June Movies: Wonder Woman. Mummy, Transformers, & Cars

[Mark Vader]

School is out! It's getting hotter! Which means the Summer season of movies continues it's parade of big tent pole films within the month of June. After a scorching debut for "Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2", the Summer season has stalled with customers showing little enthusiasm for nearly all of the offerings in May. Memorial Day Weekend, which is the second biggest weekend of the year for movies, had it's lowest amount in box office grosses since 1999. Can the movies in June turn the tide? There is still plenty of action that will be served up as franchises from DC, Dark Universe and Hasbro enter the fray. Also a pair of animated films reach the trilogy mark of their respective franchises. There is even some room for comedy as well.

 

Warner Bros. and DC are back, this time hoping for much better praise and word-of-mouth than their last outing, with "Wonder Woman". Before she was Wonder Woman she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained warrior. When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war to end all wars, discovering her full powers and true destiny. After a poor reception to "Batman V. Superman" & "Suicide Squad", Warner Bros. desperately needs a hit in the DC universe. Especially with them rushing "Justice League" for this November. Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis & Lucy Davis.

 

Universal begins it's Dark Universe series, reigniting their classic monsters franchise, as Tom Cruise stars in "The Mummy". An ancient princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension. Also starring Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis & Russell Crowe.

 

Paramount brings back the robots in disguise with "Transformers: The Last Knight". Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Starring Laura Haddock, Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Gemma Chan, Isabela Moner, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Sophia Myles & Anthony Hopkins.

 

Disney & Pixar bring us "Cars 3". Lightning McQueen sets out to prove to a new generation of racers that he's still the best race car in the world. Starring the voices of Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo, Chris Cooper, Nathan Fillion, Larry the Cable Guy, Armie Hammer, Tony Shalhoub, Bonnie Hunt & Kerry Washington.

 

Universal & Illumination bring us "Despicable Me 3". Gru meets his twin brother, Dru, who he never knew about. Starring the voices of Steve Carrell, Jenny Slate, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan & Julie Andrews.

 

Dreamworks & 20th Century Fox present, "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie". Two overly imaginative pranksters named George and Harold, hypnotize their principal into thinking he's a ridiculously enthusiastic, incredibly dimwitted superhero named Captain Underpants. Starring the voices of Kevin Hart, Thomas Middleditch, Ed Helms & Nick Kroll.

 

Will Ferrell & Amy Poehler star in, "The House". A dad convinces his friends to start an illegal casino in his basement after he and his wife spend their daughter's college fund.

 

Scarlett Johansson stars in, "Rough Night". A group of friends are horrified when the male stripper they hired for a wild bachelorette party in Miami winds up dead. Also starring Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Zoe Kravitz, Ilana Glazer & Demi Moore.

 

Finally, "All Eyez On Me" Tells the true and untold story of prolific rapper, actor, poet and activist Tupac Shakur. Starring Demetrius Shipp Jr., Danai Gurira, Kat Graham & Annie Ilonzeh.

 

Calendar with Trailers

 

6/2

"Wonder Woman": http://wonderwomanfilm.com/

 

"Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie: http://www.dreamworks.com/captainunderpants/

 

6/9

"The Mummy": http://www.themummy.com/

 

6/16

"All Eyez On Me": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi62109977?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1

 

"Rough Night": http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/roughnight/

 

"Cars 3": http://movies.disney.com/cars-3

 

6/21

"Transformers: The Last Knight": http://www.paramount.com/movies/transformers-last-knight

 

6/30

"Despicable Me 3": http://www.despicable.me/

 

"The House": http://www.thehousemovie.com/

 

That's all for now, I'll be posting several Independent Films in this post later. Until then.....Enjoy!

 

 

[DC Tom]

Universal begins it's Dark Universe series, reigniting their classic monsters franchise, as Tom Cruise stars in "The Mummy". An ancient princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.

 

The only thing about that movie defies human comprehension is why they chose to make it in the first place.

 

I'll bet Tom Cruise rides a motorcycle at some point in that movie. How much do you want to bet we see Tom Cruise on a motorcycle?

[Tiberius]

 

The only thing about that movie defies human comprehension is why they chose to make it in the first place.

 

I'll bet Tom Cruise rides a motorcycle at some point in that movie. How much do you want to bet we see Tom Cruise on a motorcycle?

