Summer Movies 2008

Last year, while I did end up seeing quite a few good movies during the summer, at the start, I was completely underwhelmed by the slate of pictures due to be released. You can read that post on my old MySpace blog, here. Of course, there were some movies that emerged as winners; Ratatouille surprised me and became one of my favorites, while Superbad simply came out of nowhere to become not just one of the funniest movies of last year, but one of the funniest ever.

However, this year is going to be different. Starting on May 2nd and for a full year after that, there are a number of movies that I'm interested in seeing. I'll mainly be covering summer '08 flicks here, but I will look ahead to the future as well to a few stand outs that are coming soon to a theater near you. Also, any movie that has an asterisk next to it is one that I might go see, but I'm not sure yet; it all depends on whether I can get in for free or if there is a future trailer that really wows me.

Iron Man (5/2) - Marvel Comics' track record with movies has not been that good with me. The first two X-Men movies were topnotch and two of the best of the superhero genre, but then there are the Fantastic Four flicks, X3, and Daredevil, which were all mediocre at best. Ang Lee's Hulk movie was good up until the last 20 minutes when it devolved into a shitty comic book movie and don't even get me started on the Spider-Man series. I know a lot of people love what Sam Raimi did with those movies, but I couldn't stand them. Now, comes a new age of Marvel movies. They have retained and won back the rights to a lot of their characters and have struck a distribution deal with Paramount to make their own films and Iron Man is the first. I've never been a huge Iron Man fan, but I do like the character, so I was intrigued by this project from the beginning, but then again, I also know how Ghost Rider turned out, a movie with a trailer so bad, I knew to stay away. Anyway, Iron Man is directed by Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr., which, if you know the history of the character, is simply brilliant casting. So, I was interested to see where this was going. Then, I saw the suit and I became a full on Iron Man fanboy. Every trailer for this flick has rocked and it looks like it's going to be a great time at the theater. The cast is loaded with talent and it's hard to see how Marvel can go wrong with this one. The only thing that may worry them, is lack of consumer recognition for the character, but I'm sure their ubiquitous commercials will change all of that.

Speed Racer (5/9)* - Yes, that is the first dreaded asterisk of the post and let me explain why. I've seen the commercials and trailers for this movie and while it looks pretty, it also looks like the movie might give me a seizure. Everything in this movie, save the actors, is CGI, but I'll hold judgment on the latter until I see the thing. It looks like it could be good, but it also looks like I won't be able to tell what the hell is going on. The guys behind the Matrix are behind this one, but that doesn't really further entice me to get into the theater, as I feel that trilogy of films is completely overrated, (for the record, number one is great, but they should have just stopped there as two is just a flashy movie with no substance and number three borders on unwatchable, although, any time it comes on cable, I can't look away). So, the verdict on this one is, I'll probably go see it, but I'm glad I live in NC and can get that cheap matinée price, because if I was still in NY, I wouldn't even bother.

Prince Caspian (5/16) - This is the second in the Chronicles of Narnia series, and I liked the first one all right, so I'll give this one a try. They are nowhere near on the level of Harry Potter, but the last one was well-made and showed me one hell of a minotaur on film, so we'll see where the story takes us, as I never got around to reading the book.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (5/22) - Once again, George Lucas says, "Fuck you, Hollywood, I can release my movies on Thursday if I wish." I'm pretty sure he was the first one to do that with the Star Wars Prequels. Anyway, I'm a huge fan of everybody involved with this one, (despite said Prequels), and the character has always held a special place in my heart, so I'm excited to see this (but it's not my number one movie to see this summer, hmmm). The trailer looks good, but it didn't show me enough to quell the Star Wars Prequel fears that I have for the movie. However, the good news is that Lucas merely came up with the story and is producing, the two things he's really good at, and I don't think that Spielberg would put a complete piece of crap up on the screen. We'll see though. I will say, it's great to see Harrison Ford back in the costume and I was thrilled when I found out Karen Allen was back as Marion. I'll label my mood for this one as "cautiously optimistic," and hope that they can deliver the goods.

