Summer is here once again cinema fans, and we all know what that means: a ton of new blockbusters are coming our way to help us escape for a little while and take the heat off our minds. I know that during the Summer we all have jobs, family gatherings, days planned with friends, and maybe some of us will be taking a Summer class if we're in college. Of course, that's all understandable, but why not also take advantage of all the big-screen adventures that the season has to offer?
As with every Summer, the new releases will offer something for everyone: for the guys, we have the return of a certain iron-clad superhero, director Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe reunite to bring the classic hero of Sherwood Forest to life, and Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan is back with his latest, and literally mind-bending thriller. For the younger audience, they will be treated to the fourth outing of their favorite fairy-tale ogre, as well as the much-anticipated return of Woody and Buzz Lightyear. And for the ladies, they will surely enjoy the return of Sarah Jessica Parker and her girlfriends, and will undoubtedly come out in droves to experience the next installment of an ever-so-popular human-vampire-werewolf love-triangle. These releases will certainly bring in huge box office business, but they aren't the only films to get excited for. There are many more included in this Summer movie preview. Let's get started, shall we?
Iron Man 2 (May 7) Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is back in this second installment of the hit Iron Man franchise. In this chapter, the government wants Stark to hand over is technology to the military. He is unwilling to do so, worrying that it might fall into the wrong hands. Iron Man is soon faced with a powerful new opponent called Whiplash, played by Mickey Rourke. Also starring in the film are Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, and Sam Rockwell.
Robin Hood (May 14) After their success with Gladiator and American Gangster, director Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe team up to bring the Robin Hood legend to the big screen. In the story, our hero returns home to his English village after fighting in the Third Crusade. Using his military skills and intelligence, he sets out to conquer the tyranny and corruption that has taken over, while also trying to win the love of Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett).
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (May 19) The popular video game is now an adventure-epic starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Dastan, a street urchan in sixth century Persia, is adopted by a king to be his heir, and soon joins forces with Princess Tamina to rescue the Sands of Time, a godly gift that controls, you guessed it, time. Ben Kingsley portrays the wicked Nizam. Gemma Arterton and Alfred Molina also star in this film from the producers of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Shrek Forever After (May 21) Shrek returns in his fourth, and sadly his last, adventure in the land of Far Far Away. After becoming a family ogre, Shrek longs to live just one more day as a "real" ogre. He then strikes up a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to make this happen. In exchange, Shrek must give him a day from his own life. Unfortunately for Shrek, Rumpelstiltskin chooses the day when he was born, meaning that since Shrek had never been born, he doesn't exist. He is then stuck in an alternate Far Far Away, and must find a way to bring everything back to normal. Starring the voice talents of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, and a whole myriad of other actors and comedians.
Sex and the City 2 (May 27) After the first movie struck gold with the female audience two years ago, a sequel was almost inevitable to the film adaptation of the hit HBO comedy. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon are back again for another installment of their high New York City society lifestyle.
Get Him to the Greek (June 4) Jonah Hill plays a determined college graduate working as an intern at a record company in this spinoff to 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He is given the task of bringing British musican Aldous Snow (Russell Brand reprising his role from FSM) to the Los Angeles Greek Theater where he is scheduled to perform. Also starring Elizabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Aziz Ansari.
The A-Team (June 11) Based on the '80s television series, the film follows a group of four members of the U.S. military who are now mercenaries. After three of them are arrested for a crime they didn't commit and are called war criminals, they escape and join forces with their pilot, Captain H.M. Murdock. Starring Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, Sharlto Copley, Quinton "Rampage" Johnson, and Jessica Biel.
Toy Story 3 (June 18) Pixar studios has graced their audiences with masterpiece after masterpiece, so it isn't any surprise that they're giving us the second sequel to their much-beloved Toy Story. In this installment, Andy is about to start college, but isn't sure what to do with the cherished toys from his childhood. After the toys accidentally get sent to a local daycare center, Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the toys try to get back to Andy before it's too late. Starring the voice talents of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, and many other celebrity voices.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (June 30) The emotions of the love-triangle between human Bella, vampire Edward, and werewolf Jacob, reach the boiling point in the third chapter of Stephanie Meyer's insanely popular series of novels. As Seattle is being plagued by several mysterious killings, the vampires and werewolves must reluctantly join forces to take on the malicious army of newborn vampires. On the sidelines, Bella must choose whether to live a life of eternity with her soulmate Edward, or live a normal, human life with her best friend Jacob. Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner.
Inception (July 16) Director Christopher Nolan follows his massive success of The Dark Knight with his new action-thriller that takes place in the architecture of the mind. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, an agent who has a team of individuals that have a technology that allows them to enter the minds of people as they dream. After a heist goes wrong, Dom and his team must track down a CEO (Ken Watanabe) who has his own ideas of how to use this technology. Also starring are Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Caine.
Dinner for Schmucks (July 23) After Paul Rudd starred in last year's comedy I Love You Man, and Steve Carell starred in the recent Date Night, both of which were critically-acclaimed (and for good reason), the two comic-actors are now co-starring in what is sure to be one of this Summer's biggest comedies. Tim (Paul Rudd) is a successful executive who must find the right guest for his boss's monthly event, which is called a "dinner for idiots." Whoever brings the biggest moron to the party receives a promotion as a prize. Steve Carell plays Barry, an IRS employee who Tim tries to encourage into accompanying him to the dinner event.
