FilmCrave Movie Blog 07/2014

New in Theaters August 1: Guardians of the Galaxy, Get On Up

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/31/14 at 07:42 AM CT

Let's face it - summer movie season has been kind of a bummer so far. Without a dominating family film, animation has hit the skids. Despite there being some great choices this year (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Godzilla and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes all come to mind) - the highest-grossing film of the summer has come in the form of the brainless Transformers: Age of Extinction ($237 million …

Comic Con 2014 - Excitement Level +5

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/30/14 at 05:21 PM CT

Some may say Comic Con has lost some of the spirit it once had - but even if this year might not have delivered enough of what people wanted - the fact is it still delivered plenty of buzz and rightfully so. From superheroes to horror - if you didn't find something to get excited about this year, you're getting too old. While not everything generated the amount of heat people were looking for, …

New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of July 29-August 4

Harley Lond - wrote on 07/29/14 at 02:10 AM CT

THIS WEEK'S THEATRICAL RELEASES:

"Noah": Director Darren Aronofsky kicked up quite a storm with his semi-revisionist take on the biblical tale of Noah and the Ark. Much to the chagrin of bible-thumpers, Aronofsky humanized Noah and his struggle to understand why he was chosen by his creator to undertake the great task of saving animal species before an apocalyptic flood destroyed the world …

Weekend Box Office: Smart Lucy Beats Down Brawny Hercules at Box Office

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/27/14 at 10:08 PM CT

As Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome gave us: "Two men enter, one man leave." In the case of this weekend's box office - two action-packed movies entered, only one came out on top. Even with both of the said movies performing above expectations, it still wasn't enough to save July from gaining over last year as, overall, the weekend was down 15% compared to last year - a trend that has become all too …

New in Theaters July 25: Hercules, Lucy, And So It Goes

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/24/14 at 08:08 AM CT

Another weekend, another chance for Hollywood to try to get out of the year-to-year slump they've been suffering this summer. It's going to be a battle between two one-name warriors at the box office: one a titan of mythological proportions, the other an enhanced human with curves and a serious drug problem. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has ruled the last two weeks, but I have a feeling the …

Marvel's Cinematic Universe: Is It the new Standard or a Recipe for Disaster?

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/23/14 at 06:15 PM CT

The success that Disney has had with the Marvel Cinematic Universe is pretty astounding. Since debuting Iron Man in 2008, Marvel films have brought in $2.6 billion domestically and nearly $6.3 billion globally - and with Marvel films scheduled through 2019, it is obvious that they are not going to give this model a rest anytime soon - and why would they? It has worked this well so far - you …

New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of July 22-28

Harley Lond - wrote on 07/22/14 at 05:18 AM CT

THIS WEEK'S THEATRICAL RELEASES:

"Transcendence" is a failed sci-fi morality tale by first-time director Wally Pfister (Christopher Nolan's cinematographer). Johnny Depp stars as a researcher in the field of artificial intelligence who is developing a computer that will feel and think for itself. As he closes in on his project, anti-technology extremists attack him and shoot him with a …

Weekend Box Office: Dawn Holds Off Anarchy, Sex Tape Flaccid

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/20/14 at 11:22 PM CT

For only the second time this summer, we had a repeat champ at the top of the box office. But despite all three new films opening in the top five, there isn't going to be a lot of cheer as most performed below expectations. Once again, the week-to-week average compared to last year was down - 26% compared to last year - and that puts July (so far) trailing 2013 by a full 30%. There is hope that …

New in Theaters July 18: Sex Tape, Planes: Fire and Rescue, The Purge: Anarchy

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/17/14 at 07:43 AM CT

The summer box office may be running a bit behind schedule, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of gas left in the tank. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes surpassed the original film - and maybe that's a good sign, as this week we're going to see two more sequels - an animated film and a horror. Plus we have a brand new raunchy R-rated comedy that will try to stand out amongst the crowd. But a …

New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of July 15-21

Harley Lond - wrote on 07/15/14 at 03:59 AM CT

THIS WEEK'S THEATRICAL RELEASES:

"Under the Skin" is kind of a 21st century version of "The Man Who Fell to Earth" in which an extraterrestrial finds itself out of sync with the humans around it, but here with a different goal than Nicolas Roeg's Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie): An alien takes over the body of a voluptuous woman (Scarlett Johansson) and travels the highways and backroads …

Weekend Box Office: Apes a Poppin' as Dawn Cruises to Easy Win

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/13/14 at 11:15 PM CT

The question going into the weekend wasn't if Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was going to open #1, it was how good was it going to be? Although the franchise may not have the appeal of the Marvel or Transformers name - it still had a smashing opening and bodes well for the future of the franchise. The same can't be said for the box office overall, as the summer doldrums continued for Hollywood …

New in Theaters July 11: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/10/14 at 07:40 AM CT

The July 4th holiday weekend didn't provide many fireworks for Hollywood. In fact, you had to fall back to before the Millennium to find a weaker July 4th on record. Even though Transformers: Age of Extinction had a monster opening, it had a big fall - and though it became the first summer movie to repeat as the #1 movie, it's second-week fall was massive. It is looking like this summer is not …

New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of July 8-14

Harley Lond - wrote on 07/08/14 at 02:58 AM CT

THIS WEEK'S THEATRICAL RELEASES:

"Bad Words":
Jason Bateman makes his feature directorial debut and also stars in this quirky comedy about a disgruntled middle-aged man who hijacks a national spelling bee and verbally mows down his competition -- eighth graders. And he's unstoppable -- contest officials, outraged parents, and overly ambitious students can't persuade him to end his "jihad" or …

Weekend Box Office: It's a Mighty Whimper at the 4th of July Box Office as Transformers Repeats

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/07/14 at 12:20 AM CT

With no tent pole summer film to launch the 4th of July weekend, Transformers: Age of Extinction managed to become the first film of the summer movie season to repeat at the number one spot. That win, however, also means it was one of the weakest 4th of July weekends on record - and, in fact, looks to be the lowest-grossing holiday frame in over a decade - you have to go all the way back to 1999 …

New in Theaters July 02: Tammy, Earth to Echo, Deliver Us from Evil

Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/02/14 at 07:47 AM CT

Happy 4th of July to all you fellow Americans - to celebrate the extra-long holiday, Hollywood has decided to give us three completely different films over the long weekend. However, none of them look like "blockbuster" material and I have a feeling that Transformers has the best chance yet of the summer to finally repeat as the box office champion coming off its red-hot $100 million debut. But …



View Archive

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?