The C6M Summer Movie Preview

The 2010 summer movie season has arrived and just a wee bit early too. Typically, Memorial Day weekend marks the start of Hollywood’s (sometimes weak) attempt to wow the general public with spectacles of sight and sound, i.e. bigger effects, bigger explosions, bigger and bigger budgets. Summertime is replete with pure escapist cinematic bliss, so cast aside your more cerebral fare, buy yourself a bag of calorie-laden popcorn, sit back and prepare to be mesmerized by all the pretty lights. This summer we’ve got returning comic-book heroes, legendary vigilantes, cuddly cartoon monsters, video game adaptations, kung-fu proteges and live-action interpretations of fantasy cartoons. There’s a lot to choose from this year, and we’ve compiled a list of some of the big movies that’ll be competing for your hard-earned dollars in the next few months. We’ll give you the details as well as our thoughts and predictions on each, and hopefully you’ll be able to discern for yourself which ones to see and which ones to avoid.

Iron Man 2 – May 7

Probably the one film that the comic-book-loving horde has been looking forward to is Jon Favreau’s (Iron Man, Elf ) follow-up to his 2008 smash hit. Robert Downey Junior returns as Tony Stark/Iron Man and is joined by a star-studded ensemble, including Academy Award nominated Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson,  Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell and Gwyneth Paltrow (reprising her role as Pepper Potts from the first film). I enjoyed the first film immensely, but one of my complaints was that it had very little action for a comic-book movie. I didn’t mind; it actually had a really good story… for a comic-book movie. Iron Man 2 promises to deliver a lot more iron-clad action than its predecessor. But some early reviews are already in, and reaction is mixed. Perhaps IM2 suffers from what I like to call Spider-Man 3-itis. It’s pretty widely accepted that one of the things that killed the Spider-Man franchise was the implementation of too many villains into the third installment. Iron Man 2 has at least two (possibly three) villains and some have said that too many associated plot contrivances have muddied up the film a bit. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Robin Hood – May 14

I suppose it was inevitable that somebody somewhere would eventually decide that it was once again time to turn the tale of everybody’s favorite thief, Robin Hood, into a movie. This time that person was acclaimed director Ridley Scott, and the difference between his version and the others is that it will no doubt receive his epic movie treatment. The iconic outlaw who steals from the rich and gives to the poor (Obama must love this character) is this time being played by Russell Crowe with Cate Blanchett playing the maid Marion (or maybe it’s just plain, old Marion this time). Rounding out the cast are Max Von Sydow, William Hurt and Mark Strong. If Scott’s other films are to be considered (Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Alien, Blade Runner), then Robin Hood ought to be fairly entertaining. Early reports are creeping in, and the prognosis is favorable.

Shrek Forever After – May 21

Perhaps you’re a big fan of the Shrek series and won’t hesitate to whisk your kids to see this latest fairy tale about the friendly, green ogre with the Scottish accent. All the original voice actors have returned: Mike Myers (Shrek), Cameron Diaz (Fiona), Eddie Murphy (Donkey) and Antonio Banderas (Puss-N-Boots). Personally, I’m surprised this franchise hasn’t gone the straight-to-DVD route. I doubt that Myers has brought anything fresh to the table this time around, but, hey, I could be wrong. Shrek Forever After claims to be “The Final Chapter”. It’s about time, says I.

MacGruber – May 21

Just what we all needed: another movie based on a Saturday Night Live skit based on an 80’s TV character. If you’ve never seen the skit on SNL, it’s pretty much always the same bit. MacGruber, who is supposed to be a spoofy version of TV’s MacGyver, is stuck in a locked room with his companions, attempting to diffuse some kind of bomb. Inevitably, MacGruber’s social awkwardness and the inept way he communicates with his cohorts prevents him from eradicating the danger in time. The bomb invariably explodes, thankfully providing an end to a skit that could potentially go on forever or for, say, an hour and a half. Don’t get me wrong. The skit is pretty funny; I’m just not sure it’ll translate into a full-scale movie. I’ll wait for the DVD release.

Prince of Persia – May 28

Disney is trying to recreate the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise with this video game adaptation. Whereas the extremely talented Johnny Depp convincingly pulled off a swashbuckling pirate, I’m not so convinced that Jake Gyllenhaal can successfully portray a Persian prince. I mean, they’re using British accents for goodness sake, and that always, always bugs me (unless, of course, the characters are British). Be that as it may, I’m hoping that it’s decent; I was always a big fan of the game. Fortunately, the movie seems to have taken a lot of elements of the game (gameplay and story) and thrown them right up there on the screen. If nothing else, it should be entertaining eye-candy, but I seriously doubt it’ll become the next POTC.

