May spoiled me…
I mean, really… let’s look at it:
May 2: X-2: X-Men United. Overall, loved the movie. I thought they did a great job of handling all the different mutants and their different powers and abilities, they were able to get some good character stuff in there and tell a pretty good story, all while providing all the big effects and loud explosions that the summer ADD crowd need in order to watch a film. Yeah, the third act might have gotten a little messy, but it was still a great time and a lot of fun.
Nothing big opened the next weekend—too scared of X-Men, I guess. (Yeah, sure Daddy Day Care and the Lizzie McGuire movie… like I said, nothing big.)
May 16th: the Matrix Reloaded, of course. Despite some niggling complaints from the fanboy crowd, I have to say that overall, I liked the movie. Sure, almost every action scene could have benefited from some judicial editing, but when you’ve got 5 hours or so to tell your story (counting fall’s Matrix Revolutions), I guess it’s natural to get a little carried away with the big scenes. Personally, I think expecting Reloaded to live up the Matrix is the kind of expectation that’s doomed to disappointment. Let’s face it, there’s nothing in Reloaded that can possibly feel as fresh and new as what you saw in the Matrix. (There aren’t any “whoa” scenes, to quote Keanu). But there’s lots of interesting stuff going on in terms of story and character, so I’m going to have to say it was well worth the wait. (And you’ve all seen my theory on what’s REALLY going on in the Matrix now, haven’t you? You can check it out here.)
So after the Matrix, we’re subjected to Jim Carey in Bruce Almighty… fortunately, Dani didn’t feel the need to drag me to this one, so I dodged that bullet. Sorry, Jim, you’re just not that funny. (My big problem with Jim Carey is his ego… he’s so concerned with making sure that everyone knows it’s him up there being wacky and all that he can’t be bothered to do any, I don’t know, acting maybe? The only time he actually surprised me was when he played Andy Kauffman in Man in the Moon. That one time Carey checked his ego at the door and actually let the character come through. Maybe it’s because he was playing a real person, or maybe it’s because Kauffman was one of his inspirations, but it’s the only time I’ve ever seen Carey actually act. The rest of the time it’s just mugging.) So, needless to say, I didn’t miss not seeing Bruce.
The weekend after that (May 30th) Finding Nemo and The Italian Job opened. I’ve got to admit that I wasn’t that interested in Nemo to begin with. There wasn’t anything in the trailers that made me want to see it—the way I’d looked forward to Monster’s Inc, Toy Story, et al. There were occasional cute moments, but it didn’t look all that interesting. So I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. Admittedly, the first half hour or so I was thinking “oh, look at them showing off—all those pretty colors and great looking fish. But where’s the STORY?” But then they got me. And told a really good story that was a lot of fun (and had the requisite touching moments, so you feel like you got more than just a few laughs from your movie). My favorite character of all was Dory, the short-term memory disorder fish. Ellen DeGeneres did a great job with that character, making her fun, funny and, in the end, touching all at once. All in all, a great movie. (And, bonus, the trailer for The Incredibles managed everything the Nemo trailers never did—I can’t WAIT to see that one!)
As for The Italian Job—definitely a big-bucket-o-popcorn, check your brain at the door, grab onto your suspension of disbelief and go along for the ride kind of movie. (Cause really, if you start thinking about the heist, you’ll hurt yourself.) But it was a good ride; there were some great characters and fun performances.
But now we’re in June. And we’ve got NOTHING so far.
Last week, 2 Fast 2 Furious—sorry, dumb title, dumb movie, I’m out. The In-Laws? Maybe, but I haven’t heard anything good enough about it to make me want to see it. (And, since it debuted at #8, I guess I’m not alone in my indifference.)
This week’s even worse, if that’s possible! I could at least contemplate going to 2 Fast—I mean, I expect it’ll be pointless, but there’ll be some cool eye candy (between driving stunts and underdressed extras). But this week we’ve got Dumb & Dumberer… I am SO out—I couldn’t stand the idea of the first one, and now you’ve got a sequel without ANYONE from the first movie? Thanks, but no thanks. (I’m convinced that someone somewhere along the way wanted to call 2 Fast “Faster and Furiouser” but then heard about Dumb & Dumberer and had to go with 2 Fast 2 Furious.)
And then there’s Hollywood Homicide. Don’t get me wrong; I like Harrison Ford a lot. I’ll see nearly anything he does. But even he misses sometimes. And this just looks tired, dumb and formulaic. Again, I’m out!
Next week we’ve got The Hulk and Alex & Emma… I’m still on the fence about Hulk. He’s never been one of my favorite superheroes (maybe cause he’s not really a hero?). But it is an Ang Lee film and I’ve been hearing good things. So maybe it’ll be worth a look. If only they can make Hulk look like something real, instead of a reject from the Army Men games.
Of course Dani will surely drag me to see Alex and Emma—hopefully it won’t be painful like Two Weeks Notice & Maid in Manhattan last year. Or, for that matter, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days—possibly the worst comedy third act in recent memory.
hmmm… Maybe July will be better.
