Top 30 Biggest Summer Movies Of 2013
<CENTER>- MAY -</CENTER>
Iron Man 3
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley
Director: Shane Black
Out: 3rd May 2013 (U.S. Dates)
Borrowing elements from the ‘Extremis’ graphic novel, this is about Tony Stark dealing with a virus that spreads through nanotechnology. Rebecca Hall (‘The Town’) plays Stark’s intellectual equal, a brilliant scientist who develops the nanotechnology that unintentionally lands in the hands of terrorists. Guy Pearce plays Aldich Killian, the evil geneticist who creates the virus. Ben Kingsley plays Mandarin, the villain ultimately pulling the strings. The hugely underrated Shane Black (‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’) is writing/directing, and the movie will have a global travel
aspect similar to James Bond. There won’t be a role for Black Widow or any of The Avengers.
About Time
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander
Director: Richard Curtis
Out: 10th May 2013
Romcom-drama starring Domhnall (son of Brendan) Gleeson as a young man from a family of time-travellers who attempt to change history for the better. During a trip to the past he falls for a woman (McAdams), but as he goes through his life he realises his ability can’t save him from the ups and downs that affect all families. Writer-director Curtis (dir. ‘Love Actually’, ‘Boat That Rocked’ / writ. ‘Four Weddings’, ‘Notting Hill’) has been shooting in the likes of Cornwall and Abbey Road, and knows how to do charming human relationships. McAdams has been a time traveller’s wife once before, but this will be more fun.
The Great Gatsby
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Out: 10th May 2013
Remake of the Robert Redford-starrer, which was an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s romantic-drama. On Long Island, Midwesterner Nick (Maguire) is lured into the lavish world of his neighbour, Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio), a young, mysterious millionaire with shady business connections and an obsessive love for Daisy Buchanan (Mulligan). Nick soon begins to see through the cracks of Gatsby’s nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await. The movie’s timely theme criticises the irresponsible lifestyles of some wealthy people. Baz Luhrmann, director of ‘Moulin Rouge’ and ‘Australia’, is well suited to the grand material, and DiCaprio rarely disappoints.
Star Trek Into Darkness
Starring: Crew from previous movie, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Peter Weller
Director: J.J. Abrams
Out: 17th May 2013
After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. 2009′s pleasant surprise returns, keeping the same cast and director. Benedict Cumberbatch will play the villain, said to be similar to Khan (from ‘Star Trek II’). Peter Weller will be an important ‘CEO’ figure, while Alice Eve is a femme fatale. Location-wise, it will feature a “jungle planet” (is it Project Genesis?). If the movie has half the impact of the original ‘Star Trek II’ it will be terrific entertainment.
Epic
Starring: (voices) Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Beyoncé, Colin Farrell
Director: Chris Wedge
Out: 24th May 2013
3D animation about a teenager (Seyfried) who finds herself in a secret world in the forest, where a battle between the forces of good and the evil is taking place. There she must help a team of whimsical characters save their civilisation, in order to save hers. Based on the childrens book ‘The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs’, this is from the director of the perfectly-decent ‘Ice Age’ and ‘Robots’. It would appear to be somewhere between ‘Ferngully’ and ‘A Bug’s Life’, with a touch of ‘Avatar’. Beyoncé voices an evil spider queen. The lead couple closely resemble the pair from Disney’s ‘Tangled’. It all looks ok. Bad title.
Fast & Furious 6
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez
Director: Justin Lin
Out: 24th May 2013
Universal are shifting the series focus from car culture street-racing to heists where car driving ability is just one aspect. The intention is to expand the audience further and ‘Fast
Five’ was the transitional movie. The director of the previous three returns for this installment which is set in the UK and Germany. Luke Evans plays the villain, the leader of a crew of thieves targeting the same heist job. Michelle Rodriguez is back as Letty. MMA fighter Gina Carano will play a member of Hobbs’ (Johnson) team. Brazilian reviewers hated the inaccuracies in ‘Fast Five’s’ depiction of Rio, I expect fellow Brits will find the crew coming to the UK quite clunky too. Nonetheless, ‘Fast Five’ did huge box office numbers and since Vin Diesel’s return for the fourth movie the series just keeps getting bigger.
