May Summer Movie preview

And so the summer movie season is upon us! Well, almost. There's still one more week to go before summer officially starts (movie-wise, anyway), but I wanted to get the summer preview completed before I head out to Ebertfest this coming Wednesday. That mean four days to get May, June July and August accounted for. So off I go.

MAY 4


The Avengers: Like everyone else, I've been looking forward to this movie (seems almost wrong to call it a film). But I wasn't THAT hot on it, mostly because I found the recent Marvel slate (Thor, Iron Man II, Captain America, etc.) somewhat underwhelming.
Then I read this.

It's hard to imagine that anyone with an appetite for the trademark's patented brand of fantasy, effects, mayhem and strangely dressed he-men will be disappointed; not only does this eye-popping 3D display of visual effects fireworks feature an enormously high proportion of action scenes, but director Joss Whedon has adroitly balanced the celebrity circus to give every single one of the superstar characters his or her due.

OK, I'm sold.


MAY 11


Dark Shadows: Fans have been up in arms about the comic tone of the trailer, and I've had my own misgivings about Tim Burton's work of late - I found Alice in Wonderland horribly overrated. But I have to admit, I laughed. I like the Beetlejuice-esque tone. I like any chance to look at Eva Green. I like a chance to see Chloe Grace Moretz steal scenes. I'm in.




MAY 18


Battleship: Barnacles! Hell no! I'm disappointed in a talented direcctor like Peter Berg so blatantly ripping off Michael Bay.I want to be a torpedo.


The Dictator: I admired Borat more than I found it actually funny, and Bruno, aside from a couple good sequences, was an out-and-out botch - but I have to admit, the trailer sold me.





What to Expect When You're Expecting: Anna Kendrick and Elizabeth Banks are in it. Good enough for me.


MAY 25


Chernobyl Diaries: So this is a summer release, huh? It better live up to the trailer.





MIB 3: Having Josh Brolin play the young Tommy Lee Jones is a stroke of genius. So why do I feel iffy about this one? Oh, I dunno. Could be because they started shooting without a finished script, which is never a good idea.