Summer Movie Round-Up (or Fall DVD previews)
August 29, 2008
Well, I didn’t get to have much of a summer break (because I ruptured my Achilles Tendon – where have you been?) but I did get to see a lot of the summer (and spring) movies. Here’s my break-down from best to worst.
Iron Man - previously mentioned that one here. Great, great, great. Good acting, special effects, story, everything. Just what a summer movie should be.
Hancock - Will Smith is summer movies. He does a great job here. So does Jason Bateman – could anyone not like him? I miss Arrested Development!!! You need to see Hancock. Great story. Very well done movie.
Hell Boy 2 – probably the biggest surprise of the summer. Really, really good show. Good story. Interesting characters. Funny, full of action. Sleeper hit for me.
The Dark Knight - pretty dark movie but actually very good. Another must see especially if you liked the first Christian Bale Batman. Was the Joker an Oscar worthy performance? No, but good.
You Don’t Mess With the Zohan - WOW!! I didn’t expect anything from this Adam Sandler vehicle but was I ever pleasantly surprised. It was genuinely funny. It had a number of laugh out loud moments and the story was okay. Well worth a watch.
Transsiberian - a Woody Harrelson pic. A good one. A real, sleeper must-see. Very Hitchcockian. Look for it. Watch it.
Wanted - Another kind-of surprise to me. I expected to dislike this one as just a fluffy action movie churned out for the summer crowd. It was, but it was also very watchable. I enjoyed it.
Kung-Fu Panda - I admit it, I like Jack Black. This kid’s movie was pretty entertaining but was really a kid’s show. I’m pretty smart. I picked up on that right away.
Indiana Jones 4 - nothing special here. Take it or leave it. Better yet, watch Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Wall – E -I guess it was okay. There wasn’t any dialogue for like the first 45 minutes. Actually, the show kind of drove me nuts but I think kids like it.
The Incredible Hulk – Ed Norton does an okay job. Tim Roth does an okay job. But the story is boring and the abomination isn’t right and doesn’t show up early enough in the movie. I’m also tired of superhero types who whine about it.
Chronicles of Naria 2 - dark, complicated. Who is the audience for this stuff? Not kids. Not me. And I read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe over and over as a kid.
The Love Guru - I was so disapointed in Mike Myers. What a waste of time. Maybe one or two parts will make you smile. The rest – ugh.
The Happening - maybe the biggest disapointment of the summer for me. Dumb story, bad acting, and awful ending. Real waste of time.
P.S.
Baby Mama - This was an early Spring release and out on DVD pretty soon but you NEED to see this. Great chemistry in the actors. Great story. Awesome writing. Fantastic show. I laughed so hard I wanted to stop the show because I thought I would miss more funny stuff.
Guess that’s it. There’s a few others I haven’t gotten to yet (like Step-Brothers) so I’ll let you know after I see them. I’ve seen almost everything so if you ever want my opinion on a film – just ask.
Enjoy.
