# Which of these summer movies are you interested in seeing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146 "2014-04-28T02:07:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/101 "2014-07-06T22:26:56Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > While I am looking forward to _Lucy_ if only because I like SJ, I am disappointed by the use of the “[we’re using only 10% of our brains](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/640/do-we-really-use-only-10-percent-of-our-brains)” meme. I had hoped we’d gotten past this one by now. No shit. Every time that damn commercial comes on, I want to punch the screen. With my fucking brain. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/102 "2014-07-06T22:38:43Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > While I am looking forward to _Lucy_ if only because I like SJ, I am disappointed by the use of the “[we’re using only 10% of our brains](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/640/do-we-really-use-only-10-percent-of-our-brains)” meme. I had hoped we’d gotten past this one by now. Also I don’t particularly care for movies where high intelligence is some supernatural force. Woo, scary. :dubious: Yeah, that meme is a bit of a joke now. Clearly, to judge from the movie, the other 90 percent of our brain is filled with “Woooooooooooo…!!!” Doesn’t mean the movie won’t be a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/103 "2014-07-09T11:44:45Z")
Chris Stuckmann gives _Dawn of the Planet of the Apes_ an A and pushes the Academy to give Andy Serkis an Oscar nomination already! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/h_E2IJ4eYIc/maxresdefault.jpg "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Movie Review") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_E2IJ4eYIc) ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/104 "2014-07-09T16:12:55Z")
Dawn is at 96% at Rotten Tomatoes, which thrills me and makes me happy for Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In, both of which I liked). We used to have conversation on Twitter and he’s a really nice guy. Evil Captor, you must not have seen Under The Skin yet. The whole thing is about Scarlett using her body. To nefarious ends, yes, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/105 "2014-07-10T10:22:52Z")
I saw Edge of Tomorrow in IMAX and really enjoyed it. I am a massive fan of the Wackowskis, and the fact they are spending an extra few months making Jupiter Rising perfect just makes me want to see it more. I’ll definately see it in IMAX, no matter what the reviews say, professional reviewers hated Cloud Atlas and Speed Racer but I really enjoyed them Lucy looks interesting, and it is done by the director of Leon, Fifth Element and Wasabi, so it is worth at least considering. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/106 "2014-07-10T10:36:59Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Dawn is at 96% at Rotten Tomatoes, which thrills me and makes me happy for Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In, both of which I liked). We used to have conversation on Twitter and he’s a really nice guy. > > Evil Captor, you must not have seen Under The Skin yet. The whole thing is about Scarlett using her body. To nefarious ends, yes, but still… I saw the trailer for the movie, and it looks so dreadful that not even the chance to see Johansen’s shaved pussy (which one commenter alleges is in the movie) could tempt me to pay money to see it. I saw a video review of it in which the reviewer praised it to the skies as a brilliant film … and it STILL sounded awful to me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/107 "2014-07-10T16:38:41Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Evil Captor, you must not have seen Under The Skin yet. The whole thing is about Scarlett using her body. To nefarious ends, yes, but still… Pretty well _no one_ saw Under The Skin, it ranks 75th in Box Office.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/108 "2014-07-10T23:39:06Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I saw the trailer for the movie, and it looks so dreadful that not even the chance to see Johansen’s shaved pussy (which one commenter alleges is in the movie) could tempt me to pay money to see it. I saw a video review of it in which the reviewer praised it to the skies as a brilliant film … and it STILL sounded awful to me. Each to their own of course. It was my favorite movie of the year so far until I saw Only Lovers Left Alive, then it became my 2nd favorite movie of the year so far. I loved its creepy and, yes, slow atmospherics, the hypnotic music, and Scarlett’s character’s subtle change from emotionless dealings with humans (such as how we would regard ants) to some sort of realization that human beings can be somewhat interesting creatures to the strange introduction of, what the hell? Emotions? “Emotions” which are as alien to her as she is to us. It’s not for everybody but I was definitely in the right mood at the right time. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/109 "2014-07-11T22:05:37Z")
