The Change Up
Release: August 5 (Wide)
Genre: Comedy
Rated: N/A (Definitely R)
Synopsis: Two best friends, an overworked family man and a charming bachelor, magically switch bodies one night by accident.
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Batman, Olivia Wilde, Leslie Mann, and Alan Arkin
Logline: Who Says Men Can't Change?
Writers: Jon Lucas and Scott Moore
Director: David Dobkin
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Meh.
Reasoning: I love Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds, but this film seems like more of the same.
Expect: Raunchy Humor, Body Switching, and F-Bombs Galore.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Release: August 5 (Wide)
Genre: Science Fiction
Rated: N/A (Probably PG-13)
Synopsis: An experimental drug increases intelligence amongst apes, causing a war between the humans and the apes to erupt.
Cast: James Franco, Frieda Pinto, Tom Felton, Brian Cox, and Andy Serkais
Logline: Hail!
Writers: Jamie Moss, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Cautiously Optimistic
Reasoning: I like the idea of Rise of the Apes (I'm not calling it that hideous title), but that trailer was pretty rough in terms of acting, writing, and making me excited. Still, I have hopes that this will be a late Summer surprise.
Expect: Apes, Scientist, and the Experimental Precautions Evident in All Films Involving Scientists
30 Minutes or Less
Release: August 12 (Wide)
Genre: Comedy
Rated: N/A (Definitely R)
Synopsis: A pizza delivery guy is taken captive and forced to rob a bank. With his ex-best friend in tow, the two set out to fulfill the caper before time is up.
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride, Nick Swardson, and Michael Pena
Logline: N/A
Writer: Michael Diliberti
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Full
Reasoning: I've ranted about how much I'm looking forward to this film. I don't think I need to repeat myself.
Expect: R-Rated Hilarity.
Final Destination 5
Release: August 12 (Wide)
Genre: Horror
Rated: N/A (Probably R)
Synopsis: Survivors of a suspension bridge disaster fail at cheating death...yup, this again.
Cast: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Tony Todd, and David Koechner
Logline: N/A
Writer: Eric Heisserer
Director: Steven Quale
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Eternally Not Caring
Reasoning: I'm not much for the Final Destination franchise. It always seems like an excuse to kill people in gruesome ways in my opinion.
Expect: Gruesome Deaths, Bad Dialogue, Weird CGI.
Glee Live! 3D!
Release: August 12 (Wide)
Genre: Musical Documentary
Rated: N/A (Probably PG)
Synopsis: The cast from the show Glee performed live, and a documentary was made about it. They'll take your 12 dollars now.
Cast: Dianna Argon, Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, and Darren Criss
Logline: N/A
Writer: N/A
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Trailer:
N/A
Antico-Meter: Eternally Not Caring
Reasoning: I'm not a Gleek, nor am I a fan of 3D concert film. So yeah, I don't care.
Expect: They will sing, and it will be in 3D. Yup.
The Help 
Release: August 12 (Wide)
Genre: Drama
Rated: PG-13 for thematic material.
Synopsis: A writer returns to her home town and interviews three black women, who have been taking care of prominent southern families their whole life.
Cast: Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Mike Vogel
Logline: Change begins with a whisper.
Writer: Tate Taylor (Based on the Novel by Kathryn Stockett)
Director: Tate Taylor
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Eternally Not Caring
Reasoning: I'm getting sick of saying "Eternally Not Caring" for every movie but August is generally the "Dump Month" of the summer, so there's not much to look forward to for this film geek.
Expect: The Blind Side for maids. White women to the rescue!
Conan the Barbarian
Release: August 19 (Wide)
Genre: Action Fantasy
Rated: N/A (Probably R)
Synopsis: Conan, the Cimmerian Barbarian, ventures across the continent of Hyboria to avenge his slain father and destroyed village.
Cast: Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, and Ron Perlman
Logline: Born on the Battlefield
Writers: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, and Sean Hood
Director: Marcus Nispel
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Meh.
