The Endless Summer... Movie Season
Sorry if I'm late on my summer movie previews, but I'm a purist... someone who believes that the start of the "summer movie season" should be the actual START OF SUMMER. Although I guess people no longer have a problem with parting with disposable income before Memorial Day to see a blockbuster, so as such, this early May start of summer isn't going away any time soon. Pardon me if these previews/reviews are a bit dated therefore.
The comic book movies are still a big player in the movie market, and they already started with Spider-Man 3 a few weeks ago... which is a lifetime in the summer movie season. In case you've already forgotten that movie, Peter Parker goes bad when some sort of alien host crashes down on Earth and hitches a ride on Peter's scooter, then hitches a ride on Peter's superhero suit. Meanwhile, Spidey has to face not 1, but 2 super-villians, plus his ex-best friend who still thinks that Peter is to blame for his father's death. There have already been a lot of complaints that they packed too much into this movie, and the presumption has been that this is because it's the finale for the Spider-Man franchise, but I didn't mind. It kept the movie exciting and fast-paced. By comparison, Spider-Man 2 now seems dull and boring, which is why I think 3 was better than 2... still a far cry from the first movie, but better than 2. I've already been tarred and feathered by the comic book-lover crowd for saying that... but I'm not a comic book-lover, so I'm allowed to think differently. Best scene in the movie: Evil Peter struts down the streets of New York (think Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever"), thinking he's suddenly this sharp, smooth ladies man, except he's still a geek and he's the only one who doesn't realize this.
As for the other comic book-type movies coming this summer, we'll have "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer" coming next month. I saw the first one and thought it was okay. Not sure if I'm up for the sequel, considering I don't know jack about the whole Silver Surfer thing. Then of course, we have the Transformers movie coming 4th of July weekend, which isn't exactly a comic book movie, but close enough. I am a child of the 80s, but I was more of a Voltron fan than a Transformers fan, so I'm probably not going for that one either.
Then there's the animated movies. "Shrek the Third" is already out, and I've enjoyed the first two Shrek movies, albeit on DVD, and I think I'm going to wait for DVD on this one as well. Still, it opened with the best first weekend for an animated movie ever, so that franchise is still going strong. Speaking of strong animated franchises, "The Simpsons" makes its big jump to the big screen in late July. Not much has been given away about the plot, but let's face it, does this movie really NEED a compelling plot to gross $200 million? This is the most "built-in" audience for a movie ever. Count me in for this one. Oh, and there's another animated penguin movie... ENOUGH ALREADY!
Summer blockbusters usually specialize in escapist fantasies, but this year, the accent is on "fantasy." Aside from the comic book worlds we are treated to, we also get another dose of Jack Sparrow and Harry Potter this summer. The third "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie is out this weekend, and it is sure to have another big opening with young women everywhere going to fawn all over Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. In July, we get "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", the 5th installment in that series. Having never read the books, I guess I'm not into that whole thing, although I guess I would be if I read the books, because they do look rather interesting. Movies based on books are almost as bad a situation as movies based on comic books, because people want to constantly compare the movie to the publication from which it came. I saw "DaVinci Code" having not read the book, so seeing the movies without reading the book may not be a bad thing, but of course these books are all about getting kids to read. Quite a conundrum. The good news is that unlike his recent British theatre experience, Daniel Radcliffe will thankfully not be nude at any point in this movie...
If I seem to not be much of a fan of the whole "escapist fantasy" thing, it's because I'm not. I prefer comedies, which is why I'm glad there are a few potential winners coming next month. The first is "Knocked Up," directed by Judd Apatow and starring Seth Rogen, who was on Apatow's critically-acclaimed but short-lived TV series "Freaks and Geeks", and Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Roswell" fame. Short version of the plot: loser guy gets lucky with hottie but gets hottie pregnant, forcing hottie to deal with loser guy as a future dad. In July, Kevin James and Adam Sandler pair up (in more ways than one) for "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry", about two best friends who have to fake being in a homosexual marriage in order to get job benefits... which is incredibly tough to do when Jessica Biel is your attorney.
The upshot of those two movies is that they are actual original ideas... something we don't see from Hollywood all that often these days, especially in the summer. No, we get things like a 4th "Die-Hard", a 3rd "Rush Hour", and "Ocean's Thirteen", which is only the 3rd in this series but seems like the 13th. We also have "Hairspray", which like "The Producers" before it, is the movie of the musical of the original movie. But I'm sure all of these will be well-attended as well, which plays to the real strength of this summer's movie season... it's loaded. It seems like there is a sure-fire blockbuster opening every weekend for the foreseeable future, even into August. In summers past, if a movie opened in August, that meant it was BAD, so much so that it would be suicide to open earlier in the summer against a potential hit. Now, we're spreading the wealth. Look at the lineup for August: "The Bourne Ultimatum", which I will go see as I got into the "Bourne" movies late but am now a fan, plus the aforementioned 3rd "Rush Hour" and the "Bratz" movie, which like it or not, will draw a lot of kids to the theatres.