I am undecided whether I want to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. On the one hand, it’s getting great reviews, but on the other hand I’ve never liked Planet of the Apes movies. Maybe I’ll wait for video. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/110 "2014-07-18T16:41:54Z")
Wow! NOTHING opening this weekend is getting especially good reviews: **58%** positive reviews for _Alive Inside_, a documentary about music and memory loss; **57%** for _A Five Star Life_ – an older woman is a luxury hotel critic; **56%** for the _Purge_ sequel, _The Purge: Anarchy_, a horror movie about people getting to commit crimes for one night a year; **55%** for _Mood Indigo_, a French rom-com with Audrey Tautou that looked to me like it might be interesting if you like that kind of thing; **52%** for _I Origins_, a movie with mysteriously vague trailers that suggested that the movie might be about reincarnation or have some kind of religious theme; **46%** for _Aftermath_ of a nuclear apocalypse, starring Edward Furlong (hmmm); **46%** for Pixar’s _Planes_ sequel, _Planes: Fire and Rescue_; **33%** for _Wish I Was Here_, Zach Braff’s Kickstarter-funded comedy drama about a man trying to figure out life, take care of his kids and look after his aging father. Can’t tell if it’s charming or nothing special. **20%** for _Video Games: The Movie_, a documentary about the history of video games; **19%** for _Sex Tape_, a comedy about a married couple who make a sex tape and then lose it and try to recover it; **0%** for _Persecuted_, a “Christian action drama mystery film” about an evangelist who is framed for the murder of a teenage girl. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/111 "2014-07-18T18:26:37Z")
Mood Indigo is a Michel Gondry film, the same guy who made Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I have no intention of reading the reviews before I see it. It could wl be lesser Gondry, or the reviews could be by people who just don’t like that kind of thing. Same for I Origins, made by the same guy who made the excellent Another Earth. I’ll see it just for that (and because I met him and Brit Marling after a screeings). The trailer looks a bit woo-y and somewhat offends my atheist sensibilities but I’ll give it a chance. Again, I don’t plan on reading reviews. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/112 "2014-07-18T18:32:28Z")
Richard Linklater’s Boyhood expands today too. It’s opening here in Chicago but I’m already going to see something else, so it’ll have to wait until next week. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/113 "2014-07-18T18:43:55Z")
I would love to see _Boyhood_ but it’ll never come here. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/114 "2014-07-25T16:40:33Z")
Here are this week’s movie releases: **89%** for _A Most Wanted Man_, a political thriller with Philip Seymour Hoffman; **83%** for _Happy Christmas_, a comedy drama about an irresponsible sister moving in with her married brother’s family; **67%** for _A Letter to Momo_, some kind of Japanese animated movie I know nothing about; **65%** for _Hercules_, with Dwayne Johnson as the legendary demi-god; **63%** for _Lucy_, with Scarlett Johansson as an involuntary drug mule who develops superhuman powers. My co-worker thought it was “pretty dumb” and Chris Stuckmann gave it a B- and said that while the action scenes were great, Lucy has so much power that there’s no tension. **57%** for _Magic in the Moonlight_, a Woody Allen rom-com starring Colin Firth; **44%** for _Cannibal_, a Spanish-language horror movie; **13%** for _And So It Goes_, something about Michael Douglas taking care of his granddaughter; **10%** for _Very Good Girls_, a movie about two high school graduates who are determined to lose their virginity before they start college and then fall in love with the same guy; Then we have these three, which had No Score Yet: _The Fluffy Movie_ - comedy concert movie with Gabriel Iglesias; _Kick_ - some kind of Indian action comedy, and _My Man Is a Loser_ - three boring, awful husbands try to win back their wives with the help of John Stamos. Have a good weekend! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/115 "2014-07-25T17:01:40Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > **13%** for _And So It Goes_, something about Michael Douglas taking care of his granddaughter; > ! Nothing to do with Kilgore Trout?😛 ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/116 "2014-07-25T17:06:12Z")
I’m always surprised when movies have such lame titles that don’t seem to mean anything and don’t tell you anything about the premise. Especially for a movie with a big name star like Michael Douglas. Even if the movie itself turns out to be boring. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/117 "2014-08-01T15:57:36Z")
