It’s always good to start off my Summer Movie List by actually watching the first movie on my list.  Getting a healthy start can only help me to follow through and try to watch them all.

What’s even better than that, though, is starting my Summer Movie List with a success story.  With an insanely high 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, you shouldn’t need my endorsement to go watch How To Train Your Dragon, but I’m going to give it anyway.

How To Train Your Dragon is Dreamworks Animation’s newest entry, still desperately trying to catch the monolith that is Pixar.  They have historically been hit or miss, but Dragon shows that when they’re on their A-game, they can certainly compete.

The movie follows the somewhat predictable story of a young viking named Hiccup who’s not exactly ideal viking material.  Although a mechanical genius, he lacks the oomph of his people.

A longstanding war with the dragons frames his entire village — a village that is overseen by his father, Stoick.  Stopping dragons is the name of the game, and you’re just not a real viking if you haven’t killed at least one.  That’s bad news for Hiccup.

A desperate attempt for acceptance leads Hiccup to invent his own bola-firing contraption which he uses to bring down the most elusive of all dragons — a Nightfury.  The only problem, of course, is that no one sees him take the shot so he doesn’t get any credit.

Up until Hiccup finds the dragon that he downed (wounded in a canyon), the story is a bit slow.  When dealing with such tried and true tropes, it’s hardly necessary to devote as much time as was allotted to Hiccup’s plight with his people.

Once Hiccup finds the dragon, though, this movie hits full stride and doesn’t slow down.  With his inventive genius, Hiccup is able to gain the loyalty of this new dragon, nursing him back to health and learning a lot about the species along the way.

I watched this movie in 3D, and it was well-utilized.  Hiccup and Toothless (the dragon’s ill-fated name), soar through the skies with beauty.  The dragons’ wings and fire pop out of the screen in some fun and innovative ways, with a particular chase scene near the end really stealing the 3D show.

Although Jay Baruchel’s voice is a bit awkward even as a cartoon character, other voice talent is spot on.  Adult Vikings speak with a Scottish accent, but you’ll never question the validity since the main characters are voiced by native Scotsmen Craig Ferguson and Gerard Butler.

Dragons can’t speak, but the emoting is beautifully animated for Toothless making him a valid and central character to the story.  You believe the relationship that’s built between a boy and his dragon, which makes the story all the more compelling as you move along.

The general premise is certainly nothing new, but Dragon does tend to throw things at you from time to time that you didn’t quite expect.  Most impressively, it manages to do this without really painting either side as too much of a villain, which saves it from getting too preachy.

The final scenes see the Vikings setting sail for Dragon Island, and this leads to one of the most exciting last few minutes of a movie I’ve seen in a while.  You’ll get so attached to the characters, that you’ll ride the emotional coaster right along with them.

A special mention should go to the character of Stoick.  Perfectly voiced by Gerard Butler, the film manages to portray Stoick as an overbearing father that cares.  Even though he is often used in the villain role, you never really hate Stoick which pays dividends at the end.

With both Toy Story 3 and Shrek 4 coming out this summer, How To Train Your Dragon has set the bar high for animated films.  I’m sure Toy Story 3 will walk away with the most money, but Dragon may walk away with the highest ratings.  It’s just that good.

Verdict: A- Tilt: A+

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.

I’ve likely watched movies since Sherlock Holmes, but I can’t remember what they were.

Clearly, I did not review them.  My blog is mostly dead, but as Miracle Max made clear “There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead.”

So I watched Alice in Wonderland this weekend in 3D.  It seemed to use a different kind of 3D than Avatar, and that certainly didn’t play to its advantage.  I’m not sure there was much to be gained by the 3D treatment.

Tim Burton is weird. I know that some of my friends love his work, but I generally leave the theater feeling as if I spent the last two hours of my life fighting off insanity.

Of his many films, there is only one that I really liked and that was Big Fish.  And yes, that includes Batman.  Sure, it was good when it was the only Batman we had, but Christopher Nolan has shown us a great Batman.  Tim Burton’s is a joke.

So it comes as no surprise to myself that I found Alice in Wonderland to be primarily meh.  It wasn’t a waste of my time, but it was also not a great use of my time.  I didn’t laugh, I didn’t cry, and I didn’t marvel.

Instead, I just questioned the sanity of the filmmaker and spent my time trying to figure out if Johnny Depp meant to switch accents in every scene.  Depp is usually a solid performer even in Burton’s messy movies, but here he seemed a little lost.  Then again, he was playing the Mad Hatter so maybe that was the point.

The only bright spot for me was the realization that the White Queen (played by Anne Hathaway) was modeled after the white queen of the chess board.  Having never read the books, I had never realized that both queens were based on separate games.

Sadly, I could have come to that realization via Wikipedia.

The Cheshire Cat was pretty entertaining and his ability to vanish on demand was used to great effect.  He was probably the strongest character, despite a solid cast of actors.

If you like Tim Burton, you’ll probably like Alice in Wonderland.  If you have nothing better to watch, it won’t feel like a total waste of your time because Anne Hathaway is hot (even when painted white) and the Cheshire Cat is slick.

Verdict: C+ Tilt: D

So how long does one have to go between posts before a blog should just be retired as a failure?  This blog has to be coming close to that limit.

