2010 Summer Movies

Yippee! It’s May and for the Northern Hemisphere that means summer isn’t far behind. As a child, there were many things I loved about summer. No school was tops on the list, hot weather and summer movies were next. Now that I’m an adult, I don’t have long blocks of free time, and I can’t enjoy the weather as much as I did as a child, but I can still go the movies. A full list of 2010 summer movie releases is available at:

http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=10562

Speaking of which, I want to highlight a few films that will be coming out this summer.

Robin Hood (Expected Release Date May 14, 2010)
Yet another film about that guy from Ye Olde England who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. This time Russell Crowe is the Prince of Thieves. Expect Crowe as Robin Hood to fight the good fight and woo the Lady Marion, not necessarily in that order.

The A-Team (Expected Release Date June 11, 2010)
Based on the television show from the 1980’s of the same name, the movie deals with four Army veterans from the Iraq War who were framed by the government for a crime they didn’t commit. Expect a lot of car crashing, guns shooting and B.A. Baracas saying “I pity the fool.”  For what it is worth, I didn’t watch The A-Team when it was on television, because I thought it was a dumb show. I don’t have high hopes for the movie version.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Expected Release Date June 30, 2010)
Read my entry Vampires Aren’t Sexy (https://justmovieposters09.wordpress.com/ 2009/12/11/vampires-aren’t-sexy/) and you will find out how much I am looking forward to this film.

Inception (Expected Release Date July 16, 2010)
An original summer movie—what a concept! This film is directed by Christopher Nolan, he’s the person who gave us Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, so it should be good. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and the movie deals with being able to enter someone’s mind and steal information that exists only in that person’s memory. Cool.

The Other Guys (Expected Release Date August 6, 2010)
Yet another original summer movie. Two for two. Anyway, this film stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as New York City cops who work in the forensic accounting department. They always wanted the chance to leave their desks and catch the bad guys themselves. Well, one day they get their chance—with comedic results, of course.

Will these films be blockbusters or busts? Movies that critics will praise or pan? Who knows? Still, summer movies are fun. That’s why so many people see them.

Sources:
http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=10562

http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=10562&page=2

http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=10562&page=3

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The Sequel Strikes Again

Recently, it was reported on Empire Online that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are confirmed for Men in Black III and it will be a 3D film. The expected release date is May 30, 2011.

Since the late 1970’s, there have been sequels galore. Notable examples are the Star Wars films and Star Trek films. Yet, it wasn’t always like this. Up until the 1970’s a film was made, it was a success or failure and that was that. The characters were never revisited and the story was not continued. Of course, the exception was the James Bond films. The movie going public in years past were willing to accept that Elsa never saw Rick again, Dorothy never returned to the land of Oz and while Scarlett said that she was going to get Rhett back, it was seen as wishful thinking on her part.

My theory is the establishment of episodic television shows lead a desire in the movie going public to know what happens next. It wasn’t enough to have the main characters ride off into the sunset. People wanted to know if Luke Skywalker became a Jedi and defeated Darth Vader or if the crew of the Enterprise found Spock and saved the whales.[1]

I like sequels. There I said it. The Star Wars films are among my favorite movies. I saw Shrek and Shrek 2 and liked them both. I like the Star Trek films with the original television cast, the Next Generation cast and the J.J. Abrams reboot. Also, The Dark Knight was a blockbuster film that I felt was more thought provoking than most blockbuster films.

Of course, not every movie benefits from a sequel and after a while, the story gets old. The two Tim Burton Batman movies were great. Burton and Michael Keaton in the title role got the darkness and the tortured soul of Batman/Bruce Wayne right. When Joel Schumacher took over the franchise, the movies were just about some rich guy who dresses up and chases bad guys. Also, as many Trekkies know, some Star Trek films are better than others.

Still, the powers that be in Hollywood don’t want to mess with a good formula. So, if a movie made lots of money, more often than not a sequel is in order. As the engineers say, “If it works, it works.”

Source:
http://www.empireonline.com/news/feed.asp?NID=27639

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[1] Star Wars Episodes IV-VI and Star Trek II & III respectively.