The Incredible Hulk (6/13) - What? June 13th? But Doug, you skipped Sex and the City! No, I really didn't. :P
As I stated above, I liked Ang Lee's take on the character until the last 20 minutes, which were inexplicably bad, and I like the Hulk in general, so I'm hoping that Ed Norton and crew can scare up a winner this time. There have been reports of behind the scenes difficulties as Marvel wants to make the film shorter, more action-packed, and commercial, while Norton (who worked on the script) and the director want a more meditative run time. I believe that Marvel has agreed to release Norton's vision with the DVD, but after the lukewarm response that Ang Lee's film got in 2003, you have to side with Marvel in this. Iron Man looks to be a sure winner, but the Hulk is iffy. There is a lot of great buzz that came out of the New York Comic Con this past weekend, so we'll see if the marketing folks can turn it around. I liked the trailer I saw for this one and am very interested in seeing how it turns out.

The Happening (6/13) - M. Night Shyamalan took some well-deserved hits in the last few years for not only his sub par and self-indulgent movies (see: The Village and The Lady in the Water), but also for his behind the scenes insanity. This guy really seems to think he's the second coming of Spielberg or something, but I really liked Unbreakable and, yes I'll admit it, Signs (never saw The Sixth Sense, since the ending was ruined for me), and the trailer looks intriguing for this one, so I'll give it a shot, but I'll definitely be seeing Hulk first.

Get Smart & Love Guru (6/20)* - June 20th brings two movies that get big fat asterisks on them. The trailers I've seen for Get Smart have been okay at best, and TV to movie translations are usually pretty shitty, but I like Steve Carell a lot and like to give him the benefit of the doubt (even though I will not touch Evan Almighty with a 10-foot pole) and Anne Hathaway is always great to look at (gentlemen, if you'd like to see more of Miss Hathaway, I suggest renting Havoc). So, I will more than likely catch a matinée on this one...or I may just wait for DVD. With June 13th having two movies I want to see, I may use the 20th as a catch up weekend.
The other movie out on June 20th that I'm not sure about is Mike Myers' return to live action films after the debacle that was Cat in the Hat. Myers has been filling his bank account with loads of Shrek money as of late and apparently has been developing this Love Guru character for years. A friend of mine saw him perform as the Love Guru in NY and said it was hilarious and right now, that's the only recommendation I have to see this at the moment, because the trailer was awful. It looked like Austin Powers 4, but they forgot to put Austin in it. Speaking of Austin Powers, it looks like there will be a fourth movie in that series, but I have to point out that the character was running out of gas by the third movie and it looks like, judging from the trailer, that Love Guru didn't even make a stop to fill up. I'll have to see how I'm feeling when these two come out to determine if I'll see either of them.

Wall-E (6/27) - The latest entry in Pixar's canon of films has got me really excited. I'm a sucker for sweet/cute animated characters and Wall-E looks like he's got the goods. The movie sounds fascinating too, as there are apparently going to be large sections without any dialogue, since he's a robot and living alone on Earth. I'm just really interested in seeing this, especially since Ratatouille restored my faith in Pixar after the good, but not great Cars...and that robot is just so cute! :)

Wanted (6/27) - Now, I've been a pretty big comic book fan since I was 12 years old and while my reading has dropped off the past couple of years, (hey, it's an expensive hobby), I am familiar with Mark Millar's Wanted and I know that the movie is probably going to be more unlike the book than like it, so I'm wary, but the trailer looks pretty cool and Angelina Jolie looks hotter than ever, so I may have to go see two movies the weekend of 6/27, but I'll definitely see Wall-E first.

Hancock (7/2)* - Will Smith has made some bold predictions about his new "superhero you've never heard of" movie Hancock and at this point, I have to call bullshit on him until I start hearing some word of mouth. Apparently, he plays a washed up alcoholic superhero (see: Iron Man) or something like that. I would love Hollywood to create their own superhero franchise free of the chains of comic books and pre-conceptions, but from what I've seen thus far, this is not it. I'll wait and see another trailer and maybe hit a matinée, but my expectations are in the gutter for this one.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (7/11) - Everyone must like the chain 7-11, because there are a bunch of movies out on that day and the one that I most want to see is Hellboy 2. The first Hellboy movie was a pleasant surprise for someone expecting another shitty comic book movie, but Guillermo del Toro delivered the goods and only got better with his own Pan's Labyrinth. Ron Perlman is perfect as the titular character and his supporting cast is great as well. This story is a new one written by del Toro and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, so it could end up being one of the better comic book movies in a while since it is not trying to recreate any particular story from the comics.

