It wouldn’t be another 365 days of the world turning on its axis without Summer. That said, it wouldn’t be Summer without me giving a preview that’s two weeks behind every other publication known to man giving their Summer previews.
So enjoy the heat and when you’re done with that, come into a frigid, “dear God, why is it so cold?” theater…
Movies
1. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” / “The Dark Knight” (tie)
I don’t normally cop-out to very many things, but for this I’ll make an exception. I love the “Indiana Jones” series and I love selected works from the “Batman” series, especially “Batman Begins.” I expect “Indiana Jones” to be a fond trip down memory lane with lots of laughs and thrills while “The Dark Knight” will be a more visceral, dark experience. Either way, both will satisfy different areas of my movie pallet. Not to mention send me back to feeling like I’m seven-years-old. NOTE: Last year I listed “Ocean’s 13″ as my number one anticipated movie and for that, I apologize.
2. Wall-E No matter how old I get, I’ll always love Pixar films. “Wall-E” looks like it won’t change that as it’s the usual extremely cute main character on a deep, soul-searching journey. Granted, it’s the traditional Pixar formula. But if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
3. Hancock
There’s been almost every variation on the superhero movie from the great (”Spider-Man,” “Superman”) to the great (”Batman Begins,” “Iron Man”) to the terrible (”Superhero Movie,” “Fantastic Four”). Yet we’ve never had that drunk, surly superhero that truly doesn’t give a monkey’s arse about saving anyone. This trailer, next to “The Dark Knight,” was the one that intrigued me the most as it has the ability to go so many directions. Plus, everybody loves Will Smith.
4. The X-Files: I Want to Believe
So I was a huge “X-Files” fan from the early stuff with a caveman-like Seth Green appearance to when the T-1000 came on and tried to do a FBI-like cover-up of the show’s massive decline in quality. So why isn’t this higher? Well, the last few seasons were massive disappoinments. Especially the show’s finale. Second, I really don’t know much of what’s going on (and, yes, I have seen the trailer). Regardless, nostalgia rides shotgun in my head so I am, of course, very excited.
5. Pineapple Express I’m an unabashed Judd Apatow fanboy. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” put his productions back on track and hopefully this will keep it going. My only reservation is that it’s comedy/action film directed by David Gordon Green, a director known for incredibly serious dramas. How this will play out when most Apatow films are penis and sex jokes has yet to be seen. So I’m staving off disappointment and putting this at a lower spot.
The rest….
6. Get Smart I trust Steve Carell even though “Evan Almighty” wasn’t good and “The Office” has seen better days. Plus, much like “X-Files,” I loved the old series. So hopefully this will be good.
7. The Foot Fist Way If you saw the supposed Fred Simmons: “Master of the Demo” on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” then you know what true awkwardness is all about. What it actually was was a promo for this faux-documentary about a self-obsessed karate instructor. According to Jonah Hill, its the funniest movie ever made. So I expect so good laughs with a cult following followed by an indie-hipster backlash.
8. Step Brothers Honestly, I’m not really sure if this will be any good but as long as John C. Reilly keeps getting starring roles, I’m happy.
9. You Don’t Mess with the Zohan Same as “Step Brothers,” except the past few Sandler comedies haven’t been very good so I’m really undecided about this one.
10. Wanted This looks like it could be one of the most ridiculous movies ever made. It’s a “Fast and the Furious” for people who don’t care for racing but want to be teased by Angelina Jolie. And you thought she couldn’t top “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” on the absurd-o-meter.
I’ll Go to Hell Before I See…..
1. The Love Guru
I’m going to guess that this movie, much like “Epic Movie,” is a scientific experiment to see if people really care what they see on the big screen. I’m guessing they just want to see if people just have too much money and need to rid themselves of it immediately. The sad thing is Mike Myers is, or at least used to be, a really funny writer and comedic. The first “Wayne’s World” and “Austin Powers” are genius. It’s too bad this is what has become of him.
2. Meet Dave
I’m going to guess that this movie, much like “Epic Movie,” is a scientific experiment to see if people really care what they see on the big screen. I’m guessing they just want to see if people just have too much money and need to rid themselves of it immediately. The sad thing is Eddie Murphy is, or at least used to be, a really funny writer and comedic. The first “Nutty Professor” and “Beverly Hills Cop” are genius. It’s too bad this is what has become of him.
As for music, there’s alot of good tours coming to the Midwest this summer. But as for albums, not a lot has caught my eye. But I’ll keep you updated if it does because I know that you will lose many hours of sleep over it.
If you would like to see past summer previews here are some links…..
Summer 2007 Preview
Summer 2005 Music
Summer 2005 Film Preview
So there you go. Enjoy your summer accordingly.