Sunday, April 19, 2009

Summer movie preview

Good God, is it seriously almost May? It is? Well, that's sorta kick ass because that means summer movie season is right around the corner.

The flicks I'm jazzed about (in order of release date):

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (May 1): It can't be any worse than "X-Men 3," right?

"Star Trek" (May 7): I know you all thought I was a big dork, but one glaring omission on my nerd resume is that I've never seen a "Star Trek" movie. At least not that I remember. I gotta say, though, the trailer for J.J. Abrams' reboot looks good enough for me to want to see in the theater. And I think casting Simon Pegg as Scottie is down right awesome.

"Terminator: Salvation" (May 27): I really wish I didn't want to see this movie. I really wish it looked like McG destroyed the once-proud franchise. But dammit if that trailer doesn't knock my socks off. Also, I trust Christian Bale to make good movies. Perhaps he will prove me wrong this time. Here's hoping he won't.

"Up" (May 29): Looks to be another genius effort by Pixar.

"The Hangover" (June 5): Todd Phillips, the dude who brought us "Old School," seems to have found another great recipe for comedy gold. The premise is simple: Friends head to Vegas for a bachelor party blowout, but get so effed up that they can't remember what happened the night before. Like, where did this baby come from? And why is there a Tiger in their hotel room? Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis will be the Michael Cera-Jonah Hill or Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy team of the summer.

"Year One" (June 19): Speaking of Michael Cera, he stars in this spoof on primitive life, written and directed by Harold Ramis. Cast is stellar (Jack Black, David Cross, Paul Rudd, Hank Azaria), and if the rest of the film is anywhere near as funny as the clip with Cross and Rudd as Cain and Abel, well, I think we'll have a winner.

"Public Enemies" (July 1): Like I said, I trust Christian Bale to make good movies, almost as much as I trust Johnny Depp (let's face it, even his more bizarre films are still quality entertainment). Directed by Michael Mann (!), it's the real-life story of Depression-era bank robber John Dillenger (Depp), who is being pursued by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Sign me up!

"Bruno" (July 10): Like "Borat," but probably even more offensive.

"Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince" (July 15): Ahhhhhhhhh! Why can't I go watch this one NOW?!?!?!?! (Side note: How is this movie rated PG? And if they decide to make the last two HP movies PG, that likely means they'll be taking out a lot of good action. Just sayin'.)

"(500) Days of Summer" (July 17): Looks like a funny and sad but ultimately uplifting movie. Synopsis via film's site: "When Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a hapless greeting card copywriter and hopeless romantic, is blindsided after his girlfriend Summer (Zooey Deschanel) dumps him, he shifts back and forth through various periods of their 500 days "together" to try to figure out where things went wrong. His reflections ultimately lead him to finally rediscover his true passions in life." All together now: Awwwww.

"Inglorious Basterds" (Aug. 21): I still can't tell if Quentin Tarantino is trying to be sorta serious or just completely tongue-in-cheek with his twisted take on World War II. What I can tell is that it's gonna be flippin' violent. Game on.

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