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.
5 Comments:
I can sooner accept that someone thought the world needed a fourth Die Hard a lot easier than a third Rush Hour. It is hard for the average person to believe that movie executives get paid to make these decisions, and get paid well. We can say with complete confidence that if Michael J Fox was in better shape right now, some college drop-out movie exec would be pushing Back To The Future 4 as hard as they can at this very moment. Must drive a writer with original ideas a little homicidal at times.
I am dissappointed that Spidey3 sounds so average. They raised the bar so high with #2, that coming out with something at the level of Fantastic Four or Daredevil takes away any urge I have to go see it. The second one did such a good job of hitting the same imagery that the mind of an adventure-seeking/dreamy teenage boy would come up with while reading the comics. There is forty years of material to steal from; the best they could do is to have Kristen Dunst sing twice?
I think Pirates 3 will be worth seeing; they have managed to make a set of movies based on a theme-park ride and completely devoid of a plot pretty fun to watch so far. Who would have thought that cutesy twerp form 21 Jump Street would have a career like this?
I've also enjoyed the Bourne movies so far; they've been like watching a super-spy who is the anti-Bond. Most spy movies try to replicate the extremely unlikely stunts and ridiculous gadgets. While they can be fun, they are never believable.
Definitely need a giant guys night out for the Simpson's movie. They are in a strange position that even if it sucks, it's still a must see.
Oh yeah,
Plett
Yeah, but this time they're (Rush Hour 3) going to Paris!
And yes, Kirsten Dunst singing really has no place in any film at any time. (What was wrong with MJ being a model, anyway? Is it any more or less believable than her being on Broadway?) But, as tiresome as that whole plotline was, it was nothing near as bad as the sequence where Peter Parker comes under the grip of the dark suit. As the darkness takes hold of his persona he turns into, what, Tony Manero? I kid you not. Disco soundtrack, struttin' finger-shootin' the ladies et al. It was staggeringly awful. My legs started spontaneously heading for the door, but I really wanted to see the inevitable Sandman fight. In which they converted the most interesting villain in this installment into a moaning, groaning, slow-witted, cumbersome, Blob-like mess.
But yeah, despite all my skepticism, I've liked the Pirates movies. And I actually loved both Bourne Identity movies. Although I can't help but think that the latest installment of 007 stole a page, or more, out of Bourne's book.
And, to wrap this up, it's hard to imagine that The Simpson's are capable of sucking. And the trailer looks good... like one, big, long episode.
Thanks for dropping by, Plett. I enjoyed your comment, even if it did bring up the vitriol I had carefully kept out of my initial post.
How is the Transformers movie sitting on your radar? Eagerly anticipated, or not so much? It's a Michael Bay movie, so pretty much everything is going to blow up. Everything I've seen so for reminds me of the post-apocolyse scenes from the Terminator movies. I expect it will be the return to the traditional summer action movie that we have not seen yet this year.
Where would a person find a copy of Retired for home viewing? NFB/NSI?
Plett
I dunno, Transformers? There is nothing even remotely interesting to me about that. They were cool toys, and the cartoons were okay, I guess. But a big-budget, two-hour, live-action movie? Meh.
You could get your hands on a copy of Retired if you asked my folks nicely and promised to return it promptly and without any scratches. Or, if you're interested in purchasing a DVD for repeated viewings at your leisure, you'd could contact the director/producer at: http://www.40belowfilms.com/
Post a Comment
<< Home