Summer is almost over. Officially the season doesn’t close until Sept. 22, however, the dawn of September often feels like summer is packing its boxes and moving out the dorm early for fall and winter break.
With fall’s arrival, goes the summer film bonanza. There weren’t any Oscar contenders this year like there was in 2014 when Birdman’s late August premiere began Oscar conversations. However, there were still questions burning hotter than record temperatures that needed answering. Let’s get started then.
1. How Did Jurassic World Set Opening Weekend Records?
Admittedly, I did see Jurassic World on opening night. But not because I was highly anticipating. In fact, I was dragged to it and reluctantly arrived about five minutes into the showing. Internationally, it was the grandest opening of all-time ranking in $524.1 million during its opening weekend and is the year’s highest grossing film. Of course, that doesn’t adjust for inflation.The original trilogy was mindless drivel for kids and adults. But so were Free Willy, Air Bud, Dr. Dolittle and Dunston Checks In. Animals as pseudo leads was a trend in the 90s. Not so much anymore. Unless said animal is portrayed by Andy Serkis. The remnants of a scrapped script featuring gun-toting dino-human hydrids squeezed through and the final product just barely cleared that low bar. Visually, the film was captivating, but Chris Pratt’s audition for Indiana Jones and Bryce Dallas Howard’s audition to play Jessica Chastain’s felt out of place. Nostalgia drove this vehicle, but I didn’t expect it to reach Mach 5 as 2015’s box office champion.
2. Are The Avengers Films Actually Any Good?
Technically, this premiered in the spring, but its impact is ubiquitous. There’s something about attempting to cram four individual film franchises into one motion picture that doesn’t quite create a compelling plot. Almost a decade ago, Sony’s pressure to include Venom in Spiderman 3. Sure there’s plenty of banter, aerodynamic suits, capes and cross-promotion, but there don’t seem to be any stakes. They’re not going to eliminate a movie franchise on Phase 3’s road to Infinity War in 2019.
Captain America: Civil War, which is technically a Captain America episode may be the best opportunity to shake up Marvel’s cozy Phase 3 slate. Considering that they’re done with the solo Iron Man films and Tony Stark’s inclusion as Captain America’s adversary in Civil War, nothing would surprise me. This summer though, Ant-Man was easily Marvel’s best quality fare.
3. What Was The Most Hilarious Film of the Summer?
Spy was good, but not great and Melissa McCarthy’s shtick is a metronome. You get the same delivery every time. Furious 7 was unintentionally sidesplitting, right down to Dom wearing a wifebeater to his wedding to Letty. While it’s true that each ensuing Fast & Furious sequel has been channeling more CGI than Michael Bay’s Transformers series, the seventh incarnation jumped the shark.(Note: Don’t be surprised if speedboats sneak into the next film.)
Aside from a few gender role swapping scenes with LeBron James and Bill Hader, Trainwreck was a bumpy ride. I didn’t get the opportunity to see Minions, but their billion dollar box office revenue tells me it was the U-13 winner in this category. The smoothest pseudo comedy of the summer though, had to be the aforementioned Ant-Man. It didn’t try too hard and the ridiculousness of its subject matter lent itself to levity. Plus, Paul Rudd hit all the right notes, even in hilariously choreographed action scenes, King of the South, T.I. was king of the zingers while Michael Peña’s flashback exposition and overall verbosity stole the show.
4. Was Inside Out “Up” To Pixar’s Standards?
Inside Out could have been better, much better. They could have focused on puberty or a death in the family for a little emotional depth (see: Up for those who say it would be too heavy for a kid’s film). Instead, it was a picture of first world problems and a kid throwing tantrums after moving from Minnesota (I was in Minneapolis this summer, there’s nothing out there) to San Francisco. The climax involved a bus ticket. Toy Story and Up raised the bar, but a film hyped as possible Pixar’s best was merely middle of the road. The concept was neat, but the execution lacked imagination. Which is ironic considering the film took place inside the mind of a pre-teen girl.
