That brings us to August. Anyone else feel as if there were a whole month of summer movies that were supposed to come out but never did? 2010 has been one of the bigger movie letdown years in awhile. Hopefully a few of these August films can make me change my mind.

The first to give it a shot will be “The Other Guys,” the perfunctory “next Will Ferrell comedy.” Roll your eyes all you want, but few films have managed to indeed be funny this year and the reviews are positive for this buddy-cop comedy. Then there’s “Step Up 3D,” which caters to its fan base and no one else.

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The Other Guys

Written and directed by Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton

The Word: Adam McKay and Will Ferrell (the guys that brought you every noteworthy Ferrell star vehicle) return for yet another summer comedy with a spoof on buddy-cop films. Ferrell and Wahlberg play the partners who never get the glory and finally decide to go after it, resulting in antics.

Rotten Tomatoes: 78% (very good)

My Thoughts: Despite not thinking very highly of “Step Brothers,” I had a few good laughs in this trailer as Ferrell’s character seems to fit him a lot better. In a summer noticeably lacking good comedies (among many, many other things), perhaps this is finally one we can count on.

Recommendation: Thanks to a bad 2010 and a drought of good films the last few weeks, if this is anywhere near as good as the critics say it is, it’s worth admission.

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Step Up 3D

Directed by Jon Chu
Written by Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer, Duane Adler (characters)
Starring: Rick Malambri, Adam G. Sevani, Alyson Stoner

The Word: This summary from Disney says it all: “A tight-knit group of New York City street dancers, including Luke (Malambri) and Natalie (Vinson), team up with NYU freshman Moose (Sevani), and find themselves pitted against the world’s best hip hop dancers in a high-stakes showdown that will change their lives forever.”

Rotten Tomatoes: 50% (mixed)

My Thoughts: I don’t care much for watching dancing that’s not live so there’s certainly nothing 3D can do that will change my mind.

Recommendation: If you enjoyed these previous films and love choreography, by all means go.

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Box Office Predictions

Well, I’m glad last week is over. With “Inception” at the top spot for the third week in a row with only $27 million, the top spot is up for grabs. Given Will Ferrell’s track record, The Other Guys should be able to grab it with $25-30 million.

Seeing as Step Up 3D will have its core audience and both film have made $18-20 million, I think the same can be expected of this three-quel. 3-D prices should help push it over $20 million by a little bit.

That brings us back to Inception, which should still decline at its healthy rate of a third at a time, positioning it for about $18 million. Dinner for Schmucks, even with a new comedy in place threatening to take a chunk out of its take, will find fourth with $10-12 million. Given the also slow rate of decline for Despicable Me, it should jump “Salt” for fifth place.

1. The Other Guys
2. Step Up 3D
3. Inception
4. Dinner for Schmucks
5. Despicable Me