Or why someone would pay money or waste their time watching it

[Buffalo_Gal]

We are off to see Wonder Woman this afternoon. The glowing reviews leave me apprehensive ...

[BringBackFergy]

Yet another great selection of unoriginal movie ideas and contrived "new and improved" plots.

 

Ugh.

[DC Tom]

We are off to see Wonder Woman this afternoon. The glowing reviews leave me apprehensive ...

 

When you take out the inevitable "Girl Power!" elements of the reviews, the movie looks every bit as promising as I've thought.

[shrader]

I hope Trey Parker was given a bit of freedom to be Trey Parker in Dispicable Me 3. Granted it would have to be a toned down version, but I hope he added in some ad libbing that made its way into the movie.

[LeGOATski]

I was pretty excited for the Dark Universe, but the movies have just been...meh.

They didn't approach them as horror. They approached them as action/adventure. Totally wrong.

[unbillievable]

 

When you take out the inevitable "Girl Power!" elements of the reviews, the movie looks every bit as promising as I've thought.

 

 

We are off to see Wonder Woman this afternoon. The glowing reviews leave me apprehensive ...

 

Unfortunately, you have to throw out the reviews for all these SJW backed movies. Rotton Tomatos gave Ghostbusters a 100% rating the first few days before the real critics weighed in. The audience rating will be interesting.

[Mark Vader]

 

When you take out the inevitable "Girl Power!" elements of the reviews, the movie looks every bit as promising as I've thought.

Is that good or bad?

[Buffalo_Gal]

 

When you take out the inevitable "Girl Power!" elements of the reviews, the movie looks every bit as promising as I've thought.

Reviews notwithstanding, it was really quite good.

 

We did not see it in 3D, but I think that may be the best way to view it.

[DC Tom]

Is that good or bad?

 

Yeah, okay, that's fair. Let me clarify: I think Wonder Woman truly looks like a promising movie.

 

I could be wrong. But let's face it, it has to be better than Suicide Squad, if only for not introducing the major characters in a !@#$ing 20 minute narrated montage.

[Mark Vader]

I was pretty excited for the Dark Universe, but the movies have just been...meh.

They didn't approach them as horror. They approached them as action/adventure. Totally wrong.

"The Mummy" is the first of the Dark Universe movies.

 

I agree with you that the action/adventure take on these classic monsters is not a good approach. Yet Universal seems determined to go that route.

 

Time will tell if it's a wise decision.

[LeGOATski]

"The Mummy" is the first of the Dark Universe movies.

 

I agree with you that the action/adventure take on these classic monsters is not a good approach. Yet Universal seems determined to go that route.

 

Time will tell if it's a wise decision.

Ok, I thought Dracula Untold and I, Frankenstein were part of it and they had a very similar vibe.

 

I never saw I, Frankenstein but I see that wasn't even Universal.

[unbillievable]

Ok, I thought Dracula Untold and I, Frankenstein were part of it and they had a very similar vibe.

 

I never saw I, Frankenstein but I see that wasn't even Universal.

Dracula was supposed to be the start, but it flopped. So they're rebooting the reboot with a bigger name.

 

The Studio is trying to force a franchise.

[Deranged Rhino]

 

The only thing about that movie defies human comprehension is why they chose to make it in the first place.

 

I'll bet Tom Cruise rides a motorcycle at some point in that movie. How much do you want to bet we see Tom Cruise on a motorcycle?

 

 

"The Mummy" is the first of the Dark Universe movies.

 

I agree with you that the action/adventure take on these classic monsters is not a good approach. Yet Universal seems determined to go that route.

 

Time will tell if it's a wise decision.

 

Yup.

 

Universal was about to lose the license on a few of their monsters a few years ago, so rather than let them go into the public domain they hired a bunch (of really expensive) writers to sit in a room together for 2 or 3 months and come up with a connected universe like Marvel... in two to three months they were asked to do what took Marvel several years to do.

 

Then they paid Cruise well above his normal quote (to keep him from also producing it) to launch the series and crossed their fingers.

 

I haven't been impressed by the trailers so far - but I'll still probably see it.

 

Reviews notwithstanding, it was really quite good.

 

We did not see it in 3D, but I think that may be the best way to view it.

 

I've been hearing from everyone it's great.

