With blockbuster season behind us, I thought
it was a great time to recap the 2013 summer movie season that was! I saw a record 13 movies this summer in the
theater, a personal best for me. Some were more memorable than others. Here’s a quick recap.
It’s hard to pick an absolute favorite
movie from this summer, but Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness and Pacific Rim
are among the top three. To me they
truly define why we wait for the summer to get larger than life action flicks
and why we have so much fun watching them.
When I get home today, Star Trek Into Darkness on Blu-ray should be
waiting for me and I’m already counting down for Iron Man 3 and my pre-order of
Pacific Rim.
The World’s End was worth waiting for. Edgar Wright ends the Cornetto Trilogy on a
high note with a great cast and some one-liners that will stand the test of
time. The movie is fun and entertaining
and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are fantastic as always.
We’re the Millers and 2 Guns were both
surprise hits for me. We’re the Millers
was funnier than I expected. Jennifer
Aniston and Jason Sudeikis were
great together and it’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a comedy this much. 2 Guns was a fun action/comedy! The chemistry between Denzel Washington and
Mark Wahlberg made the movie that much better.
I definitely recommend renting, if not buying, both of them when they
come out on Blu-ray and DVD.
Moving on to the animated movies of the
summer, I enjoyed Monsters University and Despicable Me 2, but thought both lacked
the magic of the first go-round. I would
have to say that I enjoyed Monster University a bit more due to the fact that I
love all things Pixar and Nathan Fillion was one of the Monster voices, but I
have a special place in my heart for the Minions! I love those little yellow
guys and they do steal every scene they’re in, but for me the first movie
worked because of the strong story and the minions were an added bonus, the
second movie had maybe too many minion gags and not enough story. The last 20 minutes of the movie had a lot of
great heart and story that I wish had been more of a focus throughout the
entire film.
Another movie worth mentioning was The
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. If it
wasn’t for Dawn, I probably would not have gone to see this in the theater, but
I must admit I enjoyed it. If nothing
else, I really want to read the books because the movie didn’t do great in the
box office so a sequel is probably not going to happen.
Last but certainly not least, I loved
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters.
They did a wonderful job with bringing the book to life. I really hope this does well enough to
continue the series! Percy was just a
great family movie all around.
Now for the movies that let me down this
summer. World War Z was a major
disappointment. Despite all the
production issues and rumors surrounding the movie, I still had high hopes for
it. I heard the book was fantastic and
was really excited to see it, but unfortunately it just didn’t impress me. I was into it for the first 15 minutes and
then it started to unravel and it never recovered for me. Another huge disappointment was The Hangover
III. I love the first two Hangovers, but
the third one left me wishing they had stopped at two.
I wish I could have seen The Wolverine,
This is the End and RIPD in the theater, but they are first day rentals/buys
for sure.
What did you think of the Summer
Blockbuster season of 2013? Were you
disappointed or pleasantly surprised by what it had to offer?
If you want to hear more on the 2013
summer blockbuster season that was, listen to Strange Adventures Podcast where I
and my co-hosts, @NicholasStrange from strangeamuesments.com and Holly Strange,
have a more in-depth discussion on the movies we saw this summer.
Here’s where you can find our Strange
Adventures Podcast:
Check us out on iTunes at this link https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/strange-adventures-podcast/id669303705
If you like us, make sure to hit the subscribe button so that you always get
our latest episode and be sure to rate us! 5 Stars are always welcome.
You can also find us on Stitcher by
searching Strange Adventures Podcast or at this link http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/38550/episodes
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your review and didn't realize how many movies I actually saw this summer until reading it.
One of my several favorites, Pacific Rim, I would not have seen in the theater if it hadn't been for your recommendation. I was on the fence about seeing it but I'm so glad I did!
I agree that The Miller`s and 2 Guns were great comedies. You didn't mention seeing The Heat which was hysterical! Go rent it when the DVD is released, you won't be disappointed.
White House Down was also in my top 3, of course it was a little far fetched but if you love action movies, you can't go wrong with this one.
Chan was an added bonus!
ReplyDeleteStar Trek Into Darkness, Wolverine, Fast & Furious 6 and Planes were all definitely worth mentioning too.
I`m in disagreement with you about Iron Man 3, I much prefered Iron Man 2. Also, Hangover 3, in my opinion was better than two and tied up the trilogy nicely. World War Z was another film that I enjoyed, it wasn't your typical horror movie, blood and guts zombies and I liked that. The thing that grabbed me is the fact that I could see something like it actually happening! Man of Steel, keep in mind this is the first Superman movie I've ever seen, told his story and kept me interested.
Although the fight scenes near the end could have been shortened, it was not a bad film overall.
ReplyDeleteThere are two others that I saw Elysium and The Lone Ranger. As excited as I was to see Elysium, it was much different than I expected and made me think about our government and what they are capable of. Let's hope future Earth doesn't turn out like that. Finally, The Lone Ranger which I only saw because it was a Drive In double feature, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but I wouldn't rush out to rent it either.
I was unable to catch RIPD while it was in theaters but look forward to renting it. The reviews of After Earth made me decide to wait for the DVD release as well. I'm still hoping to catch Mortal Instruments, I'm halfway through the book and don't want to ruin it.
Looking forward to your next review!!