Busy, Busy, Busy

That's the word of the week, in case you hadn't guessed. Between taking care of the kids while the DW recovers from a twisted back, running around like a teenage prom queen in a slasher flick here at work, and trying desperately to finish the last installments in my series of DDM 2.0 web articles (see the first two installments here and here), I haven't had a ton of time to breathe. Regardless, that hasn't kept me from getting excited about this summer's movie season.

Now, to make one thing real clear...I don't get out to the movies all that often. And when I say "all that often", I mean...well, not at all. Between the excessive cost of going to the movies, the difficulty in finding baby-sitting, and the relative speed and ease with which one can get movies after they come out on DVD (or Blu-Ray, or whatever your choice of home media is during this so-called "format war"), I've more or less given up on going to the theater, especially when faced with a summer movie season like that forced on the movie-going public back in 2007 ("Revenge of the Threequels!"). This year, however...well, I may just have to get up off my lazy butt and drag someone along to the theater with me, as there are some tasty treats on the horizon.

Here's a breakdown of the major studio releases for the 2008 summer movie season, as presented by the good folks over at Rotten Tomatoes:

Major Summer Releases 2008

May 2
Iron Man
Director: Jon Favreau (Elf, Zathura)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges
My Thoughts: I wasn't excited about this one until I saw the trailer, at which point I became understandably intrigued. Iron Man's massive success thus far, coupled with fantastic reviews and overall good word-of-mouth, makes me think I may need to go and pay the Iron Dude a visit.

May 9
Speed Racer
Director: Larry & Andy Wachowski (The Matrix Trilogy)
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox
My Thoughts: After seeing the trailer, my thoughts were that this film could either be really good, or it could just suck. Public opinion and reviews have been leaning towards the latter, but I may still give this one a once-over once it comes out on DVD. (If nothing else, it should have good Rifftrax potential...)


May 16
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Director: Andrew Adamson (Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
Starring: Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes, Warwick Davis
My Thoughts: Ho-hum. The first Chronicles of Narnia was entertaining, but far from one of my favorite films. I've heard generally positive things about the sequel, however, so I'll give it a shot somewhere down the line.

May 22
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Director: Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Munich)
Starring: Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent
My Thoughts: I'm excited about this one (and ashamed that I missed my opportunity to pre-screen it earlier this week). While the reviews have been mixed, so long as Spielberg, Ford & company are operating at even 50% efficacy, it's bound to be a blast. This might be one to actually sneak off and go see while it's hot.

May 30
Sex and the City
Director: Michael Patrick King
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Hudson
My Thoughts: Never seen the show, never wanted to. Pass.

June 6
Kung Fu Panda
Director: Mark Osborne & John Stevenson
Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Ian McShane
My Thoughts: The DW is excited about this one. I think it could be fun, especially with the impressive vocal cast, but based on the trailer, I'm not sure I'll rush out to see it.

You Don't Mess with the Zohan
Director: Dennis Dugan (Saving Silverman, The Benchwarmers, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)
Starring: Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Alex Luria, Emmanuelle Chriqui
My Thoughts: This one has potential. It looks pretty stupid, to be completely honest, an "old school" Adam Sandler flick, before he went all soft and mushy. I actually prefer the "newer" Sandler films, however, but I'll still Netflix this one down on the line, as the premise is pretty fun and the trailer cracks me up.

June 13
The Happening
Director: M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village)
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Spencer Breslin
My Thoughts: Oh. Yeah. Shamalyan has disappointed with his last couple of films (I still get pi$$ed when I think about The Village), but I won't forget that he's the guy that gave us Unbreakable and Signs. The Happening has real potential, and the fact that it bears an "R" rating indicates that Night is moving into even darker territory than he has in the past, which is saying something considering the grim nature of his films. I'm very interested to check this one out.

The Incredible Hulk
Director: Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, Unleashed)
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson
My Thoughts: This is one of the weaker comic book film offerings that the summer has to offer, but even then, it looks intriguing. The trick will be to see if Norton & his impressive ensemble supporting cast are able to make this "new Hulk" a) not as artsy and pretentious as Ang Lee's Hulk, and b) not just another superhero movie. The previews haven't done a lot for me, but I'll still be willing to give it a try, if for no other reason than to see Norton, Tyler, Hurt and Roth all in the same film.

