As always, May looks to be a month packed with phenomenal films. The summer season has gradually widened with each passing year, so extremely popular films have begun being released weeks and even months earlier. This May is no different, holding a wide variety of new films, both blockbusters and independent films alike.
After a “Spider-Man” trilogy filled with some poor Tobey Maguire acting, “The Amazing Spider-Man,” released almost two years ago, seemed to offer more promise. Yet when watching the trailer for the “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” it seems like the newest Spidey film will hold the same problems that plagued its predecessors: namely a plethora of bad guys. The film seems like it does not really know exactly how to build a plot without three villains. The antagonists are the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan, “Chronicle”), Electro (Jamie Foxx, “Django Unchained”) and The Rhino (Paul Giamatti, “Saving Private Ryan”). Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield, “The Social Network”), in addition to vanquishing all foes, must also uncover his late father’s secrets about the ominous OSCORP. Prepare to have your brain turned to mush after two hours of too many plot lines. Fans can see “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” out May 2.
Taking place in the 1770s, the new film “Belle” is based on the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, “Odd Thomas”), a young black woman who grew up in the halls of English wealth, as she was the illegitimate daughter of an admiral. The film looks to portray the story of her romance with John Davinier (Sam Reid, “Anonymous”), a French steward, as well as her struggles with equality. Though it seems pretty obvious how the film will turn out, “Belle” still looks to be an interesting watch, as it is grounded in the historical accuracy of the time. The costumes are lavish, and the characters are conflicted about the existence of slavery, especially Belle, who faces a severe existential crisis. The film was shown at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival with good reviews and is set to be released in the U.S. May 2.
“God’s Pocket” is one of the last films from the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman (“Capote”), arguably one of the greatest actors of our time. The film follows a man investigating a mysterious death in his town at the behest of the victim’s mother. The town seems to be the same down-and-out setting as seen in “Winter’s Bone,” which will be an interesting, and potentially morose, dynamic. Hoffman is sure to impress as always, as well as the rest of the cast, featuring Jon Turturro (“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”), Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”) and Richard Jenkins (“Jack Reacher”). “God’s Pocket” will be released May 9.
A selection for both the Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals, “The Double” follows Simon portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”), who is a timid and awkward young man. One day at work, a new co-worker arrives, named James, also portrayed by Eisenberg, who is physically exactly like Simon, but far more outgoing. James slowly begins to take over Simon’s life. The film is based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novella of the same name and looks to be an interesting and creepy addition to the summer repertoire. “The Double” will be released May 9.
“Godzilla” definitely looks as if it could be a big hit this coming summer. Yet another remake in the gradual Hollywood transition to not creating original work, the film deals with the infamous Japanese gorilla/whale combo. Its arrival in the U.S. is not explained in the trailer, but assumptions can be made that it involves the government and a cover up that takes a lot of lives. A good addition to “Godzilla” will be its cast: Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Kickass”). May 16 will see the release of “Godzilla” into theaters.
This movie is one hundred percent a ploy for viewership due to the fact the two starring actors, Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, were both in the much-enjoyed “50 First Dates.” While that comedic romance seemed to appeal to a wide variety, “Blended” follows the two on an African safari trip that promises to be ripe with sexual innuendos, fart jokes and sloppily disguised racism. “Blended” comes out May 23.
A lot of drama has been going on the “X-Men” franchise lately, which may prove as a hindrance for the upcoming “Days of Future Past” as the company scrambles to get its director, an alleged sexual abuser, out of the limelight for the film. The movie itself looks to be interesting enough; the world has been destroyed by a war between humans and mutants, so Dr. Xavier (Patrick Stewart, “Star Trek”) chooses to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, “The Prestige) back in time to prevent it all. The men are clearly not worried about a “Butterfly Effect” problem at all. Not much else can be gleaned from the trailer except that it pays homage to all “X-Men” characters from the decade-long franchise, has a pretty sweet soundtrack and spent a lot of money on special effects. “X-Men: Days of Future Past” hits theaters May 23.
After the acclaim and excitement surrounding the Broadway play “Wicked,” which gave its villain a tragic backstory, many different companies and writers have been capitalizing on the victimized villain concept—“Maleficent” is no different. Following the antagonist from the “Cinderella” fairytale, Angelina Jolie (“Changeling”) plays the namesake character, who only became evil because of the way she had been previously treated in her time as a fairy. Disney has really been pushing the “Maleficent” film hard, but it does not seem like it will end up portraying anything vastly different or innovative. The special effects look to be great though, as does Jolie’s performance. Any Disney fiend will probably enjoy the film, but hopefully the film industry stops treading down the same worn path of tragic backstories. “Maleficent” casts a spell in theaters May 30.
Last on the list is Seth Macfarlane’s (“Ted”) “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” The comedy portrays an 1882 Arizona town with a bad habit of people dying in a plethora of different ways. Albert (Macfarlane) is a young man in the town, who is forced to duel an infamous criminal, depicted by Liam Neeson (“Taken”). The film looks to be pretty hilarious, if graphic and raunchy scenes appeal to one’s humor. A wide variety of other celebrities are also included in the film, which will probably provide more comedic relief. See “A Million Ways to Die in the West” May 30.
