by Kyle Kull
The summer is always full of blockbuster films, and although they may not receive large quantities of awards during Oscar season, they still have enormous fan bases who are dedicated to their stories. In recent years there has been a tendency for superhero films and movie sequels, particularly dominated by Marvel Studios or Warner Brothers. While these are not usually considered respectable from a critic's perspective, these films definitely have a strong handle on the market and what people desire to see on the big screen. If you are ever interested in seeing the direction which the film industry is headed, the summer blockbusters will usually show you the most up-to-date technology in the film industry. So let’s look at some of this year's most anticipated films, the reasons behind their popularity and some of the new technology they will be using in their productions.
The Raid: Berandal (Gareth Evans)
When the Indonesian film The Raid: Redemption (Gareth Evans) was released in 2011, it became an instant cult classic, simply because of the action-packed nature of the story. The film is a story about a police force that storms a hotel owned by a drug kingpin. The film is just a bloodbath, the fantasy of an action fan, which made the film popular in the USA overnight. Welsh director Gareth Evans has continued this success and created the sequel The Raid: Berandal, which will be the story of the same Jakarta cop who is forced to raid another building level by level, this time against corrupt cops. It is anticipated to be another instant cult classic and has fans of the first film excited for its release. The film is very up-to-date with its digital filmmaking equipment, using Red Scarlet’s for most of the scenes, a Red Epic for the slow motion shots, and GoPro cameras throughout for the POV shots. Given that this film had a significantly larger budget due to the success of the first film, expect The Raid: Berandal to be another action packed adventure through the floors of a building.
This film is not truly a summer blockbuster, but it kicks off the blockbuster season with its release on March 28, 2014. Go check out the film when it is released next weekend! Take a look at the trailer below.
When the Indonesian film The Raid: Redemption (Gareth Evans) was released in 2011, it became an instant cult classic, simply because of the action-packed nature of the story. The film is a story about a police force that storms a hotel owned by a drug kingpin. The film is just a bloodbath, the fantasy of an action fan, which made the film popular in the USA overnight. Welsh director Gareth Evans has continued this success and created the sequel The Raid: Berandal, which will be the story of the same Jakarta cop who is forced to raid another building level by level, this time against corrupt cops. It is anticipated to be another instant cult classic and has fans of the first film excited for its release. The film is very up-to-date with its digital filmmaking equipment, using Red Scarlet’s for most of the scenes, a Red Epic for the slow motion shots, and GoPro cameras throughout for the POV shots. Given that this film had a significantly larger budget due to the success of the first film, expect The Raid: Berandal to be another action packed adventure through the floors of a building.
This film is not truly a summer blockbuster, but it kicks off the blockbuster season with its release on March 28, 2014. Go check out the film when it is released next weekend! Take a look at the trailer below.
Godzilla (Gareth Edwards)
When Warner Brothers released information that they were going to be making a reboot of the infamous Godzilla series that originated in the 1950’s, many people were skeptical of the idea. However with the release of the trailer (which you can see below) we could instantly tell that this film would not be simply a ploy for money. Drawing on a similar style that we saw in Guillermo Del Toro’s successful monster blockbuster Pacific Rim (2013) last year, we see mankind forced to team together to fight Godzilla. The imagery looks more stunning than most anticipated, using the color red to emphasize the horror hiding in the darkness. What is interesting about this film is that they decided to not rely as heavily on visual effects, using a small amount of green screens to produce a real image on the screen. Extras were used in excess, even using up to 200 soldiers for one battle sequence. Like X-Men: Days of Future Past, they used the Arri Alexa to digitally film the movie, and used older lenses for the scenes taking place in the 1960’s in order to give a vintage feel for that time period.
This film is definitely the most anticipated film of the summer and is scheduled to be released on May 16, 2014. Go see this film and you will most likely be stunned by the high powered, action-packed and visually stunning story.
