Summer of movie love
Some good, some bad, but every weekend offers blockbusters.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
It’s summer at the movies. Time to turn the brain off and enjoy weekend after weekend of blockbuster movies with their large budgets, special effects and advertising onslaughts.
The genesis of Hollywood and the movie-going public’s fascination with summer blockbusters can be traced back to Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic Jaws, when studios discovered that wide releases and nationwide marketing could create an avalanche of cash at summer theaters. Six of the top 10 highest-grossing films of all-time were released during Hollywood’s summer months (roughly May to mid-August), and the biggest, baddest blockbusters of 2007 in the U.S. — Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End — were all released in Hollywood’s summer months and all grossed more than $300 million.
But blockbuster does not necessarily mean dumb. Jaws is considered one of the greatest films of all-time, and several other summer blockbusters — Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Ratatouille — are considered classics.
You just have to wade through the filth to discover the riches. Here is a guide to the chills, thrills and laughs through the summer of 2008 (all dates tentative):
May 2
The Jon Favreau directed Iron Man — starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges — faces stiff competition in kicking off the blockbuster season with Made of Honor. But Iron Man is summer at the movies — an action/adventure movie based on a comic book — while Made of Honor is written by the talents that brought the world The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas and Surviving Christmas.
May 9
Once again it’s a big-budget action movie versus a romantic comedy as Speed Racer (directed by The Wachowski Brothers) faces What Happens in Vegas ... with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. While Speed Racer looks cheesy, it does star Emile Hirsch, an actor who doesn't need a washed-up Brat Pack wife and an unfunny celebrity prank show to remain relevant.
May 16
The only new movie this weekend is The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and with the entire Pevensie family back from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that’s not a bad thing.
May 23
The greatest action hero of all-time — Indiana Jones — returns for a fourth installment with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Add in Mr. Summer Blockbuster, Steven Spielberg, directing (as he did with the first three) and Cate Blanchett, and you have a summer blockbuster that will actually be good.
May 30
It’s Carrie Bradshaw and Co. in Sex and the City: The Movie versus three masked assailants trying to kill Liv Tyler and that dude from Felicity (Scott Speedman) in The Strangers. It would be a sure-fire summer blockbuster if the three masked assailants tracked down and murdered Carrie Bradshaw and Co. But we don’t see that happening.
June 6
Adam Sandler is having a difficult time deciding if he wants to be serious or funny, but with You Don’t Mess with the Zohan he decides on funny, and it’s co-written by the current king of comedy, Judd Apatow. Kung Fu Panda is an animated movie from DreamWorks voiced by Jack Black and Angelina Jolie. If only the Narrator from Fight Club would show up and put Kung Fu Panda out of its misery.
June 13
Speaking of the Narrator from Fight Club, Edward Norton replaces Eric Bana (2003’s Hulk) in The Incredible Hulk, penned by the guy who brought the world X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, but also Last Action Hero and Elektra. Hulk competes against M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening. After that movie where water killed the aliens (Signs) we refuse to watch another of the hack’s movies, even if it does include Zooey Deschanel.
June 20
Remember when Mike Myers used to be funny? Way back in the first Austin Powers? We’ll sit out The Love Guru and wait for Myers’ Keith Moon biopic, if and when it actually comes out. On the other side of the marquee is Steve Carell in Get Smart. Carell is close to jumping the shark, but Get Smart does include Anne Hathaway.
June 27
WALL·E is Pixar’s summer of 2008 blockbuster. If it’s Pixar, it’s got to be good. Wanted is Russian director Timur Bekmambetov first English movie and stars Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. We’ll take the Ratatouille, Cars, The Incredibles and Toy Story guys over the great Mr. Freeman.
July 4
Will Smith owns the first weekend of July most summers, and with Hancock, where he plays a superhero persona non grata attempting to repair his image, he looks to continue that streak. Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman also star.
July 11
Hellboy II: The Golden Army is the follow-up to 2004’s Hellboy with Guillermo del Toro directing, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D is a children’s movie starring Brendan Fraser, and Meet Dave is Eddie Murphy’s slice of family entertainment for 2008. Go with Hellboy II although the cat-kicking scene in Meet Dave might be worth the price of admission.
July 18
Let’s see: a musical adaptation of Mamma Mia! or an animated movie about Space Chimps. Oh yeah, and some little independent movie about a wealthy businessman battling inner demons and a psychotic bank robber who likes to laugh ... a lot. It’s called The Dark Night Knight and sounds mysterious so it must be good.
July 25
Another Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly comedy with Step Brothers, the return of agents Mulder and Scully with The X-Files: I Want to Believe or the Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit directed The Longshots starring Ice Cube. Go with option A or B. So Ice Cube, where did it all go wrong?
August 1
You can either watch a movie based on a book inspired by a Sex and the City episode (He’s Just Not That Into You starring Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly and Ginnifer Goodwin), a comedy about a presidential election coming down to one vote (Swing Vote with Kevin Costner) or a third reheating of The Mummy (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor). Take the children to the beach or start preparing for college football instead.
August 8
For teenagers The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 comes out this weekend. For everyone else the David Gordon Green-directed, Judd Apatow-produced, Seth Rogen-starring Pineapple Express debuts. The trailer — using M.I.A’s “Paper Planes” — is the funniest comedy of the year so far.
August 15
The trailer to Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder, starring Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, is a close second in being the funniest comedy of the year. And Tom Cruise’s Tropic Thunder cameo is supposed to be a career saver so the actual film might be good as well. Also showing is The International, directed by Tom Tykwer who did Run, Lola, Run and starring Mr. Sexy Clive Owen.
August 22
Summer ends with the quadruple shot of Nicolas Cage’s Bangkok Dangerous, Anna Faris’ The House Bunny, Emma Roberts’ Wild Child and Uma Thurman’s The Accidental Husband. The end of summer is where movies go to die, but The House Bunny might be worth it for Faris alone.
The summer of 2008 is over, but here is a sneak peek of the summer of 2009: X-Men Origins: Wolverine! Star Trek! An Untitled Terminator Project! The Year One! The A-Team! Transformers 2! Public Enemies! The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three! And G.I. Joe! Rest up.
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