Mike's Movie Preview: August 2023

We enter the dog days of Summer with sharks, ghosts, Zendaya, and a Beatle beetle.

Meg 2: The Trench - Jason Statham faces off against the giant shark, again! With the first film crossing the billion dollar mark in 2019, the studios smelled blood in the water to make this sequel that doesn’t live up to its predecessor.

Haunted Mansion - Twenty years after Eddie Murphy took his chances, Rosario Dawson and Owen Wilson take on the re-imagining of the famous Disney ride. It’s hokey and kookie, but catch it in October when it goes to Disney+ for the Halloween season.

Challengers - Zendaya steps onto the tennis court in this dramatic turn for the rising star. This is where the start of Oscar buzz gets going for the actress, as she is the full driving factor in this film.

Blue Beetle - DC is continuing its take on minority superheroes following Black Adam the previous year. Xolo Mariduena is forced to take on the colorful mantle in a dark color palette world. Like much of DC’s films, there is something there, but it completely misses the mark by the start of the third act.