1 July 2008
Current Favourites
This is just some of the pop culture items I’m currently enjoying.
Summer Movie Mania
In order to keep up with the summer movie schedule I’ve been forced to attend the theatre at least once a week since the end of April. Blink and the newest release might already be gone.
I’m going to label May 2nd as the start of the 2008 summer movie season with the release of Iron Man. Summer means action and this comic book adaptation had plenty of it. An updated yet faithful apadtation of the Marvel Comics title. Robert Downey Jr. was genius casting.
I’m sad to say I missed Speed Racer which opened a week later. I did however see Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian the week after that. I was also saddened on this occasion. I really enjoyed The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe but I felt Caspian was a little flat.
Next was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I’ll try to be spoiler-free but I will say that whomever did the marketing for this film was right to leave out details of the actual plotline. I can and have ranted for hours about how disappointed I was by this latest chapter of the Indiana Jones series. I was able to console myself by playing Lego Indiana Jones on my Xbox 360. Great game!
Although I didn’t see it until the end of its run Sex and the City: The Movie released the next week on May 29th. I’d seen the entire run of the series so I was obligated to see the movie. I was just about put off by the trailer that revealed every major plot point in the film. That is an entire rant unto itself.
Kung Fu Panda and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan both released on June 6th. I saw Kung Fu Panda at the Imax theatre in Mississauga. I love the Imax. The movie was really good. One of those kids movies that’s entertaining for adults too. Zohan on the other hand was much more adult themed. Adam Sandler is back to being crude. Funny character and a funny movie. John Turturo rocks.
The Happening and The Incredible Hulk were next.
The Happening was a mistake. I’ve been burned by Shyamalan in the past but I keep going back. Here’s a brief recap. Sixth Sense, awesome. Unbreakable, even better. Signs, really good. The Village, not good. Lady in the Water, I despised it. The Happening, the worst of the lot. I used to defend him because even if the story was a little thin in his films I still liked his visual style. The Happening lacked a story and it looked very bland. No redeeming factors except that Zooey Deschanel co-starred, she’s great.
The Incredible Hulk was a sequel/apology following the previous Hulk movie. There’s more action, more super-powered fights, and less story and drama. I really liked the first one because of the story and drama and I really liked the new one because of the action and super-powered fights. Two good Hulk movies, keep em coming.
Current releases I want to see are The Love Guru, Get Smart, Wall*E, and Wanted. Lots more coming in July and August too. I love Summer Movie Mania
