Fall is officially upon us, which means the nights are getting longer, the weather colder, and the movies crappier. So in this transition period between popcorn blockbusters and award contenders, let's look back at the summer that was at the cinema...
Iron Man: A fantastic kickoff to the summer movie season. Easily one of the best comic book movies yet. A superb cast. Usually, the first movie of a comic book series adaptation can be a bit boring because so much time is spent on an origin I already know backwards and forwards. In this case, Tony Stark himself was so much fun to watch that I didn't care how much time the filmmakers took to get him into the Iron Man armor and kicking ass.
A+
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: I think I liked this a little more than the first one, but I'll need to watch it again to be sure. It was a little darker and more action-y without being too derivative of the Lord of the Rings. It was nice to see Susan get some extra attention before she gets banished from Narnia (and the subsequent films, presumably) for liking boys.
Still, I had to chuckle when Aslan admonished Lucy, saying things never happen the same way twice...and then he proceeds to save the day in the nick of time, just like in the first movie. Oh, Aslan, you crazy Jesus Lion, you...
B+
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Let's just get this out of the way: no, this wasn't perfect, or even great, but it wasn't terrible either. It was fun to see Indy in action again, to hear the Raiders March and the crack of the whip in a theater. I liked the offhand remarks that filled in what happened between films, and I thought Mutt worked well (except when his CGI avatar was ridiculously playing Tarzan). I didn't even mind mixing the more sci-fi alien stuff into the Indy mythology in a Stargate-y kind of way, which worked given the setting of the film (atomic age, 1950s, Soviets), though I definitely could have done without the alien actually coming alive and moving at the end.
I did not like that after getting captured by the Soviets, Indy didn't really do anything to figure stuff out; he basically fought Commies and followed Oxley around. And as much fun as it was to see Marion again, and to tie up that relationship once and for all, by the end, between Indy, Marion, Mutt, Oxley and the irrelevant triple agent partner guy, it all seemed a little too crowded. Baroness Van Bitzenhofer said it best, as the credits rolled: "I didn't realize we were seeing National Treasure 3."
B-
The Incredible Hulk: Less psychological and needlessly artsy than the previous film and more "Hulk smash!", this somehow felt like it fit in the same "universe" as the Iron Man film (and not just because of the cameo), something Marvel is most likely doing intentionally now that they control their motion picture destiny and seem intent on translating the shared universe feel of their comics to their films. Dr. Bitz felt the plot was a bit slight, and he's not wrong, but I didn't notice it until he mentioned it, so it didn't bother me. Perhaps I'm more conditioned to Hulk stories that don't consist of much more than "Hulk run, Hulk smash, Hulk run again."
B
Wanted: Stylish and fun if a bit slight. It speaks to the beaten down office drone in all of us, a sort of violent, gun-filled Office Space in parts. The film casts the protagonist in a more positive light than the source material, I understand, and leaves behind some of the author's politics, which is fine; I enjoyed this enough as a better-than-average shoot 'em up action film.
B
Hancock: Seeing previews for this, I was of two minds: on the one hand, I was excited to see a comic book movie featuring an original character. On the other hand, words can't describe how sick I am of watching Will Smith "aw, hell no"-ing his way through summer blockbusters.
In the end, I was right to be wary, though I had it a bit backwards. Smith was fine but the movie ended up a muddled mess that seemed to end both too abruptley and not soon enough. Jason Bateman was the sole saving grace: give Michael Bluth more work!
D+
Wall-E: Gorgeous, well made, thoughtful and touching. No doubt this will stand the test of time as one of Pixar's classic films.
A-
Hellboy II: The Golden Army: A pleasant surprise, overshadowed by the other two excellent comic book movies of the summer. The first Hellboy movie was okay, not bad but not great (though I've enjoyed it mor upon subsequent viewings). This one was better, fully delving into the arcane and fantastical world that existed just below the surface in the original film. It had a very universe-building Star Wars feel to it, in that there was so much going on in the background that it felt like there was limitless stories waiting to be told with these characters in this setting.
A
Mama Mia: Mrs. Teebore's desire to see this was much greater than mine, but I think I ended up enjoying it more than she did. While she spent the film comparing it to the musical and being dissapointed by some of the omissions and changes, I just kicked back and enjoyed Abba in Surround Sound* and the sight of James Bond singing power ballads.
C
*What? I grew up listening to my mom's Abba Gold album. They're catchy tunes...
The Dark Knight: What can I say that hasn't already been said? A genre defining movie that not only raises the bar on all subsequent comic book movies, but also, in many ways, transcends the genre in a way few (no?) other comic book films have. I believe in Harvey Dent.
