Installment 3: July
After a twelve year absence, the Terminator franchise has been rejuvenated, and this July 4th weekend, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines will hit theaters. Overall, I have been very disappointed with the advertising campaign for T3, and is it just too late for another sequel? Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn’t had a real hit as of late, and his the 57 year old actor simply too old to play the Terminator again? These questions and more will be answered when the movie hits theaters, to what I am predicting to be a luke-warm audience reception.
Two years ago, an actress by the name of Reese Witherspoon made July pink, with the release of Legally Blonde. The first film made a tidy 96 million, and insured a sequel. Indeed there was a sequel, and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde will again turn July pink starting on the 2nd. This time, Elle is in Washington D.C., where she is lobbying for a bill on animal rights called Bruiser’s Bill (her dog’s name). LB2 features some big name actors like Sally Field and Bob Newhart. Luke Wilson also returns for his 3rd movie in the last three weeks as Elle’s fiancee. I am sure LB2 will have no problem beating the total of the first film, and if MGM can persuade Reese back for a third movie, I am sure there will be a 3rd.
Disney recently ran out of ideas for movies, so to come up with a film, they turned to their theme park. After recently making a movie based on their theme park attraction The Country Bears, they have no made one based of Pirates of the Caribbean. Staring Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, and Orlando Bloom, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl will set sail on July 9th. The movie which made a difficult shoot that included a fire that destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars in sets is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, who has a tradition of making big budget action movies just that. Pirates of the Caribbean is also the first PG-13 film for Disney. The box office potential for this movie is very foggy, as is has a nice release date, but pirate movies don’t fare well. Remember Cutthroat Island?
20th Century Fox must be shaking in their boots right now, as The Hulk’s box office freefall poses a problem for fellow comic book adaptation The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The premise for the comic book and movie seems very fascinating, a group of crime fighters consisting of famous literary characters including Captain Nemo and the Invisible Man. However previews make the film look stupid, and Sean Connery is a sure sign for a bad movie in my opinion. LXG, as Fox would like you to refer to the movie as, has potential, and should find a niche. But because of The Hulk, its potential is not what it once was.
Jerry Bruckheimer decides to spice up summer, with a one-two punch. First we have Pirates of the Caribbean, them a week later, Bad Boys 2 on July 18th. Martin Lawrence and Will Smith reprise their roles as Miami cops. The way June turned out must have Jerry shaking in his boots though. Yet as the only black-oriented major blockbuster of the summer, I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie is able to break the streak of flops.
Last year we had Road to Perdition, this year we have Seabiscuit. Even though one film has to do with a horse, and the other with an anti-hero on his way to hell, the two are related by one common goal: Oscar. Both are/were their respective summer’s Oscar-hopeful movie. Although Road to Perdition wasn’t able to garner much gold except in the cinematography, Seabiscuit hopes to stay fresh in the minds of Oscar voters with a cast featuring Tobey McGuire, Jeff Bridges, and Chris Cooper.
When Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle debuted to a MUCH lower than expected $38 million opening weekend, one movie above any other was franticly reworking their marketing campaign. That movie was Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Both movies were relying on their name to sell, instead of the plot. Both featured female heroes. The Tomb Raider trailer even featured music from the first Charlie’s Angels. Cradle of Life still has a little time before its July 25th release date, but my guess is it will be hurt by the Charlie’s Angels backlash.
Using an old gimmick that hasn’t been seen since the days of Jaws 3-D, the latest (and final?) installment in the Spy Kids franchise, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, will be using 3-D. Yep, that means everyone in the audience will be receiving 3-D glasses and everything. More important than this though, is will the third installment have the same amount of magic that the first two movies had. Both Spy Kids, and Sky Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams were critically hailed and box office successful. My only guess is that the third one will follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, and may even do brisker business than the first. (I had no interest in seeing the first two, but now I plan to see them on video, so I can go see 3-D, because I want those glasses!!!)
That concludes segment three of Your Movie Connection's Summer Preview. Look for Part 4, August, very soon. Of course the film’s talked about above are the major studio releases. Below you will find a full list of releases in June, including the smaller flicks not discussed in detail above.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (July 2nd)
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde (July 2nd)
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (July 2nd)
Swimming Pool (July 2nd - Limited Release)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (July 9th)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (July 11th)
I Capture the Castle (July 11th - Limited Release)
Bad Boys 2 (July 18th)
Johnny English (July 18th)
How to Deal (July 18th)
Dirty Pretty Things (July 18th - Limited Release)
Garage Days (July 18th - Limited Release)
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (July 25th)
Seabiscuit (July 25th)
Spy Kids 3D: Game Over (July 25th)
Scorched (July 25th - Limited Release)
Mondays in the Sun (July 25th - Limited Release)
Buffalo Soldiers (July 25th - Limited Release)
Hotel (July 25th - Limited Release)
Masked and Anonymous (July 25th - Limited Release)
© 2003 Jacob Sproul
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