What's With MORE Of This Summer's Blockbusters?

See? It was only a month. :D

Now, of the last list that I made, I only ended up seeing ONE of those films. So far. The year ain't over though. Gimme a break, will ya? I don't see anyone else giving me any money to go see movies, and until that happens, there you go.

So let's move on and see what else this season has to offer....

THE DARK KNIGHT




























Well, of course this one. Just recently I was able to catch the biggest part of Batman Begins, which this is a continuation of (rather than the more recent offspring of the '89 Tim Burton film, which you can find my own personal ruminations on in the archives, but anyway...) and found it to be quite engrossing. It had a much darker tone, more in league with the graphic novel sensibilities the movie-going public is in tune with (thanks by and large to films like V for Vendetta, and several others I know I'm forgetting right now) and a grittier tone.

Retaining the same director (Christopher Nolan), same lead (Christian Bale), same main supporting cast (Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman) and apparently the same tone, look and feel of Begins, it looks like this one will have the same success and, needless to say, a built-in audience chomping at the bit to see this one.

And naturally there's the Heath Ledger factor. What with everything that happened as far as Heath's concerned, there'll be a lot of people coming to the film just to see what legacy he left the world with - see, everyone who worked on, worked near or caught a sneak preview of this film talks about what a great and unique Joker he essayed herein. That alone would be worth watching.

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: Moderately high. After all, I came late to the Batman Begins party and, though I loved it, I still have a soft spot for the Adam West series; heck, I have the first Batman movie! I still would see this in the theater because, after all, this IS an event movie. See you in line! ...maybe.

GET SMART



























Steve Carell IS a funny man, as is evidenced in his work on TV's "The Daily Show" as well as "The Office" along with big-screen turns in Anchorman, Evan Almighty, The 40 Year-Old Virgin and Horton Hears A Who. He's even won awards, for cryin' out loud. Anyway, is he a natural for playing the role that everyone else who's ever watched the original TV series will forever associate with Don Adams?

Who knows? After all, the buzz from the first trailer was not good. No funny parts, no funny lines, no inherent humor, not even any good actionful (is that a word?) scenes.



See?

The second one was far better;



...at least you could tell it was supposed to be a comedy.

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: Maybe. There's a lot of others out there to choose from this summer and, despite my love for most things Carell (Oh! Almost forgot Over The Hedge!), this one may get a pass in the theater. Sometimes, comedies are better rentals than they are theater views.

HANCOCK




























Something happened to Will Smith once he hit it big.

Remember when he was still known as The Fresh Prince? Had several albums (okay...CDs), his own TV show ("Fresh Prince of Bel Air"), then broke into the big time with films like Made In America, Independence Day and Men In Black. After that point, then he decided it was time for him to be taken seriously in films like Ali, The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend and so on. He was still Will Smith, but there was something different. That light touch and joy he brought before the camera was gone. He looked too serious, he didn't look happy to do what he was doing.

And now here he is trying to do the same light action comedy he pulled off effortlessly not too long ago. Only the problem was, with this being the story of a down-and-out man who finds himself being a powerful superhero, that because he IS Will Smith, the budget has to be astronomical, the effects huge and explosive and the noise level ramped up to 13. Oh, and remember - when you're a big-time action her, coarseness overcomes class every time. It all just looks like too much, all the way around; like they have to surround Smith with all these effects, noise and junk to cushion his career if this is the one that makes him tank.

I dunno - maybe I'm suffering from Will Smith overdose.

MY WATCHING POSSIBILITY: No. If I want to watch Will Smith in a good action film, I'll watch Men In Black. If I want to watch him in a bad action film...I'll rent Wild Wild West. But not Hancock.

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY




























This one sure sounds good. Another sequel based on a film based on a graphic novel (sensing a trend here?), featuring Hellboy (Ron Perlman, seemingly tailor-made for roles like this) once again defending the world from the forces of darkness and evil. I have the first movie but, in my sloth and otherwise busy schedule, have not as yet sat down and watched it...I HAVE, however, caught the last 15-20 minutes of the original on TV awhile back. Looked good.

And the scraps of this one I've seen here and there look pretty darn good in their own right. So director Guillermo Del Toro may have another hit in his hot little hands. And maybe enough clout to get that Hobbit movie made? Time will tell....

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: Possible. It's a toss-up with movies like this - sometimes I'll catch them if they're available and I can get to them, otherwise I may have to wait till they're out for rent. But let me watch the first one all the way through first, okay? Then I can make a more-informed decision. Sheesh.

KUNG FU PANDA





























God love Jack Black. He was my hero from the first time I saw him in "Heat Vision and Jack". He's the star John Belushi would have been if he stayed alive. And what a set of pipes! Just listen to Tenacious D and his end song in High Fidelity to see if I'm lying or not.

And then he had a sweet turn as a good-natured shark in Dreamworks' Shark Tale (with the above-mentioned Will Smith). Just goes to prove that he had a voice that could accommodate the cuddliest cartoon characters. So why not try the same trick with Kung Fu Panda? And as if that weren't enough (along with the story of a roly-poly panda who is charged with learning kung fu skills to protect a peaceful valley), Black is also joined in the voice department by no less than Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu plus a few others you'll probably recognize right away.

So how could it miss?

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: I'll let you know whether it misses or not. Cartoons, kung fu and Jack Black - I'm there.

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR



























It's been a good long while since we've (or I've) seen Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell in the first Mummy movies. They were good, lots of action, spectacle and so forth. But now here we are, 7 years after The Mummy Returns (we can't count The Scorpion King, since Fraser and crew weren't in it, just The Rock...it's complicated) with a sequel set in China, of all places, where I never even knew they had mummies. But hey, suspension of belief and all....

Anyways, in spite of some of the main cast staying on (save for Rachel Weisz, who must have had other pressing engagements), and Stephen Sommers dropping directing for producing this time around, there is the added benefit of having Jet Li in the house, ladies and gentlemen. That's right, the same Jet Li that kicked so much butt in so many other films and was one of the saving graces of Lethal Weapon 4. So perhaps this movie may also kick butt.

So long after the fact, though? We'll have to wait and see.

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: Possibly, but not likely. I always preferred Boris Karloff, myself. Call me old school.

MEET DAVE



























No. Just...no.

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: No.

WALL-E




























After Cars, I was feeling kind of burned by Pixar, feeling that, since at that time they were
splitting ways with Disney after Michael Eisner did them dirty, they just felt they didn't have to release the same quality and caliber of film they did with classics like the Toy Story movies, A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles . But after all was said and done (and after Ratatouille), it seems all involved learned their lesson and moved on to bigger and better things.

It probably helped that Eisner left Disney, too. But anyhoo....

The very idea of this movie (a robot with feelings, learning to feel love, all done with the absolute minimum of dialogue or any non-robotic characters) is very appealing. Even the look of the trailers and the advance images from the film make it look as if there will be something revolutionary in this film (as in all other Pixar movies), something that few (at least in the younger generation) have seen before. We may be witnessing history here, folks: the absolute best G-rated film ever that won't bore its core audience and gives the eyes their most tantalizing display ever conceived.

At least, until the next Pixar movie.

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: Absolutely. I'll beat any little old ladies in line ahead of me to get into the theater for this one.

And there you have it. Views that you can trust! You're welcome. Now go and watch a movie.

Dope out.

-TGWD