Fresh Popped Corn #4: July Theatrical Trailers

Great Stories' new column for our movie trailer preview series is here.  Once per month, we will be taking a look at movies released for the upcoming month, and telling our readers where we would be spending our movie dollars each week, based on the look of the trailers.  Links to the chosen trailers will be provided so you can see just what we are so excited about.

July 5th
The holiday weekend brings with it Johnny Depp and his new project, The Lone Ranger.  Starring beside Arnie Hammer (J. Edgar), Depp plays Tonto,  and the movie looks like a fun ride amd perfect summer blockbuster fare.  It may seem odd to have Depp play the sidekick but the role matches his unique personality and quirky nature.  Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly star in the melo-drama, Stuck in Love, which looks like one for the ladies.  Hammer of the Gods is a violent viking (is that an oxymoron?) movie with a bunch of b-list stars and a desire to pillage your cineplex.  Meanwhile Steve Carrell is competing against himself as Despicable Me 2 and The Way Way Back both hit the big screens this week.  Obviously, his vocal talents ore only on display for the first entry, which follows up the hugely successful first movie.  The youngsters and their parents will be flocking to see this one.  The second title tracks the story of a young man coming of age (Sam Rockwell) who struggles to find his place as a new man comes into his mother's life.  Another movie produced for the women, Just Like A Woman, features Sienna Miller and Golshifte Farahani who are looking to escape the recent tragic events of their lives and find friendship in a road trip to Santa Fe where jobs await as belly dancers.  Suffice to say, I cannot imagine resisting the allure of the fantastic Lone Ranger trailer.  Check it out below!

July 12th
Pacific Rim is the next summer blockbuster to get a release in July.  It features giant monsters battling giant mechanized warriors for the survival of humanity, and directed by Guillermo del Toro.  Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, and David Spade reunite for more laughs in Grown Ups 2.  The DVD hit, V/H/S gets a sequel as well, promising more scares, terror, and mayhem than the first outing (which was better than I had expected, if you are into the horror genre).  Crystal Fairy takes Michael Cera down another strange path and script choices as he plays an American student travelling in Chile who gets caught up with a group of people who are searching for the ultimate psychadelic experience.  Fruitvale Station examines the last 24 hours of Oscar Grant's life (before he was tragically killed by police..an event caught on camera).  Killing Season is the last entry with John Travolta playing a Serbian soldier who befriends an American military vet (Robert Deniro) with the goal of revenge.  Great Stories bucks are on Grown Ups 2, which looks to be a laugh riot.  Pacific Rim just holds no interest here.  It pains me to say this as Guillermo del Toro is a favorite.  Pan's Labrynthe is a masterpiece, and the Hellboy movies are fantastic.  Fruitvale Station is also a strong candidate, however, and could be one of those lower profile gems.  In fact, we will feature both trailers below for your pleasure!

July 19th
Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds star in RIPD, about law enforcers from the afterlife, and strikes an almost shameless resemblance to the Men In Black movies.  Not to be outdone by Steve Carrell, Ryan Rynolds is also featured in two major movie releases in a week as he does the voice of the main character in Turbo, about a snail who wishes he was fast and gets what he wants a la The Incredible Mr Limpet.  Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play portray Lorraine and Ed Wilson, renowned paranormal investigators who investigate the most terrifying case of demonic possession of their carreers in The Conjuring.  Bruce Willis reunites with Hellen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Mary Louis Parker for RED 2.  Kristen Wiig plays a young lady who experiences a breakdown and is left to the care of her questionably fit mother (Annette Benning) in Girl Most Likely.  Ryan Gosling does his mother's (Kristen Scott Thomas) bidding as the son of a crime lord in Only God Forgives.  Finally, there is a very intriguing documentary on Tilikum, a killer whale in captivity responsible for the deaths of three individuals, called Blackfish.  I cannot imagine enjoying a second RED movie as much as I did the first, but have to try.  The combination of Willis, Mirren, and Malkovich is just too good to resist.  Check out the very promising trailer below!  Also, check out the trailer for Blackfish, which looks like a great candidate for those looking for less standard summer fare.

July 26thMarvel is back at it in the last week of July as The Wolverine arrives.  Hugh Jackman is back as the famous mutant, and kicking tail in Madripoor.  In The To Do List, Aubrey Plaza plays a repressed and inexperienced former valedictorian attempting to make the transition to college.  Crude humor is what you can expect from this one.  Cate Blanchette plays a middle-aged woman going through a personal crisis on many fronts in a Woody Allen-directed effort, Blue Jasmine.  A relatively lighter week on the release schedule as Hollywood runs scared from Marvel, and with that you must already know which movie I would be putting my money down on.  Here is the trailer for The Wolverine!



Thanks for checking in with us at Great Stories for our July movie previews.  Summer is in full gear and we want to know what you will be checking out this month in theaters!