Here are some quick movie reviews of my holiday movie experience.  I wanted to watch Alvin & the Chipmunks Squeakquel but the wife was resistant.

AVATAR

We watched it in 3D and it was the best 3D I’ve ever seen.  It didn’t throw a lot of gimmicks at you and instead used the 3D effectively to bring the CG worlds to life.  It added a lot of depth and life to a world which may have otherwise looked too unreal.

It’s a far better blend of live-action/CG than anyone else has managed; yes even Jar Jar Binks.  The story was pretty derivative, but done in a clever enough way that you won’t mind until you look at the movie in retrospect.  I’ve read predictions of it receiving an Oscar Nomination, but it only deserves it for technical achievement in my opinion.

Verdict: B Tilt: A-

SHERLOCK HOLMES

This movie is an odd beast.  It’s not quite sure what kind of movie it is, and if it weren’t for the saving graces of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law that flaw may have been this movie’s downfall.

The story is good, and though many feared that Holmes would become more superhero than super sleuth, there is nothing to fear.  The movie does a good job of painting Holmes as the genius that he is.  His character as portrayed in this film feels very Jack Sparrowesque.  Holmes is eccentric and almost crazy, but at the same time capable of solving crimes.

If Holmes hadn’t been around long before the two, I’d say this movie can best be described as a cross between Monk and Pirates of the Caribbean.  Strange, but true.

The bromance between Watson and Holmes is superb, and I don’t think I’ve ever liked Jude Law this much in a role.  The real takeaway from this film is the many movies yet to come. Let’s hope they leave Rachel McAdams out next time.

Verdict: B Tilt: A

If you would have told me back in May that I would be sitting in August reviewing one of the best movies of the summer I would have told you that you were crazy.  The beginning of summer 2009 had the goods, but the end of the summer was destined for suckitude.

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra was merely a way to sell action figures stuck haphazardly in the middle of August.  It wasn’t supposed to be good.  It was supposed to be mediocre at best.

The trailers all but confirmed GI Joe’s inevitable failure.  The colorful characters of our past were crammed into ‘acceleration’ suits and made to look like poorly done CGI monkeys.  There was absolutely no redeeming qualities about the trailers.

The only hint of greatness that ever came out of the Joe movie were the early stills of the characters.  At least they got actors that looked the part…

But I’m here to tell you that GI Joe is easily the second best action flick of the summer, and (unless you love Potter) the second best movie overall.  GI Joe puts Wolverine and Transformers to shame.  Something tells me Hasbro is ok with that.

What GI Joe understands is that its entire premise is a little bit silly.  Though audiences may be inclined to believe in elite agencies protecting the world, when you start talking about Cobra Commanders and lasers then it gets a little hokey.

But hokey works for this movie.  It knows what it is and its intention is to keep you engaged too fully to think about the silliness.  It takes James Bond and crosses it with [the original] Transformers and gives the audience a little something special.

Perhaps what Joe has going for it more than anything else is an extremely charismatic cast.  Though none of them are likely to win Oscars (for this or any other performance), they are a ragtag bunch of heroes that you can get behind.

Channing Tatum is awesome as Duke, and provides the audience’s perspective taking in this elite organization with super hard core members and silent ninja commandos.  With help from Marlon Wayans as Ripcord, the audience is able to marvel at Joe headquarters with our protagonists.

(As an aside, I generally despise any of the Wayans brothers, but Marlon delivers a straight-edged comedic role without getting too ridiculous in this movie.  He’s suprisingly likable.)

Near the beginning of the movie a fight scene erupts (they rarely stop throughout the film), and Snake Eyes jumps out of a plane to exact justice on a number of Cobra bad guys.  That’s the moment that Joe gets its legs and after that it never stops running.  There is just too much cool to go around.

I was impressed with how well the movie manages to give every character enough time to make them feel meaningful.  Though not all get a well-developed backstory, every character feels like they belong and should be rooted for (or reviled).

Sienna Miller as Baroness is a delight.  One of the more memorable characters from the cartoons, she really shines on screen as both an action hero and a female antagonist.  Though I don’t remember a lot about the original storylines, Baroness has a backstory with Duke here which makes the plot seem all the more relevant.

Without going into detail about the awesomeness of each character, special shout outs are in order for Christopher Eccleston as Destro, and Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow.  Both bring awesome depth to their well-known characters.  And the always riveting Ray Park does his usual awesome job bringing Snake Eyes to life.

The stupid ‘accelerator’ suits from the trailers aren’t nearly as stupid as they appeared.  In fact, their inclusion in the film opens up one of the most inventive car chase scenes that I’ve seen for some number of years.  This romp through Paris including Storm Shadow, Baroness, Snake Eyes, Duke, Ripcord, and Scarlett is a perfect example of how the script leaves no character behind.

Sure the movie is filled with ridiculous technobabble and impossible gear, but that’s what made the old GI Joe so much fun.  I actually had an action figure named ‘Croc Master’ complete with whip and pet crocodile.  GI Joe is not supposed to be grounded in modern day military reality.

If I were to give advice on what movie to expect going into the theaters I would say to expect something along the lines of the original Transformers movie.

Though this movie has a better developed cast of characters and less shaky cam, it is essentially the same mentality.  Pure action-packed adrenaline is the only way to turn a toyline into a real movie, and it looks like Hasbro has struck gold yet again.

Verdict: B- Tilt: A