Call it the Summer of Sequel.
When looking at the release slate out of Hollywood over the next four months it’s hard not to get a gigantic case of déjà vu (and I’m not talking the Denzel Washington variety). By my count there are fifteen different sequels coming out this Summer. Fifteen. Five multiplied by three. Three shouted out to the raters an impressive five times.
In other words… that’s a lot of sequels.
And yet, against all better judgment I find myself feeling almost as giddy about some of these as probably the majority of the movie-going masses do. From Spider-Man 3 to Live Free or Die Hard, to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to The Bourne Ultimatum, there are enough juicy goings-on here to even make a certified Summer Movie cynic get a little bit excited. Heck, even Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End has me intrigued, and considering how many angry and exasperated emails I got about my review on the last chapter of this saga I probably don’t have to repeat what I thought about the last one.
For me, however, it isn’t the big tentpole releases like Ocean’s 13 or Rush Hour 3 that get me the most excited, it is the thought of the truly unexpected treasures unearthed amidst all of the billion-dollar hullabaloo that makes me shudder in giddy anticipation. Good or bad, films like Waitress, Once, Rescue Dawn, Away From Her, Fay Grim, Goya’s Ghosts, Death at a Funeral and 2 Days in Paris are the Russian Caviar to Summer’s home-fried Spam, and as such are the perfect anathema hen the full weight of the season’s CGI mediocrity starts to become too much more than a reasonable person can bear.
There are the usual other questions, of course. Can Pixar continue their miraculous streak of winners with the intriguing if odd sounding Ratatouille? Will Knocked Up be the comedic sensation everyone is expecting? Can Steve Carell strike Jim Carrey-like gold with Evan Almighty? Does the ogre still have his mojo in Shrek the Third? Is the Mariane Pearl (widow of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002) docudrama A Mighty Heart Angelina Jolie’s return to Oscar-worthy glory? Do we really need two (The Transformers and Bratz) live-action movies based on toys?
Has former Disney darling Lindsay Lohan outlived her popularity or will the very adult double-whammy of Georgia Rule (with Academy Award-winner Jane Fonda and nominee Felicity Huffman) and I Know Who Killed Me put her back on the cinematic map? Can Hairspray recapture the magical spirit of both the original 1988 John Waters’ film which inspired it and the 2002 Tony-winning Broadway musical on which it is based? Is the mangled marketing campaign going to be the only thing worth talking about in the case of Captivity?
Do Springfield’s favorite family make the jump from small screen to large with their irreverent Emmy-winning humor intact in The Simpsons Movie. Does the world really need a remake of the John Carpenter classic Halloween, even if it is directed by Rob Zombie? Is Michael Moore going to climb off of his ultra liberal soapbox with the health care documentary Sicko?
Okay, so that last question is a bit of joke (or at least tongue firmly in cheek), but all these and more bombard anyone who takes even half a moment to look at the 150-plus films scheduled for release during the next four months. Which, of course, then brings me to the twelve films (three per month) I’m looking forward to the most this Summer. As always, release dates are not firm and will probably change, and films you’re positive are going to be hitting theaters in a couple weeks might not actually show up until July 2008.
Just ask director Amy Heckerling and star Michelle Pfeiffer about I Could Never Be Your Woman. I was talking about that comedy last Summer.
MAY
1. Spider-Man 3
STARS: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, J.K. Simmons and Rosemary Harris
DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi
WRITERS: Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent
WHEN: May 4 (wide)
WHY: You know you want to see it. After Spider-Man 2 proved to be one of the best comic book superhero films ever made, how could you not? Besides, this one has Venom in it, easily one of the best villain creations in recent Marvel history. I worry there are too many things going on here, but so far Raimi has not disappointed. Here’s hoping that holds true at least one more time.
