Upcoming Releases — July

Here's a look at all the new movies coming to theaters in July. It's a very mixed bag but it could have a few diamonds in the rough...

Wednesday, July 3:
The Lone Ranger — Every year there's a major blockbuster for the Fourth of July weekend. This year the slot goes to Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinski and this attempted update of "The Lone Ranger." The trailers have been OK, and there seems to be potential here. Still, I'm not sold on this. Many have predicted this to be the flop of the summer, so we'll see.

Despicable Me 2 — The first installment of this animated franchise was pretty adorable. At least the minions were adorable. I'm oddly excited about this. "Despicable Me 2" could well be the class of animated films this summer.

Friday, July 5:
The Way Way Back — This movie is a coming of age film from writer/directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. I loved what they did with the script for "The Descendants," and I love the trailer for this film. I couldn't be more excited.

Friday, July 12:
Grown Ups 2 — There was a time when Adam Sandler comedies were events to look forward to. That time has passed. "Grown Ups" was one of the worst of Sandler's comedies, so it's hard to get up for a sequel.

Pacific Rim — There is nothing about this trailer or concept I find appealing. This looks like a complete waste of money, some kind of hybrid between "Transformers" and "Godzilla." I fail to see the point...

Wednesday, July 17:
Turbo — This is another animated feature. It's got an interesting premise and could be amusing for the kiddos, but I doubt it will be better than "Despicable Me 2."

Friday, July 19:
R.I.P.D. — This looks like some kind of attempted clone of "Men In Black." Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges could be a humorous team, but there is something that looks off about this. Likely that's why it's being dumped here.

Red 2 — The first "Red" film was amusing. The older stars of the franchise are appealing, and this could have some amusing moments, too. But like so much of what's out in July it just looks OK.

The Conjuring — This spooky film is based on a true story. There are some tense moments in the trailer that could carry through the film, but it's hard to tell how compelling this will be.

Girl Most Likely — I like Kristen Wiig. I hope that she has a great film career. This movie might be funny, as the trailer is sort of amusing, but it doesn't seem like a home run. I could be wrong, but this feels like a film likely to be lost in the shuffle.

Friday, July 26:
The Wolverine — I thought "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was a film with a lot of unrealized potential. The same might be true of this installment. Wolverine is a great comic book character, but I've yet to see a film that really captures that well. The trailers for this film are uninspiring and it's late July release date isn't a promising sign.

The To Do List — This trailer looks pretty hilarious. The film has a good cast and an amusing premise. There will be plenty of cliches, but I think this film can make them work. I'm optimistic at this point.

Wednesday, July 31:
Smurfs 2 — The first "Smurfs" film was a bad idea. This sequel is a worse idea. Ugh...