A+
Step Brothers: Funny in the expected way but lacking the strong and memorable supporting cast that made similar Will Ferell outings (Anchorman, Talladega Nights) rise above the expected.
B
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Good enough if you're the target audience (kids and Star Wars fans). I am, so I enjoyed it in that regard. It did the job it set out to do: get me excited for the TV series, where the animation will play out a lot better. I'd imagine it's a little dull and lackluster for non fans, though.
B+
Tropic Thunder: Funny in an unexpected way, with lots of social commentary, satire, and cameos alongside the expected jokes about actors and Hollywood. Worth it for the trailers at the beginning alone.
B+
Iron Man: A fantastic kickoff to the summer movie season. Easily one of the best comic book movies yet. A superb cast. Usually, the first movie of a comic book series adaptation can be a bit boring because so much time is spent on an origin I already know backwards and forwards. In this case, Tony Stark himself was so much fun to watch that I didn't care how much time the filmmakers took to get him into the Iron Man armor and kicking ass. A+
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: I think I liked this a little more than the first one, but I'll need to watch it again to be sure. It was a little darker and more action-y without being too derivative of the Lord of the Rings. It was nice to see Susan get some extra attention before she gets banished from Narnia (and the subsequent films, presumably) for liking boys.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Let's just get this out of the way: no, this wasn't perfect, or even great, but it wasn't terrible either. It was fun to see Indy in action again, to hear the Raiders March and the crack of the whip in a theater. I liked the offhand remarks that filled in what happened between films, and I thought Mutt worked well (except when his CGI avatar was ridiculously playing Tarzan). I didn't even mind mixing the more sci-fi alien stuff into the Indy mythology in a Stargate-y kind of way, which worked given the setting of the film (atomic age, 1950s, Soviets), though I definitely could have done without the alien actually coming alive and moving at the end.
The Incredible Hulk: Less psychological and needlessly artsy than the previous film and more "Hulk smash!", this somehow felt like it fit in the same "universe" as the Iron Man film (and not just because of the cameo), something Marvel is most likely doing intentionally now that they control their motion picture destiny and seem intent on translating the shared universe feel of their comics to their films. Dr. Bitz felt the plot was a bit slight, and he's not wrong, but I didn't notice it until he mentioned it, so it didn't bother me. Perhaps I'm more conditioned to Hulk stories that don't consist of much more than "Hulk run, Hulk smash, Hulk run again." B
Wanted: Stylish and fun if a bit slight. It speaks to the beaten down office drone in all of us, a sort of violent, gun-filled Office Space in parts. The film casts the protagonist in a more positive light than the source material, I understand, and leaves behind some of the author's politics, which is fine; I enjoyed this enough as a better-than-average shoot 'em up action film.
Hancock: Seeing previews for this, I was of two minds: on the one hand, I was excited to see a comic book movie featuring an original character. On the other hand, words can't describe how sick I am of watching Will Smith "aw, hell no"-ing his way through summer blockbusters.
Wall-E: Gorgeous, well made, thoughtful and touching. No doubt this will stand the test of time as one of Pixar's classic films. A-
Hellboy II: The Golden Army: A pleasant surprise, overshadowed by the other two excellent comic book movies of the summer. The first Hellboy movie was okay, not bad but not great (though I've enjoyed it mor upon subsequent viewings). This one was better, fully delving into the arcane and fantastical world that existed just below the surface in the original film. It had a very universe-building Star Wars feel to it, in that there was so much going on in the background that it felt like there was limitless stories waiting to be told with these characters in this setting. A
Mama Mia: Mrs. Teebore's desire to see this was much greater than mine, but I think I ended up enjoying it more than she did. While she spent the film comparing it to the musical and being dissapointed by some of the omissions and changes, I just kicked back and enjoyed Abba in Surround Sound* and the sight of James Bond singing power ballads.