Here are this week’s movie releases: The biggie this week of course is the poll’s winner, _Guardians of the Galaxy_, at **91%**. **88%** for _Calvary_, with Brendan Gleeson as a priest whose life is threatened; **80%** for _Get On Up_, the James Brown biopic; **73%** for _Rich Hill_, a documentary about three boys growing up in the Midwest; **69%** for _Finding Fela!_, a biopic about Nigerian musician Fela Kuti; **63%** for _The Almost Man_, a Norwegian comedy-drama about a 35-year-old man who still acts like a kid; **34%** for _Child of God_, a crime drama starring and directed by James Franco about a violent criminal who falls out of society; **30%** for _4 Minute Mile_, a drama about a troubled kid who runs track; **10%** for _Louder Than Words_, a drama with David Duchovny about a couple whose child dies and who then try to establish a children’s hospital; **0%** for _Behaving Badly_, a teenage rom-com with Selena Gomez. I also have two titles with no score: _Dark Mountain_ - another “found footage” movie about three filmmakers who go exploring haunted mountain area and disappear, and _Mining for Ruby_ - a romantic drama with Mischa Barton and Billy Zane about a depressed widower falling in love with an environmental activist. Have a good weekend! ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/118 "2014-08-02T19:45:59Z")
Just to remind folks, Calvary is written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, who wrote and directed The Guard, also with Brendan Gleeson. John Michael is the brother of Martin McDonagh, who wrote and directed In Bruges. Talented family! I’m not taking these scores too seriously. A few weeks ago you posted that **Wish I Were Here** was at 33% so I stupidly held off seeing it. I saw it last week and absolutely LOVED IT! I thought it was such a wonderful, funny (in a human way, not a jokey way), moving, sweet and lovely movie. It might well be in my Top 10 of the year. I walked out of the theater with such a warm glow and happy smile, unlike those who rated it rotten, who must have coal where their hearts should be and twisted, cynical, black-crusted brains. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/119 "2014-08-08T17:13:32Z")
Here are this week’s movie releases: **95%** for _The Dog_, a documentary about John Wojtowicz, the guy that _Dog Day Afternoon_ was about; **72%** for _What If_, a rom-com starring Daniel Radcliffe that looks delightful, and I’m too old to be interested in rom-coms (I think it’s opening only in “select cities” this week); **60%** for _The Hundred-Foot Journey_, the movie about the Indian family that opens an Indian restaurant across the road from Helen Mirren’s French restaurant in France. Food porn ahoy! Make sure you eat something before you go! **48%** for _About Alex_, a sort of _Big Chill_ for Millennials; **38%** for _Step Up: All In_, a movie about young people to whom dancing is very, very important; **30%** for _The Maid’s Room_, a thriller about an unfortunate woman who takes a job as a housemaid in the home of some very bad people; **20%** for _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_, which is a low score for something I thought might be silly but clever fun. Chris Stuckmann gave it a D+; **19%** for _Into the Storm_, a movie about a really big storm. Think _Twister_ dialed up to 100. Then I have No Score Yet for: _37_ about a rock musician who intends to kill himself on his 37th birthday and then falls in love, and _What Now? Remind Me_ about a filmmaker who has been living with AIDS for decades. Have a great weekend! ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146/120 "2014-08-10T19:14:13Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > _[What Now? Remind Me](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3102356/reference)_ about a filmmaker who has been living with AIDS for decades. I added a link to the IMDB page. I saw that in March at the European Union Film festival. It’s a first-person documentary. Joaquim Pinto documents his own life and the experience of trying a new experimental drug, plus dealing with a boyfriend who has his own troubles. It’s an odd documentary, a doc about a person made by the person it’s documenting, but it worked for me. You get to know and like him in the space of the documentary but he doesn’t sugar-coat the bad times too. It sounds like it would be very sad, but it’s a celebration of life, not impending death. He talks a lot about [working in films](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0684666/reference), which is interesting. He’s unknown to us, but any Portuguese film buff would know who he is. There’s a lot of old footage and photos used, but mostly it’s his present day he’s documenting. He’s got a good sense of humor and he and Nino have the greatest dogs! There’s one wonderful sequence of him rolling around playing with his exuberant dogs that seems to go on and on but it’s wonderful. [Here’s the trailer.](http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2652089369/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-summer-movies-are-you-interested-in-seeing/687146.md?page=7)