The Summer of Our Discontent: May
Though summer doesn’t officially begin until June 20, the summer movie season begins in May. Sadly, as an unreformed slacker, I procrastinated the annual Living in Cinema summer forecast and now the first weekend of the season is only a day away. Therefore, part one of this year’s column will also stand in for the usual Weekend Forecast. That means the weekend of May 1 will be detailed as usual with a complete list of all known wide and limited releases. Then, after this week’s musical sponsor, the list will continue with a look at the rest of the important wide releases for month. Since summer is all about the big movies, this outlook will focus only on the wide releases (except for the first week) and the limited releases will be saved for the upcoming Weekend Forecasts. Meanwhile, the releases for June, July and August will be posted in the coming days.
Longtime readers will know that I don’t have much patience for the hubbub of summer. There are always a few gems to look forward to, but the spaces in between are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing (sorry, in a desperate bid to class the joint up a bit, me and the monkeys are playing a little game of “spot the twisted Shakespeare reference.” That’s #2).
Last summer had its share of disappointments, but it also had more than the usual number of wide releases I was actively looking forward to. Iron Man, Speed Racer, WALL-E, Hellboy II and The Dark Knight were all highly anticipated around LiC and each one of them delivered to one degree or another. Two of them even ended up on the LiC Top 10 list for 2008. This year? Suffice it to say that a turd by any other name would still smell as sour. If the latest from Francis Ford Coppola is really a wide release (I’m not convinced, but haven’t found anything that suggests otherwise), there are a total of three wide releases I’m jazzed about.
Though most of these films will receive more than their share of attention, this year all that glisters is not gold.
May 1
Here’s what’s opening wide this weekend:
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After letting Brett Ratner effectively kill the X-franchise on a floating Golden Gate Bridge, 20th Century Fox continues to rape what was once something of a high water mark for superhero movies. This time they pare the story down to the one character everyone likes and give him a TV-sized budget. The result: even the trailer looks attrocious. The one good part of it all is that reviewing a pirated copy of the film got Fox gossip monkey Roger Friedman fired. See there how sometimes even a pile of shit has a silver lining? It’s shit flavored, but silver is silver, right? The best part is I don’t even have to see the movie to enjoy it.
- Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Can the ghost of Michael Douglas convince Matthew McConaughey to grow up by making him revisit all his past relationships? Can he do it in time for McConaughey to win over his one true love (Jennifer Garner) before she gets away? Here’s a better idea: can the ghost of Michael Douglas make Matthew McConaughey stop making shitty romantic comedies by forcing him to relive all the ones he’s already foisted upon the world? Can he do it before I strip naked, cover myself in honey and plunge head first into a pit full of fire ants?
- Battle for Terra. Everything is great for a couple of alien teens until a bunch of Earthlings show up bringing war to their peaceful planet. Being PG rated 3D animation from someone besides Pixar, Disney or DreamWorks, this one is automatically interesting and automatically problematic. A hit and miss voice cast including Brian Cox, Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long, Luke Wilson, James Garner, Dennis Quaid and Danny Glover.
Opening in limited release:
- The Limits of Control. The latest from Jim Jarmusch is among the most anticipated films of the year here at LiC. Though I was exposed to the trailer against my will, the full media blackout precludes me from knowing anything much about it. The trailer felt like a strange hybrid between Ghost Dog and Dead Man. Isaach De Bankolé (Ghost Dog), Hiam Abbass (The Visitor), Gael Garcia Bernal, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton star.
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. Peter Hyams, who previously remade the classic film noir Narrow Margin, takes on the last film Fritz Lang made in the United States. Michael Douglas (not his ghost this time) and Amber Tamblyn star in the story of a journalist who sets himself up for a murder in order to take down an inept DA. Blink and this one will be on DVD.
- The Merry Gentleman. Michael Keaton makes his directorial debut and co-stars alongside LiC favorite Kelly Macdonald in this drama about an aging hitman who forms an unlikely bond with a younger woman who has left behind an abusive husband. Premiered at Sundance in 2008. I think it’s just about time to have a moratorium on movies about hitmen for a while.