So there you have it, plenty of opportunities for you to drop your $9 at your local cineplex, which is certainly good, because in this world of $3-plus a gallon for gas, endless media coverage of talentless "stars" like Paris and Rosie, and increasingly vicious political debate, we all could use a good escape.
The comic book movies are still a big player in the movie market, and they already started with Spider-Man 3 a few weeks ago... which is a lifetime in the summer movie season. In case you've already forgotten that movie, Peter Parker goes bad when some sort of alien host crashes down on Earth and hitches a ride on Peter's scooter, then hitches a ride on Peter's superhero suit. Meanwhile, Spidey has to face not 1, but 2 super-villians, plus his ex-best friend who still thinks that Peter is to blame for his father's death. There have already been a lot of complaints that they packed too much into this movie, and the presumption has been that this is because it's the finale for the Spider-Man franchise, but I didn't mind. It kept the movie exciting and fast-paced. By comparison, Spider-Man 2 now seems dull and boring, which is why I think 3 was better than 2... still a far cry from the first movie, but better than 2. I've already been tarred and feathered by the comic book-lover crowd for saying that... but I'm not a comic book-lover, so I'm allowed to think differently. Best scene in the movie: Evil Peter struts down the streets of New York (think Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever"), thinking he's suddenly this sharp, smooth ladies man, except he's still a geek and he's the only one who doesn't realize this.
As for the other comic book-type movies coming this summer, we'll have "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer" coming next month. I saw the first one and thought it was okay. Not sure if I'm up for the sequel, considering I don't know jack about the whole Silver Surfer thing. Then of course, we have the Transformers movie coming 4th of July weekend, which isn't exactly a comic book movie, but close enough. I am a child of the 80s, but I was more of a Voltron fan than a Transformers fan, so I'm probably not going for that one either.
Then there's the animated movies. "Shrek the Third" is already out, and I've enjoyed the first two Shrek movies, albeit on DVD, and I think I'm going to wait for DVD on this one as well. Still, it opened with the best first weekend for an animated movie ever, so that franchise is still going strong. Speaking of strong animated franchises, "The Simpsons" makes its big jump to the big screen in late July. Not much has been given away about the plot, but let's face it, does this movie really NEED a compelling plot to gross $200 million? This is the most "built-in" audience for a movie ever. Count me in for this one. Oh, and there's another animated penguin movie... ENOUGH ALREADY!
Summer blockbusters usually specialize in escapist fantasies, but this year, the accent is on "fantasy." Aside from the comic book worlds we are treated to, we also get another dose of Jack Sparrow and Harry Potter this summer. The third "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie is out this weekend, and it is sure to have another big opening with young women everywhere going to fawn all over Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. In July, we get "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", the 5th installment in that series. Having never read the books, I guess I'm not into that whole thing, although I guess I would be if I read the books, because they do look rather interesting. Movies based on books are almost as bad a situation as movies based on comic books, because people want to constantly compare the movie to the publication from which it came. I saw "DaVinci Code" having not read the book, so seeing the movies without reading the book may not be a bad thing, but of course these books are all about getting kids to read. Quite a conundrum. The good news is that unlike his recent British theatre experience, Daniel Radcliffe will thankfully not be nude at any point in this movie...
If I seem to not be much of a fan of the whole "escapist fantasy" thing, it's because I'm not. I prefer comedies, which is why I'm glad there are a few potential winners coming next month. The first is "Knocked Up," directed by Judd Apatow and starring Seth Rogen, who was on Apatow's critically-acclaimed but short-lived TV series "Freaks and Geeks", and Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Roswell" fame. Short version of the plot: loser guy gets lucky with hottie but gets hottie pregnant, forcing hottie to deal with loser guy as a future dad. In July, Kevin James and Adam Sandler pair up (in more ways than one) for "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry", about two best friends who have to fake being in a homosexual marriage in order to get job benefits... which is incredibly tough to do when Jessica Biel is your attorney.
The upshot of those two movies is that they are actual original ideas... something we don't see from Hollywood all that often these days, especially in the summer. No, we get things like a 4th "Die-Hard", a 3rd "Rush Hour", and "Ocean's Thirteen", which is only the 3rd in this series but seems like the 13th. We also have "Hairspray", which like "The Producers" before it, is the movie of the musical of the original movie. But I'm sure all of these will be well-attended as well, which plays to the real strength of this summer's movie season... it's loaded. It seems like there is a sure-fire blockbuster opening every weekend for the foreseeable future, even into August. In summers past, if a movie opened in August, that meant it was BAD, so much so that it would be suicide to open earlier in the summer against a potential hit. Now, we're spreading the wealth. Look at the lineup for August: "The Bourne Ultimatum", which I will go see as I got into the "Bourne" movies late but am now a fan, plus the aforementioned 3rd "Rush Hour" and the "Bratz" movie, which like it or not, will draw a lot of kids to the theatres.
So there you have it, plenty of opportunities for you to drop your $9 at your local cineplex, which is certainly good, because in this world of $3-plus a gallon for gas, endless media coverage of talentless "stars" like Paris and Rosie, and increasingly vicious political debate, we all could use a good escape.
Labels: movies, summer 2007
posted by Dave | 7:13 PM
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