The Karate Kid – June 11

The classic 80’s movie about learning to stand up for one’s self through the discipline of the ancient JAPANESE martial art of karate finds its way to the silver screen once again. Only this time the setting has been changed from Encino, CA to Beijing, China, and the “kid” is really a kid. Whether a classic and timeless film such as the original Karate Kid should have been remade is neither here nor there. My biggest problem with this exercise in Hollywood nepotism (the film is being produced by Will Smith; the Ralph Macchio character is being played by Smith’s son, Jaden) is that the movie takes place in China and the studio still had the cultural insensitivity to call it The KARATE Kid. The Mr. Miyagi character has been replaced by Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). Though I haven’t yet seen the movie, I can only assume that, as a Chinese person, Mr. Han is probably a practitioner of wushu, commonly referred to as kung-fu, not karate. And I can only imagine that Mr. Han teaches Dre (not Daniel in this version) some version of kung-fu… not karate… which is JAPANESE. I know some of you will think I’m arguing semantics here, but it’s a well known fact that the Chinese and the Japanese don’t really get along all that well. Sure, these feelings are based on years of bigoted nationalist ideology, but as someone who has actually spent a good deal of time in China, I can imagine that a lot of Chinese will feel insulted that Hollywood doesn’t seem to be able to tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese culture. But, hey, they all look alike anyway, right? That was sarcasm, by the way. In any event, early reviews of the movie are surprisingly positive and have claimed that this is Jackie Chan’s best performance. I admit I’m more than curious, so I’ll be seeing it. I’m a sucker for a good KUNG-FU movie.

The A-Team – June 11

I love it when a plan comes together. I love it even more when a great movie comes together. Will The A-Team, based on the classic yet campy 80’s action TV series, be a great movie. I really don’t see how. So rarely do television shows translate into great (or even good) films. It’s possible, but I’d say the odds are against it. Then again, it might contain just enough insane thrills, the kind that never could have been achieved on a 1980’s TV budget, to make this rehash worth watching. Faceman firing a 50-cal machine gun from atop a tank that is plummeting to earth from an airplane is my kind of crazy. Liam Neeson stars as Hannibal Smith (played by George Peppard in the series) and Bradley Cooper plays Face (Dirk Benedict, originally). I like both actors quite a bit, so it may be worth a look-see.

Toy Story 3 – June 18

Ordinarily I’m just not a fan of sequels to cartoons/animated flicks on account of them typically being bad. Heck, I never even saw Toy Story 2, but I’d be willing to bet that this follow-up to the film that practically pioneered computer-animation will be worth the time and effort. I’m basing this solely on the fact that the Toy Story franchise comes from Pixar Studios. You may not be looking forward to another Toy Story movie (or maybe you are, idk), but ask yourself this question, when has Pixar ever let us down? Have they released a bad film to date? Exactly.

Knight and Day – June 25

Has enough time passed for the public to start loving Tom Cruise again? He certainly hopes so, and he’s banking hard on his new action-comedy to thrust him back into the spotlight. The film looks fairly entertaining, despite the fact that it co-stars Cameron Diaz. I am so completely over Diaz that I’ve almost come to accept that her being cast in a film means ultimate suckitude. However, the Knight and Day trailer has done a good job of presenting a movie that could possibly be entertaining. Cruise plays Roy, a secret agent (yes, again) who gets June (Diaz) involved in a hair-raising adventure that involves cold-fusion or some such nonsense. Might be fun. Might be terrible. Wish I could be more helpful, but I think it’s just one of those movies we’ll have to see to find out.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – June 30

There are few things I look forward to more than the day when the final chapter of The Twilight Saga is released on the big screen. When that day finally comes, I think we’ll be able to begin to move on as a society. The healing will commence, and we will start to forget that there was ever such a thing as sparkly vampires. In Eclipse, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) will be moody, and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) will be dark and broody. There will be some conflict between the Cullens and the Volturi and those other bad, shiny vampires and also the shirtless werewolves. Fighting, brooding, moodiness, sparkle, sparkle, fighting, ad infinitum. If you’re going to see this third installment of The Twilight Saga in the theaters and contribute to its inevitable accumulation of millions and millions of dollars, I can’t stop you. But I promise you, you will also assuredly grow stupider and probably you will get brain cancer. Fair warning.