When Warner Brothers released information that they were going to be making a reboot of the infamous Godzilla series that originated in the 1950’s, many people were skeptical of the idea. However with the release of the trailer (which you can see below) we could instantly tell that this film would not be simply a ploy for money. Drawing on a similar style that we saw in Guillermo Del Toro’s successful monster blockbuster Pacific Rim (2013) last year, we see mankind forced to team together to fight Godzilla. The imagery looks more stunning than most anticipated, using the color red to emphasize the horror hiding in the darkness. What is interesting about this film is that they decided to not rely as heavily on visual effects, using a small amount of green screens to produce a real image on the screen. Extras were used in excess, even using up to 200 soldiers for one battle sequence. Like X-Men: Days of Future Past, they used the Arri Alexa to digitally film the movie, and used older lenses for the scenes taking place in the 1960’s in order to give a vintage feel for that time period.
This film is definitely the most anticipated film of the summer and is scheduled to be released on May 16, 2014. Go see this film and you will most likely be stunned by the high powered, action-packed and visually stunning story.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (Bryan Singer)
The X-Men series has become one of the most successful franchises to date, and was one of the original series to kick off the superhero explosion in the past decade. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is the latest installment of the superheroes and is building on the prequel series that began with X-Men: First Class (2011). The interesting part about this film is that it is going to combine the cast of the original films with the cast of the most recent films to provide audiences with an incredible ensemble. The film is being shot using the popular Arri Alexa, which is Arri’s fantastic response to the digital revolution within filmmaking. You can take a closer look at the camera here: http://tinyurl.com/kzdvqvh. This is also the first X-Men film that will be shot in 3D, and will be the second most expensive film ever produced by 20th Century Fox, behind Avatar (James Cameron, 2009). Bryan Singer directed this film, which will be his third time directing, and fourth time being credited, for an X-Men film to date.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is set to be released on May 23, 2014, so be ready to go see it in theaters. It’s nonlinear storytelling and ensemble cast will make this a must see for blockbuster moviegoers. Take a look at the trailer below.
The X-Men series has become one of the most successful franchises to date, and was one of the original series to kick off the superhero explosion in the past decade. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is the latest installment of the superheroes and is building on the prequel series that began with X-Men: First Class (2011). The interesting part about this film is that it is going to combine the cast of the original films with the cast of the most recent films to provide audiences with an incredible ensemble. The film is being shot using the popular Arri Alexa, which is Arri’s fantastic response to the digital revolution within filmmaking. You can take a closer look at the camera here: http://tinyurl.com/kzdvqvh. This is also the first X-Men film that will be shot in 3D, and will be the second most expensive film ever produced by 20th Century Fox, behind Avatar (James Cameron, 2009). Bryan Singer directed this film, which will be his third time directing, and fourth time being credited, for an X-Men film to date.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is set to be released on May 23, 2014, so be ready to go see it in theaters. It’s nonlinear storytelling and ensemble cast will make this a must see for blockbuster moviegoers. Take a look at the trailer below.
Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn)
Marvel is at it again. They've overwhelmed the comic filmmaking market with the Spiderman series, the X-Men series and the Avengers series, yet they have decided to launch a new campaign with The Guardians of the Galaxy. The film is an adaptation of a series of comic books which focuses on a band of outlaws who get together to protect the universe from formidable forces. Because quite a bit of alien life and space is present in this story, a large amount of CGI was used to create this film. This included two of the main characters which were almost all computer animated: Groot, a talking and walking treelike creature, and Rocket, an intelligent and master tactician raccoon. Fans have been hoping for this film for years and are overwhelmed with excitement for its release.
Guardians of the Galaxy is being released on August 1, 2014, making it a real summer blockbuster. Make sure you go see the film this summer, especially if you are a fan of the Marvel universe, as it surely will connect with some of their previous films. Take a look at the trailer below.