Dracula was supposed to be the start, but it flopped. So they're rebooting the reboot with a bigger name.

 

The Studio is trying to force a franchise.

 

This.

[Mark Vader]

 

Yeah, okay, that's fair. Let me clarify: I think Wonder Woman truly looks like a promising movie.

 

I could be wrong. But let's face it, it has to be better than Suicide Squad, if only for not introducing the major characters in a !@#$ing 20 minute narrated montage.

Understood.

 

I never saw "Suicide Squad", which I was told that I wasn't missing much.

 

I just hope that "Wonder Woman" is better than "Batman V. Superman". I still think that Warner Bros. is making a mistake by releasing "Justice League" later this year, then having more origin movies after the big payoff. This makes no sense.

 

Joss Whedon taking over on director duties for "Justice League" is a positive sign, I just wonder if it's enough.

[Virgil]

I'm a huge nerd by the way of comics. Wonder Woman is not a favorite character of mine and many of the DC movies have been off to me.

 

With that, Wonder Woman was fantastic! Easily the best DC movie in this new comic world. I can't compare it to Dark Knight because it's just a different kind of film.

 

The best comparison I can give it is Captain America, but I liked this better.

 

I absolutely recommend.

[Buffalo_Gal]

I'm a huge nerd by the way of comics. Wonder Woman is not a favorite character of mine and many of the DC movies have been off to me.

 

With that, Wonder Woman was fantastic! Easily the best DC movie in this new comic world. I can't compare it to Dark Knight because it's just a different kind of film.

 

The best comparison I can give it is Captain America, but I liked this better.

 

I absolutely recommend.

 

It did remind me of Captain America (and those are my favorite in the Marvel Universe). It could be why I enjoyed it so much. Although, Wonder Woman is my favorite comic book character so I had wanted to see this since the first previews. It exceeded expectations.

[Dante]

Yet another great selection of unoriginal movie ideas and contrived "new and improved" plots.

 

Ugh.

Not one movie that Mark posted interests me at all. Nothing even close.. And I don't believe the sales numbers for Wonder Women. There can't be that many people that would pay to watch that.

[DC Tom]

Understood.

 

I never saw "Suicide Squad", which I was told that I wasn't missing much.

 

I just hope that "Wonder Woman" is better than "Batman V. Superman". I still think that Warner Bros. is making a mistake by releasing "Justice League" later this year, then having more origin movies after the big payoff. This makes no sense.

 

Joss Whedon taking over on director duties for "Justice League" is a positive sign, I just wonder if it's enough.

 

Suicide Squad is worth watching for two reasons: 1) Margo Robbie's performance is entertaining as hell. I hesitate to say it was "good" - the consistently appearing and disappearing Brooklyn accent in particular is irksome. But she does make Harley Quinn an engaging character.

 

And 2) it's a fascinating exercise in movie-making by people who's relation to movies appears to be nothing more than "Well...we've never seen one, but we've heard rumors." I mean...character introduction by a 20-minute narrated montage? Some of the characters they introduce two or three times??? The most entertaining part of the first half-hour of the movie for me was wondering how anybody thought anything in that first half-hour was a good idea.

[Mark Vader]

 

 

 

Yup.

 

Universal was about to lose the license on a few of their monsters a few years ago, so rather than let them go into the public domain they hired a bunch (of really expensive) writers to sit in a room together for 2 or 3 months and come up with a connected universe like Marvel... in two to three months they were asked to do what took Marvel several years to do.

 

Then they paid Cruise well above his normal quote (to keep him from also producing it) to launch the series and crossed their fingers.

 

I haven't been impressed by the trailers so far - but I'll still probably see it.

I love the Universal Monsters, and if they want to give it an update and make them all connected, I'm all for it.

 

This is not unprecedented. After all Universal created the Monster Mash in the '40's with "Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman", "House of Frankenstein" & "House of Dracula".

 

Now your description of these writers trying to come up with all of this in just 2-3 months is unsettling, and this could be a disaster. They gave this a try with "Van Helsing", and while it isn't a great movie, it was entertaining and a good attempt.

 

These attempts at trying to copy Marvel's success is being proven to not be so easy. The only thing that I've seen that has come close to a cohesive plan along those lines is Warner Bros.' Monsterverse series.

