2009 Pre-summer movie bash!

There was a time when Memorial Day weekend marked the beginning of the summer movie season, well that is no longer the way it goes. Summer begins the first week in May. With the success of Fast and Furious, though, I would not be surprised if it actually starts sooner than that eventually. As usual, May is stacked, June is weak, July has monster movies and August has a potential hit or a potential miss. As has been my tradition, I will give the movies about which I am most excited, as well as some movies that do not excite me and some random thoughts. Enjoy and please let me know what excites you about the summer movie season.

The Ten movies I cannot wait to see:

10. G.I Joe- The teaser looks awful and I am not thinking it will be a great movie, but the little boy in me still wants to see it. It does not show up until August and will probably tank, but still, I am intrigued by the idea of a live action G.I. Joe movie, even if it directed by Steven Summers.

9. Drag me to Hell- The PG-13 rating has dampened my desire a bit, but the trailer plays so well on the big screen and Sam Raimi does creepy very well. The story is interesting and the visuals, especially during the exorcism look intense and cool. I hope it plays as well as some people think. I am cautiously optimistic.

8. The Hangover- This is kind of a wild card, because it stars 3 people that are kind of unknown to the general public and is kind of a rehash of Dude, Where's my Car? but I laugh every time I see the trailer, so that is promising. The studio has already commissioned a sequel, which is a great stunt and really makes the movie look more exciting.

7. Up- My excitement for this Pixar movie is lower than previous years because this movie looks more aimed at young people, like Finding Nemo. I still think it looks good, but the whole thing skews a little younger than Wall-E from last year. I am sure the animation is going to be super amazing, and that is always fun to see. I just worry about it being too young for my taste.

6. Star Trek- I really want to be much more excited about this than I am. J.J Abrams has done no wrong thus far and while I have never been a Star Trek fan, the teaser made me crazy excited. That being said, something just seems off about the whole project. I still want it to be awesome, but I am less interested now than I was last year. I think the delayed release lessened my excitement. I wanted it in December of 2008 like it was supposed to be!

5. Terminator: Salvation- This would be number 2 if I was sure it would be Rated R, but it looks like it is getting that PG-13 rating. I am worried about McG because his directorial efforts include BOTH Charlie's Angels movies, which is never good. Christian Bale as John Connor makes sense and to be honest, the trailers all look amazing, but still Charlie's Angels. NO!

4. Wolverine- I have gone back and forth on this movie for a few months. I am still very excited, but I have been watching the same trailer for three months and am kind of tired of it. Robbie has tried to dampen my spirits with reports from his stupid Ain't it cool News website, but Hugh Jackman is so awesome in the role and Gambit is finally here! Harry Knowles be damned, I want to see this and I want to see it now!

3. Funny People- yes, I worship at the altar of Judd Apatow. His way of mixing raw comedy with topics not typically considered perfect for raw humor gets me every time. I can like Sandler, I love Rogen and the supporting cast. Plus, Leslie Mann in all her smart sexiness, will be all over this movie. It looks more serious than his previous ventures, and I am okay with that. I worry a bit that the whole movie is blown in the trailer, but who won't love Erik Bana beating up Adam Sandler?

2. Public Enemies- Michael Mann makes gun battles better than anyone else. The only way his gun battles could be better was if they featured Tommy Guns. My wish is his command! Johnny Depp, finally breaking away from Disney looks so freaking cool holding a Tommy Gun and add Christian Bale to the mix and we have the new Heat! This movie should be so amazing, it should have some award potential at the end of the year.

1. Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen- So sue me, Michael Bay is the man. Transformers was an amazing summer spectacle. Why should this be any different? Shia and Megan sizzling up the screen, with like 40 robots, come on! The teaser is awesome, the trailer is awesome and this movie will rule all others this summer. This is exactly what I want summer movies to be. I want big explosions cool effects and sexy people. This is a guaranteed home run!

Five movies I will see, somewhat begrudgingly

5. Year One- I want to want to like this, but it just does nothing for me. I like the cast, well I can like Jack Black, and Michael Cera is always funny, but this kind of appears to be a mess. besides gripes with the actual history of it, it just does not bring the funny enough in the trailer to get me all excited.

4. Harry Potter 6- I have seen all of the others so I feel I need to see it, but after the debacle of HP5, I cannot get excited for it. The new trailer is actually pretty good, but as long as David Yates is directing HP, I will not be excited for it.

3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past- I am such a sucker for Jennifer Garner and those amazing dimples. Plus, Emma Stone is doing a supporting comic role, so I am going to see it, but I will never be excited for a romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey.

2. The Ugly Truth- I feel like this could be good because I like Katherine Heigel and Gerard Butler. However, it is so basic and obvious what is going to happen. I will see it because Heigel has impressed me in the genre and she is super hot, so that is a plus.

1. Angels and Demons- I would probably avoid this at all cost, but we are playing it where I work, I get to see it for free. It looks even worse than The Da Vinchi Code, which is not an easy task. I do not know what Ron howard and Tom Hanks are doing in this piece of crap.

The One Movie I know I will not be seeing (otherwise known as The Will Ferrell syndrome)

Lost of the Lost- Nothing about this seems good. It even makes dinosaurs look uncool. My guess is the dinosaur actors did this strictly for the pay check. They would never work with Ferrell if they did not need to feed their family. Hollywood needs to make more dinosaur movies so these actors do not have to stoop to the Will Ferrell level. BAH!!!

Random Thoughts:

Meryl Streep has another summer movie in the mix. Is she summer box office gold? Is she the oldest summer draw, ever? Julie and Julia could be HUGE!

There was a time when movies could make money being R rated. The change to PG-13 is directly related to budgets, I believe. The more a movie costs, the more it has to make and a PG-13 Terminator can make more than an R rated Terminator can.

Taking of Pelham 123 just does not seem like a summer movie. I feel like I want it in November like most Tony Scott movies.

I should not want to, but I kind of want to see Night at the Museum 2. The trailer makes me giggle in all the right ways.

I feel like this summer has more romantic comedies than years past. I wonder if this is deliberate.

Amy Adams, Ryan Reynolds, Eric Bana, Christian Bale and Josh Duhemal are all starring in two summer movies this year. Will this be the year Eric Bana becomes a movie star?

I Love you, Beth Cooper could be an American Pie style hit, but probably not. Does Hayden Panatierre translate to the big screen? She is so tiny.

I am not interested in Bruno but the scene in the trailer where he is wearing a suit made of Velcro is pretty damn genius. Is it enough to get me to watch it, though? I do not know.

Finally, some under the radar movies I am anticipating: Away we go, 500 days of Summer, The Time Traveler's wife, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, All good things, Moon, Battle for Terra, Next Day Air and The Girlfriend Experience,


P.S. (Mostly for Robbie because he will ask) I did not include Inglorious Basterds because I do not count the very end of August as the summer movie season. Otherwise it would have been at the top of the list.