Summer is here, and that means it’s time to get out of the heat by relaxing in a cool dark theater and watching big screen spectacle.
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1. The Avengers (May 4)Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury team up to save the world! It’s a big cast, but the film was made by Joss Whedon. Whedon has shown his expertise with large ensemble in works like Firefly and Buffy. I can’t wait to see the friction between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. |
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2. The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)The final film in Chris Nolan’s trilogy, the Dark Knight Rises is set eight years after the last film. Bruce Wayne is showing the damage of being Batman so long, but Gotham is in trouble and he has to take on Bane (Tom Hardy). Bane, in the comic books, is the villain that managed to beat Batman by breaking his back. Oh, and need I add… Ann Hathaway is Catwoman? The film has a lot of work to do to live up to the attention the last film garnered with Heath Ledger’s Oscar winning rendition of the Joker. According to Nolan, this film is the end of the story – will he kill Batman? |
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3. Total Recall (August 3)I’d hazard a guess that there are few science fiction fans between 30-50 that don’t love the 1989 Arnold Schwarzenegger film – taxis driven by creepy animatronic robots, three boobed prostitutes, and Michael Freaking Ironside. Probably less people know that that film was extruded from a short story by Philip K. Dick. While the first act of that film followed the story, much of the rest was speculation not described in the original story. So, that means that this new adaptation, starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Beal (on that point, what kind of man is Colin Farrell to be dumped by Kate Beckinsale and picked up by Jessica Beal in the same day?), is not fairly described as a remake. It’s another interpretation. In fact, in this version, Mars is not involved. |
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4. Brave (June 22)Pixar is amazing. They seldom miss (Cars and Cars II being their only misses in my opinion). With a resume including The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Up, just the Pixar name makes a film worth seeing. But this one may actually stand out even more than usual because it’s their first film with the main character being a young girl. The animation looks gorgeous. |
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5. Men In Black 3 (May 25)Wil Smith. Tommy Lee Jones. Josh Brolin. Emma Thompson. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Based on the first two – this is guaranteed to be exciting, funny, and imaginative. The premise is that something happens to change the past so that Agent K (Jones) died in 1969. Agent J (Smith) has to go back in time to save him. Brolin plays the young Agent K. The final set piece is the Launchpad of the Apollo 11 Saturn V. Makeup/effects genius Rick Baker designed 127 different aliens for the film. |
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6. The Amazing Spider-man (July 3)I love Spider-man and I’m fairly confident that this film will be good, given its fine cast. My enthusiasm is lagging a little because it just seems too soon to reboot the franchise. It has only been five years since Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire’s last Spider-man film. |
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7. Prometheus (June 8 )I’m a little late to the club for Prometheus. It may or may not be a prequel to Alien, and that really doesn’t interest me. The Alien franchise ran its course. However seeing the trailer in 3D caught my attention. It looks great. It’s directed by Ridley Scott and stars Noomi Rapace (the original Swedish Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Michael Fassbender (Magneto in last summer’s X-Men), and Charlize Theron. |
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8. The Bourne Legacy (August 3)The idea of a Bourne film without Matt Damon seems blasphemous, but Jeremy Renner really can’t seem to go wrong. Just in the last few years he’s been excellent in The Hurt Locker, The Town, and M:I:4. This isn’t a recast or a reboot. The premise is that Matt Damon’s character wasn’t the only spy in the program. The film also stars the lovely Rachel Weisz. |
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9. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 22)Come on, how can you not be drawn in by just the title? I read the book about two years ago, and found it quite enjoyable. The premise is that Lincoln, from his mother’s death until the end of his life was secretly a vampire hunter. The story follows the real historical events of his life, but reinterprets them, to include vampires. |
| 10. Hope Springs(August 10)Here’s a sudden shift in tone and pace. After nine action films, I’m going with a comedy starring two actors over 60. The premise is that a couple (Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones) are having marital problems and seek therapy and their therapist is played by Steve Carrell. I don’t really need to know more than that. |