- Naked Ambition, An R-Rated Look at an X-Rated Industry. Photographer Michael Grecco turns his coffee table book of porn star portraits into a documentary that takes a look at the people behind the petting, panting, penetration and other words that start with “P” within the porn industry.
- The Skeptic. The skeptic is me when greeted with the prospect of another haunted apartment movie. This one has Tim Daly, Tom Arnold and Zoe Saldana.
Opening in New York:
- Revanche. The unlikely Foreign Language Oscar nominee from Austria gets released stateside. As it follows the inexorably intersecting lives of a small time criminal, a Ukrainian prostitute, a rural policeman and his lonely wife, the first hour of Revanche is a lusty, simmering crime drama that sets up the revenge of the title while the second hour is an altogether more contemplative affair as the revenge itself is played out. In between is a shifting of gears abrupt enough that the two halves feel like different films. Less concerned with the ins and outs of plot, this is a kind of character study at heart that uses the collision of these disparate characters to look at the differences between generations, classes and environments and to probe the nature of guilt, loss and finally of course revenge. Recommended.
- A Wink and a Smile. Here we have a documentary about ten ordinary women (including a homemaker, a reporter, a doctor, an opera singer, a taxidermist and a college student) who enroll in Burlesque 101 in order to learn the erotic art form that has seen a resurgence in the last few years. I have to say the idea of regular folks exploring their sexuality is a lot more interesting to me than porn stars – pasties or not.
- Home. Marcia Gay Harden plays a poet with a bad marriage, breast cancer and an 8-year-old daughter. It’s tempting to dismiss it as a Lifetime Network refugee and it probably is, but we like Marcia Gay Harden and we’re inclined to give a movie with a potentially strong female role the benefit of a doubt…to a point.
- Three Monkeys. Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s film about the consequences that occur when a chauffeur takes the rap for a politician’s hit-and-run accident got a great response at Cannes last year and we’ve been looking forward to it ever since.
To continue this column’s theme and because I like a Gershwin tune (how about you?), this week’s musical sponsor is Ella Fitzgerald singing Summertime live in Berlin in 1968.
May 8
Star Trek (5/7) . There are oh so many ways this reboot of the beloved Star Trek franchise could go horribly wrong, but it has to be better than the one they let Shatner direct, doesn’t it? Notable cast members include Simon Pegg as Scotty, Zachary Quinto (Heroes) as Spock, John Cho (Harold & Kumar) as Sulu and Eric Bana as the bad guy. I hope it’s great because the world can always use fun sci-fi and the Trek universe probably still has a bit of life left in to it. Can J.J. Abrams tap it? Color me skeptical, but the imploding planet in the trailer looks really cool.
May 15
Angels & Demons. I’m not a book snob, but it’s a complete mystery to me how anyone who’s ever made it through a high school literature class could stomach Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Since Ron Howard’s movie adaptation starring ordinarily reliable Tom Hanks was faithfully, stultifyingly wretched, I have to assume this prequel will be more of the same. And yet… I’m a big sucker for Illuminati conspiracy stories and even the bare bones of Da Vinci’s plot were enough to keep me turning the pages. The film’s trailer would have you believe Angels has less talk and more rock, but then mainstream trailers will tell you anything you need to hear to convince you to see a film. If I were a betting man (and I am), I’d guess this one will be stinko. I’ll probably see it anyway and regret it.
The Brothers Bloom (Limited. Opens wide May 29). Buzz has not been kind to Rian Johnson’s much anticipated follow up to Brick and cynics were given reason to crow when it was unceremoniously kicked from its cushy Fall 2008 release date. However, a movie that features Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo as two sibling swindlers looking to put one over on Rachel Weisz’s New Jersey heiress is too good to pass up.