2. Waitress
STARS: Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Adrienne Shelly, Jeremy Sisto and Andy Griffith
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Adrienne Shelly
WHEN: May 2 (limited)
WHY: It is unfortunate that the first thing anyone talks about when they start to speak about this 2007 Sundance favorite is writer/director/star Adrienne Shelly’s horrific murder. But the conversation is frustratingly unavoidable; this talented filmmaker struck down far too soon no matter how you choose to look at it. All of this makes her latest (and last) confection absolutely a must, and if it is half as good as I’ve heard this might turn out to be this Summer’s answer to Little Miss Sunshine.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
STARS: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Chow Yun-Fat and Jonathan Pryce
DIRECTOR: Gore Verbinski
WRITERS: Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio
WHEN: May 25 (wide)
WHY: I shouldn’t want to see this one. As much as I loved the visual look of the second chapter (and as much as I adored Nighy as Davey Jones), my unhappiness with Dead Man’s Chest isn’t exactly a secret. Yet something keeps drawing me towards this third installment. And while the reported three-hour length worries me (and while the Star Wars parallels are still a tad vexing), I’m still curious how all of this is going to turn out. Besides, what Hard-Boiled fan isn’t excited about seeing Yun-Fat as a pirate?
THE REST (potential highlights in bold)
Away From Her, Civic Duty, The Flying Scotsman, Lucky You, Paris, je t'aime (May 4); 28 Weeks Later, Blind Dating, Day Night/Day Night, Delta Farce, The Ex, The Flock, Georgia Rule, The Hip-Hop Project, The Salon, Show Business (May 11); Brooklyn Rules, Captivity, Even Money, Fay Grim, Once, Severance, Shrek the Third, The Wendell Baker Story (May 18); Angel-A, Boss of it All, Bug, The Golden Door, Paprika, Ten Canoes (May 25)
JUNE
1. Knocked Up
STARS: Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Judd Aptow
WHEN: June 1 (wide)
WHY: It just looks funny. Plain, simple and no other way to put it, Aptow’s follow-up to the shockingly good comedic sensation The 40-Year-Old Virgin looks, at least on the surface, to be an even more satisfying ride. Consider that the studio, Universal, is already starting to screen this for critics and industry people over a month out and the good vibes surrounding this can’t help but multiply.
2. Mr. Brooks
STARS: Kevin Costner, William Hurt, Demi Moore, Dane Cook and Marg Helgenberger
DIRECTOR: Bruce A. Evans
WRITERS: Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon
WHEN: June 1 (wide)
WHY: This is one case where a kick-butt trailer won me completely over in spite of all my senses screaming at me otherwise. I mean, this script has been kicking around Hollywood for over twenty years, how good can it be? No matter, the stupid Hollywood marketers did their job exceptionally well this time out, and the creepy and unsettling preview was all I need to get excited about this. Granted, if Costner and company let me down, I’ve really only got myself to blame. Here’s hoping they don’t.
3. Ratatouille
VOICES: Ian Holm, Brad Garrett, James Remar, Janeane Garofalo, Peter O’Toole, Brian Dennehy, Will Arnett and John Ratzenberger
DIRECTOR: Brad Bird
WRITERS: Brad Bird (story/screenplay), Jim Capobianco (story) and Jan Pinkava (story)
WHEN: June 29 (wide)
WHY: Why? Do you really need to know why? Is that even a question? Well, if that’s the case, here’s why: A) Pixar – they haven’t steered us wrong yet, and B) Brad Bird – the man behind The Iron Giant and The Incredibles has shown a touch with animation that is beyond the extraordinary. Those two things are more than enough for me to get excited. They should be more than enough to get you excited, too.
