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July movie releases
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The previews for movies releasing in July 2009. The summer blockbuster season hits the halfway point, and brings audiences some highly anticipated films! Here are the release dates and summary, as well as some analysis on how the film will perform.
July 1st
July starts out with the first Wednesday box office battle of the season. ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS, is the third entry into the popular franchise. This is also the third big animation film being released this year. The success at the box office of MONSTERS VS ALIENS and Pixar's UP, leads forecasters to believe that an established franchise will gross huge numbers during it's theatrical run. As far the plot goes, the film will examine all the returning character's (with all the same voices) current relationship and how evolution has lead them to try co-exist with dinosaurs. This movie will be satisfying, but having anything new or ground-breaking, most likely not. One may even say that the film can't "evolve" from the previous two installments. If anything, this film will be profitable.
The above film will go head-to-head with another blockbuster title in PUBLIC ENEMIES. This Universal Pictures production, stars the box office-cash cow, Johnny Depp. Also in the film, Christian Bale, who is no stranger to big-box office films (The Dark Knight, Terminator: Salvation), co-stars. The film tells the tales of the most-wanted criminals of the 1930s, in Chicago. The setting is during the Great Depression, in which some criminals such as John Dillinger (Depp) and Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum), were viewed as modern day Robin Hoods. However, their lawless antics led to the formation of the FBI, which then gave birth to one of the greatest manhunts in history. The film is being portrayed as a gritty, stylish drama, with an adequate amount of action. That is pretty much the calling card of Director Michael Mann. Michael Mann at the helm, should help this film stay realistic, for the time period being portrayed. If anything could go wrong with this film, is that audiences may not want to see a word-heavy dialogue, with only small moments of action. Fans of Michael Mann's work, such as HEAT, will most likely enjoy this. With a budget of $80 million, this film will be profitable this season, even if bad reviews come out.
July 3rd
The mid-point of the summer blockbuster season, usually sees some counter-genre films get released, opposite of the big movies. Much like last month's MY SISTERS KEEPER, which took on TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN in the same week, the limited release, THE GIRL FROM MONACO, will try to draw in audiences that have already seen enough of the big-budgeted movies, or simply want something different. The film is a foreign effort from Magnolia Pictures, that tells a story, in the vein of well-known hits like BASIC INSTINCT. A well-known attorney is hired by a famous criminal, who is female, and she ends up wrapping the once composed attorney, around her little finger. The attorney apparently goes crazy, and his only hope is his bodyguard, who tries to keep him in line. Naturally, a twist with the three main characters mentioned has to be tossed into this. If not, this film will only accomplish separating itself from the big blockbusters, and simply not hit with the domestic movie-goer. Keep on an eye on reviews, although they will be limited.
July 10th
Forget big-budgets and well-told stories, and prepare for awkward moments. BRUNO comes into theaters everywhere, with one goal in mind...to shock! Although, this is a comedy and Sacha Baron Cohen's previous effort in BORAT, was considered hilarious by many critics and audiences, this film will be going for the "I can't believe that just happened" effect. This one is easy, if you enjoyed Borat's antics, then you will dig Bruno's. Curiosity make get the better of some audiences that aren't familiar with the 2006 shocker, and check out BRUNO. The one knock on this film is that the antics of the Bruno character may get old and/or repetitive. Although, people still see JACKASS sequels, even though it is recycled material, and they love it.
Competing with BRUNO is I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER. This high school geared story, based on the book, stars Hayden Panettiere of the hit TV show "Heroes." The film tells the story of the high school geek, who is infatuated with student Beth Cooper (Panettiere), but hasn't found a way to approach her. He gets voted valedictorian, and uses that moment during his speech to profess his love to the great Beth Cooper. That same night, Beth shows up at his house and a crazy teen adventure begins. This is your run-of-the-mill high school comedy. If one wants to see this, I'd suggest waiting for the DVD. For one, this film won't be in the theaters long, and do you really want to hear every teenage girl yapping and giggling over how a scene reminds them of someone from their class? One will know after two weeks, if this is the same as every other comedy in the genre or if it adds something else, like AMERICAN PIE did.
Also, on this day a cult favorite gets another release, so to speak. BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE (click for trailer) is a popular horror tale, that comes from Japan. Based on a graphic novel, it basically tells the story of a young 16 year-old girl, that is actually 400 years old, for she is part vampire. Her goal, is to take her ninja skills and rid the world of every last blood-sucker. This is film has the story of BLADE, but the execution on camera is what will set this movie apart. Expect amazing action-sequences, and a better developed story. This tale has had many adaptations, in anime, theatre, and books. This will be a hit for horror fans, and fans of the product. This can be viewed as one of those films, that one usually doesn't care about, but after seeing it...they actually enjoy it. Be warned, the gore will be graphic in all likely scenarios.
This concludes part 1 of the July previews. Part 2 will be up on Monday and will focus on the second half July releases. July will close strong with possibly the biggest movie of the year hitting the theaters. If you'd like to see how accurate or un-accurate, I am with my previews, click the links below for my May and June previews. Also, look at my in-depth TRANSFORMERS 2 coverage. Have a good weekend Tampa!
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