The Hangover Part III
Starring: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha
Director: Todd Phillips
Out: 24th May 2013
The wolfpack are back on another misadventure only this time it won’t have anything to do with lost memories. Instead the story is about Phil and Stu taking Alan to Las Vegas to cheer him up after his father
dies. They are intercepted by a gangster (John Goodman) who kidnaps Doug and orders them to find their old associate Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), with whom he has a score to settle. It’s a sensible move changing the formula at this stage, it was getting tired and this frees up their wild antics. However starting with a funeral and looking to cheer someone up is a bit bleak. Director Todd Phillips returns, but says it’s the last ‘Hangover’ for all of them. The three leads are being paid $15m each for this, they got $300k for the first movie.
<CENTER>- MAY -</CENTER>
Iron Man 3
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley
Director: Shane Black
Out: 3rd May 2013 (U.S. Dates)
Borrowing elements from the ‘Extremis’ graphic novel, this is about Tony Stark dealing with a virus that spreads through nanotechnology. Rebecca Hall (‘The Town’) plays Stark’s intellectual equal, a brilliant scientist who develops the nanotechnology that unintentionally lands in the hands of terrorists. Guy Pearce plays Aldich Killian, the evil geneticist who creates the virus. Ben Kingsley plays Mandarin, the villain ultimately pulling the strings. The hugely underrated Shane Black (‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’) is writing/directing, and the movie will have a global travel
About Time
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander
Director: Richard Curtis
Out: 10th May 2013
Romcom-drama starring Domhnall (son of Brendan) Gleeson as a young man from a family of time-travellers who attempt to change history for the better. During a trip to the past he falls for a woman (McAdams), but as he goes through his life he realises his ability can’t save him from the ups and downs that affect all families. Writer-director Curtis (dir. ‘Love Actually’, ‘Boat That Rocked’ / writ. ‘Four Weddings’, ‘Notting Hill’) has been shooting in the likes of Cornwall and Abbey Road, and knows how to do charming human relationships. McAdams has been a time traveller’s wife once before, but this will be more fun.
The Great Gatsby
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Out: 10th May 2013
Remake of the Robert Redford-starrer, which was an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s romantic-drama. On Long Island, Midwesterner Nick (Maguire) is lured into the lavish world of his neighbour, Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio), a young, mysterious millionaire with shady business connections and an obsessive love for Daisy Buchanan (Mulligan). Nick soon begins to see through the cracks of Gatsby’s nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await. The movie’s timely theme criticises the irresponsible lifestyles of some wealthy people. Baz Luhrmann, director of ‘Moulin Rouge’ and ‘Australia’, is well suited to the grand material, and DiCaprio rarely disappoints.
Star Trek Into Darkness
Starring: Crew from previous movie, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Peter Weller
Director: J.J. Abrams
Out: 17th May 2013
After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. 2009′s pleasant surprise returns, keeping the same cast and director. Benedict Cumberbatch will play the villain, said to be similar to Khan (from ‘Star Trek II’). Peter Weller will be an important ‘CEO’ figure, while Alice Eve is a femme fatale. Location-wise, it will feature a “jungle planet” (is it Project Genesis?). If the movie has half the impact of the original ‘Star Trek II’ it will be terrific entertainment.
Epic
Starring: (voices) Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Beyoncé, Colin Farrell
Director: Chris Wedge
Out: 24th May 2013
3D animation about a teenager (Seyfried) who finds herself in a secret world in the forest, where a battle between the forces of good and the evil is taking place. There she must help a team of whimsical characters save their civilisation, in order to save hers. Based on the childrens book ‘The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs’, this is from the director of the perfectly-decent ‘Ice Age’ and ‘Robots’. It would appear to be somewhere between ‘Ferngully’ and ‘A Bug’s Life’, with a touch of ‘Avatar’. Beyoncé voices an evil spider queen. The lead couple closely resemble the pair from Disney’s ‘Tangled’. It all looks ok. Bad title.
Fast & Furious 6
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez
Director: Justin Lin
Out: 24th May 2013
Universal are shifting the series focus from car culture street-racing to heists where car driving ability is just one aspect. The intention is to expand the audience further and ‘Fast
The Hangover Part III
Starring: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha
Director: Todd Phillips
Out: 24th May 2013
The wolfpack are back on another misadventure only this time it won’t have anything to do with lost memories. Instead the story is about Phil and Stu taking Alan to Las Vegas to cheer him up after his father