Marvel is at it again. They've overwhelmed the comic filmmaking market with the Spiderman series, the X-Men series and the Avengers series, yet they have decided to launch a new campaign with The Guardians of the Galaxy. The film is an adaptation of a series of comic books which focuses on a band of outlaws who get together to protect the universe from formidable forces. Because quite a bit of alien life and space is present in this story, a large amount of CGI was used to create this film. This included two of the main characters which were almost all computer animated: Groot, a talking and walking treelike creature, and Rocket, an intelligent and master tactician raccoon. Fans have been hoping for this film for years and are overwhelmed with excitement for its release.
Guardians of the Galaxy is being released on August 1, 2014, making it a real summer blockbuster. Make sure you go see the film this summer, especially if you are a fan of the Marvel universe, as it surely will connect with some of their previous films. Take a look at the trailer below.
Interstellar (Christopher Nolan)
Christopher Nolan is one of the most respected storytellers, because he knows how to manipulate a story arch and timeline to provide a narrative that’s full of mystery and suspense. These traits are what made The Dark Knight Trilogy so successful and popular, and are also what made Inception (2009) an instant classic. Since he finished The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, he hasn't released a production; however that is about to change. Hollywood’s most popular director created Interstellar (2014), the story of a group of space travelers who venture through a wormhole. The film stars Matthew McConaughey (who recently won the Oscar for Best Actor), Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine and Jessica Chastain, and shows an interesting potential new trend for recent directors. Similar to Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron, 2013), we see a film set in space with an all-star cast and a fantastic director. The film is shot on 35mm, as is typical with Nolan, as well as on an IMAX camera. The film score is composed by Hans Zimmer, who also created the scores for films such as The Lion King (1992), Gladiator (2000), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2009) and Man of Steel (2012), and is considered one of the best film composers on the market.
This movie is not really a summer blockbuster, seeing as it comes out in November, but make sure you keep a lookout for this film. Take a look at the teaser trailer below.
Christopher Nolan is one of the most respected storytellers, because he knows how to manipulate a story arch and timeline to provide a narrative that’s full of mystery and suspense. These traits are what made The Dark Knight Trilogy so successful and popular, and are also what made Inception (2009) an instant classic. Since he finished The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, he hasn't released a production; however that is about to change. Hollywood’s most popular director created Interstellar (2014), the story of a group of space travelers who venture through a wormhole. The film stars Matthew McConaughey (who recently won the Oscar for Best Actor), Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine and Jessica Chastain, and shows an interesting potential new trend for recent directors. Similar to Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron, 2013), we see a film set in space with an all-star cast and a fantastic director. The film is shot on 35mm, as is typical with Nolan, as well as on an IMAX camera. The film score is composed by Hans Zimmer, who also created the scores for films such as The Lion King (1992), Gladiator (2000), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2009) and Man of Steel (2012), and is considered one of the best film composers on the market.
This movie is not really a summer blockbuster, seeing as it comes out in November, but make sure you keep a lookout for this film. Take a look at the teaser trailer below.
Here are some other films that are gaining publicity as we enter this new season of films:
So which of these films is going to make an impact on the film industry for years to come? Will there be others that make an even greater impact than the one’s highlighted above? Go see these films. Although they may not have the same positive critiques and thematic influence as Oscar season films, they still make incredible impacts on the market and the future direction of the industry of cinema.
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Anthony and Joe Russo) - release date: April 4, 2014
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves) - release date: May 23, 2014
- The Amazing Spiderman 2 (Marc Webb) - release date: May 4, 2014
- Transformers: Age of Extinction (Michael Bay) - release date: June 27, 2014
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Dean DeBlois) - release date: June 13, 2014
So which of these films is going to make an impact on the film industry for years to come? Will there be others that make an even greater impact than the one’s highlighted above? Go see these films. Although they may not have the same positive critiques and thematic influence as Oscar season films, they still make incredible impacts on the market and the future direction of the industry of cinema.
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