Hello, GUG readers, and hello, summer! Welcome to this month’s edition of “Boom, Bust, or Meh,” where we take a look at five upcoming films of the month and give our predictions on how they will perform! Each prediction receives one of the following scores:
Boom: A film that you will want to analyze and dissect due to its plot and characters.
Bust: A film that is almost not even worth analyzing due to its laziness in screenwriting and character development.
Meh: A film that is generally enjoyable and worth analyzing to a certain degree.
With that short introduction, let us crank open the movie vault on what is to be expected for this summer’s releases!
The Results
Before we get to our film predictions, let us take a look at the outcome of our May predictions!
1. Captain America: Civil War – BOOM!
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 99%
Audience Score: 91%
Box Office
Production Budget: $250 million
Worldwide: $1 billion
Trey: Knowing the success of Marvel let alone the Captain America series, this doesn’t surprise me.
Our Review!
2. X-Men: Apocalypse – Meh…
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 47%
Audience Score: 74%
Box Office
Production Budget: $178 million
Worldwide: $277 million
Trey: It can be pretty hard to top the great success Days of Future Past was in 2014. Still worth watching…kind of…
3. The Angry Birds Movie – Bust.
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 43%
Audience Score: 53%
Box Office Production
Budget: $73 million
Worldwide: $229 million
Trey: Called it. That’s all I’m going to say.
Our Review!
4. Alice Through the Looking Glass – Bust.
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 29%
Audience Score: 58%
Box Office
Production Budget: $170 million
Worldwide: $105 million
Trey: Was a sequel really necessary?
5. The Nice Guys – BOOM!
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 92%
Audience Score: 82%
Box Office Production
Budget: $50 million
Worldwide: $24 million
Trey: Box office numbers are one thing, reviews are another. I was quite surprised at how much I actually enjoyed this movie.
Our Review!
Each “Boom, Bust, or Meh” article will include each writer’s current record next to their name. My current record is (20-14). Chris is at (31-17). Colby is at (8-12).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 3, 2016
Synopsis: Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael return to theaters this summer to battle bigger, badder villains, alongside April O’Neil (Megan Fox), Vern Fenwick and a newcomer: the hockey-masked vigilante Casey Jones. After supervillain Shredder escapes custody, he joins forces with mad scientist Baxter Stockman and two dimwitted henchmen, Bebop and Rocksteady, to unleash a diabolical plan to take over the world. As the Turtles prepare to take on Shredder and his new crew, they find themselves facing an even greater evil with similar intentions: the notorious Krang (Rotten Tomatoes).
Director: David Green
Starring: Alan Ritchson, Noel Fischer, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Megan Fox, Stephen Amell, Will Arnett, Stephen Farrelly, Gary Anthony Williams.
The Prediction
Trey Soto (20-14): Meh… – As much as I greatly disliked the previous film, this one surprisingly looks tolerable, but not by a lot. Casey Jones, Bebop, and Rocksteady coming into the picture may give the film the boost it needs. When you grow up with this kind of stuff, you want to see it on the big screen. That being said I have my doubts on the success it will have, therefore I give it a “meh…” prediction.
Chris Hecox (31-17): Bust. – This movie looks rotten. Its predecessor was rotten. There is nothing to see here. Quickly, run.
Colby Bryant (8-12): Boom! – Man, I’ve loved the Turtles since I was a little kid. It was one of the first series I ever jumped into full force, with movies, TV, toys, and merchandise. Everything was green for a good portion of my childhood, but that was then. The most recent TMNT was…okay. I felt it held potential, and while the fan in me wants to see that realized, at this point, who knows? I have a feeling that there will be TMNT lore shout-outs aplenty, but will it all coalesce into something good? Who knows, but this will make money, so I’m going with a cautiously optimistic BOOM!
Independence Day: Resurgence
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 24, 2016
Synopsis: We always knew they were coming back. After “Independence Day” redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global catastrophe on an unimaginable scale. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction (Rotten Tomatoes).
Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Bill Pullman, Jessie Usher
The Prediction
Trey Soto (20-14): Meh… – The first Independence Day holds a special place in my heart. When I first heard the about a sequel, I became interested, but the more the release date comes closer, the more I am anxious to give it a shot. Will Smith is gone, Liam Hensworth looks uninteresting, and it feels forced. I do not deny that it will draw people in due the previous films surprising success, but I do not think it will significantly.
Chris Hecox (31-17): Meh… – I have a soft spot for the original Independence Day in my heart from my childhood, but I’m not sure what warrants a sequel, aside from the franchise-heavy state Hollywood is in. I’ll miss Will Smith, but it will be nice to see some of the other characters returning.