The Expendables (August 13) A group of hired guns travels to South America on a mission to defeat the malevolent tyrant who has taken over. As the mission becomes a lot more serious, the group realizes that nothing is what it appears to be, and that there may be a traitor among them. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Stratham, Mickey Rourke, and Jet Li.
So readers, there's my guide to some of this Summer's sure-to-be hits. There are obviously many other films coming out between May and August to suit everyone's interests, but the movies listed above are those that you might want to check out, depending on what you like. The Spring movie season is soon coming to an end, and there were some releases I enjoyed, particularly Shutter Island and Date Night (check out my reviews for them). In two weeks, Iron Man 2 will start off the Summer with a bing!-bang!-boom!, and I'm sure many of us are waiting in anticipation. I'll be posting my reviews for the Summer films that I have the chance to see, and I'm positive that I'll be seeing many of them. After each review, feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of whichever film the review was for. I'd love to hear your feedback. Until then, have a delightful Summer, and enjoy the movies!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
A 'Date' With Comedic Royalty
You don't need me to tell you that a majority of today's romantic-comedies are not what they used to be. Many of them are presented without any imagination, and that takes the fun out of watching them. For some time now, they have become too dull and formulaic. Sometimes the viewer has to question, is the film's lack of energy at the fault of the writing or the actors? Nowadays, it's mostly the writing that's the problem, with the actors as casualties. Once in a while, however, the romantic-comedy genre can surprise us, like with the films of Judd Apatow. It's latest surprise is Date Night, the new film by director Shawn Levy, starring the charming Tina Fey and outrageous Steve Carell. Since Fey and Carell star in two of today's most successful TV comedies, 30 Rock and The Office, it was only too appropriate to have them in a film together. The result is a refleshingly hilarious comedy.
Steve Carell and Tina Fey are Phil and Claire Foster, an average, middle-class couple from New Jersey. Day by day, they go to work, keep their house in order, and take care of their two children. Lately, they have been feeling that their marriage is in a rut. The couple just goes with the flow as their lives become more and more predictable (much like the rom-com genre). Urging for something different, the couple goes to an upscale restaurant, but can't get a table. Not willing to give up, they steal a reservation from a couple called the Tripplehorns. They don't know, however, that the Tripplehorns are wanted criminals. Of course, as with anything starring Carell and Fey, much hilarity ensues. What starts out as the Foster's weekly date becomes a night of mistaken identities as the Fosters race to clear their names. And it's a riot.
Never is there a dull moment whenever our two leads are on screen, because they have established themselves as true comic actors years ago, and can practically carry a movie all by themselves. Fey and Carell make their comedy seem effortless as they play-off of each other, which makes their entire romp through the Big Apple a joy to watch. The Foster's adventures are complete with some amusing characters, even if they are only seen for a few minutes. Kristen Wiig is a friend of the Foster's whose marriage is also on the rocks. As with her roles on Saturday Night Live, she continues to prove that she can offer plentiful laughs for only a few moments of screen time. James Franco and Mila Kunis have a greatly comical scene together as the white-trash Tripplehorn couple. In a comedy where Fey and Carell dominate, the pairing of Franco and Kunis don't have any problem having their wit shine as bright as our two leads when they all share a scene together.
In the end, it's Fey and Carell who make this comedy work. They make the film watchable when any other pairing of actors would have made this a disaster. One might consider them today's king and queen of comedy; and with such prestige, the two made what might have been a stale narrative feel new to the audience. When they are not busy making us laugh on their popular sitcoms, Fey and Carell should take the time to do a few more rom-coms. In doing so, they can easily help in making the genre as enjoyable as it once was.
Final grade: B+
Steve Carell and Tina Fey are Phil and Claire Foster, an average, middle-class couple from New Jersey. Day by day, they go to work, keep their house in order, and take care of their two children. Lately, they have been feeling that their marriage is in a rut. The couple just goes with the flow as their lives become more and more predictable (much like the rom-com genre). Urging for something different, the couple goes to an upscale restaurant, but can't get a table. Not willing to give up, they steal a reservation from a couple called the Tripplehorns. They don't know, however, that the Tripplehorns are wanted criminals. Of course, as with anything starring Carell and Fey, much hilarity ensues. What starts out as the Foster's weekly date becomes a night of mistaken identities as the Fosters race to clear their names. And it's a riot.
Never is there a dull moment whenever our two leads are on screen, because they have established themselves as true comic actors years ago, and can practically carry a movie all by themselves. Fey and Carell make their comedy seem effortless as they play-off of each other, which makes their entire romp through the Big Apple a joy to watch. The Foster's adventures are complete with some amusing characters, even if they are only seen for a few minutes. Kristen Wiig is a friend of the Foster's whose marriage is also on the rocks. As with her roles on Saturday Night Live, she continues to prove that she can offer plentiful laughs for only a few moments of screen time. James Franco and Mila Kunis have a greatly comical scene together as the white-trash Tripplehorn couple. In a comedy where Fey and Carell dominate, the pairing of Franco and Kunis don't have any problem having their wit shine as bright as our two leads when they all share a scene together.
In the end, it's Fey and Carell who make this comedy work. They make the film watchable when any other pairing of actors would have made this a disaster. One might consider them today's king and queen of comedy; and with such prestige, the two made what might have been a stale narrative feel new to the audience. When they are not busy making us laugh on their popular sitcoms, Fey and Carell should take the time to do a few more rom-coms. In doing so, they can easily help in making the genre as enjoyable as it once was.
Final grade: B+
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