Religulous (7/11) - I love Bill Maher and I love Bill Maher best when he's attacking religion, so this movie is probably the perfect one for me. I'm sure this will end up being a limited release, so God only knows if I'll be able to see it the weekend it is released (one of the perks of living in NY is that I would have), but I know I'll be one of the first in line in NC. In fact, if it does indeed manage to make it down south on opening weekend, I'll probably see Religulous before Hellboy 2, as it is the more likely of the two to get pulled from the theaters.

Meet Dave (7/11)* - Yes, Meet Dave is Eddie Murphy's new movie and is his live action follow up to Norbit, so that's why the flick gets the asterisk. However, I saw the trailer for this one online and it looked like it might actually be funny. If I can get my buddy Jack to go see it, I probably will. Hell, we saw Let's Go to Prison, so this can't be that bad...can it? The premise is that mini aliens are exploring the Earth in a human-sized robot that looks like Eddie Murphy. Hilarity ensues. Although, I did read in Entertainment Weekly that the guy who directed the aforementioned abortion known as Norbit also directed this one, so that leaves me more than a little wary.

The Dark Knight (7/18) - This is IT. This is the movie that I am the most pumped up for this summer and I can't believe that I have to wait until mid-July to see it! Ever since the credits rolled on Batman Begins, I've been anticipating this film and all the trailers have done is get me even more excited for it. Heath Ledger looks amazing as the Joker and it's a shame that he passed away earlier this year, because no matter what success he's had previous to this, The Dark Knight would have launched him into the stratosphere. I've heard that the runtime is going to be close to 3 hours and I couldn't be happier about that. Batman Begins is, in my opinion, the greatest comic book movie of them all with a pitch-perfect cast (yes, even Katie Holmes, who is replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal in the sequel) and excellent direction from Christopher Nolan. I can't say enough great things about this sequel and for the first time in a long time, I think I've found a movie that will more than live up to my high expectations.

Step Brothers (7/25) - Will Ferrell is a comic genius. I will go see pretty much anything he's in (except Kicking and Screaming, which was more of a generic family film anyway). Anchorman is one of the funniest movies of the last 10 years and I loved the chemistry that Ferrell and John C. Reilly generated on Talladega Nights, so when the same team got together again to make this movie about two spoiled men who still live with their single parents, who in turn get married, I knew it was going to be high on my list. Then, I saw the trailer and it went even higher. This movie will be hilarious and will break Ferrell's streak of sports movies that he is quickly becoming both known and reviled for (Semi-Pro was good, but not great). Hopefully, Step Brothers will get him back on track. Also, Reilly needs a lift too after the box office anemic Walk Hard, which I thought was very funny, but a little too long in runtime. This one could be the comedy of the summer, but there's a little film in August that might have something to say about it.

X-Files: I Want to Believe (7/25) - Huh, what? X-what? Is this a spin off of X-Men? :) That's the reaction filmmakers and Fox are hoping moviegoers do not have when it comes to their long overdue X-Files sequel. I was never a huge fan of the show, but I enjoyed it at times and really admired the arc-centric storytelling. I loved the movie though, and have been hoping for a sequel for a while. I haven't read much about this, because I don't want to be spoiled when I see it. All I know is, if Mulder and Scully are in it, I'll be there...but I'll see Step Brothers first.

