"White House Down," "Monsters University," "World War Z"
Summer is officially in session, and that means it’s time to hit the beach—unless there’s a thunderstorm, rain shower, or some other form of inclement weather that seems to increase in frequency during the summer months. In that case, the only option is the multiplex; summer means a whole new crop of blockbuster-hopefuls.
Past summers have presented spates of sequels, threequels and based-upons, but this summer has seen studios venture into newer territory for blockbusters. For each sequel ("Iron Man 3," "Monsters University"), there’s a fledgling franchise ("World War Z," "The Lone Ranger") or original premise ("Pacific Rim") testing its pull at the multiplex. The results have not all been good, but have remained less predictable than the past couple years’ comfort-food action tentpoles.
Animation abounds, too. Mostly Pixar’s game in summers past, the family animation landscape this year sees strong showings from "Monsters U" competitors such as "Epic," "Turbo," and "Despicable Me 2".
The Crimson will continue to update this page with new film reviews throughout the summer. Check back for our take on the box office’s smashes and flops.
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