These Promising Movies Are Coming Out in July of 2008

I love movies. I look forward to seeing almost every movie that comes out. There's always a question of whether or not it's a good movie. As a serious moviegoer, you've got to keep your mind open. Perhaps the most unlikely film will be your favorite film of the year. You never know. So I have gone ahead, taken a look at some movies coming out in July and I decided to give my readers a glimpse at some of those movies. Once you've read what I've got to say, it'll be up to you whether or not you want to see the films listed below. One thing I'll tell you before I move ahead with this list is that I wish I could be paid to see these movies at their premiere and give my readers detailed reviews of each. But as it is, I am stuck making guesses and conjectures, not certain how well the movie will turn out.

July 2nd

Hancock

Directed by Peter Berg
Written by Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan

Starring Will Smith as the title character, John Hancock, the film looks like the unusual tale of an unwilling and unlikely superhero. Hancock looks like he can do just about anything. He can fly like Superman. He has the strength of The Incredible Hulk. But Hancock doesn't really care to help anyone, because everyone just doesn't seem to like how he does things. He may even drink to avoid these issues. Then with the help of friends, our reluctant superhero begins to actually care about saving lives and begins to think about his action before doing them. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how this unique superhero does his job. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Charlize is in it.

More of the principle cast

Charlize Theron as Mary Embrey
Jason Bateman as Ray Embrey
Jae Head as Aaron Embrey
Eddie Marsan as Red

July 3rd

The Wackness

Directed by Jonathan Levine
Written by Jonathan Levine

Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) is a troubled drug dealer. His therapist, Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley) wants Luke to trade him weed in exchange for a few sessions. Squires and Shapiro are kindred spirits you might say. Both of them are suffering from depression. Both of them have similar issues. Both are depressed. When they get together, Shapiro and Squires help each other through their problems. Could this be the feel-good movie of 2008 like Good Will Hunting was the feel-good movie of 2007? Maybe.

More of the principle cast

Famke Janssen as Kristin Squires
Olivia Thirlby as Stephanie
Mary-Kate Olsen as Union
Jane Adams as elanor

July 11th

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Written by Guillermo del Toro

If you've seen the original film, Hellboy, you know that it's about a demon raised by a human to be a hero. He's had his horns cut off short. He likes cigars. He likes cats. He's one unique individual. In fact, I'll argue that perhaps Hellboy was a little too different. Since then, the director behind Hellboy has made some very impressive leaps to get to this point. Del Toro recently put out the unique and brilliant, subtitled and visionary, Pan's Labyrinth. If his effects work impressed you there, just wait until you see the new Hellboy. In Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Hellboy and his team of superheroes have to combat mythical creatures hell bent on taking over the world. After viewing one preview, I was hooked. The monsters in Hellboy II: The Golden Army look very real, very wild and creepy. If they are CGI, it doesn't show at all. I'm going to Hellboy II. That's all there is to it.

More of the principle cast

Selma Blair as Liz Sherman
Jeffrey Tambor as Tom Manning
Luke Goss as Prince Nuada
John Hurt as Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Directed by Eric Brevig
Written by Michael Weiss and Michael D. Weiss

From what I understand, the filmmakers behind Journey to the Center of the Earth used the same 3D cameras that James Cameron created for Avatar. That's really the reason I'm excited to see this film. I want to see a prelude to the brilliance that awaits us. Unfortunately on its own, I doubt this remake of the legendary novel will hold a candle to some of the adaptations of the past. But, they've changed the story so much it seems, it's hard to even call it a remake. Now, it's set in the present. It's about a family. It's got Brendan Fraser. This could be bad for Journey or it could be good. But if you manage to see Journey in the 3D format, you might be surprised by how real everything looks. It's called "Real 3D" - as shown in the previews - for a reason.

More of the principle cast

Josh Hutcherson as Sean
Anita Briem as Hannah
Garth Gilker as Haraldur Olafsson
Giancarlo Caltabiano as Leonard

Meet Dave

Directed by Brian Robbins
Written by Rob Greenberg and Bill Corbett

Eddie Murphy is Dave. He's not ordinary in any sense of the word. In fact, you might call Dave a vessel. The funny fact of the matter is Meet Dave was formerly called, "Starship Dave". You've got a lot of tiny people operating Eddie Murphy's Dave. The Captain of this vessel is actually played by Eddie Murphy. Forgetting Norbit and some of the other stinkers that have come out since, I keep remembering how good Eddie Murphy was in his remake of The Nutty Professor. I keep my fingers crossed that he'll produce another winning comedy.

More of the principle cast

Elizabeth Banks as Gina Morrison
Gabrielle Union as Cultural Officer or No. 3
Scott Caan as Dooley
Ed Helms as 2nd In Command or No. 2

July 18th

The Dark Knight

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan

The hype says everything. Many people believe that this Batman will show us just what The Joker is suppose to look like, act like and sound like. In this sequel to Batman Begins, Batman or Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) and Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) join forces with the new District Attorney for Gotham City, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to hunt down the psychopathic bank robber and murderer, The Joker. Can the dearly departed Heath Ledger live up to the brilliance of Jack Nicholson's Joker? I'm not too sure about that. The biggest thing wrong with Batman Begins was the disappearance of the legendary Danny Elfman theme. Can this movie take this series to new heights or bring it down to new lows? When I first heard they replaced Katie Holmes, I was a little confused. These kind of replacements can stick out in the minds of your audience. But I'm afraid we won't know anything until we see it on July 18th.

More of the principle cast

Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth
Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes
Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox
Eric Roberts as Salvatore Maroni

Mama Mia!

Directed by Phyllida Lloyd; starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters and Amanda Seyfried

Space Chimps

Directed by Kirk De Micco; starring the voices of Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Patrick Warburton, Omid Abtahi, and Jeff Daniels

July 25th

The X-Files: I Want To Believe

Directed by Chris Carter
Written by Frank Spotnitz and Chris Carter

Simply put, I want to believe that this new X-Files movie will be the high point of the summer movie line-up. I want to believe that my money will finally be well spent. I want to believe that this movie, starring David Duchovny as Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully will be the follow-up to the legendary TV series we've all been waiting for. I won't tell you the plot, because The X-Files has always been about mystery and I don't want to ruin the mystery of this movie for anyone. In short, I can't wait to see this movie on July 25th.

More of the principle cast

Amanda Peet as Dakota Whitney
Billy Connolly as Father Joe
Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner
Callum Keith Rennie as ??

Step Brothers

Directed by Adam McKay; starring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, and Andrea Savage

American Teen

Directed by Nanette Burstein; starring Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens, Geoff Haase, Megan Krizmanich, and Mitch Reinholt