Pre Summer Movie Bash 2010!!

I have weird feelings about this summer movie season. I am not nearly as excited as I usually am this summer and only about 5 movies really truly make me excited. However, there are a good portion of movies that look like they could be good, and look as if they could be bad as well. It should be an interesting summer movie season with The Twilight Series making its first try at summer and hoping not to have a Chronicles of Narnia type result. Plus, we have a few sequels bound for big bucks and a few franchise hopefuls. However, I do not see any comedies that are really screaming out to me and I am curious to see if there is going to be a Hangover style breakout hit. Enough with this, on to the lists!

the 10 movies I am most excited about

10. The Adjustment Bureau- I am kind of working sight unseen on this bad boy because there is not a trailer that I have seen, but it does not come out until the end of August, so I have some time. I just know it stars Matt Damon, is based on a Phillip K. Dick story and Anthony Mackie is a supporting player. Those 3 things are all I need to start to get excited. I could change my mind when I actually see the trailer, but for now, I am looking to it.

9. Salt- I know, I know. This does not really look very good. I get it. However, I am a total sucker for Angelina Jolie in an action movie. It is just how it is. I do not love her, or think she is particularly hot these days, but still, there is something about her in an action movie that gets me going. The action does look fairly by-the-numbers, but I cannot help myself. A strong supporting cast helps matters and I like that Jolie got cast in a role that was written for a man.

8. Dinner for Schmucks- I am not as excited about this movie as I want to be considering it stars Paul Rudd and Steve Carrell, but because it stars those two, I am putting it on this list. The premise could go either way, but Steve does excel at playing strange characters and Rudd, well Rudd can do no real wrong in my book. Ron Livingstone is also in it and the trailer does offer some laughs, I just thought I would be way more excited.

7. The Sorcerer's Apprentice- This is another movie that should not be on this list, but it is summer and what is summer without a gloriously over the top Nic Cage movie? I can barely contain my glee at the ridiculous trailer with the stupid effects, bad one-liners and awesome Nic Cage hair. Mock if you want, I can take it. I know this is going to be a mess, but it is a mess I want to see and giggle through.

6. Knight and Day- Tom Cruise has long been a favorite of mine and I know that so many people have vile vitriol towards the man, but I respect his talent. I like how he effortlessly moves from action to drama to romance. After being off screen for a few years, he made this his first big screen effort in a few years. The trailer is snarky, breezy fun and the action looks cool. I am not sure exactly how it will go, but I am optimistic, even if it has Cameron Diaz in it, which is always hit or miss.

5. The A-Team- I was a fan of the show, but I am more a fan of the trailer for this bad boy. Bradley Cooper shoots a plane down from a tank, that is falling for the sky! Cooper is shirtless! There is action, and laughs. There is the theme song being whistled, A Bazooka is fired! Someone repels down a skyscraper, pulls someone out of a building, throws him out and they are both taken away by a helicopter! It is so damn packed full of explosions that I get mesmerized! Joe Carnahan makes pretty ridiculous movies and I enjoy the hell out of them and this looks to be no exception! Plus, Patrick Wilson is in it!

4. Scott Pilgram Vs. The World- If you have seen the 90 second trailer, well you should just know exactly why I am amped about this flick. It has comedy, action, crazy visuals, and hot talented people. It is helped by Edgar Wright being a phenomenal director with a spotless record thus far. Sure, maybe Michael Cera needs to grow up, but for now, I am ready to take this journey with him. I am not familiar with the Graphic Novel on which this movie is based, but having flipped through the pages a few times, the tone of the film looks perfect. I hate that I have to wait for August to get here before I get to witness this glorious genre bending post-modern movie and it cannot get here soon enough!

3. Toy Story 3- If you are not anxiously awaiting the return of Woody, Buzz and the whole gang of toys, well you have no soul! Sure, I had a certain level of trepidation when I heard they were bringing back my favorite gang of talking toys, but the first trailer eased those nervous thoughts. Pixar continues to push the boundaries of animation, but more than that, they continue to tell amazing stories with rich characters, wonderful humor and honest emotions. In the second film, Woody gave up eternal life to go back to his friends and here we are many years later and the toys are on another quest of true friendship and love. I expect Toy Story 3 to be the biggest money maker of the summer when you throw in the 3D money, but I also expect it to be the most heart warming film of the summer.

