2008 Woodie Awards
Summer Movie Preview
Marishka Brown
Issue date: 5/15/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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There are several highly anticipated movies that are slated for release this summer. On a hot summer night when the need suddenly comes upon you to feel loved, afraid, and exhilarated or you just want something to tickle your funny bone, then you’re sure to find something that suits you at the theater this year. Summer comes early to the cinema, so starting in May; moviegoers will get a taste of what’s to come for the remainder of the season. Below is a list based on category to try to un-complicate the rush of movies that will be coming soon.
Action/Adventure:
One movie that has generated buzz early on is the recently released Iron Man starting Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrance Howard. A solid script and Robert Downey Jr.’s superb acting abilities have made this one of the best movie adaptations of a comic book hero in recent history.
One of the most anticipated films of the summer and one that will surely hit the coveted $100 million dollar mark is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Harrison Ford reprises his beloved role as archeologist/ adventurer Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones. Rounding out the cast are veteran actress and Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and a young but extremely talented Shia LaBeouf, who starred in last year’s hits Disturbia and Transformers.
Although a movie about the “Un-Jolly Green Giant” was released in 2003 in which Eric Bana played brilliant scientist Bruce Banner, this summer’s The Incredible Hulk stars the phenomenal, versatile Edward Norton. Although everyone over the age of five knows how Dr. Banner was hit by gamma radiation during an experiment gone awry and turns into a hulking green Neanderthal with limited intelligence, I believe that Norton will bring something special to the character and we will “love him when he’s angry”.
After replacing Michael Keaton’s eerily somber Batman with the campy style of Val Kilmer and George Clooney, the dark character we once loved was brought back by Christian Bale in Batman Begins. In this summer’s The Dark Knight, Bale once again becomes Bruce Wayne/ Batman. Hopefully this movie will follow the same tone as its predecessor and with a solid cast that includes; the recently departed Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman; The Dark Knight should be a winner.
The first of two big action movies starring Brendan Fraser this summer, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D has Fraser playing a science professor with a tarnished reputation. While on a backpacking expedition across Iceland with his nephew, the two find a cave that leads them deep into the center of the planet.
Comedy/ Musical:
Although this summer he’s not voicing an eternally grumpy green ogre, Mike Myer’s latest project The Love Guru should still please. Myer’s plays Pitka, an American citizen who was raised outside of the country by gurus and is trying to break into the self-help business. Also stars Jessica Alba.
If there is one star the can consistently draws a crowd at the theater it is Will Smith. His latest project Hancock, profiles the life of a hard-living superhero that is no longer favored by the public. He then enters into a questionable relationship with the wife of the public relations expert who is aiding him in repairing his tarnished image. Also stars Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron.
Who loves Abba?! Well obviously a great deal of people. The popular stage production Mamma Mia! has been adapted for the big screen. And who by the way gets to play Donna, the sexually-liberated-and-thusly-confused-about-her-baby-daddy mother of the bride? Why the legendary Meryl Streep, of course.
Carrie Bradshaw knows good sex. And she finally caught the one that got away. Yes! In Sex and the City: The Movie, our favorite girls from the Big Apple are getting together for the much anticipated wedding of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Big (Chris Noth). Along with girlfriends Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) we will surely enjoy the most talked about nuptials of the summer.
Get Smart, fashioned after the 1960’s television series of the same name, stars the very versatile and funny Steve Carell. Carell plays bungling secret agent Maxell Smart also known as Agent 86 for CONTROL. Along with the ever competent Agent 99, played by Anne Hathaway they battle the evil forces of their nemesis known as KAOS.
Whether you profess to be an Adam Sandler fan or not, you have to admit this guy can make you laugh. This summer Sandler stars as an Israeli counterterrorist assassin in Don’t Mess with the Zohan. Not satisfied with his day job, he decides that he really wants to be a hairdresser. He fakes his own death and moves to New York City, where his “extra special treatment” in the back room leads to fame and fortune. However, success and secret identity don’t mix and his past moves in on his present.
Drama:
Inspired by a true story, The Children of Huang Shi stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as British journalist George Hogg. Hogg helps save sixty orphaned children by leading them almost a thousand dangerous miles across the snow-bound Liu Pan Shan mountains to safety on the edge of the Mongolian desert during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937. Also stars Chow Yun Fat and Radha Mitchell.
Brideshead Revisited is the memoirs of Captain Charles Ryder who is stationed at Brideshead Castle during WWII as he reminisces about his involvement with the owners of the Brideshead. The story is based on the 1945 novel written by Evelyn Waugh. It stars Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon.
In When Did You Last See Your Father? Colin Firth stars as a son who returns to his parent’s home and struggles to make peace (or not) with his terminally ill father, played by Jim Broadbent, during the last days of his life. Also stars Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee, and Claire Skinner.
Ever wonder about the intricacies of becoming an American citizen? Crossing Over, a multi-character drama staring Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Sean Penn and Ashley Judd tells the story of immigrants of different nationalities and their struggle to achieve legal status in Los Angeles, CA.
Family:
Adapted from a cartoon series of the same name, Speed Racer, staring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman will be a fast-paced family oriented good time. Speed, a young driver is on the run from mega-mogul Royalton and his band of ninjas after turning down their corporate sponsorship. Speed, along with his best girl Trixie and the brilliant Racer X, are out to ensure Speed's victory in “The Crucible”, a perilous cross-country free-for-all that took the life his brother.
C.S. Lewis’s most famous book from The Chronicles of Narnia series The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was just as popular in its big screen adaptation. This summer’s sequel attempts to recapture the magic for the second installment of the chronicles, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. In this story the Pevensie children are summoned back to Narnia only to find out nearly a millennium and a half have pasted since they climbed back out of the wardrobe. This time they are to aid Prince Caspian in taking back his rightful place on the throne.
In Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black is the voice of Po, a lazy, clumsy, dumpling addicted panda who has been chosen in a prophesy to save the day from the evil warrior Tai Lung , who happens to be a snow leopard. Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu and Angelina Jolie round out the voices of the other cast of characters in this flick that is sure to delight.
This summer the creators from Pixar bring us WALL-E, the story of a garbage-collecting robot that spends seven centuries cleaning up the waste mankind has left behind on their abandoned planet. When a sleek scout robot visits Earth, the lonely WALL-E falls head over heals in love and a space pursuit ensues. Pixar has produced eight winning movies in eight attempts, and WALL-E has a strong possibility of being number nine.
Horror:
The Strangers, starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman is the story of a couple vacationing in an isolated cabin in the woods. However, their romantic getaway is interrupted by three psychos out for blood. Inspired by a true story, this movie will give you second thoughts about that nice isolated log cabin vacation you’ve been thinking about taking.
Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's first R-rated film The Happening stars Mark Walberg as Elliot Moore, an underappreciated teacher in a shaky marriage. Suddenly, people start dying en mass and rumors of a terrorist attack or a botched government experiment abound. It is soon realized that not even the government could cause a catastrophe of this magnitude.
Stuart Gordon directs Stuck, a thriller (loosely based on a Fort Worth incident) starring Mena Suvari as a retirement-home caregiver that commits a hit-and-run and then finds that her fate is tied to the victim. Also stars Stephen Rhea.