Pineapple Express (8/8) - I'm not a big fan of stoner humor. I don't smoke weed, nor do I intend to, so maybe I just don't "get it," and that was my attitude when I watched the clip of Pineapple Express on the Superbad DVD. I watched the clip, didn't really laugh, and felt that Judd Apatow was about to have his first real clunker since his string of hits that started with 40 Year Old Virgin (of course, his real first clunker was Walk Hard, on which he was a producer, as he is with Pineapple Express). Then, I saw the trailer and all was forgiven. This movie looks to be pretty hilarious, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Will Ferrell, so I'm hoping that Step Brothers makes more scratch, but I will definitely be in line for both this summer. The story follows two stoners and all the hijinks they get into after one witnesses a cop murder someone. Seth Rogen stars with James Franco, who is almost unrecognizable from his pretty boy turns in the Spider-Man series and 40 pounds of other crap movies he's been in.

Star Wars: Clone Wars (8/15) - WTF? I thought we were done with Star Wars movies? What? New cartoon show this fall? Huh? Yes, to launch his new cartoon, Clone Wars, George Lucas is releasing a new animated Star Wars movie. Now, this is not to be confused with the animated shorts that Cartoon Network did leading up to Episode III. This either replaces that series entirely or, adds onto it, I'm not sure, but from what I've seen, the CGI animation for this new series looks pretty slick. A lot of haters are getting down on this before it's even released because A) they feel betrayed by the mess that was the Prequels and B) they have a hard on for the previous animated series because it was done by Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky and don't want to ruin their memories of that with something that Lucas made. However, I can guarantee that C) everyone who is whining about this will be in the theater on 8/15 to see this flick. It's funny to say this, but Star Wars: Clone Wars may be the surprise hit of the summer. You wouldn't expect that from a Star Wars movie, but it's really coming in under the radar this year. Also, one last note for those of you complaining about the animation style, it looks pretty much the same as the old style, but just ramped up in CGI, so get over it.

Tropic Thunder (8/15) - Now, as a minor movie snob, (I am, it's true), anytime I hear the words "Ben Stiller," I generally run for cover, but this movie (directed by Stiller) seems like it might be pretty funny. The main reason I want to see this, I'll be honest, is for Robert Downey Jr. Check out the trailer and you'll see why. I saw the first picture posted online and couldn't believe it was him. Tropic Thunder combined with Iron Man could spell the full comeback of Downey Jr.

Crossing Over (8/22) - I'm a huge Harrison Ford fan and when I heard that years ago he passed on Traffic, I was livid. Ever since 1997, I have watched my favorite actor's career get lamer and lamer. He had some decent movies in there, but nothing that set the world on fire and he's making a big comeback with Indiana Jones in May, but this film will show dramatic Harrison Ford and I want to see what he does with his role as a border patrol in this ensemble drama about illegal immigration in the United States.

And that's it for the summer of 2008, but I meant it when I said that May 2nd starts a year of movies that I'm looking forward to, with the next James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, and the sixth Harry Potter being released this November and in 2009, Watchmen on 3/6 and Wolverine on 5/1. Will they all be good? Probably not, but I hope so, as Hollywood needs some quality to return to the films it produces. After all, the films I've noted here can't be any worse than Pirates 3, can they? See you at the movies.

Playoffs!

And for the first time in a long time, I can add that exclamation point at the end of "Playoffs." Of course, I'm referring to the start of the NBA Playoffs, which kick off on Saturday on ABC/ESPN. This year looks like it could be a contest for the ages in both the Western and Eastern Conferences. (We'll just ignore that Atlanta-Boston series that will be pretty much a lock to be a sweep in Boston's favor). The biggest problem the Western Conference teams will have this year is not beating the hell out of each other to get to the Finals and then losing because they're so worn out. The teams in the West are so closely packed together in the standings that any "upset" is completely feasible and will not shock at all.

The series to watch in the first round will be the Phoenix/San Antonio contest, which will more than likely go to seven games. The Suns are finally adapting to the addition of Shaquille O'Neal and are playing great basketball right now, while the defending champion Spurs are starting to show their age and have been sputtering as of late, mainly due to the health of Manu Ginobili. It will be a knock down drag out battle as these two teams have become bitter rivals over the course of the last few years.

In the East, the best first round series will probably be Washington/Cleveland, but the one I'll be watching is Philadelphia/Detroit. As a Sixers fan, I'm ecstatic that they're back in the playoffs, but not too thrilled with the fact that they going in on a four game slide. I'm a realistic fan and I know that the Sixers basically have little chance of upending the Pistons, but the two teams split their regular season series with the Sixers taking the last two games and aside from the recent slump, Philly has been playing great ball since the All Star break. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Sixers push this series to six games, but of course, I'm praying for an upset.

