May and June flicks worth anticipating this season
Tom Cruise lets loose in 'Rock of Ages.'
Movies have generally been so lousy the past couple of months, the influx of spring/early summer films can’t come soon enough. Matter of fact, The Avengers is kicking off the season this week. Here are 10 movies that I’m looking forward to seeing in May and June. Part two, on summer films from July and August, will be in the May 24 issue.
May
The Avengers (May 4), the much anticipated Joss Whedon directed superhero extravaganza, features the crime fighting and somewhat dysfunctional combo of Ironman (Robert Downey, Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (May 4), is in the category of anti-blockbuster, about a rundown Indian hotel run by Slumdog Millionare’s Dev Patel that is home to an A-list of British senior citizens including Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy. Directed by John Madden, I can’t wait to check in.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting (May 18), a comedy based on the hit pregnancy book with Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks and Chris Rock.
Battleship (May 18), based on the game and featuring a sci-fi invasion at sea plot and a cast toplined by Liam Neeson.
Dark Shadows (May 11), directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as comic vampire Barnabas Collins, with Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Chloe Grace Moretz.
June
Snow White and The Huntsman (June 1) — Mirror Mirror, a Snow White comedy, sank without a trace. I suspect the more serious look at the Snow White legend with Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron will be better.
As a stand-alone film, Retaliation is a mindless collection of action-set pieces, only one of which is visually interesting, a ninja battle that takes place with trapeze artists/soldiers flying across the face of a mountain.
It is time to look at the summer movie schedule in July and August. 'The Avengers' got us off to terrific superhero start.
Joss Whedon, the man behind beloved TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, has unleashed a ton of unadulterated popcorn movie fun with his marvelous multi-superhero extravaganza, The Avengers. It’s everything you would expect from a comic book adaptation that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it delivers plenty of action along with an equal amount of superhero temper tantrums.
Nicholas Sparks novels have been turned into movies that give teenage girls a chance to enjoy dreamy teen heartthrobs who prove their mettle as believers in true love. The best one was The Notebook, which gave Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams their first major film roles. The rest haven’t been so bad (A Walk to Remember, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Last Song) but they haven’t been so great either. The Lucky One falls right into the same slot, enjoyable in spots, but with a few too many contrivances. Zac Efron, who took his Disney TV stardom...
In trying to figure out why Michael Mann's Public Enemies is so emotionally cool despite a sizzling topic -- the life and times of Depression-era gangster John Dillinger -- I thought of two movies ab...
What the Harry Potter movie series has accomplished is something that has never been done before. The James Bond movies had high and low points. The Star Wars trilogy had major issues when its three prequels were added. The Lord of the Rings only had to maintain its quality over three films (granted, with a new one on the way).
Are you kidding me? It took Kiteman longer to get from the top of Veteran’s stadium to home plate to deliver the first pitch for the Phillies in 1972.
There is no movie review this week because, frankly, the choices went from re-releases (Titanic 3D) to unappetizing sequels (American Reunion) to recycled ideas (Mirror Mirror). Go ahead and tell me it is my job to go see crap movies so I can tell my readers they are crap movies. Point taken.
A decade after the disappointing sequel Men in Black II, Will Smith — with a big assist from Josh Brolin and writer-director Barry Sonnenfeld — has delivered an enjoyable third film in the series.
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