 

Hopefully Universal can succeed. Otherwise it's nothing but Fast & Furious sequels for the next 20 years.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Mark Vader

[DC Tom]

Hopefully Universal can succeed. Otherwise it's nothing but Fast & Furious sequels for the next 20 years.

 

You know damn well you're looking forward to seeing Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson racing motorized shopping carts in The Fast And The Furious XXVII: Walmart Drift.

[Deranged Rhino]

[unbillievable]

Saw wonder woman: It's the best DCEU movie to date, but not by much.

 

It's an entertaining movie, and they seem to have thrown in more humor, but it still suffers from bad writing. (especially in the third act). It's obvious "girl power" message doesn't beat you over the head, but it makes a dent.

 

I think everyone wants this movie to succeed for many reasons, and it's best accomplishment is that it's not bad. It will probably push Gal Gadot into the DCEU feature role that Robert Downey Jr enjoys at Marvel.

Edited June 4, 2017 by unbillievable

[Kevbeau]

 

You know damn well you're looking forward to seeing Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson racing motorized shopping carts in The Fast And The Furious XXVII: Walmart Drift.

"I live my life one price rollback at a time..."

[Punching Bag]

Saw Wonder Woman with my wife. It is not best comic movie in last decade but definitely in top 5. The changes they made to Wonder Woman are usual things which happen unfortunately even with a respected comics writer, Geoff Johns, as executive producer. IMO they hurt the future of the franchise with some of changes but I thought same thing about Iron Man. Only matinee was reald 3D and from what I heard this 3D methodology is not as good as other 3D I have seen before but I have trouble seeing in 3D due to vision issues. Theater was almost empty but that happens sometimes on openings when they have so many showings of film.

[Mark Vader]

Yet another great selection of unoriginal movie ideas and contrived "new and improved" plots.

 

Ugh.

 

 

Not one movie that Mark posted interests me at all. Nothing even close.. And I don't believe the sales numbers for Wonder Women. There can't be that many people that would pay to watch that.

Perhaps these movies will change your minds?

 

Here's a look at this month's Independent Films.

 

Nicole Kidman stars in, "The Beguiled". At a girls' school in Virginia during the Civil War, where the young women have been sheltered from the outside world, a wounded Union soldier is taken in. Soon, the house is taken over with sexual tension, rivalries, and an unexpected turn of events. Also starring Elle Fanning, Kirsten Dunst & Colin Farrell.

 

In "The Book of Henry", Single mother Susan Carpenter works as a waitress at a diner, alongside feisty family friend Sheila. Her younger son Peter is a playful 8-year-old. Taking care of everyone and everything in his own unique way is Susan's older son Henry, age 11. Protector to his adoring younger brother and tireless supporter of his often self-doubting mother - and, through investments, of the family as a whole - Henry blazes through the days like a comet. Susan discovers that the family next door, which includes Henry's kind classmate Christina, has a dangerous secret - and that Henry has devised a surprising plan to help. Starring Naomi Watts, Jacob Tremblay, Lee Pace, Dean Norris, Sarah Silverman, Bobby Moynihan & Maddie Ziegler.

 

In "My Cousin Rachel", A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms. Starring Sam Claflin, Rachel Weisz, Iain Glen & Holliday Grainger.

 

In "It Comes At Night", Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge. Starring Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo & Riley Keough.

 

"The Bad Batch" is a dystopian love story in a Texas wasteland and set in a community of cannibals. Starring Suki Waterhouse, Jason Mamoa, Jayda Fink, Diego Luna, Keanu Reeves & Jim Carrey.

 

In "47 Meters Down", Two sisters vacationing in Mexico are trapped in a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean. With less than an hour of oxygen left and great white sharks circling nearby, they must fight to survive. Starring Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, Matthew Modine & Yani Gellman.

 

In "The Little Hours", A young servant fleeing from his master takes refuge at a convent full of emotionally unstable nuns in the middle ages. Starring Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon & John C. Reilly.

 

Finally, Kate Mara is "Megan Leavey". Based on the true life story of a young Marine corporal whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq. Also starring Bradley Whitford, Geraldine James & Tom Felton.

 

Calendar with trailers. Note: These films are for exclusive or limited release. These films may appear in your area at a later date.