Since I'm a Philly man, I'm also looking to see how the Denver Nuggets do against the Lakers in their first round series. It would be great to see Allen Iverson wipe that smug grin off of Kobe Bryant's face, but with 'Melo collecting a recent DUI rap, the Nuggets look like they may be headed for an early exit. Still, a guy can dream, right?

All in all, this season has got me excited for basketball again. I think the last time I was this interested in the NBA Playoffs was when the Sixers went on their inexplicable Finals run in 2001, only to lose to the indomitable Lakers. As the years have gone on, I've become more of a football fan than a basketball fan, but from now until June, all that changes.

Holy Cow! Where Have I Been?

It's been quite some time since I've posted to this page and that changes today. The past two years have been quite eventful as the company I worked for back in early 2006 closed the doors on its Raleigh operations and moved me up to the prestigious (read: dump) New York offices. I was with them until August 2007 when financial trouble struck again and there were talks of another company coming in to take over. So, I found a new job and was immediately looking again come October, I hated it so much. Unfortunately, if there's one thing that I'm lousy at, it's playing the corporate game (even though it was a very small company, go figure) and they knew I was unhappy, so at the end of January this year, we...shall we say...parted ways. After unsuccessfully looking for a job during Black History Month, I spent March packing up my apartment for a return engagement in Raleigh, since my lease was up and Uncle Sam doesn't provide enough scratch to cover New York rent, which probably explains their massive homeless problem. The story of the move will be documented in full Technicolor detail in a later post, but suffice to say, I made it back relatively unscathed. So now, I'm right back where I was when I started this blog, so it seemed like the perfect time to start it up again.

So, to answer the question in the title, I was in New York. I lived in Astoria (Queens) and worked in Manhattan. New York is a fantastic place to visit and any chance I have to get up there, I'll jump at it, but living there was only cool for the first year at most. The city really wore on me, especially being from the suburbs and not a city guy at all. I think I adjusted quite well to the change, but I started to miss the perks of living in the suburbs like Target and driving. The subway, a fun adventure the first few months living there, rapidly devolved into a major hassle for someone who doesn't like getting sick. Also, I'm not the biggest fan of people in general, so I picked the perfect city to move to (he said sarcastically). There are just so many people in New York and they consistently like to get in your way wherever you go. Even though I was used to driving everywhere in every other location I've lived, I didn't mind walking everywhere in the city, but when you have to lug groceries home or anything over five pounds to...anywhere in the city, walking becomes a real pain in the ass. As time wore on, there were a lot more cons to living in the city than pros, so it helped in my decision to leave greatly, but it was still bittersweet as I was not really able to leave on my own terms. I was forced to leave and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Now, I don't want to paint the picture that it totally sucks living in New York, because it doesn't. There is always something to do (if you can afford it) and that's a major perk. I will miss being able to see limited release movies whenever I want to as well as all the bands I like, as New York is more of a must stop for most tours than Raleigh/Durham. Also, a lot of my college and high school friends live in the area and it was great to be amongst them again for the two years I lived up there. I was sad to leave them all behind again, but at least now I know I'll have places to crash when I do visit. And one last thing I will miss about New York are all the absolutely gorgeous women who populate the city. Now, Raleigh has it share of pretty girls, but when I walked around New York, I would invariably see "the hottest girl I've ever seen" several times a day and the odds are pretty good that I won't be running into Natalie Portman down here like I did outside my office in Chelsea. *sigh*

All in all, though, I'm happy with the move. Practically my entire family has relocated here from New Jersey and it's good to be amongst them again. Also, I missed my Raleigh friends a lot when I was up north, so it's good to see them again. It seems that wherever I go, I'm missing someone. Every time I move I imagine the perfect place to move to and it's a warm place with great scenery and a teleportation device so that I can go back and forth to see my friends. Anyhoo, if anybody knows anyone who's hiring, let me know. I need a fucking job.