May 22
Terminator Salvation (5/21). It turns out May is “Franchises That Wouldn’t Die Month” and here’s the third entry. The good news is that Christian Bale plays John Connor. The bad news is that it was directed by McG. Ok, that’s an unfair potshot since I’ve never actually seen a McG movie. I don’t know about this one. I wasn’t sitting around hoping they’d make another Terminator movie. In fact, I kind of hated the first sequel that made a kajillion dollars. Seriously, any good will it may have built up during the bulk of its run time was pissed away by Arnold’s thumbs-up as he descends into the molten metal at the end. I still love the down and dirty original though.
Dance Flick. The Wayans family gives urban dance movies the Scary Movie treatment. They should just cut the crap and satirize themselves with a movie called Stupid Comedy.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Whether you liked the original Night at the Museum or not, enough of you paid cash money to see it to ensure there would be sequels as far as the eye could see. Thanks a lot. Here’s the first one along “bigger is better” lines. Too bad LA’s Erotic Museum closed down, it could’ve completed the trilogy with Ben Stiller getting bludgeoned to death by Herman Makkink’s giant rocking phallus sculpture from A Clockwork Orange.
May 29
Drag Me to Hell. Sam Raimi returns to the horror genre that launched his career. Alison Lohman plays a woman cursed by a crazy old gypsy lady. I hope two things: 1) Bruce Campbell is in it and 2) the Mac guy gets punched in the balls.
Up. Though Cars was a drag (no pun intended…well ok maybe a little), I’m in the “Pixar can do no wrong” camp for the most part. Having said that, nothing in this story of an old man and a Boy Scout riding around in a house held aloft by balloons does a thing for me. Not the concept and not the trailer. Nevertheless, I’m there opening day.
Up next: June
Filed under: Upcoming, Weekend Forecast
If they gave LiC articles awards (and they should…), this particular post would get five stars.
Not only do we get Shakespeare references (none of which went over my blonde mane), but we get the immortal ELLA FITZGERALD doing an inspired rendition of one of my all time favourites, SUMMERTIME.
Summertime
And the living is easy
Fish are jumping
And the cotton is high…
*Breathless sigh*
One of these days someone’s going to give me the opportunity to sing that live. I will not disappoint when and if that happens.
I’m actually grateful for all of these detailed descriptions, Craig. A bunch of us are all mining the same turf. (In terms of the fact that some of us here have our own sites.) But there seems to be plenty to go around. We’re all doing our own thing to our individual specifications.
But as hard as I work at it, some stuff never rises to the top. Thanks for talking about Michael Keaton’s directorial debut. Wasn’t even aware that he was going in that direction.
Oh…and I’ve heard plenty bad about THE BROTHERS BLOOM and I couldn’t care less. I’m much too curious about it now to pass it up. As if I could tear myself away from a comedic heist picture with Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz and Robbie Coltrane.
I don’t care if it’s a train wreck. I will be there.
Well done, Mr. Kennedy.
Some day you shall be rewarded. There’s no escaping it…
As for the weekend, Sugar finally opens here so I might see that amongst other limited options.
As for the May preview, it’s curious that in yet another Summer of Sequels we’ve got an entire month of reboots. The Star Trek, X-men, and Terminator franchises are all undergoing reboots to various extents here and it will be curious to see how they fare. I can’t say I’m that interested in any of them, but if they make a couple decent entertainments then I’ll be happy to see them.
Up and maybe Drag Me To Hell are the most interesting films coming out of the preview list to me. I want Brothers Bloom to be great but I’m not holding my breath. The trailer felt a little too precious to me.
Two thumbs up for Sugar, Joel. Just my thoughts, though, as I know Sam wasn’t as high on it. The limited releases this week otherwise sound promising.
There’s not much that I’m excited about in May, to be sure, but I’ll see most of these out of obligation, especialy Star Trek and Terminator (which I fully expect McG to utterly ruin).
The Brothers Bloom plays tonight as the closing night film for MSPIFF, but I’m gonna sit it out and wait until the end of the month. Can’t be worth $15.