 

6/9

"Megan Leavey": http://www.bleeckerstreetmedia.com/meganleavey

 

"It Comes At Night": https://a24films.com/films/it-comes-at-night

 

"My Cousin Rachel": http://www.foxsearchlight.com/mycousinrachel/

 

6/16

"47 Meters Down": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1940633881?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_3

 

"The Book of Henry": http://www.focusfeatures.com/thebookofhenry/

 

6/23

"The Beguiled": http://www.focusfeatures.com/thebeguiled/

 

"The Bad Batch": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2104669721?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_2

 

6/30

"The Little Hours": http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2935011609?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_3

 

That's everything.....I'll have the July movies up later. Enjoy!

[DC Tom]

Finally, Kate Mara is "Megan Leavey". Based on the true life story of a young Marine corporal whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq. Also starring Bradley Whitford, Geraldine James & Tom Felton.

 

Girl Power! Not just Girl Power, but Canine Power! Girl's Best Friend Power! Wonder Woman and Her Dog!

 

(Think maybe I'm a little annoyed at the social message? Someone needs to explain to me how it's enabling women to portray every success women have as unique and special.)

[Joe Miner]

Wonder Woman was.... Ok. IMO.

 

Probably one of the best DC movies so far. (Dark Knight still far better)

 

Didn't think that Gal and Pine clicked as much as the movie was going for. It seemed like it wanted to be a Tony/Pepper relationship, but it just didn't get there.

 

Also, although she's hot, Gal didn't come across as "Amazonian" as I was hoping for. Her mother and the island's general did, but Gal not so much.

 

And to go ahead and offend the rest of you, I wish Gal was more athletic. The running and blocking bullets scenes came across very feminine. She blocks bullets like a girl.

[Mark Vader]

 

Girl Power! Not just Girl Power, but Canine Power! Girl's Best Friend Power! Wonder Woman and Her Dog!

 

(Think maybe I'm a little annoyed at the social message? Someone needs to explain to me how it's enabling women to portray every success women have as unique and special.)

[shrader]

 

Suicide Squad is worth watching for two reasons: 1) Margo Robbie's performance is entertaining as hell. I hesitate to say it was "good" - the consistently appearing and disappearing Brooklyn accent in particular is irksome. But she does make Harley Quinn an engaging character.

 

I know it was pretty much more of the same from just about every Will Smith role, but I didn't mind Deadshot in that one either. But yeah, the entire thing was all about Harley. I'm not so sure there's enough there to work with when it comes to getting her in more movies, but hopefully they find more for her.

[Dr. Who]

She blocks bullets like a girl.

Man, I just hate that. Now I'm not going to see it.

[eball]

 

You know damn well you're looking forward to seeing Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson racing motorized shopping carts in The Fast And The Furious XXVII: Walmart Drift.

 

[Mark Vader]

 

I know it was pretty much more of the same from just about every Will Smith role, but I didn't mind Deadshot in that one either. But yeah, the entire thing was all about Harley. I'm not so sure there's enough there to work with when it comes to getting her in more movies, but hopefully they find more for her.

Margot Robbie will return as Harley Quinn in "Gotham City Sirens", and there is talk of making another Suicide Squad movie.

[Dr. Who]

The Beguiled, btw, appears to be a remake of a Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page movie from 1971.

[Punching Bag]

Wonder Woman was.... Ok. IMO.

 

Probably one of the best DC movies so far. (Dark Knight still far better)

 

Didn't think that Gal and Pine clicked as much as the movie was going for. It seemed like it wanted to be a Tony/Pepper relationship, but it just didn't get there.

 

Also, although she's hot, Gal didn't come across as "Amazonian" as I was hoping for. Her mother and the island's general did, but Gal not so much.

 

And to go ahead and offend the rest of you, I wish Gal was more athletic. The running and blocking bullets scenes came across very feminine. She blocks bullets like a girl.

 

Would be good for someone to shoot you to see if you can block like a girl.

[Mark Vader]

The Beguiled, btw, appears to be a remake of a Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page movie from 1971.

It is

[shrader]

 

Would be good for someone to shoot you to see if you can block like a girl.

 

Who needs to block them? Take those bullets like a man!

[Dante]

 

When you take out the inevitable "Girl Power!" elements of the reviews, the movie looks every bit as promising as I've thought.

Here is a great review of Wonder Woman. Don't have to go see it to know it would be like this.