All That’s Epic Summer 2014 Movie Preview
With the early April release of ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, the summer movie season of 2014 is inching ever closer and we have no shortage of anticipated blockbusters and new curiosities on the horizon. Here’s a preview of what’s coming to a theater near you in Summer 2014.
Transcendence – April 17
Johnny Depp plays Will Caster, a brilliant scientist in the field of Artificial Intelligence who gets shot by a radical anti tech assassin. Desperate to save him in some form, his partner Evelyn Caster (Rebecca Hall) attempts to download his consciousness into a computer, but the entity that she preserved, or perhaps created, may not be what she expected.
‘Transcendence’ comes to us from Warner Brothers and Alcon Entertainment, directed by Wally Pfister and written by Jack Paglen. The cast includes Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara, Cole Hauser and Morgan Freeman. It’s exciting to think of how the film might tackle the moral and political aspects of its technological and evolutionary themes.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – May 2
Andrew Garfield returns as the Amazing Spiderman in the second installment of Sony’s Spider-Man reboot. Emma Stone is also back as Gwen Stacy. The Green Goblin (Dane Dehaan), Electro (Jamie Fox) and Rhino (Paul Giamatti) represent a new trio of villains threatening Spidey and the city he watches over.
The mysteries of the Parker family’s past and the sinister implications for Peter’s future loom large as he tries to carve out a normal life amidst his heroic responsibilities. The future of the Spider-Man franchise seems to have a lot riding on this movie. We will find out whether or not it can stand up on its own and expand on the web of intrigue its predecessor began to spin.
Godzilla – May 16
Toho’s colossal iconic metaphor for the horrors and societal impacts of nuclear war is reborn in this contemporary reboot of Godzilla. A cast of human characters, including Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Juliette Binoche, and Sally Hawkins, all struggle to find refuge and uncover the mysteries behind the catastrophes Godzilla leaves in his wake. Gareth Edwards, director of the 2010 indie thriller ‘Monsters’ has the directing helm.
As grim and ominous as the pre-release media has been, there are signs that ‘Godzilla’ 2014 may also embrace the inherently fun aspect of its long cinematic legacy. The synopses from Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures keep alluding too other monsters, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, that Godzilla will do battle with.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past – May 23
Brian Singer returns to direct the follow up to Mathew Vaughn’s franchise-saving prequel ‘X-men: First Class’, with the timeline-weaving ‘Days of Future Past’. In the future, with a devastating war threatening to wipe out humans and mutants, long-time rivals Professor X and Magneto work together to set a plan in motion that will prevent the pain and loss of the war before it ever begins.
A truly epic cast of franchise heavy hitters and favorites is on hand for this one, including James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen as the past and future versions of Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr. There’s also Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Halle Berry as Storm, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Ellen Page as Shadowcat, and Shawn Ashmore as Iceman. A host of newcomers playing mutants and humans alike also stars, including Evan Peters as Quicksilver, BingBing Fan as Blink, BooBoo Stewart as Warpath and Omar Sy as Bishop. Mark Camacho will also play US President Richard Nixon and Peter Dinklage will play Bolivar Trask, the man behind the infamous sentinels from the X-men comics.
Maleficent – May 30
Perhaps Disney’s most classic villain comes to life in compelling live-action with the enchanting performance of Angelina Jolie. The movie will tell the story of how the sorceress became evil and what drove her to curse Princess Aurora.
The extent to which Disney may be just hopping on the ‘make classic fairytales darker and edgier’ bandwagon is still in question based on the pre-release media, but the trailers look promising enough and Disney does have one hell of a story telling pedigree.
Edge of Tomorrow – June 6
Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star as a pair of time-looping warriors fighting a war against an unknown alien invasion. Not much else is confirmed regarding the cast or the plot as yet, but the film does come from Doug Liman, the director of ‘The Bourne Identity’ and ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’. What we’ve seen so far boasts some impressive mech warfare and some personal intrigue between Cruise and Blunt as they struggle ahead towards an as yet unknown goal.
Think ‘Groundhog Day’ meets ‘Starship Troopers’! Maybe.
