As difficult as it is to believe, April is wrapping up and summer is right around the corner. While it’s been sunny and warm for the past six months in California, I certainly hope things are starting to thaw out in other parts of the country.
May not only brings the warmth but it also kicks off the summer movie season. The summer is always filled with nerdy blockbuster movies and this summer is no different. Check out some previews and trailers for the nerdy movies coming out in May and June.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – May 02, 2014
I wasn’t a big fan of the original Amazing Spider-Man. I thought the movie spent way too much time on Spider-Man’s origin story, which left me bored throughout the first half of the movie. I like Andrew Garfield enough, but none of the marketing for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has me very excited. From the trailers it looks like there are at least three villains in the movie, which doesn’t leave much time to develop any of them. And from what Sony has said about its future plans for Spider-Man, it feels like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is simply being used as a launching point for a Sinister Six movie and a Venom movie. I’ll probably see it opening weekend but I don’t know how much I’m going to like it.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbp3Ra3Yp74&w=560&h=315]
Godzilla – May 16, 2014
I may not be excited for radioactive spiders but I am definitely excited for radioactive lizards. I am as excited for Godzilla as I am unexcited for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This Godzilla doesn’t look nearly as campy as the original films or as goofy as 1998’s Godzilla. There seems to be a real sense of dread and destruction in this year’s Godzilla, like Pacific Rim without all of the giant fighting robot awesomeness. It also stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen as husband and wife, which will be weird come next year when they play Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, brother and sister, in The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIu85WQTPRc&w=560&h=315]
X-Men: Days of Future Past – May 23, 2014
Speaking of Quicksilver, Magneto’s son will be making an appearance in X-Men: Days of Future Past. I don’t know how much Quicksilver will be in the movie or if he’ll even be identified as the Master of Magnetism’s son. I was worried that DOFP was running into the same problem as X-Men 3, trying to stuff too many mutants into two hours of movie. But it appears like all of the older X-Men will only be a part of the movie’s opening in the future before Wolverine goes back in time (like Huey Lewis). I’m reservedly excited for DOFP. The X-Men are my favorite comic book heroes but X-Men 3 was a disaster and has left me wary. Hopefully the series can recapture the magic of the original X-Men and X-Men 2, while building on the strong showing of X-Men: First Class.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6acRHWnfZAE&w=560&h=315]
Maleficent – May 30, 2014
I pretty much have a double standard when it comes to movies. I’m all for Hollywood producing as many comic book movies and sequels as they can, taking from decades’ worth of content. When it comes to something like Maleficent, though, I wish they would be a little more original. Disney has found success telling side stories to Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. While I enjoyed Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and The Great and Powerful Oz, I’m not too sure how I feel about Maleficent. It was advertised as the untold story of Maleficent, but the trailers seem to show a lot of the story that we already know. I think I’ll probably skip Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, unless Disney Movie Rewards sends me a free ticket.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-XO4XiRop0&w=560&h=315]
Edge of Tomorrow – June 06, 2014
I saw the trailer for Edge of Tomorrow and immediately thought that it looked like a less funny, more violent Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day is an absolute classic and I just don’t think Edge of Tomorrow has what it takes to reach that status. It looks like a slick enough and entertaining enough sci-fi action movie, but nothing to make it stand out from the crowd. It does have Tom Cruise, though, and for all of his Scientology antics he is still a huge movie star. He was just as engaging and captivating in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol as he was in Top Gun. So perhaps his star power is enough to make Edge of Tomorrow more than just another exosuit popcorn flick.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUmSVcttXnI&w=560&h=315]
Transformers: Age of Extinction – June 27, 2014
I don’t know, man. I just don’t know anymore. I was as excited for the original Transformers as anyone I know. Then Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers: Dark of the Moon sort of snuffed out any love I had for Optimus Prime and the other Cybertron refugees. Transformers: Age of Extinction looks like just another excuse for Michael Bay to blow stuff up, but it also has Optimus riding a freaking Dinobot. And in that one scene from the trailer all the heartache of the last two movies is almost washed away.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbI980iUb78&w=560&h=315]
Summer is upon us and so it’s time for nerds to reign supreme at the box office. Captain America: The Winter Soldier already kicked things off and, if these movies are half as good as Cap’s latest adventure, the summer is looking pretty bright.
Which of these nerdy summer releases are you most looking forward to?
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