Colby Bryant (8-12): Boom! – Funny enough, when I saw the original Independence Day in theaters, the relative I went with took my cousin and I, and we walked in an hour or more late. I had no setup, just destruction, and I walked out of there like I had witnessed a vision of things to come. Immediately, I went to stock up…on ID4 merchandise. Does the film hold the relevancy it did? Certainly not, and its financial success will probably be moderate. I’m excited at this sequel’s alt-Earth premise, but I don’t see it impacting us culturally in America like the first because it feels too far removed from where we are technologically today to have the same impact. Internationally, though, it should do incredibly well.
Warcraft
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 10, 2016
Synopsis: The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home (IMDb).
Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Travis Fimmel, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Paula Patton, Robert Kazinsky, Toby Kebbell
The Predictions
Trey Soto (20-14): Boom! – While I am not a huge World of Warcraft fan, the trailer surprisingly struck a cord with me. It really looks interesting, enjoyable, entertaining, action-packed, dramatic, and more. Yes, there is a large amount of CGI but what did one really expect from a movie based off a popular PC game? After talking to a number of friends who are hardcore PC gamers, they are really excited and gave a large amount of their reasons as to why it will be good. Whether one is a fan, a hardcore gamer, or even completely new, I think this will do well in theaters.
Chris Hecox (31-17): Meh… – I can’t list this as a bust because I want to be optimistic… I think I have a good feeling about the film’s content for long-time Warcraft fans, but my impression is a total flop for anyone else. This isn’t some garbage video game adaptation, I honestly feel good for the content.
Colby Bryant (8-12): Meh… – From computer screen to the big screen, I want this to work. I’ve only dabbled in WoW and the RTS games (so I’m no expert in the lore), but I want a great video-game movie. This had me thinking we might get it, but pre-release word of mouth hasn’t been kind. Fantasy has historically been a hard sell for general movie going audiences, Peter Jackson’s Middle-Earth films and TV’s Game of Thrones have changed those perceptions. Still, CGI-heavy, this is. Internationally, again, this will do great, so it makes it hard to call. I’m going with MEH, even though I want it to succeed. I just have a feeling it won’t.
Finding Dory
Rating: PG
Release Date: June 17, 2016
Synopsis: The friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish reunites with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few things about the real meaning of family along the way (IMDb).
Director: Andrew Stanton & Angus MacLane
Starring: Ellen Degeneres, Albert Brooks, Diana Keaton, William Dafoe, Ty Burrell, Ed O’Neill
The Prediction
Trey Soto (20-14): Boom! – Disney: Check. Pixar: Check. Sequel to a beloved film: Check. While I am not really for sequels, I am actually looking forward to this. Not as much as the soon-to-be Incredibles 2, but I am relatively excited. After all, it is Disney/Pixar along with a returning cast, so there is no doubt it will do well.
Chris Hecox (31-17): Boom! – Pixar and Disney are always a success. We won’t have any issues here, even if the franchise keeps going and going and going. Dory is such a lovable character, and families will pack theaters. Moreover, those of us who remember the original will return again because of the memories we once shared.
Colby Bryant (8-12): Boom! – More PIXAR, and More Dory?! BOOM! I don’t have much more to say, but yeah. This is your family film of the summer, and hopefully, it will help us in forgetting that Angry Birds ever happened.
Swiss Army Man
Rating: R
Release Date: June 24, 2016
Synopsis: A hopeless man stranded in the wilderness befriends a dead body and together they go on a surreal journey to get home (IMDb).
Director: Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Paul Dano, Mary Elizabeth Winston
The Predictions
Trey Soto (20-14): Boom! – Never before have I seen a trailer that is completely odd yet very intriguing. When I was first told about it, it had my interest. When I saw the trailer, it caught my attention. No doubt the audience is a specific one, but after hearing the praise from audiences and critics about the film at the Sundance festival in Utah, I believe this stands a great chance at succeeding as a summer hit. Something tells me I am going to laugh and cry throughout and I certainly hope so.
Chris Hecox (31-17): Boom! – This movie has a very specific audience, and it will hit. The directors Daniels are extremely unique and interesting in their visual style, so I anticipate more strangeness from this film. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are likable enough. Be prepared for a very, very strange experience when you sit down to see this one.
Colby Bryant (8-12): Bust. – No anticipation. There’s a reason there’s a summer movie season, and I just don’t see this performing well here. Radcliffe, you always had Harry Potter, but that isn’t going to do anything here.