Summertime is fast approaching, and with it comes the promise of some kick-ass movies! Here's a list of some titles worth considering.
The Avengers - May 4: Avoid this like the plague if you're not a fan of comic books or super heroes! I've seen a few previews, and I've already cleared my calendar for May 4. Don't get me wrong - this could be a huge flop. It's one thing to tell the origin stories of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor - streamlined stories that wisely focused mainly on the one character - but telling the origin of a TEAM of super heroes like The Avengers could result in too much backstory, too many sub plots, and too little action. Still, one of the Editors-in-Chief over at Fandango.com recently screened the movie and called it "the best superhero movie of all time." I'm excited, my son's excited (except he wonders why Spider-man is not in it!) - fingers are crossed for this one!
Dark Shadows - May 11: This comedy about a vampire who falls asleep in the 18th century and wakes up to a very different world in 1972 should be on your radar if you enjoy Tim Burton, the genius behind Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Sweeny Tood, Alice in Wonderland . . . Jesus, is Johnny Depp really in ALL of those movies? What a coincidence - he's in this one, too! No matter: Depp is a great actor, and the worst you can say about Burton is that his movies are always visually interesting, even if the plot is lacking. I'm on the fence about this one myself, especially with so many other choices out there.
Men in Black III - May 25: If you can forget the law of diminishing returns - in the case of movies, that once a franchise hits its high point, you can expect the quality of further entries in the series to decrease in quality at an alarming rate - this movie has some appeal. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones showed some great chemistry in the first two MIBs, and Josh Brolin, who has been tapped to play the role of the younger Tommy Lee Jones character, is an excellent actor (see No Country For Old Men and True Grit for proof). Still - it's probably going to be a formulaic film. If you really loved MIB and MIB II, this might be safe bet for you.
Snow White and the Huntsman - June 1: All right, guys - I know what you're thinking. Am I excited to see this? No sir, I am not! According to Fandango.com, however, this is the most anticipated film of the summer for the ladies, so whether I like it or not, I may be getting dragged to see this at some point in my not-too-distant future. The story sounds interesting enough - the hunstman dispatched to kill Snow White winds up becoming her protector as they set off to turn the tables on the Evil Queen - and it may even be able to answer a question that has been nagging me for so long: can Kristen Stewart actually act? Or is she just really that f*%@ing bad?
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - June 8: Eh, I do have kids, ya know?
That's My Boy - June 15: I won't touch this with a 300-foot pole . . . but it has Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg in it, two of the least funny people in the world, who have somehow managed to convince people they are, indeed, funny. Leave your brain at home for this one.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - June 22: This book is next on my Must-Read list. The author of this book, Seth Grahame-Smith, wrote two other fantastic books: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Unholy Night. I've heard nothing but great things about this book, and everyone associated with the movie is top-notch. Give this movie a shot!
G.I. Joe: Retaliation - June 29: "Why the hell is this movie on here? The first movie was total shit!" If you find yourself thinking those words, trust me: I'm thinking them, too! I was a huge G.I. Joe fan back in the day, when their toys and comic books were actually cool. Then the first live-action G.I. movie came around . . . and it had Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayans in it, for God's sake! Way to kill the coolness factor. It wasn't the worst movie ever made - I have to admit, I did buy it on Blu-ray - but was it worthy of a sequel? Hell no . . . and yet, here we are. This second one looks moderately intriguing, since it opens with a bunch of the G.I. Joes being assassinated (hopefully that means Channing Tatum's character!). It also has The Rock himself, at least a short cameo by Bruse Willis, and ninjas. Lots of ninjas. Could be a guilty pleasure this summer.
The Amazing Spider-Man - July 3: Yup, another super hero/action movie. Sorry - sue me. Ayway, another one I am on the fence about. I did't necessarily love the Spider-man trilogy that starred Tobey Maguire and was directed by Sam Raimi - I score these movies a "Meh" for the first, a solid thumbs up for the second, and a grade of "Dog Turd" for the third - but then again, I hate Hollywood's obsession with rebooting franchises. There's hundreds of Spider-man comics out there; rather than give us another origin story, pick an interesting story and make a movie, dammit! We'll see if I let my kid talk me into seeing this one.
The Dark Knight Rises - July 20: Words cannot begin to describe how excited/nervous I am to see this flick. It's a good thing my wife is due at the end of June, because this movie is possibly the only thing in the universe, outside of death, that could make me miss the birth of one of my children. Without a doubt, this will be the biggest movie of the summer, and without a doubt, it will almost certainly create a lot of praise on one side, and bitching on the other. This will be the last Batman movie written and directed by Christopher Nolan - he is ending his version of the story here, for good. Don't be surprised if the ending isn't happy, but give the man the benefit of the doubt: I haven't seen him make a bad flick yet, and I'm riding shotgun with him all the way on this one!
Anything I forgot? Shout out what you're looking forward to below! I'll be sure to ignore your suggestions. :)
The Avengers - May 4: Avoid this like the plague if you're not a fan of comic books or super heroes! I've seen a few previews, and I've already cleared my calendar for May 4. Don't get me wrong - this could be a huge flop. It's one thing to tell the origin stories of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor - streamlined stories that wisely focused mainly on the one character - but telling the origin of a TEAM of super heroes like The Avengers could result in too much backstory, too many sub plots, and too little action. Still, one of the Editors-in-Chief over at Fandango.com recently screened the movie and called it "the best superhero movie of all time." I'm excited, my son's excited (except he wonders why Spider-man is not in it!) - fingers are crossed for this one!
