Today is the official start of the Fall movie season. I'm really excited about checking out "Extract." In honor of the new movies kicking off the season today, I thought I would put a ribbon on the Summer. Roll out the red carpet...
Top 5 Movies of The Summer
1) "Star Trek" - A lot of anticipation and nervous geeks were scared to see what J.J. Abrams would do with their beloved franchise. He did not disappoint. It's hard to ask for anything more out of a Summer movie than what the "Enterprise" delivers.
2) "The Hangover" - One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long, long time. A nice original spin on the comedy genre. It's great to see how a simple cast (4 friends) and setting (Las Vegas) can come together to create a laugh it up roller coaster.
3) "(500) Days of Summer" - Zoey and Joseph combine for two of the best performances in recent memory. The film takes the relationship and puts a 21st Century spin on it. "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates will be making a few bucks on iTunes thanks to the soundtrack.
4) "Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen" - No doubt that my favorite sequence of the Summer is the forest battle scene in this film. There's just something about seeing a childhood hero (Optimus Prime) come alive on an IMAX screen that gives me chills every time. The film has flaws -- there's no such thing as a perfect movie, but delivers enough of my hero to satisfy my hunger.
5) "Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince" - It may be the best movie in the "Potter" franchise ("Prince" & "Azkaban" are tied...flip a coin and whatever it lands on is the winner for that day). Very satisfying to see one of the better books come to life while you're watching these actors grow.
Summer Disappointments
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" - The film is just one fight scene after another. Show me some character development and creative dialogue. The cast was fine..just show me Sabertooth, Deadpool, and Logan building up their characters toward something instead of throwing them into a blender.
"Terminator Salvation" - Show me the war that Sarah Connor talks about! Sam Worthingon is great as Marcus, but show me the friggin' war!
Pet Peeve Of The Summer
There are plenty of items I could add to this long list, but I only have one...
LEAVE MICHAEL BAY ALONE!
I'm the biggest "Transformers" fan and I know that the sequel was a letdown, but there's no need to keep the bashing party going. Maybe Bay set the bar too high? I'm finding that many people were so upset with Bay that they seem to lash out against his filmmaking in every movie review out there. Just last week I was reading an article on "Halloween II" and someone turns it around and throws in how "Fallen" sucked. We all get that many of you are upset with the film...you have made your point and now it's time to move on. I have problems with the film too -- the twins, the length, and the dream -- ,but I respect and appreciate Bay's vision as an action director and explosion master. The film did surpass the original in box office receipts, so whether you hated it or not Bay made his due.
Looking back, these are just a few of the things that I took from Summer '09 -- box office style. I hope everyone was able to at least catch one Summer movie. We didn't have a billion dollar movie this Summer, but we had some pretty memorable charaters and cameo appearances.
