Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Summer movie season


Yeah, I now it’s been a long while since I posted on this blog. But I have been tweeting about different pop culture things for the past few months, so that has to count for something, right? I am here today to say, “What is with the summer movie season so far?” Since May, there has only been one movie I’ve wanted to go the theater to see. It was “Iron Man 2.” I thought “Iron Man 2” was great. I’ve heard various complaints about the movie. But I just didn’t see any problems. I enjoyed it just as much as the first movie. I especially love all hints of the upcoming “Avengers” movie (to be directed by the great Joss Whedon). I can’t wait to see next year’s “Thor” and “Captain America” movies. But since “Iron Man” I haven’t felt the need to go to the theater. “Robin Hood” looks boring, “Prince of Persia” isn’t getting great reviews, and I haven’t seen a Shrek movie since the second one (which I did not like). I read in the paper over the weekend that some movie executive was saying she couldn’t understand why the current crop of movies weren’t making as much money as last year at this time. Uh… maybe it’s because “Up” and “The Hangover” were awesome and “Killers” and “Marmaduke” look like crap.

This week we have “The A-Team” which looks like it might be some good fun. But the fact that it hasn’t been screened for critics yet doesn’t instill much confidence in me. Next week Pixar returns with “Toy Story 3” – So I’m looking forward to that… but “Jonah Hex” also opens and the buzz for that movie isn’t very good… Aren’t summers supposed to be filled with fun action/adventure movies? “Grown Ups” opens the next week.. it doesn’t look good. I like Adam Sandler, but I have not enjoyed one of his movies for many years. And this movie doesn’t even look like it has a semblance of a plot. It looks like an excuse for Adam and his buddies to hang out. “Knight and Day” opens the same day and it looks like it could be fun. I have enjoyed the director’s past movies, so I am optimistic. I don’t have the Tom Cruise hate that some people have. I loved MI3. I hope this will be in the same vein. The last week of June holds the next Twilight movie. Yawn.

On July 2, the live action version of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” opens. I had been looking forward to this one for a while. I loved the cartoon it’s based on. But I’ve read some early reviews and they were not kind. I still have hope that this movie will be great, but I’ve definitely lowered my expectations. I would love for M. Night Shyamalan (who is directing Airbender) to get back on his game. I loved his early movies… even “The Village.” His movies since then, I will not discuss. I’m looking at the rest of July and there are some promising films: “Despicable Me,” “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” “Salt,” “Dinner for Schmucks,” and “Inception.” Of those I think “Inception” is the best bet. Christopher Nolan hasn’t let me down yet. I hope he doesn’t start now. The other July movies, I think hold promise, but I will have to see how they do on Rotten Tomatoes before I decide whether I want to drop $8 for them. The last week of July holds “Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of…” and “Charlie St. Cloud.” Really, did anyone tell the studios it was summer and not January (bad movie dumping ground).

As for August, there are only two movies I’m interested in mentioning. “The Other Guys,” with Will Ferrell looks funny. It’s from the same people who brought us “Anchorman” so I hope it’s good. And then there’s “Scott Pilgrim vs The World.” I cannot wait to see this movie. It looks so great. It’s based on a graphic novel series that is awesome. If the movie is able to capture the strange vibe of the books, it will be great. Judging by the trailers I’ve seen so far, they’re on the right track. The movie is directed by the same guy who did “Shawn of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” Both great movies.





So that is my assessment of the summer. I think next summer looks way better. I mentioned “Captain America” and “Thor.” But we also have “Green Lantern,” the last Harry Potter movie, “Cowboys and Aliens,” “Mission Impossible IV,” (directed by the awesome Brad Bird) and a new X Men movie. So I’m looking forward to next year.

One more thing, since it’s summer, all of my TV shows are in reruns. Does anybody have a suggestion for a good show to finally catch up on – on DVD?

Hopefully my next post won’t be five months from now. ADIOS… and don’t forget to catch me on Twitter (yes I know how lame that sounds).

4 comments:

Miskatonic said...

Great to have you back. Thanks for the extensive coverage on what not to look forward to. I'll probably see all of this stuff on DVD since being a parent keeps me from going to the theater.

My absolute favorite TV show is Breaking Bad. The first (7 episodes) and second (13 episodes) seasons are available on DVD and the third has been DVRd by yours truly. I'm sure you heard that Malcome in the Middle's dad won the Emmy for best actor two years running for that. Awesome stuff. Be careful with the first episode because they added a shot of boobs for the DVD which was cut from the broadcast. If you plan on watching it I'll give you more details so that I can protect your unsullied mind.

I keep meaning to watch those MI sequels but just haven't made the time. I've been too busy watching horror movies. Have you ever seen [REC]? It was made in Spain. Quarantine was the American remake. [REC] is utterly horrifying at the end. Scarier than Paranormal Activity.

We did finish Dollhouse but I can't seem to remember much about it. I'm kinda glad it's over. I never thought I'd say that about a Joss Wheadon show. I still think that Fox's intervention really hurt the quality. I'm still looking forward to The Avengers.

Miskatonic said...

Oh, and if you haven't read this:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/45261

you should.

Nells-Bells said...

i totally agree!! the summer movies thus far have not made us want to spend the money for a babysitter and wait in line to see the opening. nothing. i did enjoy iron man 2 but didn't even see that until it had been out for a couple of weeks. i'm really looking forward to toy story and i too have high hopes for airbender. jackson rathbone and dev patel are in it. that along should make it worthwhile, right? i am looking forward to eclipse but even then you won't see me waiting in line at 4am. i think inception will be AMAZING!! i cannot wait to finally see it and figure out what this giant twist is.

CRoW said...

Hey. Thanks for the comments. Here's hoping the movies get better this season. Hey, check it out, I have another post! PS. Nells Bells did you get rid of your tix yet?