The Dark Knight: What can I say that hasn't already been said? A genre defining movie that not only raises the bar on all subsequent comic book movies, but also, in many ways, transcends the genre in a way few (no?) other comic book films have. I believe in Harvey Dent. A+
Step Brothers: Funny in the expected way but lacking the strong and memorable supporting cast that made similar Will Ferell outings (Anchorman, Talladega Nights) rise above the expected. B
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Good enough if you're the target audience (kids and Star Wars fans). I am, so I enjoyed it in that regard. It did the job it set out to do: get me excited for the TV series, where the animation will play out a lot better. I'd imagine it's a little dull and lackluster for non fans, though. B+
Tropic Thunder: Funny in an unexpected way, with lots of social commentary, satire, and cameos alongside the expected jokes about actors and Hollywood. Worth it for the trailers at the beginning alone. B+
Spider-Man 3: I didn’t think this was as bad as some did, but it certainly wasn’t without its flaws. Both Sandman and Venom translated well, though the conclusion of Sandman’s story and the origin of Venom’s “alien costume” were both poorly developed and plot hammered, as was their team-up (Wanna fight Spider-Man together? Uh, okay!). And there was entirely too much of goofy looking Kirsten Dunst (but there usually is). But Gwen Stacy was spot on. I really enjoyed the portrayal of Eddie Brock/Venom, on the whole, and Harry’s amnesia was a nice shout out to those of who read the comics enough to know that Goblins’ real super power is convenient amnesia. If nothing else, there were plenty of cool effects and fight scenes. B-
Shrek 3: Easily the worst movie I saw this summer. Weak and flimsy, this movie just didn’t do…anything. The bit with the various princesses was funny, I guess, but there really wasn’t enough time for them to save the movie. I really enjoyed the first Shrek movie for the way it subverted the conventions of the fairy tale, exploiting the humor therein: hideous ogre instead of handsome prince, annoying donkey instead of faithful stead, the princess is fairly capable of rescuing herself. The second one seemed to favor more contemporary humor that dates terribly but this one just went off the rails entirely. Shrek 4? Can’t wait… D-
Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds’ End: A bit of an overstuffed mish mash, but fun and very enjoyable nonetheless. I saw this one twice, and it benefits greatly, for me at least, in a second viewing as I found it much easier to keep track of all the double and triple crossings. The score was excellent. The final battle sequence was pretty awesome, but still, I wish the whole pirate armada they assembled had actually ended up doing…anything, really. And the very end-let’s just say I can come up with about thirty-five loopholes to get them around their predicament, which kind of takes away whatever impact the filmmakers were going for. Also, remember when these movies were about Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, and not Keira Knightley? B-
Ocean’s Thirteen: A definite improvement over the meandering second film. Plus, no stupid Julia Roberts or Catherine Zeta Jones. Just an all around fun caper flick. And it’s always fun to watch Pacino devour the scenery. B
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: Like the first one, I went in with low expectations and left satisfied. The worst part remains Dr. Doom, entirely lacking in the nobility, cunning, and grandiose over-the-top-ness that makes DOOM so great (but that’s what happens when you cast the smarmy guy from Nip/Tuck, who then proceeds to phone it in). Let’s just say the real Doom would never, upon stepping onto the Silver Surfer’s board and achieving the power cosmic, non-chalantly utter the word “cool.” Doom would deliver a monologue detailing exactly how the world will tremble before his power. B-
Transformers: A heaping helping of awesome, a side of kick ass with a lingering aftertaste of plot holes. But still, no worse plot holes then the original, and even more awesome, Transformers movie. Yes, this one suffered from too many humans (the Secretary of Defense was way too central, and I’d have cut out the stupid hacker kids entirely) but Megan Fox was hot and Shia kicked all kinds of butt (I think I have a man-crush on him now). And, giant robots wailed on each other. A-
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Oddly enough, I think this movie, which cut out the most material from the book, fit together as a movie the best. There was plenty of things I liked in the book that were left out, but there was also some new stuff put in that added a lot. Luna was spot on and Raph Fiennes owns the role of Voldemort. Time, and repeat viewings, will ultimately tell how this one holds up (the third gets better each time I see it, the fourth one more disjointed). A-
The Simpsons: It worked for me. Funny; over the top in all the right places. I particularly enjoyed that they didn’t cram it full of celebrity guest stars (the two they had, worked well, especially Tom Hanks) and that the villain of the piece was played by a frequent guest star, instead of, I don’t know, Tom Hanks. Can’t really find much to complain about here. A
Bourne Ultimatum: Enjoyable enough it suffers mainly for the fact that it's part of series that doesn’t tie in to some other interest of mine. Well made, fun to watch, have no real desire to see it again. For me, I guess that’s the definition of an average film. C+
Stardust: I heard mixed things about this one but ended up thoroughly enjoying myself. The best kind of fantasy, in that it created a sense of a greater world, beyond what we encountered in the course of the story, and because it covered a lot of bases: it had touches of humor, and suspense, romantic bits and some good action scenes. The music was great. Loved the Shakespearean touches as well. A tremendously fun movie. A
