The summer movies season is over so it’s time to deliver my top 5 films of the summer.
I watch a lot of films but I don’t see everything and outright ignore certain films (Lone Ranger, Fast & Furious 6). During the summer I don’t watch as many indie films so this list is blockbuster heavy, so without further ado….
#5 - The Conjuring
The Conjuring doesn’t do anything I haven’t seen before but it’s hard to ignore the craftsmanship on display. As a result, what could have been another drive through terribly familiar territory turns into of the most engaging and effective horror films of the year.
#4 - The World’s End
Honestly, I was ready made to love this movie. I’ve loved all of Wright, Pegg and Frost previous works (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) so I’m an easy mark. Still, I was surprised at how much heart and contemplation was on display. In addition to the zany fun and sharp dialogue of course.
#3 - The Great Gatsby
I love Baz Luhrmann as a filmmaker, he’s not for everybody’s taste but he’s given me some of my favorite movie going experiences. Needless to say The Great Gatsby was pretty high on my list of most anticipated film of the summer and he delivered in spades. I was thoroughly engaged with the film from start to film and left impressed with Luhrmann’s restraint in the 2nd half of the film. This was my favorite movie of the summer for a good while.
#2 - This is the End
The cast of This is the End is made up of actors and comedians I love so I was worried it’d never live up. Thankfully it didn’t. I’ve seen the movie twice and each time I laughed so much that I’d felt like I’d just finished up an ab workout.
#1 - Pacific Rim
Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite and dependable directors. Pacific Rim was right up my ally from the start. This is one of the few films I’ve seen that actually made me feel like a kid again. There were a handful of moments that literally gave me chills. This is a perfect summer film which deserved a much bigger audience.
Biggest Disappointments:
Star Trek Into Darkness
Being a Trekkie, this was the film I was most looking forward to this past summer. Sadly, it left me terribly disappointed. Everything in it was predictable. It wasn’t a huge surprise since so much of it was simply rehashed from previous films. It really seemed like a waste of talent. I really hope the 3rd one, Karl Urban agrees, blazes a new original path. All that being said, I am going to give this another shot on video.
The Hangover 3
I can’t say I had huge expectation for the 3rd film but I’d hoped it deliver some laughs with the non recycled plot. I think I only laughed 2 or 3 times during the whole. Please put a fork in this franchise.
Random surprises:
2 Guns
The trailer was a lot of fun but really didn’t know what to expect with the actual movie. Sure it’s stupid even though it’s overly complicated but its also a lot of fun!
The Purge
The Purge was a lot better than expected especially since I probably would have skipped it if there was something else playing that weekend. Personally I’d love to see sequel to flesh out some of the ideas thrown out.
I think I might have overrated:
Man of Steel
I gave Man of Steel a B- originally but I can’t say I remember much about it outside of a few bits here and there. I’ll give it another watch on video to make sure I liked it as much as I thought I did.
World War Z
Meanwhile, I won’t be watching World War Z again. I did give it a fair shot when I saw it and I think I ended up being too lenient on it. It was decent but fairly generic and forgettable.
That’s it, that’s all of it.
Now on to the Fall movie season!
