Summer Movies Review

The summer, at least in terms of movie-going, has now ended. It was an unusually off summer in terms of quality and box-office receipts (the lowest since 2007), but there were a handful of good movies, mostly independent ones, that made their way to theaters this summer.  My overall grade for the summer: C. There were many more misses than hits, though some still managed to make a profit.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Boyhood - Richard Linklater independent drama filmed over 12 years to chronicle one boy's actual growth. The best movie of the summer, and one of the best of the year so far.

Life Itself - The documentary about film critic Roger Ebert was one of the most affecting seen this year. Take plenty of tissues.

Belle - The independent, fact-based film showed the strength and power of one woman, who happened to be black. Featuring a breakout performance from British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

Guardians of the Galaxy - The biggest movie of the summer, and now of the year, was also one of the most enjoyable, proving that superheroes can be fun and well-drawn.

Chef - The highest-grossing independent film of the year from Jon Favreau was a crowd-pleasing, none too surprising given that it involved food.

Also - Frank, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Days of Future Past, 22 Jump Street, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The One I Love, Begin Again and Snowpiercer were also memorable in a summer that really wasn't.

The Worst

Michael Bay or Adam Sandler. Transformers: Age of Extinction and the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were exceedingly annoying and headache-inducing (though made a lot of money for Bay and company), while Sandler's Blended was an outright flops.

Sex Tape - Another flop, this was a career-worst for Diaz (which is saying something) and especially for the normally funny Jason Segel.

Tammy - it was another hit for Melissa McCarthy, but she needs to try something different.

Hercules - a big flop (though it could recoup overseas) for The Rock, this was a money-making weakling.
 
Into the Storm, Think Like a Man Too, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Step Up: All In, A Million Ways to Die in the West, The Giver, November Man, If I Stay and The Purge: Anarchy all were unmemorable.