Summer Movies: 2008

MAY:
Iron Man - Enough said. Right? Robert Downey Jr. is almost too perfect for this role. The physical resemblance would be enough already. The more interesting physical resemblance is the one between RDJ and the Howard Hughes(The original inspiration for the Tony Stark character). Oddly, I remember thinking that RDJ should've been in The Aviator instead of Leonardo Dicaprio. Nothing that a little direction from Scorsese can't fix. I know there have been many of these comicbook adaptations, but I've got a hunch about this one. I just hope Favreau hasn't messed with it too much.

Son of Rambow - This story looks adorable. I want to see this movie because of how jealous I am of the childhood that these kids have. I should've started making movies a long time ago.

Speed Racer - The Wachowski Bros. are back! This will certainly have outstanding visuals. These strange men have a knack for making excellent movies (I'm thinking of The Matrix and V for Vendetta.) Plus, I challenge you to name one person who doesn't like Emile Hirsch. Pretty tough, right?

Redbelt - Like any true fan of film, I love me some David Mamet. I love his strong flavor of dialogue. His characters speak acerbic words in an abrasively repetitive way. He has a unique way of including comedian-types in some of his serious roles. Steve Martin was in The Spanish Prisoner and now Tim Allen is in this.

Indiana Jones - Everyone will be seeing this movie... all sorts of generations of people. The trio of Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford will be earning plenty. I'm being careful not to get my hopes up. The thing about these Indiana Jones movies... they are kind of in a Star Wars situation. Remember how everyone got all uppity about the quality of the second half of that franchise? I have a remote fear that this will happen to Indy. Luckily, where Lucas goes awry, Spielberg maintains. He'll be the anchor of quality.

The other problem with the new Star Wars trilogy was that it was drenched in CGI. I read somewhere that this movie is going to be much less saturated with green screen scenes.

The cast is promising too: Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Shia Labeouf, and the graceful return of Karen Allen. All good things.

JUNE:
The Incredible Hulk - See earlier post. But this is a really cool poster for the movie. Just released, for your pleasure.



















The Happening - Shyamalan's success rate is 5 for 6. I know some of you are wondering, "Wait, where'd that sixth movie come from?" Yes, well I'm counting the short film that he made for AmEx. Lady in the Water failed me, and now I'm ready to get back on the Night train.

I'm also thinking that this will be another great Mark Wahlberg vehicle. He can be superb, but Shooter was nonsense.





Get Smart - I've never seen the tv show, but I know my parents and that generation are big into this silly little show. I don't know what to say about it... I like Alan Arkin, so it should be fine. The thing is... Steve Carell looks like the same person in all of his movies. My impression is that if Carell didn't adapt his acting to be Maxwell Smart, the writers must've adapted Maxwell Smart to be more like Carell. Maybe he's not a very complex character. Maybe I should just calm down.

Has anyone my age actually seen this television program? I felt the very same way about the Nancy Drew movie that they made. I read those books, and let me tell you, Emma Roberts is no Nancy Drew.


Wall-E - This looks like another great movie in the Pixar collection. I'm sure it'll make all sorts of crazy money and break all sorts of crazy records. Remember all those people who watched Ratatouille? I'll tell you all now, this movie will be far better than that rat movie.









Wanted - Will I see a movie just because of Morgan Freeman? Yeah. Will I watch a movie because of Angelina Jolie? Hell to the yes. But still, I'm not expecting many surprises from these two. I'm most excited for James McAvoy. I've seen most of his stuff... Band of Brothers, Foyle's War, Rory O'Shea Was Here, State of Play, The Chronic (what?) les of Narnia, Last King of Scotland, Starter for 10, Atonement... and he's always been very watchable, and very British. See, now he's going to be giving us his American accent. Cross your fingers. Oh! In addition to the actors... there is going to be a lot of action that breaks a variety of laws of physics. I don't know the Wanted comics at all, but I'm confident that this Russian director (from Night/Day Watch fame) will give us all a thrilling ride.

JULY:
Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Guillermo Del Toro is one of the most imaginative directors of all time. His creativity blows me away. I recommend his whole filmography to you readers. He puts his heart into these things. This sequel appears to be his most recent passion project. Please watch this, and remember that he turned down Harry Potter for this. That's a real shame. I was prepared for someone like him to take the HP franchise to the next level.
The Dark Knight - This is a big one. Most people mention this as their big summer movie. The first one was good enough to promise an audience for the sequel. And now, on top of the fanatic fervor, Heath Ledger has died. I'm thinking this will become even bigger than The Crow, Queen of the Damned, and Brainstorm. (Not that those were ever very big.) I've been enjoying the viral campaigning that's been trickling through the internet. Even beyond the internet, I've been getting phone calls from the Harvey Dent campaign office. They're really getting people involved... Do you believe in Harvey Dent?



AUGUST:
Pineapple Express - August will be the summer of comedies. This is the next Judd Apatow project. This will just be pure funny. Just looking at Seth Rogen and James Franco makes me smile and laugh.
Tropic Thunder - Ok, I'm getting sleepy. I'm just going to say that Ben Stiller's first movie since Zoolander will have a black Robert Downey Jr. That's him in between Ben Stiller and Jack Black. Pure excellence. Bed time.













Note: I wrote most of this while I watched a few episodes of Lost late in the evening (Billy Dee Williams? WTF?) There are errors, but I don't care enough to re-read it right now. So if you found them, you get 2 points per typo. Night.