I mean, really… let’s look at it:
May 2: X-2: X-Men United. Overall, loved the movie. I thought they did a great job of handling all the different mutants and their different powers and abilities, they were able to get some good character stuff in there and tell a pretty good story, all while providing all the big effects and loud explosions that the summer ADD crowd need in order to watch a film. Yeah, the third act might have gotten a little messy, but it was still a great time and a lot of fun.
Nothing big opened the next weekend—too scared of X-Men, I guess. (Yeah, sure Daddy Day Care and the Lizzie McGuire movie… like I said, nothing big.)
May 16th: the Matrix Reloaded, of course. Despite some niggling complaints from the fanboy crowd, I have to say that overall, I liked the movie. Sure, almost every action scene could have benefited from some judicial editing, but when you’ve got 5 hours or so to tell your story (counting fall’s Matrix Revolutions), I guess it’s natural to get a little carried away with the big scenes. Personally, I think expecting Reloaded to live up the Matrix is the kind of expectation that’s doomed to disappointment. Let’s face it, there’s nothing in Reloaded that can possibly feel as fresh and new as what you saw in the Matrix. (There aren’t any “whoa” scenes, to quote Keanu). But there’s lots of interesting stuff going on in terms of story and character, so I’m going to have to say it was well worth the wait. (And you’ve all seen my theory on what’s REALLY going on in the Matrix now, haven’t you? You can check it out here.)
So after the Matrix, we’re subjected to Jim Carey in Bruce Almighty… fortunately, Dani didn’t feel the need to drag me to this one, so I dodged that bullet. Sorry, Jim, you’re just not that funny. (My big problem with Jim Carey is his ego… he’s so concerned with making sure that everyone knows it’s him up there being wacky and all that he can’t be bothered to do any, I don’t know, acting maybe? The only time he actually surprised me was when he played Andy Kauffman in Man in the Moon. That one time Carey checked his ego at the door and actually let the character come through. Maybe it’s because he was playing a real person, or maybe it’s because Kauffman was one of his inspirations, but it’s the only time I’ve ever seen Carey actually act. The rest of the time it’s just mugging.) So, needless to say, I didn’t miss not seeing Bruce.
The weekend after that (May 30th) Finding Nemo and The Italian Job opened. I’ve got to admit that I wasn’t that interested in Nemo to begin with. There wasn’t anything in the trailers that made me want to see it—the way I’d looked forward to Monster’s Inc, Toy Story, et al. There were occasional cute moments, but it didn’t look all that interesting. So I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. Admittedly, the first half hour or so I was thinking “oh, look at them showing off—all those pretty colors and great looking fish. But where’s the STORY?” But then they got me. And told a really good story that was a lot of fun (and had the requisite touching moments, so you feel like you got more than just a few laughs from your movie). My favorite character of all was Dory, the short-term memory disorder fish. Ellen DeGeneres did a great job with that character, making her fun, funny and, in the end, touching all at once. All in all, a great movie. (And, bonus, the trailer for The Incredibles managed everything the Nemo trailers never did—I can’t WAIT to see that one!)
As for The Italian Job—definitely a big-bucket-o-popcorn, check your brain at the door, grab onto your suspension of disbelief and go along for the ride kind of movie. (Cause really, if you start thinking about the heist, you’ll hurt yourself.) But it was a good ride; there were some great characters and fun performances.
But now we’re in June. And we’ve got NOTHING so far.
Last week, 2 Fast 2 Furious—sorry, dumb title, dumb movie, I’m out. The In-Laws? Maybe, but I haven’t heard anything good enough about it to make me want to see it. (And, since it debuted at #8, I guess I’m not alone in my indifference.)
This week’s even worse, if that’s possible! I could at least contemplate going to 2 Fast—I mean, I expect it’ll be pointless, but there’ll be some cool eye candy (between driving stunts and underdressed extras). But this week we’ve got Dumb & Dumberer… I am SO out—I couldn’t stand the idea of the first one, and now you’ve got a sequel without ANYONE from the first movie? Thanks, but no thanks. (I’m convinced that someone somewhere along the way wanted to call 2 Fast “Faster and Furiouser” but then heard about Dumb & Dumberer and had to go with 2 Fast 2 Furious.)
And then there’s Hollywood Homicide. Don’t get me wrong; I like Harrison Ford a lot. I’ll see nearly anything he does. But even he misses sometimes. And this just looks tired, dumb and formulaic. Again, I’m out!
Next week we’ve got The Hulk and Alex & Emma… I’m still on the fence about Hulk. He’s never been one of my favorite superheroes (maybe cause he’s not really a hero?). But it is an Ang Lee film and I’ve been hearing good things. So maybe it’ll be worth a look. If only they can make Hulk look like something real, instead of a reject from the Army Men games.
Of course Dani will surely drag me to see Alex and Emma—hopefully it won’t be painful like Two Weeks Notice & Maid in Manhattan last year. Or, for that matter, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days—possibly the worst comedy third act in recent memory.
hmmm… Maybe July will be better.
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