Oh, sure, this summer offers some tantalizing prospects at the cinema, but 2010's slate is rather lacking in "Wow, my life depends upon seeing that" attractions. May is a good example of this.
I'll be previewing summer movies throughout the week, essentially doing one day a month. I cannot do advanced screenings anymore, but I will see Iron Man 2 at the first available opportunity and hope to review that over the weekend.
Note: I may not cover every single title coming out. If I can't find much to say about a particular movie, why waste my energy and your time?
As usual, every movie gets a prospect grade.
A: I will die if I don't see it.
B: I will see it, but will not die if I don't.
C: Not dying to see it, won't kill me if I do.
D: This movie may be hazardous to my health.
F: This movie will kill me.
MAY 7
IRON MAN 2: I covered this in this post last week. I'm excited to see it like everyone else, but I'm going in with tempered expectations. Just as it's ill-advised to go in to a film prepared to hate it, it can also be dangerous going in prepared to love it. PROSPECT: A-
MAY 14
JUST WRIGHT: Sports romance with Common and Queen Latifah seems appealing enough, but I'm not getting much of a buzz from it. PROSPECT: C
LETTERS TO JULIET: The presence of Amanda Seyfried in the lead automatically makes this interesting to me. She's a talent who is increasingly landing on people's radars. Note of caution: The director, Gary Winick, has made movies as winning as 13 Going on 30 and as allegedly awful as Bride Wars. PROSPECT: B
ROBIN HOOD: Normally I would be thrilled at seeing a new Ridley Scott movie, yet I can't escape the feeling this is just Gladiator in the forest.. And I wasn't that big a fan of Gladiator. Good movie, but if that film deserved Best Picture, I'm Friar Tuck. PROSPECT: B
MAY 21
SHREK FOREVER AFTER: I have a feeling this will be better than the tepid third movie, and yet will be the least successful movie of the series. Why? Well, can you think of anyone above the age of 6 who really LIKED Shrek the Third? This will be much like what happened to Back to the Future III - people who saw it liked it better than the second, but the second turned so many people off, they lost interest. This movie had jolly well better improve upon the last one. I'm thinking my B- review was charitable. PROSPECT: B-
MACGRUBER: I just don't get the buzz for this movie, largely because I just don't get SNL these days. By my reckoning, that show hasn't been funny since the mid 90s. As is so often the case, the show has talented players, but saddles them with lame shtick. PROSPECT: D
MAY 28
SEX AND THE CITY 2: I liked the first one well enough, but since journalistic obligations no longer require me to see this,I think I'll pass this time, thanks. PROSPECT: C (Opens Thursday, May 27)
PRINCE OF PERSIA: Maybe it's my aversion to video games, but I just cannot muster up interest in this hyperactive-looking thing, which really looks rather ridiculous, right down to the choice of director. Because when I think of big, sprawling action, I think the of director of Four Weddings and a Funeral. (Yes, I know, he did Potter 4 and did it rather well, but that don't make him an action director) PROSPECT: C
5 comments:
I think Macgruber is going to be senseless, crude, and probably funny in all the wrong ways and a few of the right ones too. I'll let you know how it is. lol
You're right about this month's slate of movies. It's been like this most of the year. I chuckled at "Gladiator in the Forest." I really hope you are wrong on this, but Ridley Scott is hugely inconsistent with me, even though I love the cast for this one. Keeping fingers crossed.
I hope I'm wrong about Robin Hood, too, Allie. Ridley can be great, but he's maddeningly inconsistent. We'll see. And as for MacGruber - have at it! ;)
I am never one to anxiously anticipate the big summer blockbuster or be first in line (or even 2nd, 3rd, 27th...) to see the next hyped action flick, but I do have high hopes for Iron Man 2. My reason--3 words: Robert Downey Jr.
Letters From Juliet gets a B? That's a solid F- from me. Wouldn't see it if paid. The world doesn't need any more Nicholas Sparks wanna be emotionally manipulative "must have a man in order to be complete" dreck. Now, if it was just Redgrave and Keitel that would be fine, but the necessity of having the young people hit it off too is just stupid.
And I'd like to coin "The English Gladiator" for "Robin Hood", as in it will be long, boring and something I've already seen in more than one incantation.
The only thing I really want to see is "Iron Man 2", although I wouldn't mind hearing Shrek, as it does have Jon Hamm's voice. :)
Holly -- Agree about Nicholas Sparks. The man recently compared himself to Cormac McCarthy. That earned him a big ol' boycott from me. As if his schmaltz weren't offensive enough...
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