The Last Airbender – July 2

Not everyone will be familiar with the Nickelodeon cartoon this movie is based on, Avatar, The Last Airbender, but its fans are numerous and as particular as any fanboy or girl out there. But where other cartoon-based films, like Dragonball Evolution, have failed, Paramount hopes The Last Airbender will succeed. They even went so far as to hire a big-name director, M. Night Shyamalan. However, you won’t see Bruce Willis or Joaquin Phoenix in this flick. It’s mostly no-name actors, except for that kid from Slumdog Millionaire. I’m curious about this movie because, despite his last effort, The Happening, I’m a huge fan of Shyamalan’s work. I have a feeling that it may just take audiences by surprise. Personally, I’m just excited to see what kind of freaky twist M. Night has worked out for this one. Maybe the twist is that the last airbender doesn’t really bend air; maybe the air bends him! Twist!

Predators – July 9

Everybody’s favorite hunter aliens are returning to theaters in their first solo engagement since Predator 2. In this sequel, a group of mercenary-type characters find themselves in a strange jungle to discover that they are the prey of a vicious and formidable alien… um… predator. Wait. This is the first movie we’re talking about, right? The one with Arnold? No? That’s the plot of the new one? Wow. That’s… original. But seriously, folks, it is a bit different. This time our mercenary anti-heroes have been shanghaied from dear planet earth and taken to a game preserve where they are hunted by Super Predators. Yeah, I don’t know, but it’s being produced by Robert Rodriguez who has been known to make a decent picture once in a while. So, we’ll just see. Couldn’t possibly be worse than the last Aliens Vs. Predator movie. Could it?

Inception – July 16

I predict that Christopher Nolan’s Inception could be the sleeper hit of the whole summer. Why? I don’t know. Maybe because Nolan is cinematic storytelling genius. Memento, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, The Prestige, all excellent movies in my book. And with Leo DiCaprio as Inception’s headliner, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance that this movie is going to blow everyone away. What’s it about? I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. It’s going to be awesome. Okay, yes, I do know what it’s about. DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a thief who specializes in stealing secrets out of people’s minds. Their MINDS!!! Unfortunately, Cobb’s ability has made him something of a wanted man, so he devises a plan to restore his good name, a plan that doesn’t involve stealing an idea but planting one.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – July 16

Call this movie Harry Potter Takes Manhattan. Nicolas Cage plays a wizard who recruits a reluctant student (played by Jay Baruchel) to help him save the city from a nefarious evil wizard. It’s another effects-laden spectacle from Disney which could be entertaining. Or it could be the next Percy Jackson. What’s confusing to me is Cage. You just never know with that guy. Sometimes he’s really on, but when he’s off, he’s way, way off. But I like Baruchel, so this one could turn out to be a fun, adventure flick with a bit of comedy thrown in there for good measure.

Salt – July 23

When CIA agent, Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), is outed as a Russian spy, she goes on an action-packed rampage to prove her innocence. To me this movie looks like The Fugitive on crack. Not just any crack but that crazy blue crack from that show Breaking Bad. It’s Jolie doing what Jolie does best: kicking butt. I’m in.

The Expendables – August 13

The Expendables is going to be one of the worst movies of the summer. You heard it here first, folks. Thankfully it’s at the end of the summer when nobody cares anymore. It’s going to suck because it’s a gimmick movie, and most movies based on a gimmick suck. It’s the seventy-second law of the universe. This gimmick is to make a movie with all the old, big-name action stars of the last 30 years or so. You’ve got your Stallone, your Lundgren, your Li (as in Jet), your Stathum, et al (only Van Damme is suspiciously absent). Even Arnold and Bruce Willis make appearances. But because the gimmick is so gosh-darn appealing, people will see it, and Hollywood will no doubt have its payday.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World – August 13

Based on the comic-book series, Scott Pilgrim, this film is one of the summer movies I’m looking forward to the most. In the film, mild-mannered bassist, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) likes Romona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). In order to date Romona, Scott must do battle with Romona’s seven evil exes… Street Fighter-style. The film looks very stylistic and, though I can’t personally say how closely the film follows the comic-book, I think it’s one of the most original ideas I’ve heard. The film is also directed by Edgar Wright who did Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz which I loved, loved, loved. My only regret is that August is still three months away.

So, there you have it. While this isn’t an exhaustive list of this summer’s hopefuls, it certainly contains the major players. All in all, I can’t say that the majority will be worth the film they’re processed on, but maybe one or two will turn out to be gems. Nevertheless, I’ll be sitting in my favorite seat, behind the rail at the local AMC, for most of these, I should think. I’ll be letting you know how it goes.

by Stuart Benedict