2. Inception- Chris Nolan is the best director working right now. Yes, I said it. I stand by it as well. He makes great movie after great movie. His films are rich in visual style, point of view and story. He pulls great performances and directs tight scripts and he makes it all look so easy. He is on the cutting edge of film and this movie looks like it continues the trend. He bucked full CGI in favor of building these elaborate sets to discombobulate his actors and with every sliver of footage that comes out, I get more and more intrigued and excited. I love the cast and am very curious to see what Nolan gets out of Decaprio. I am not sure how this will play at the box office and Nolan swears it is not a twisty film, but it looks twisty and intimate while being on such a huge scale. I simply cannot wait!!

1. Ironman 2- When Ironman came out, I was pretty stoked for it, but even I could not imagine it would be as wonderful as it ended up being. The stakes for a sequel as always higher and it is more difficult to find good story to tell because the origin story is always such an easy way to go. So what do you the second time? Well, in this case, you hire Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell to be your villains and you get an upgrade at sidekick, with Don Cheadle. The teaser and the full length trailer are both rockin and rollin good times and Robert Downey Jr looks just as snarky and perfect this time around. It is going to be tough to be as good this time because they are not catching anyone off guard, but if the scene in the trailer with all of the Ironman robots is half as good on screen as it is in my mind, this is going to be a damn amazing time at the cinema!

5 movies I feel could really go either way

Sex and the City 2- I very recently (last month) finished the entire series and the first movie and have to admit, the whole thing grew on me and by the time the movie was half over, I was totally involved (just ask my movie watching partner). However, the trailer looks just too ridiculous for me. I do not want to see the girls leave NYC. I hated the episodes set in Los Angeles because NYC is a character of these ladies' stories. That being said, the characters still pull me in and while it is utterly implausible for Carrie to run into Aiden half way around the world, I loved Aiden and want the movie to go well for everyone.

Grown Ups- Having some of the main players from the early 1990s SNL that I grew up on, is a HUGE draw for me, but these actors are so far away from being those young hungry edgy comics that it is tough to get too wrapped up in the prospect of them being in a movie together. Replacing Chris Farley with Kevin James is too on the nose, but James is likable on screen and is responsible for the funniest part of the trailer. I am hoping the movie has enough funny moments between the guys to make up for what I am sure will be a sappy message in the end, but it could very much end up a mess. I want to into it and I want it to be hilarious, but I am very cautious about it.

The Karate Kid- Not going to lie, this actually looks pretty damn good, and the blogs coming out of ShoWest were all pretty positive. I have romanticized feelings towards the original flick, but that does not mean I cannot give this movie a fair shake. It is obviously a younger, gentler Karate Kid starring the cute-as-a-button son of Will Smith and with Jackie Chan filling the Mr. Miagi role you can expect this to be fairly different from the original, which is actually a plus in my book. The trailer does actually grab me a little bit and I feel like if I were in the age range of like 10-14, I would enjoy the hell out of it. As it stands, I am curious and I will be seeing it, which I would not have said when I first heard about it.

Killers- Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl does certainly make an attractive movie couple, but can I buy Kutcher as some sort of killing machine? The movie has a Mr. and Mrs Smith feel, which is good and bad. If the light hearted comedy aspects hit, then this could be a really fun summer distraction. If the comedy does not work, well, I expect it to be a dud. The trailer is hit and miss, with half of the stuff working alright and some of it just bombing, but they are an appealing couple and they might have what it takes to pull it off.

Get him to the Greek- I am not sure Forgetting Sarah Marshall needed a spin off movie and I am not sure I am ready to buy Russell Brand as a bonafide movie star yet, but this could work. Nicolas Stoller as the director revs it up a little bit and I really think Jonah Hill has the chops to be a big time comedy star if he so desires. The trailer has a lot of funny stuff in it, but I worry that the best stuff is spoiled in that trailer. I have hopes that the movie will surprise me, but I am not so sure it will. I have fears that I am going to be disappointed and I hate being disappointed in a comedy.

Random Thoughts:

I cannot even fathom a world where I need Ridley Scott's Robin Hood.

Shrek 4? Really? Seriously? Honestly? Shrek 4?? Why...oh WHY????

SNL sketches do not need to be movies, certainly not McGruber!!

The Twilight Saga:Eclipse has a great director, but it still stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, so how good can it be?

The Other Guys might be the first Will Ferrell summer movie I do not mind seeing. Funny trailer