We're just getting stuck into summer blockbuster season which usually has both critics eyes and cash rolling in. However do not despair, we're still in the period in which the really big budget summer movies have yet to be released and other slightly smaller but smarter movies can sidle in. In short, we're still in the clever half of the year...just. So what should you be going out to see this weekend?
First up is the sequel to 21 Jump Street, aptly named 22 Jump Street. While it's not overly clever it does exactly what it says on the tin and offers quite a few good laughs. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum reprise their roles from the first one with Ice Cube given a bigger which he works to great comic effect. The script zings and there are plenty of perfectly judges swipes at sequel culture but those gags don't outstay their welcome. At almost two hours it is a bit baggy around the middle but there are plenty of laughs so you don't really mind.
Edge of Tomorrow is probably the cleverest film out at the moment. Based on the Japanese light novel All you need is Kill, it stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt as two soldiers fighting a future war against aliens. The twist? When Tom Cruise dies he begins the day again and uses this to his advantage to fight back against their Alien oppressors. I know it sounds crazy but what better way for Cruise to resurrect his career than making a movie where the audience see's him die over and over again.
Another big hitter from Disney now with Angelina Jolie as the dark fairy Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. Jolie plays the titular character in Maleficent with Shakespearean panache in this dark retelling of the classic from the house of mouse. I really hope this kicks off a new trend of dark retellings and indeed it has with a grittier Beauty and the Beast hitting screens early next year. At an hour and a half it doesn't outstay it's welcome and boasts an all star cast including District 9's Sharlto Copley as the nefarious King Stefan. I wonder what it's like to have the A-Team's Howling Mad Murdock as your most normal role to date?
Finally we have Clint Eastwood's biopic of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons hitting our screens. Jersey Boys is an origins story of the famous band and how they got together. Like much of Eastwood's directorial work, even if you're not interested in the subject matter covered you'll a lot of fun admiring the cinematography. Like Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys is the adaptation of a stage play but unlike its Abba equivalent this boasts performances from the stars of the Broadway version.
So there you have it, hit the flicks and enjoy Transformers 4 still being a fortnight away. I think my eyes might be rolling already.
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