34. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (August 7)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief wasn't exactly the biggest critical or commercial success upon release, but it was an inoffensively broad fantasy film that no doubt kept plenty of kids quiet for 2 hours, and apparently that was enough to warrant this sequel. Again starring Logan Lerman - who is surely above this materal by now - as the titular character, Percy is this time searching with his buddies for the Golden Fleece within the Sea of Monsters, in order to save an ailing magical tree which essentially protects their home from evil forces. Expect ridiculous visual effects and even more silly costumes (if they can beat Pierce Brosnan dressed as a Centaur).
33. The Lone Ranger (August 9)
A film I can only recommend as a morbid curiosity, Gore Verbinki's The Lone Ranger has all the makings of a Wild Wild West-style dud, at least critically; the presence of Johnny Depp will ensure that it posts decent enough box office returns, but the trailer for this one paints it as another lame-brained western spoof that thinks it can get by on its silly costumes and beautiful landscapes. Though working from iconic material, there's little here to suggest anything more than a piecemeal effort to part us with our cash, though hopefully given the notoriously poor performance of western blockbusters - why do they keep green-lighting these things? - it won't make
too much past its $250 million budget and earn a sequel.
32. Kick-Ass 2 (August 14)
It's a tad worrying whenever a director opts not to take part in a movie sequel, but Matthew Vaughn has attempted to quell our doubts by stating that he hand-picked the director himself - Jeff Wadlow, the filmmaker behind masterpieces such as...Never Back Down - for Kick-Ass 2. That said, the trailers released so far seem to be consistent stylistically with what came before, though who knows whether it can recapture the same dynamic given that so many of the characters either died in the first film or have changed drastically since (in the latter case, namely Chloe Moretz's Hit Girl). However, Jim Carrey's casting as Colonel Stars and Stripes has me very excited indeed...
31. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (August 21)
Because movie studios - and apparently, audiences - can't get enough of these teen fantasy adaptations, we're next being subjected to the first book in the The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, starring the rather lovely Lily Collins as a regular teenager who witnesses a murder and then has to save her mother, who has been kidnapped. Going by the trailer, this is going to go one of two ways; it might just be incomprehensible sci-fi guff, or it might go the Beautiful Creatures route and actually deliver something a little more thoughtful than, say, Twilight.
30. Elysium (August 23)
Expectations are sky-high for Elysium, the sophomore feature from Neil Blomkamp after his debut District 9 became an instant classic and even became a rare science-fiction film to scoop a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. His follow-up is said to be another allegorical tale, this time about class rather than race, as the rich live in Elysium, a space-station utopia, while the lower classes live on an overpopulated, desolate Earth, slugging it out for survival. Cancer sufferer Max DeCosta (Matt Damon) decides to go to any lengths necessary to get to Elysium and find a cure for his disease, facing off against the vicious Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) in the process. Given that the picture has been screening for small portions of the press already, it's safe to say that Blomkamp and co. are confident on this one; moreover, the early word from those who have seen it is very positive indeed.