Reasoning: I've never been much for these swords and sandals epics, and this one looks to be really cheesy and not to particularly exciting. But who knows, it might surprise me.
Expect: Murder, Magic, and (Hopefully?) Nudity.
Fright Night
Release: August 19 (Wide)
Genre: Horror
Rated: Horror Comedy
Synopsis: A high school student finds out his new neighbor is a vampire, and must defend his mother and girlfriend from his bloodlust.
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Collin Farell, David Tennant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Toni Collete
Logline: You can't run from evil when it lives next door.
Writers: Marti Noxon
Director: Craig Gillespie
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Intrigued
Reasoning: I've never seen the original, but the trailer looks promising. It's like Disturbia, but with vampires. Definitely intrigued.
Expect: Horror, Comedy, Vampires.
One Day
Release: August 19 (Wide)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity, language, some violence and substance abuse.
Synopsis: Two college graduates decide to reunite every year after their college graduation.
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, Jamie Sives, and Jodie Whittaker
Logline: Twenty years, two people.
Writers: David Nicholls
Director: Lone Scherfig
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Nope.
Reasoning: Call me cynical, but doesn't this movie sound like every romantic movie ever made?
Expect: Romance, I would gander.
Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World
Release: August 19 (Wide)
Genre: Family Adventure
Rated: N/A (Probably PG)
Synopsis: A former spy returns to her old career to stop a madmen bent on controlling time.
Cast: Jessica Alba, Antonio Banderas, Alexa Vega, Jeremy Piven, and Daryl Sabara
Logline: N/A
Writer: Robert Rodriguez
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Trailer:
N/A
Antico-Meter: Eternally Not Caring
Reasoning: For me, the Spy Kids franchise feels like an incredible waste of time for filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. But it makes his kids happy, so who am I to judge?
Expect: Kid Spys, Jessica Alba, and Machete (Yes, Machete. Don't forget, he made his debut in the Spy Kid movies).
Apollo 18
Release: August 26 (Wide)
Genre: Sci-Fi Horror
Rated: N/A
Synopsis: A covered up mission to the moon that occurred in the 1970's is revealed in this sci-fi horror.
Cast: N/A
Logline: There's a reason we never went back to the moon.
Writer: Brian Miller
Director: Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Intrigued
Reasoning: Paranormal Activity in space certainly sounds cool, but we've seen very little of this film. Hell, I checked three database sites and none of them had a cast listing!
Expect: A handy cam horror...in SPACE! Owooo!
Colombiana
Release: August 26 (Wide)
Genre: Action
Rated: N/A (Probably PG-13)
Synopsis: After witnessing the brutal killing of her parents, a young girl grows up to be a hard boiled assassin.
Cast: Zoe Saldana, Amandla Stenberg, Callum Blue, Cliff Curtis, and Jordi Molla
Logline: N/A
Writers: Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
Director: Oliver Megaton
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Cautiously Optimistic
Reasoning: Well it's great to see an action movie headlined by a female actress, the trailer was only OK. Still, how could a scantily clad Zoe Saldana go wrong?
Expect: Kick Ass Action and Zoe Saldana in Skimpy Outfits (what, just look at the trailer!)
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Release: August 26 (Wide)
Genre: Horror
Rated: R for violence and terror.
Synopsis: After moving into a new house with her dad and his new girlfriend, a young girl happens upon a group of horrfying creatures hell bent on taking her as their own.
Cast: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Alan Dale, and Julia Blake
Logline: N/A
Writers: Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins
Director: Troy Nixen
Trailer:
Antico-Meter: Eternally Not Caring
Reasoning: Don't get me wrong, the film looks to be a great horror flick. But I'm a coward when it comes to horror movies, so I will probably never see it.
Expect: Thrills, Chills, and Something Else that ends with an "ills"
Well, that's it. I've covered 45 films in the last four guides, and I only have one thing to say: I never want to talk about Summer Films again.
Check back Tuesday for my 10 Most Anticipated Movies of the Summer!
