CultBox takes a look at this month’s cinematic highlights…
A Field in England (15)
Release date: Friday 5 July 2013
The Talent: Ben Wheatley (Dir.), Julian Barrett, Peter Ferdinando, Reece Shearsmith.
The Plot: It’s the English Civil War and three soldiers and a scholar find themselves in a field being forced to search for a potentially magical treasure by an Irish alchemist.
The Buzz: Ben Wheatley is not a man that is likely to get accused of making the same film over and over again. In following up Kill List and Sightseers with this art-house historical romp, Wheatley is fast becoming a director whose films simply cannot be ignored. Interestingly A Field in England will make its debut on all formats on the same day. You can catch it in the cinema, on Blu-ray/DVD and even on TV (Film4) on Friday 5 July … and when they’re going to so much trouble for you to see it, how can you possibly refuse?
Release date: Friday 12 July 2013.
The Talent: Dan Scanlon (Dir.), Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Helen Mirren.
The Plot: Mike and Sully enrol at Monsters University in order to study the art of scaring, but the events of Monsters, Inc. seem a long time coming as everyone’s favourite monsters started off as anything but friends.
The Buzz: Pixar’s takes on the buddy movie (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Up) are some of the finest examples of the genre. Monsters, Inc. itself is a classic that can stand toe-to-toe with Lethal Weapon as one of the best buddy movies ever made. What Monsters University does is take Mike and Sully and dump them in the middle of that other American movie staple the coming-of-age college comedy. Whatever Pixar does generally turns to gold and this will be no exception. Brimming with ideas and fresh gags it is perhaps a sad indictment that Monsters University will be far funnier than most of the so called adult comedies that will come our way this year.
Pacific Rim (TBC)
Release date: Friday 12 July 2013.
The Talent: Guillermo Del Toro (Dir.), Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Charlie Hunnam.
The Plot: Monsters vs robots, directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Do you need to know any more?
The Buzz: He’s back! And, after disappointing the entire world by relinquishing the director’s chair on The Hobbit, this is what Del Toro has been working on. The trailers look immense, with giant robots and giant monsters causing carnage as they desperately try to take one another down. Is expectation too high? Is the entire world holding its breath in the hope that this doesn’t turn out to be Godzilla vs Megatron? Possibly. But this is Del Toro, when has he ever let us down?
The World’s End (TBC)
Release date: Friday 19 July 2013.
The Talent: Edgar Wright (Dir.), Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine.
The Plot: When Gary King (Pegg) gets the old gang back together for one more crack at the legendary pub crawl they failed to finish in their teens, none of them expected that the dodgy kebab on the way home would be the least of their problems.
The Buzz: They’re back! In the final film of The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, Messrs Wright, Pegg and Frost combine once more for possibly one of the most eagerly awaited films of the summer. If you’re a fan of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz then there is simply no excuse for you not to go and see this film. And if you’re not a fan then it’s high time you stopped sitting on the fence and made a dramatic leap over it to go and see this film anyway!
The Wolverine (TBC)
Release date: Thursday 25 July 2013.
The Talent: James Mangold (Dir.), Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamato, Will Yun Lee.
The Plot: Logan (Jackman) finds himself in modern day Japan facing off against one of the biggest threats he has ever faced. The only question this time is whether or not he can overcome the inner struggle with his own immortality in order to save the day.
The Buzz: Cards on the table … we were all disappointed with the last stand alone Wolverine movie. Even Hugh Jackman himself has made noises that he wasn’t 100% happy with it. So, let’s hope that this sequel to a prequel that is set after the events of the trilogy that spawned it can set the record straight. The footage from the trailers, bar some slightly unfinished (hopefully) effects shots, depicts a grittier, dirtier Wolverine than last time and Jackman, despite his advancing years, certainly still looks the part. Whatever the outcome it can do no worse than whet the appetite for Bryan Singer’s return to the X-universe next year.
What are you looking forward to at the cinema this month? Let us know below…