5. Does Terminator Genisys Deserve A Sequel?
China’s latest act of passive aggression against the United State was turning out in droves to see Genisys. After a poor domestic performance, Genisys had the fourth highest box office opening in Chinese history.
I don’t prescribe to the opinion that Genisys was as terrible as its 26% Rotten Tomatoes score suggests. A potential Terminator 4 (excluding alternate universe divergences Terminator Salvation and Terminator 3: Judgement Day) couldn’t be any worse than a Jurassic World follow-up. Arnold is getting up there in years and a final film to wrap up his loop to offer some closure is deserved. This just feels open-ended.
If Universal Studios does greenlight another Terminator, they’ll need to shift tempo and tinker with the tone, but his franchise is like an attractive, but shallow significant other with wealthy parents and annoying habits. It’s worth trying to change her.
6. Will Mr. Holmes And The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Open The Elderly Film Franchises Door?
The elderly aren’t very well-represented within the film industry. It can often seem like a real-life Logan’s Run for lead roles. However, that needs to change. Who needs Sherlock Holmes as a lithe, young, martial artist as he’s portrayed by Robert Downey Jr? Ian McKellan’s performance as Holmes was well-received, but it got me thinking, why stop at septuagenarian detectives?
Key & Peele poked fun at Stan Lee introducing superheroes dealing with typical symptoms of old age. Hugh Jackman’s final appearance as Wolverine will reportedly be based on the Old Man Logan comic book storyline. And who wouldn’t want to see Clint Eastwood as old Bruce Wayne in Batman Beyond, or a geriatric Superman flying at 20 MPH to stop a speeding train?
7. Has Straight Outta Compton Launched The Age of Hip Hop Biopics?
Dope was a homage to 90s hip hop. Antoine Fuqua’s Tupac biopic has been in a holding pattern for a few years, but should have been given an adrenaline shot by Straight Outta Compton’s reception at the box office. NWA’s origin story had the opposite effect that Adam Sandlr’s Pixel’s had on 80s and 90s video game adaptions. Next up, a Snoop Lion, Dogg Pound biopic could be in the works.
It’s only a matter of time before the east coast and southern rap want their just due on the silver screen as well. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I’m not so sure about launching hip hop biopic universes ala Marvel and DC. This could spiral down a rabbit hole deeper than R. Kelly’s ‘Trapped in the Closet anthology.
8. Minions Was The Summer’s Best Sequel/Prequel
Terminator, Age of Ultron, Mission Impossible 5, Mad Max: Fury Road, Insidious Jurassic World, Magic Mike XXL and Ted 2 come in second to Stuart, Kevin and Bob. The Minions may have fewer lines in English than Tom Hardy during Mad Max, but their comedic timing was the best we’ve seen from creatures with a yellow hue on the silver screen since The Simpsons Movie. Sequels were underwhelming this summer and after throwing shade on Inside Out, I had to give the PG film genre some acknowledgment.
9. What Was The Summer’s Most Disappointing Film?
Boxing films are easily the most compelling sports films created. Rocky, Million Dollar Baby, Raging Bull, etc. are head and shoulders better than Hoosiers, Any Given Sunday, Coach Carter, I could go on. Southpaw followed a predictable formula. In fact, it was essentially Eminem’s life. Now we get why Eminem was previously considered for the role. Until you actually see how chiseled and refined Jake Gyllenhaall became for this role and you wonder if Eminem has an athletic bone in his body.
10. Who Was The Summer’s Big Winner?
Tom Cruise’s comeback continues with the Mission Impossible 5 and rumors of Top Gun 2 have been acknowledged by Tom Cruise. Universal Studios also set the domestic record for total film box office gross. Big ups to their profit margins, however, the big winner was trailers. The Force Awakens and Dawn of Justice’s trailers combined to double DDT the Internet. Meanwhile, Deadpool, a movie that was greenlit after a leaked footage gained traction two years ago, released a trailer for its first trailer to much acclaim.
