Labor Day has come and gone, bringing the summer movie season to a close. This season has been rather strange. The story dominating entertainment news sources has been the downturn in ticket sales. According to Rentrak, the box office of 2014 is down fifteen percent from the previous year. However, entertainment journalists and others should be wary of declaring, as the Huffington Post’s Andrew Hart did, that “Nobody has seen a good movie lately.” The lack of ticket sales does not mean that there weren’t any good movies. There were certainly plenty of mediocre and bad titles, as there are every summer, but there were several outstanding films as well.
Possible explanations for the downturn are many. Piracy has taken its toll and Hollywood’s response to it—rushing films in and out of theaters and debuting them on VOD and home video just months after their theatrical premieres—may actually dissuade consumers from spending their money on ever costlier tickets. It could be that in this summer of sequels audiences had franchise fatigue and it didn’t matter that these new installments were some of the best entries in their respective series. It could also be that the marketing campaigns for some of these films failed to capture the audience’s interest. Or it could be that the barrage of violent news stories from Ferguson to Iraq soured viewers on Hollywood spectacles.
Whatever the case, this summer provided some good and bad titles. Here’s a review of some of the highlights of films released between May and August:
The Good
Boyhood – Richard Linklater’s ambitious eleven year production is one of the most unique and interesting movies of the summer and one of the best films so far this year.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – The follow up to Rise of the Planet of the Apes ranks among the best sequels ever made and features incredible performances by the CGI apes.
The Fault in Our Stars – Based on the popular book, this film told a smart and sensitive story about confronting mortality. Actors Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort were terrific together.
Godzilla – The latest incarnation the Japanese monster brought the giant lizard to America and had some gorgeous production values even if the script was weak.
Guardians of the Galaxy – The biggest hit of the summer was also one of the most satisfying popcorn movies of the year and the best film from Marvel since the original Iron Man.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Another impressive sequel, this film improved on its predecessor and told a darker and more complicated story.
Lucy – This movie had a silly premise and a flawed story but it was so bat shit crazy that it earns points for audacity.
Neighbors – A middle aged couple faces off against a college fraternity and the result was one of the funniest movies of the summer.
X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer returned to the X-Men franchise and produced one of the best entries in the series.
The Bad
22 Jump Street – Yes it was a box office success and yes the critics generally liked it. But this movie was a lazy retread of its predecessor and being self-conscious about laziness is no excuse.
America: Imagine a World Without Her – Maybe the worst political documentary ever made, America consists of political hack Dinesh D’Souza hiding behind the American flag to justify his criminal behavior.
And So It Goes – Director Rob Reiner continues his descent into irrelevance with this schmaltzy story of a rich asshole who is redeemed by lowering himself to caring for his granddaughter.
The Giver – A well-loved book was turned into a mediocre film that looked less like a futuristic dystopia and more like an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog.
The Expendables 3 – This movie wasn’t required to be anything but fun but somehow Sylvester Stallone and company managed to fail even at that with this lazy and incompetently made final entry in the series.
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For –Somewhere in the nine years since the original Sin City Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller lost their mojo.
Tammy – One of the loudest cinematic train wrecks of the summer.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Everything wrong with Michael Bay’s Transformers series was imported to the Ninja Turtles.
Transformers: Age of Extinction – The latest entry in the robot-fu franchise was actually one of the best installments in the series but it still wasn’t very good.
Films You Probably Missed (But Should Seek Out)
Belle – This costume drama set against the history of the slave trade in England featured notable performances by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, and Emily Watson
Chef – The summer season is known for popcorn action titles but this road trip tale of a professional chef and his son was some of the most fun to be had at the movies this year.
The Double – Based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, this grimy tale of a man and his twin was all sorts of crazy.
Edge of Tomorrow – A film that got missed by audiences, Edge of Tomorrow was a smart and fun sci-fi actioner that was much better than movies that made a lot more money (e.g., Transformers: Age of Extinction).
Let’s Be Cops – After what happened in Ferguson this summer no one wanted to see a buddy cop movie and most critics hated it. Too bad, because Let’s Be Cops is surprisingly entertaining and unexpectedly subversive.
A Most Wanted Man – This film showcases Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last completed performance and it was a fitting final project for one of the great actors of our day.
Snowpiercer – The film didn’t get a wide release but it was one of the better movies of the summer, mixing a high concept story with action movie thrills and smart social commentary.
What If – Admittedly this was a fairly routine walk though of the romantic comedy boiler plate but it’s also quirky and adorable.