June 20
Get Smart
Director: Peter Segal (Anger Management, 50 First Dates)
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Terence Stamp, Alan Arkin
My Thoughts: I have high hopes for this one. Get Smart was a favorite show of mine as a kid, and while the movie will necessarily drift from the series (as it should), this movie has some great comic potential, especially with the inspired choice of supporting players. I'll keep my fingers crossed for this one.

June 27
Wanted
Director: Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Day Watch)
Starring: James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Common
My Thoughts: Meh. The least-inspired comic book film of the summer. Matrix-looking people doing Matrix-like things. I may be wrong (I know that DW thought this one looked good), but if the marketing campaign for this one just continues to show me that Hunted is going to be another Matrix-light, I'll have to pass.

Wall*E
Director: Andrew Stanton (A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo)
Starring: Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Ben Burtt
My Thoughts: You pretty much can't go wrong with Pixar. Some of their efforts (Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles, Finding Nemo) are better than others (Cars, Bug's Life, Ratatouille), but even a "bad" Pixar film is better than 90% of the other animated fare out there. And Fred Willard rules.

July 2
Hancock
Director: Peter Berg (The Rundown, Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom)
Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
My Thoughts: Woot. I was mixed on this one at first, but after learning that Peter Berg was at the helm and having viewed the second trailer, I'm all over it. Sure, it's a super-hero movie, and somewhat in the vein of Mystery Men, but it looks damned entertaining. Another one I may have to sneak out and see rather than waiting for the DVD.

July 11
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Director: Guillermo del Toro (Blade II, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth)
Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss, Thomas Kretschmann
My Thoughts: This will be fun. Hellboy wasn't a major favorite of mine, but it was still entertaining and accomplished what it set out to. Del Toro is a talented director and Pearlman is always a pleasure to watch, no matter the role, so this will easily find its way into my Netflix cue.

July 18
The Dark Knight
Director: Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige)
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal
My Thoughts: Double woot. Probably the film I most eagerly look forward to this year (edging out Hancock and Indy, who make up numbers 2 and 3). The previews have just confirmed what most everyone has guessed: this movie is going to kick some proverbial a$$.

Mama Mia!
Director: Phyllia Lloyd
Starring: Meryl Streep, Chrinte Baranski, Julie Walter, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard
My Thoughts: This looks like fun. I'm not what I'd call an Abba fan, but I've heard good things about the show, the casting is fun, and musicals are always fun.

July 25
Step Brothers
Director: Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights)
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott
My Thoughts: Pass. Will Ferrell is very hit or miss for me. My favorite films of his have been Stranger Than Fiction (where he played things straight and was backed by a highly original story and a stellar supporting cast), and The Producers (where he had only a minor role). This may prove to be a terribly funny movie, but it's not one I'll be lining up to see in any format.

The X Files
Director: Chris Carter (The X Files)
Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Xzibit, Billy Connolly
My Thoughts: Pass. Was never really into the show, and I can't imagine the new film would make a lot of sense to me...though the supporting cast is interesting. (Wonder if Billy Connelly's character will get killed, like they do in 99% of his other movies...)

August 1
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Director: Rob Cohen (Fast and the Furious, xXx, Stealth)
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Luke Ford
My Thoughts: Could be fun. I'm not a huge fan of director Rob Cohen, and, while I like Maria Bello, I'm sad to see that Rachel Weisz has stepped out of her role as Edie. Regardless, the trailer is fun, Brendan Frasier is reliably fun to watch, and Jet Li is a great villain. Should be good, brainless fun.

August 8
Pineapple Express
Director: David Gordon Green (George Washington, All the Real Girls, Snow Angels)
Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Amber Heard
My Thoughts: This looks damn funny. Seth Rogen is turning out to be a popular comic actor, and James Franco can be good given the right role. I'll Netflix this one, for sure.

August 15
Tropic Thunder
Director: Ben Stiller (Zoolander)
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Brandon T. Jackson
My Thoughts: I'm mixed on this one....it could either be extremely funny, or just flat-out lame. The trailers have me leaning towards the former, but I'll need to see a bit more before I commit any money towards this one.


Ok...a much longer post than I thought. Time to get back to work (and see if I can't come up with a creative way to get to some of these movies...)