Movies of the Month: May 2012

It may be easy to write off the month of May as belonging solely to The Avengers. That particular juggernaut has been building steam for the past five or six years and will finally be unleashed to U.S. audiences in the first week of May. There’s little doubt that The Avengers will be huge and will probably dominate the box office for the better part of the month. However, there are several other potentially great films coming out in May from guys like Tim Burton/Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Wes Anderson, among others. The summer season gets longer and longer each year, and this May sees a bounty of films at your local Cineplex.

Week of May 4, 2012

The Avengers

The plot: Our ace team of superheroes assembles to stop worldwide domination from Loki and his minions.

Who’s in it? Every superhero from Marvel’s universe. *deep breath* Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany, Stan Lee. Enough star power for you?

Ultimate Fate: It’s funny to think that a movie about stopping worldwide domination will soon be dominating the world. All word out of the press reviews says that this is a fun, well-made, memorable adventure that lives up to the hype. It’s been released in a few global markets, and it’s going gangbusters and pleasing crowds across the globe already. I bet it kills on IMAX, which is where I’ll be at midnight on Thursday.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The plot: A group of retirees wind up in an “exclusive” resort in India.

Who’s in it? Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson

Ultimate Fate: Wait, there’s another movie coming out this weekend? This one is aimed at the grandparents of the kids coming to The Avengers. Parents are supposed to drop the younguns off at the big show and slide on over to the theater next door where real actors and actresses will properly entertain. It does have a quality cast, and it looks cute enough. I’m sure my Mom would love it.

Where I’ll be this weekend: No questions about this week. The Avengers all the way. Marvel has been building this sucker up for a long, long time. It’s unprecedented how they have approached this film by building up the major characters with their own films, culminating with this film. I’ll be there opening night (in my Captain America t-shirt).

Week of May 11, 2012

Dark Shadows

The plot: The vampire Barnabas awakens from a two hundred year slumber in 1972 and sets out to restore his family’s name and honor.

Who’s in it? Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfieffer, Helena Bohnam Carter, Jackie Earle Haley, Christopher Lee

Ultimate Fate: Tim Burton and Johnny Depp reteam to adapt the vampire soap opera Dark Shadows into a feature film. This has been a passion project for he Burton-Depp duo for a number of years, and they finally got it off the ground. They look to have retained the shows, let’s just say, unique style and characters. They’ve turned this from a melodramatic melodrama into a quirky comedy that actually looks pretty good. Burton usually gives Depp free reign to act all weird and stuff, and that’s on full display in the trailers. Should be a fun time if you like the director’s/actor’s stuff.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Well, it looks to be a light weekend as far as new releases go. Many films are staying away from The Avengers long shadow. Tim Burton and company are not afraid though and are offering a pretty cool film. It should be fun. If you’re not into Burton (I know many aren’t), watch The Avengers again.

Week of May 18, 2012

Battleship

The plot: Aliens invade! Unlikely navy hero must save the day! Explosions!

Who’s in it? Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker (hot!), Liam Neeson, Rhianna

Ultimate Fate: Explosions!!! This movie has already opened internationally and has drawn in about $175 million so far. Reviews have been less than stellar, but it does feature big action. I doubt that it will be great, but it might at least be a good time-killer over the weekend. Not the most ringing endorsement, I know, but I haven’t seen too much to get me excited about this film.

What to Expect When You’re Expecting

The Plot: Five couples experience the joys and pains of pregnancy. Good luck to them, I say.

Who’s in it? Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Lopez, Brooklyn Decker (hot!), Anna Kendrick, oh, and a few guys too

Ultimate Fate: I suppose we were due for another romantic comedy. I guess parents, especially new parents, will find this enjoyable. Not that I can relate to any of this, so I’ll let others decide if they have any interest in this one.

The Dictator

The plot: A ruthless middle-eastern dictator visits New York and gets knocked down a peg by a CIA agent.

Who’s in it? Sacha Baron Cohen, John C. Reilly

Ultimate Fate: This is Sacha Baron Cohen’s take on Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America, which is to say that this film should be offensive and mean-spirited and shine a light on middle-eastern and American stupidity and generally be awesome. I think by now people know if they like Cohen’s style of comedy or not. Since Cohen has achieved a fair amount of fame as an artist, his previous cryptic style of comedy has been curtailed in favor of a more direct and traditional approach. John C. Reilly is a funny guy too. I’m betting I’ll enjoy this one more that Bruno.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Call me shallow, but I’ll be at Battleship. I love dumb movies with big explosions and hot girls. Battleship is the sort of film that needs to be seen on the big screen to be enjoyed, and, since not many seem to be enjoying it, I’ll give it every chance I can to be entertained.

Week of May 25

Men in Black III

The plot: Agent K gets caught up in a time-warp, alien invasion plot that threatens to destroy the universe, and Agent J must travel back in time to save him.

Who’s in it? Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin

Ultimate Fate: Nobody really clamored for a sequel after the mediocre Men in Black II, but we have a third film anyway. Give the producers some credit here though. I really like the idea of Josh Brolin portraying a young Tommy Lee Jones in a time-travel film, especially with Jones providing the voiceover of his younger self. It genuinely looks like all the principle actors had a good time making this movie. I’m just hoping that enthusiasm makes its way onto the screen.

Moonrise Kingdom

The plot: A boy and girl run away to a secret spot in the woods.

Who’s in it? Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, two cute kids

Ultimate Fate: The plot may sound a little basic, but keep in mind that this is a Wes Anderson joint. I think his film Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of the best films in ages, and it keeps getting better with repeat viewings. Anderson has a unique style and voice that translates into cute, smart, complex, and heartwarming movies. So when the plot is about two kids who run away together, you can rest assured that it will be an amazing story.

Chernobyl Diaries

The plot: A group of kids go off on an extreme tourism adventure to the ruins of Chernobyl and get more than they bargained for.

Who’s in it? Nobody whose name I recognize.

Ultimate fate: This film is from the guys behind Paranormal Activity, which leads me to expect a lot of the crappy “found footage” shaky-cam extreme closeup shots that I despise. However, the trailer actually looks decent. It looks like the filmmakers show a little restraint with the rapid-fire, quick cut filming techniques that make most “found footage” films nearly unwatchable. Pripyat, the city that housed the workers for the Chernobyl nuclear reactor is a creepy place, deserted for decades due to radiation contamination. There is something inherently frightening about a city whose occupants just abandoned their lives in the middle of dinner. Setting a horror film there could be a stroke of genius or it could all come undone through poor filmmaking.

Where I’ll be this weekend: As a Wes Anderson fan, I’ll be at Moonrise Kingdom.

Pick of the Month: Not much of a surprise here. I’m going to see The Avengers in all its glory on opening night. Odds are good that this will be the best time at the theater in the month of May.

Will you be seeing The Avengers too? Are you more excited by a Tim Burton film or a different film in May? Let me know in the comments below, and follow me on Twitter!