With Clash of the Titans coming out the first weekend of April, the summer is getting started early this year. It seems the whole affair has shifted up, with no movies of note slated for August.
Although this summer is more filled out than last, there are a lot of untested movies on the horizon. It could be a great summer, or it could be a disappointment. With 19 movies in my list, I’m sure to miss some. Let’s hope I watch the right ones.
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How To Train Your Dragon (March 26) — Review —
The Dreamworks animated films are hit or miss for me. The thing that has my interest for this one, though, is dragons and Vikings. Okay, so dragons get a lot of airtime already but Vikings? More Vikings movies please.
Clash of the Titans (April 2) — Review —
I remember watching the original when I was a kid and being absolutely enthralled. The special effects were cheesy by today’s standards, but they were the cream of the crop back in the day. I think this movie will likely ruin my memories more than enhance them, but I can’t ignore the draw of the titans.
Date Night (April 9)
The obligatory comedy comes out about this time every year. It always stars either Steve Carrell, Tina Fey, or Will Ferrell. This one nets us two of the three. Comedies have a much lower barrier of entry than other genres, so I expect this one won’t be a waste of time.
Kick-Ass (April 16)
To be honest, I don’t know anything about the origins of this film. The trailers look funny and it’s related to superheroes. Does one really need any other reason to watch a movie?
A Nightmare on Elm Street (April 30)
I watched these movies starting from a very early age; probably earlier than reasonable. But I turned out fine, and Freddy Krueger has remained one of my favorite movie villains of all time. I can’t imagine a better replacement for Freddy than Rorshach, so I’m excited to see how this turns out.
Iron Man 2 (May 7)
This movie is what makes the summer. If I see nothing else, I will definitely see this. The trailers make this one look even more epic than the first, and superhero movies tend to do well with their second outings. I can’t imagine not liking this movie.
Robin Hood (May 14)
I hate Russell Crowe. He used to be cool back in the Gladiator days but now he’s just a glory hog. Nonetheless, it’s Robin Hood. Crowe can’t be any worse than Costner in the green tunic can he?
Shrek Forever After (May 21)
The Shrek movies are played out and I really don’t have high hopes for this one. The 3rd one was really a disappointment, and I question whether there’s any story left to tell in this universe. I may end up skipping this one for MacGruber, which is all the indication you need of how I feel about Shrek.
MacGruber (May 21)
This movie should really suck. Everything about it is a horrible idea. Although they are some of the funnier SNL skits of recent years, that’s like saying that cow dung tastes better than horse dung. But it may be the deck stacked against it that will make it work; it certainly wouldn’t be the first SNL movie to pull off the unthinkable.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (May 28)
I’m not sure I like Gyllenhaal for this role, but I loved the games. My biggest worry for this film is that it will end up being too actiony with very little character development, leaving it feeling like a rip-off of the Mummy movies. I guess only time will tell. Get it?
Splice (June 4)
I know almost nothing about this movie except the premise. Scientists start splicing the DNA of humans and animals together. Where it goes from there I’m not sure, but animal people are awesome.
The A-Team (June 11)
I used to have a Mr. T action figure from the A-Team. I loved that action figure. I’m excited about this one because I really think they’ve got the cast to make it work. The fact that my childhood memory has faded should only help me forgive any flaws this movie has.
The Karate Kid (June 11)
I’m putting this on the list, but I think there’s a high probability I won’t actually watch it in theaters. Although I loved the first few, I’m a lot older now. Not only that, but the karate kid is much younger. I think it might be great for the younger folk, but maybe a little childish for the grownups.
Toy Story 3 (June 18)
This is one of those franchises that I never got. Other than a few chuckles here and there, I don’t understand why people love it so much. It did usher in this style of animated film, though, and for that it deserves some credit. It will be interesting to see the comparison between this, Shrek, and Dragon.
Jonah Hex (June 18)
I don’t know much about this movie except that it’s based on a comic book with zombies and it features Megan Fox in a Corset. Is it necessary to know more about it, really?
The Last Airbender (July 2)
I have liked every Shymalan film at least on some level. His worst was undeniably The Happening, but even that had its charms. This man is just good at creating a mood with his camera work. The source material is lost on me, but I’m hoping this ends up being a fun movie.
Predators (July 9)
I’ll probably be movied out by the time this hits theaters, so it’s likely to get a skip. The first Predator movie is a classic, but one of those movies that is much better in retrospect than reality. I imagine this one will be much the same, but at least we have cool special effects this time around.
Inception (July 16)
Dream invasion. That’s the premise of this Christopher Nolan movie. The details are few and far between, but between Prestige and the recent Batman movies, I’ll give Nolan a freebie here. I trust that he’ll give me a great movie, even if he doesn’t have Christian Bale.
Salt (July 23)
Angelina Jolie is really the only female action hero we have. That’s a shame, really, but at least it means that she fills a niche. This one sees Jolie being accused of being a Russian spy, even though she has no knowledge of that herself. Is she the bad guy? Can’t wait to find out.
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And that’s it. The top 19 movies I’m looking forward to watching this Summer of 2010. If I watch them all, I’ll deserve a medal and probably a loan to pay off my credit card bill.
MacGruber has gotten some surprisingly good reviews – it’s a movie length digital short apparently.
“I hate Russell Crowe. He used to be cool back in the Gladiator days but now he’s just a glory hog. ”
You say that because……? I am trying to think of any glory he’s been hogging lately…..
Are you kidding? Every movie he does is an obvious bid for acclaim and awards. That’s not to say that he gets them, but it seems to be what he’s aiming for.
So like…..State of Play was aimed at awards? Or 3:10 to Yuma?? I hardly think so. He’s an actor, he has to make movies of some sort to make a living. I can’t really imagine that Robin Hood will win an oscar for anybody except maybe the costumers. Or the set designers. I think they made Robin Hood hopin’ to rake in the cash…..
There are actors like John Malkovich who do the roles that seem interesting to them….but they win awards anyway sometimes….but Crowe would never get the same kind of roles that Malkovich (for instance) gets.
Not to be argumentative, I’m just curious, what actors are you comparing him to that are not out for acclaim?
Yes, I think 3:10 to Yuma was aimed at getting awards or praise. Russell Crowe only does period movies or boring movies, both of which are notorious for getting more attention than other movies come award time.
He doesn’t always choose right, obviously. And yes, Robin Hood is probably one of the most ‘mainstream’ movies that Crowe has done in a while. Certainly a change of pace for him.
As for other actors I’m comparing him to, you could name almost any of the big ones these days. Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, etc, etc.
But hey. This is just my opinion. I don’t like Russell Crowe. /shrug
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