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine tasked with saving the X-Men from a dystopic future by travelling into the past and joining forces with James McAvoy's Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender's Magneto.

It might not make a lot of chronological sense (X-Men films rarely do), but Days of Future Past is nothing if not ambitious. Fox is looking for a series to rival comic-book heroes Marvel  (Avengers) and Sony (Spider-man); could X-Men be about to blow them both out of the water? I can't wait for this one either, and the latest Led Zepplin backed trailer just added to it.

The last week of May sees Seth McFarlane go West in a Blazing Saddles'-esque parody, A Million Ways to Die in the West. Starring himself, Charlize Theron and Liam Neeson, this looks like goofy, crude fun much like his previous film, Ted


June


How To Train Your Dragon 2
June kicks off with Tom Cruise headlining Edge of Tomorrow, a Groudhog Day-meets-Aliens sci-fi film alongside Emily Blunt. It looks loud, brash and like a lot of fun. You just know it isn't going to be great, but then again, who cares?

John Green's tear-jerking novel The Fault in Our Stars gets a big-screen adaptation starring Shaliene Woodley on the 5th of June. I've only heard good things about the book, so the film could be a good drama to get audiences blubbing.

The 19th of June sees three pretty big (and different) films open here in Australia; How To Train Your Dragon 2, 22 Jump Street and Maleficent. The first Dragons film was possibly the best movie Dreamworks has made yet, and this sequel has the potential to win over a lot of family audiences.

21 Jump Street was over-hyped in my opinion, but this sequel looks completely off-the-chain. The trailers have just been absolutely bonkers. Tatum and Hill obviously have a great rapport, and this comes across on screen. 22 Jump Street may look silly, but it could be good fun. I'm reserving judgement.

Disney's latest fairytale to get reworked is Sleeping Beauty - only this time, there is a twist. Switching the story across to Angelina Jolie's cackling evil fairy Maleficent, Disney are putting a fresh spin on a classic tale, and the previews for this film have perked my interest. It looks very CGI-laden, but an enchanting film nonetheless.

Lastly, the big one of the summer launches on June 26 - Transformers: Age of Extinction. Like the last two in the series, we all know this film is going to be crap, let's be honest. But that won't stop it from romping home to another billion dollar worldwide gross. I can't shake the feeling that it'll top everything else this year in terms of money made. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Michael Bay is once again behind the camera and looking to blow $60 million worth of pyrotechnics.


July


Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
July kicks off with Rio 2 (yawn) and Tammy (eh, pass). I'm not much of a Melissa McCarthy fan, but this latest comedy from her has the potential to make quite a bit of money. She has a big fanbase, don't rule this one out. 

The following week (July 10th) we'll see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes swing into cinemas. 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a real surprise, so I'm hoping the follow-up, which stars Gary Oldman, will continue to be as great.

The Wachowski siblings go full space-opera on our asses on the 17th of July with the release of Jupiter Ascending. Starring Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum, this shiny sci-fi may look kind of goofy, but it's a wholly original production which isn't based on a book or a remake of something else; that means plus points in my book.

The following week is Hercules, a sword and sandal epic starring Dwayne Johnson and directed by Brett Ratner and Sex Tape, a raunchy R-rated comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel. 


August


Guardians of the Galaxy
August kicks off with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy zooming into cinemas. Widely publicised as being something totally different to what we've seen from Marvel in the past, this Star Wars meets The Usual Suspects-type space caper is expected to really shake things up over the summer. 

Can Marvel really get audiences to see a film with a talking raccoon, even if it is voiced by Bradley Cooper? Tough call. It might not rake in the big bucks (too niche I reckon), but it'll be a comic-book film of the highest, and wackiest, quality. Based on that alone, they've got me on-board to say the least. 

The following week sees Luc Besson's latest action flick Lucy arrive. It stars Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. Also exploding onto screens the same day is The Expendables 3, with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews and Arnold Schwarzenegger this time joined by Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford. Cue testosterone, bullets and unending explosions. 


And Beyond


The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Blockbuster season may be over, but there are no shortage of big films lined up for the end of the year. Michael Bay's remake of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lands on the 11th of September, with The Maze Runner (another YA adaptation) pegged for September 18.

David Fincher's adaptation of Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck, is pencilled in for October 2nd. I'm pretty stoked for this one, as Gillian Flynn's novel is really great.

Christopher Nolan's original sci-fi film Interstellar lands on November 6th, which stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. Like Inception before it, Interstellar promises to be one of the most impressive and mind-blowing films of the year, certainly one of my most anticipated. The third Hunger Games film, Mockingjay Part 1 arrives later on in November.

Christmas is summed up with one last trip to Middle Earth, with Peter Jackson's concluding chapter in the Hobbit trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies, arrives on Boxing Day alongside Night at the Museum 3.


The Top 10 Highest Grossing Films 2014


Lastly, I had a crack at guessing the Top 10 highest grossing films for 2013 around the same time last year. Needless to say, I failed miserably (damn you Despicable Me 2 and Frozen!). Anyway, I thought I'd have a go at the same for the biggest films this year. What do you think is going to be the biggest film of the year? Let me know in the comments below!

  1. Transformers: Age of Extinction
  2. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Fives Armies
  3. Amazing Spider-man 2: Rise of Electro
  4. How To Train Your Dragon 2
  5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  6. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
  7. Godzilla
  8. X-Men: Days of Future Past
  9. Guardians of the Galaxy
  10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Thanks for reading my 'summer' blockbuster preview - and now it's over to you; what film are you most pumped for this blockbuster season? 


4 comments:

  1. I dunno, I thought both Cap and Spidey were pretty big let downs myself (my review of ASM2 is forthcoming. Hint: I didn't hate it, lol!), and while there's been some entertaining hits here and there, the only movie that REALLY nailed it so far would be The Raid 2 (which is hardly a big name blockbuster. :P). Still, though, I do remain hopeful for a lot of these remaining big name movies, most notably X-Men. But yeah, looking forward to most of the movies mentioned here. :)

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    1. I can see why people would have be mixed on both of those - such a shame the Raid 2 isn't getting a cinema release here (as far as I know - I might be wrong. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if we did miss out). I gotta say, Godzilla looks pretty ace, as does GOTG. X-Men looks good also, but it is going to mess with the timeline so much, I can just tell :)

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  2. GODZILLA GODZILLA OMG SO KEEN - I'm kind excited, as you can tell! :)

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    Replies
    1. So wait - keen for Transformers? :P Thanks for commenting, and keep your eyes peeled for my review of Godzilla!

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