Dark Shadows - May 11: This comedy about a vampire who falls asleep in the 18th century and wakes up to a very different world in 1972 should be on your radar if you enjoy Tim Burton, the genius behind Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Sweeny Tood, Alice in Wonderland . . . Jesus, is Johnny Depp really in ALL of those movies? What a coincidence - he's in this one, too! No matter: Depp is a great actor, and the worst you can say about Burton is that his movies are always visually interesting, even if the plot is lacking. I'm on the fence about this one myself, especially with so many other choices out there.
Men in Black III - May 25: If you can forget the law of diminishing returns - in the case of movies, that once a franchise hits its high point, you can expect the quality of further entries in the series to decrease in quality at an alarming rate - this movie has some appeal. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones showed some great chemistry in the first two MIBs, and Josh Brolin, who has been tapped to play the role of the younger Tommy Lee Jones character, is an excellent actor (see No Country For Old Men and True Grit for proof). Still - it's probably going to be a formulaic film. If you really loved MIB and MIB II, this might be safe bet for you.
Snow White and the Huntsman - June 1: All right, guys - I know what you're thinking. Am I excited to see this? No sir, I am not! According to Fandango.com, however, this is the most anticipated film of the summer for the ladies, so whether I like it or not, I may be getting dragged to see this at some point in my not-too-distant future. The story sounds interesting enough - the hunstman dispatched to kill Snow White winds up becoming her protector as they set off to turn the tables on the Evil Queen - and it may even be able to answer a question that has been nagging me for so long: can Kristen Stewart actually act? Or is she just really that f*%@ing bad?
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - June 8: Eh, I do have kids, ya know?
That's My Boy - June 15: I won't touch this with a 300-foot pole . . . but it has Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg in it, two of the least funny people in the world, who have somehow managed to convince people they are, indeed, funny. Leave your brain at home for this one.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - June 22: This book is next on my Must-Read list. The author of this book, Seth Grahame-Smith, wrote two other fantastic books: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Unholy Night. I've heard nothing but great things about this book, and everyone associated with the movie is top-notch. Give this movie a shot!
G.I. Joe: Retaliation - June 29: "Why the hell is this movie on here? The first movie was total shit!" If you find yourself thinking those words, trust me: I'm thinking them, too! I was a huge G.I. Joe fan back in the day, when their toys and comic books were actually cool. Then the first live-action G.I. movie came around . . . and it had Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayans in it, for God's sake! Way to kill the coolness factor. It wasn't the worst movie ever made - I have to admit, I did buy it on Blu-ray - but was it worthy of a sequel? Hell no . . . and yet, here we are. This second one looks moderately intriguing, since it opens with a bunch of the G.I. Joes being assassinated (hopefully that means Channing Tatum's character!). It also has The Rock himself, at least a short cameo by Bruse Willis, and ninjas. Lots of ninjas. Could be a guilty pleasure this summer.
The Amazing Spider-Man - July 3: Yup, another super hero/action movie. Sorry - sue me. Ayway, another one I am on the fence about. I did't necessarily love the Spider-man trilogy that starred Tobey Maguire and was directed by Sam Raimi - I score these movies a "Meh" for the first, a solid thumbs up for the second, and a grade of "Dog Turd" for the third - but then again, I hate Hollywood's obsession with rebooting franchises. There's hundreds of Spider-man comics out there; rather than give us another origin story, pick an interesting story and make a movie, dammit! We'll see if I let my kid talk me into seeing this one.
The Dark Knight Rises - July 20: Words cannot begin to describe how excited/nervous I am to see this flick. It's a good thing my wife is due at the end of June, because this movie is possibly the only thing in the universe, outside of death, that could make me miss the birth of one of my children. Without a doubt, this will be the biggest movie of the summer, and without a doubt, it will almost certainly create a lot of praise on one side, and bitching on the other. This will be the last Batman movie written and directed by Christopher Nolan - he is ending his version of the story here, for good. Don't be surprised if the ending isn't happy, but give the man the benefit of the doubt: I haven't seen him make a bad flick yet, and I'm riding shotgun with him all the way on this one!
Anything I forgot? Shout out what you're looking forward to below! I'll be sure to ignore your suggestions. :)
I saw the trailer for Abraham Lincoln today and it looks frigging fantastic. I have to admit, I thought upon hearing the title it was going to be an absolute parody and therefore, horrible, but nope. It looks like the epic action movie the title literally makes it sound like.
ReplyDeleteBetween the superhero movies, I'd have to say I'm most excited for DKR. Spider-Man may have potential, but I was a fan of the original trilogy (okay, the first two) so I may not like to see the new origin story, though it is more accurate to the comics. I regret to say that I didn't really follow the origin movies for any of the Avengers this time around, though the team film looks pretty great.
Also, mucho agreement to the Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg comments. They aren't funny at all. Sandler acts like a drunk in most of his movies and Samberg... I can't even with him.
Most of these movies look great, and I can't wait to see them, but for snow white i am definitely going to not see that one since it does not look good. Other than that I will definitely be going to see most of these movies.
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