Up had a screening here last month that was apparently the first in the country outside of the Pixar labs. Wouldn’t you know it they switched it from 7 PM to 3 PM so I couldn’t go. Apparently it was the works, though, handcuffed to a Pixar person right from the plane with security all over the place in the theater. Less than 100 people saw it and apparently loved it, but they might have just been so excited to be the first public to view it. The director is a Twin Cities native, which I assume is why it was here. Anyway, that should be the highlight for the month.
Oh, and check this out: http://mnfilmtv.org/mndialog/?p=751
Up brought to life next Monday. What are the odds someone falls to their death?
I wrote this relatively long comment and lost it somehow, so I will write in (potentially glib) bullets.
Girlfriends of Christmas Past looks like something that would play in the background, or be discussed, in The Player.
Wolverine looks bland and inoffensive, I like Jackman though. My major issue with this one is all of the wussy spin-off X-Men, I thought the idea this time was all Wolverine, all the time.
Jarmusch divides, I’m in the camp who thinks he’s a smart, talented guy more interested in making moving catalogues of what he’s been most recently reading, watching, listening or hanging with. That said, I loved Broken Flowers, and most of Coffee and Cigarettes and parts of Night on Earth.
I second the hit man moratorium, particularly when a pretty girl is called upon to redeem him. I wish Keaton worked more though.
Star Trek looks fun. Terminator looks ok, though I don’t, as Joel said, care.
As someone who initially liked Brick, but has since found virtually unwatchable, I’m a little suspicious of Brothers Bloom.
I don’t like Ron Howard, I don’t like most of the last fifteen years of Hanks’ career, and the fifteen minutes of Da Vinci Code I saw were among the most tedious of either’s career (saying something, particularly for Howard).
Call me fanboy, but I think its sort of a cheat for Raimi to return to moderately budgeted horror only to give us what appears to be a PG-13 Thinner.
If the Wayans’ went meta and released a picture called “Wayans Movie” I’d be there for the midnight Thursday show.
Of the lower-exposed good-for-you movies, I’m most interested in Revanche.
Thumbs up on this post, Craig. Yes, Roger Friedman getting fired was a silver lining wasn’t it. One of the sleaziest creatures to ever walk the earth – trust me.
I’m of course in the tank on anything from Jim Jarmusch. I bet the LiC monkeys are very excited for Three Monkeys. Sounds interesting.
And Ella was just a great lady. Perfect song.
Thanks Miranda. I realize I’m plowing already furrowed fields (and late at that), so I have to put my own spin on things. Glad you enjoyed.
Joel, I second the Sugar recommendation from Daniel.
In order of reboot interest I go Trek, Terminator, Wolverine. Trailers lie, Wolverine just looks awful. I like Huge Ackman too, but this looks threadbare and stupid.
Daniel, that would’ve been great seeing UP so soon. Am I the only Pixar fan who is a little skeptical about it?
Chuck, sorry about the lost comment. I swear this server hates me and intentionally waits until someone writes a particularly juicy comment and then shits the bed. If it makes you feel any better, what you managed to reproduce was pretty great.
I haven’t seen Brick since the first time and even then I wasn’t exactly underwhelmed, but I let’s just say I was modestly-whelmed. The idea of shoehorning noir patter into a picture set in high school was an interesting one and it was well done, but it never quite fit. It was noir patter for the sake of noir patter because the writer/director was a fan.
Still, as the others have said, I have hopes for Bloom because of the cast.
I’m with you on Da Vinci, though I have a hard time explaining how it is I actually read the whole book and sat through the entire movie.
Thanks Alison. Do you have any juicy run-ins with Friedman to share? I like dirt on dirt slinging losers.
And yes, the Monkeys are jazzed about Three Monkeys. They’re still pissed I wouldn’t let them go see Space Chimps.
OK, I’ll try to make it to Sugar. Everlasting Moments is playing here too and I’d like to catch that if I can, but my time will be somewhat tight this weekend. Thanks for the input.