PLEASE VOTE ON THE “WHICH OF THESE FILMS DO YOU PLAN ON SEEING IN AUGUST OF 2012?” POLL!

Thank you for voting in the - Which of these films do you plan on seeing in July of 2012 – poll! The results to this month’s poll were slightly less enthusiastic than last month’s; still most of you were excited by at least two of July’s blockbuster movie releases. Of the twelve people who voted, the overwhelming majority voted for one film.  The top vote getter for July was The Dark Knight Rises which received 10 votes (83%)! Coming in at a not-too- distant second place was The Amazing Spiderman with 6 votes (50%). Falling way behind in third place was The Watch with only 2 votes (16%). In last place was Ice Age: The Continental Drift with only one vote (8%).

I didn’t see any of the July genre films at the theater. Of the four films, I was most interested in see The Amazing Spiderman and had every intention of seeing it, but just never found the time. From the many written reviews I read and the several podcast reviews I listened to, I think I might have liked it better than the three previous Raimi Spiderman films, but I think I’d still have some quibbles with it too. The Dark Knight Rises was both a financial and (mostly) critical success. I’m pleased that Christopher Nolan was allowed to complete his vision of The Batman, but I’m hopeful that when DC/Warner reboots the character, they will make Batman a part of a larger DC superhero cinematic universe that will eventually lead to a Justice League film. The Watch was both a financial disappointment and a critical failure. I can only hope that the film goers are finally tiring of these raunchy R-rated comedies, but I have a feeling that the people who like this type of humor did not like it mixed with sci-fi. Ice Age: The Continental Drift topped $100 million in just two weeks, so it’s safe to say that most CGI-animated films will continue to do well at the box office. Based on recent polls on GotG!, it’s also safe to say that readers of this blog are in general not interested in CGI-animated films, so I don’t feel to guilty about not watching or reviewing the vast majority of them.

Thank you all for voting on this month’s poll! There are now twelve of you who may consider yourselves Genre Guardian Generals! Anyone who has seen The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spiderman, The Watch or Ice Age: The Continental Drift at the theater, please leave a quick comment here and let me know what you thought of it.

THE AUGUST POLL!

Once again on the right column of this page, you will see at the top of the column the next poll that I’ve posted. As always, this poll includes the titles and release dates of all the major SF, Fantasy or Horror films that are being distributed to movie theaters in the month of August for 2012. They are: Total Recall (August 3), ParaNorman (August 17), The Apparition (August 24) and The Possession (August 31). As always, I’d appreciate anyone who reads GUARDIANS OF THE GENRE! to place a vote for any of these films that you plan on seeing at the theater.

The only film of these four that I definitely plan on seeing at the theater is Total Recall. For reasons that I stated in my TRAILERTUESDAY! TOTAL RECALL: TOO SOON TO REMAKE? post, I am really looking forward to this film. While the concept and the animation are suitably creepy, ParaNorman just doesn’t interest me. Directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell, who were responsible for Corpse Bride and Coraline – both of which I still haven’t seen, nor will I likely ever see – I’m fairly certain that ParaNorman is a film I can safely pass on as well. The Apparition is the type of slick horror film from Dark Castle that I love to watch around Halloween. Hopefully, the blu-ray disc of The Apparition will be available for rent by then, because that is how I will be watching it. I’m not sure The Possession is worth a rental, as it seems like so many other toothless PG-13-rated horror films that have been pumped out in the last decade or so.

Let me know what films you’ll be seeing on the big screen by participating in this month’s new poll!