Every summer, there are heavy hitters and heavy misses in the movie box office. So, I thought why not give a junior awards show to this fine summer movie season. I have carefully selected five films each with unique categories that I feel fit perfectly. And if you don’t agree with my picks, that’s totally fine. It’s great to disagree in movies and that’s half the fun. So, without further ado, the first annual Movieguy17 Summer Movie Awards!
“Surprised it didn’t stink” Award: 22 Jump Street
Now I know what you are thinking, and yes, I did in fact love the first one so why wouldn’t I think the second one be just as good? It certainly wasn’t because of the people behind the film, with nearly all the cast returning as well as Phil Lord and Chris Miller. I didn’t have the highest of hopes for this film because it fell into that incredible dangerous and hazardous area of comedy sequels. Most comedy sequels are just shells of the original, rehashing old jokes and not living up to the original. Case in point, Hangover II, Blues Brothers 2000, and the worst, Son of the Mask. But unlike those other films, this actually used it being a sequel to its advantage, even poking fun of itself more than a few times. 22 Jump Street, you gave me hope again that we may someday see more good comedy sequels so good job!
Most Disappointing: Amazing Spider-man 2
Let me preface this by saying Amazing Spider-man 2 isn’t a bad movie, it’s just kinda ok though. Being a big comics guy, for me it was always Spider-man and Batman as the best guys and the ones I knew the most about. So, naturally, whenever either hero comes out with a new film, I get excited about the release. But when I walked out of the theater, instead of being pumped for the next movie I was just meh, wanting a little more out of what I had just seen. The film suffers from trying to set up too much for future films that it becomes disorienting all the new details and plot points that have no real impact on the overall story. In short, they had the script for Amazing Spider-man 3 done before this film. The movie however did have some bright spots as Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield once again have amazing chemistry. And Dane Dahaan proves once again that he is a rising star in Hollywood as he plays Harry Osborn, but unfortunately isn’t given enough screen time. Sony, here’s hoping you can fix things before that Sinister Six movie you’re working on comes out.
Best Moment: Godzilla’s Roar (Godzilla)
Before you all freak out at me on this one, hear me out. I am not here defending Godzilla as the best film of the summer, that pick is later. I know people are on either side of the fence of whether or not the movie was even any good, and I understand both sides. But, there’s no doubt this is the best single moment of the summer. And here’s why: When I saw this movie, I knew I had to see it on the biggest screen I could find. So, I was fortunate enough to see this movie with my family on arguably one of the largest screens I have ever seen. Add surround sound to this mix and it no longer is a movie but an experience. When we got that toe to head shot, you knew something big was coming and it didn’t disappoint! My seat shook with the roar and I thought to myself “Now that is Godzilla!” even though I’m not a huge Godzilla fan. It was more a reminder of what makes watching a movie in the theater different than any other medium and it was amazing. All Hail the King of Monsters!
Most Fun Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians was just a blast and so I had to make sure I made a distinction in this. This is the most fun movie I’ve seen in along time but it is by no means the best. Doesn’t mean it isn’t still amazing! As soon as the opening logo came on with Come and Get your Love playing as the music, I knew this was going to be a fun ride, and I was not disappointed. The cast was incredible and you could tell that they throughly enjoyed making the movie. The film itself was so quirky and bizarre that it just fit together so well. It’s hard to describe this movie because on paper it shouldn’t have worked. Because just look: a former WWE wrestler, a talking tree and racccon, a green alien, and the formerly fat guy from Parks and Rec? But thanks to director James Gunn, the film came together beautifully and it’s hard describing this movie as anything but fun! We are Groot!
Best Movie of the Summer: X-Men: Days of Future Past
This is why I had to make a distinction between best movie and most fun movie because while I truly love Guardians, X-Men was definitely the best film of the summer. And believe me, this was a major surprise to me. I have always liked the X-men movies but they were never my favorite heroes. I, like most other people, loved Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and that’s why I kept coming back. But going into this, I had no idea how blown away I would be. An incredible story bolstered by phenomenal acting, the movie manages to balance a huge cast of old and new X-Men while never once feeling too crowded. It was able to seamlessly connect the new and old franchises while even helping to repair some past damage. Director Bryan Singer, director of the first two X-Men films, returned to establish order while at the same time giving us fans an incredible film. The real star of the movie was James MacAvory as a young and broken Professor X who gives an incredible and human look at the great mentor to the X-Men. All around, I think this film should be put in the discussion of greatest comic book movies of all time and by far the best summer movie of 2014!
Well, there you have it, a brief recap at this past summer movie season. We had some highs and had some lows but thats the movie season, and this year was a good one. I know I missed some movies, and that’s because I didn’t see everything despite my best efforts. Also Captain America 2 wasn’t anywhere on this because that got an April 4th release, just a tad too early for consideration, Sorry Steve. But overall, a great summer for movies. Can’t wait for the 2015 summer movie season!