Summer Redux

Well, it feels like summer's back... (not sure what happened to the spring. Although it was only eight degrees Celsius in Vancouver on Monday. Weather, whatever. Bah!) ...and that means summer blockbusters. I've been more out of touch with what's been happening in the theatres lately than in recent history. (Incidentally, since my last post Grindhouse flopped at the box office. A hard sell to the masses, I guess. It's all about opening weekend, don'tcha know?)

Seems like it's the summer of thirds. Shrek the Third, Ocean's 13, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 3...

Speaking of which, I did go to see Spiderman 3 and was... what would the word be... mildly entertained, I guess. Which isn't all bad. Not exactly disappointed, but not thrilled. Even though, yes, the 10-man-years that were reported to have gone into the special effects for the flick were spectacular, (and, as I've said elsewhere, after spending so much of my childhood imagining, I could watch the webhead swing around Manhattan for the duration of the film and be satisfied), they couldn't save the muddled overwhelming mass of story. Too many plotlines intersecting needlessly, and with outrageous coincidence, waaay too many villains, enough villains for three or four more movies. And Venom, well, that whole storyline was so butchered that... I digress, (and show my -- I hesitate to say it -- fanboy leanings when it comes to the black suit).

All of which is to say that my opinion, and the opinion of most movie-goers doesn't really matter when the Hollywood marketing machine manages to draw enough viewers for, what, a $151 million opening weekend for Spiderman 3?! Does it really matter what anyone thinks after that?

So, what's coming up that's of interest?

Not much, I'm afraid.

Live Free or Die Hard? (No, I didn't make that up. Coming to theatres late June.) There is Sicko, the latest polemic from Michael Moore which got rave reviews last week at Cannes. In the film Moore takes a group of sick Americans to the only place in America with free health care, Guantanamo Bay. And it'll be interesting to see how he has adjusted his tactics now that he's an international media personality.

And okay, there's The Simpson Movie, that'll be good. I'll go see that.