THE REST (potential highlights in bold)
Crazy Love, Day Watch, Gracie, I’m Reed Fish, Pierrepoint - The Last Hangman, The Trials of Darryl Hunt (June 1); The Method (El Metodo) (June 6); Hostel 2, Ocean’s 13, Surf’s Up, You’re Gonna Miss Me (June 8); Eagle vs. Shark, Fantastic Four and the Rise of the Silver Surfer, I Could Never Be Your Woman, Nancy Drew (June 15); Black Sheep, DOA: Dead or Alive, Evan Almighty, A Mighty Heart (June 22); Ghosts of Cite Soleil, Live Free or Die Hard, You Kill Me (June 27); Death at a Funeral, Evening, Vitus (June 29)
JULY
1. Transformers
STARS: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Rachael Taylor, Anthony Anderson, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, John Turturro, Hugo Weaving (voice) and Peter Cullen (voice)
DIRECTORL Michael Bay
WRITERS: Roberto Orci (story/screenplay), Alex Kurtzman (story/screenplay) and John Rogers (story)
WHEN: July 4 (wide)
WHY: I don’t know why, really. I don’t have one good answer to that question. I mean, Michael Bay (The Island, Bad Boys 2, Pearl Harbor) is the antichrist of modern action directors, the whole thing revolves around gigantic robots beating one another up and it’s based on a silly toy franchise I didn’t get in the 1980’s and I still don’t get now. But even with all of that I am still curious. And while I’m not anywhere near positive this will actually be more than meets they eye, I guess my inner tomboy wants to come out and play all the same after all.
2. 1408
STARS: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson and Mary McCormack
DIRECTOR: Mikael Håfström
WRITERS: Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, based on the short story by Stephen King
WHEN: July 13 (wide)
WHY: This is my absolute favorite trailer of the year so far bar none. It had me squirming in my seat like you wouldn’t believe. Sure King adaptations haven’t had a very good track record of late (do you even remember the last one even released to theaters, let alone doing well there?), but that doesn’t counter my desire to see this ghostly psychological thriller in the least bit.
3. Interview
STARS: Steve Buscemi, Sienna Miller, Tara Elders and Katja Schuurman
DIRECTOR: Steve Buscemi
WRITERS: Steve Buscemi and David Schechter, based on the original screenplay by Theodor Holman
WHEN: July 13 (limited)
WHY: Based on the fantastic final film by Theo van Gogh, Buscemi’s remake will hopefully both re-cement his status as an indie director of merit and get people interested once again in the tragically slain Dutch filmmaker. A simple enough story (fading political journalist on the outs with his editor is forced to interview a popular soap opera actress), the complex dramatic undertones van Gogh brought to the original made for a sensational piece of work. If Buscemi can do the same, this could be one of the year’s most luminous achievements.
THE REST (potential highlights in bold)
License to Wed, Rescue Dawn (July 4); Clubland, Dynamite Warrior, Joshua (July 6); Drama/Mex (July 11); Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, My Best Friend, Shortcut to Happiness, Talk to Me (July 13); Fierce People, Goya’s Ghost, Hairspray (2007), I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Son of Rambow (July 20); I Know Who Killed Me, No Reservations, The Simpsons Movie, Skinwalkers, This Is England (July 27)
AUGUST
1. Becoming Jane
STARS: Anne Hathaway, Julie Walters, James McAvoy, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith
SIRECTOR: Julian Jarrold
WRITERS: Kevin Hood and Sarah Williams
WHEN: Aug. 3 (limited)
WHY: A biographical portrait of Jane Austin before she was famous, young Hathaway hopes Becoming Jane does for her what Bridget Jones’ Diary did for young American lass by the name of Zellweger. Whether it will or not doesn’t really interest me all that much (I’ve always been a fan of the actress, going Brit all of the sudden isn’t going to change that fact I’m assuming), I’m much more excited about seeing what the life of one of my favorite authors might have been like. I don’t know about the rest of you, but that’s more than enough to get me into the theater.
2. The Bourne Ultimatum
STARS: Matt Damon, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Julia Stiles and Paddy Considine
DIRECTOR: Paul Greengrass
WRITERS: Tony Gilroy and Tom Stoppard, based on the novel by Robert Ludlum
WHEN: Aug. 3 (wide)
WHY: For me, no other movie this Summer is more appealing and more of a must than this third chapter of the Jason Bourne saga. These films have quietly become the most intelligent, action-packed, exciting and most intriguing spy dramas out there bar-none. Casino Royale notwithstanding, James Bond has nothing on this guy, and with director Greengrass fresh off his much-deserved Oscar nomination for United 93 I can’t help but thing Ultimatum is going to be the rare part three which actually surpasses its predecessors.
3. Stardust
STARS: Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Rupert Everett, Peter O’Toole, Ian McKellan, Ricky Gervais, Henry Cavill, Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfieffer
DIRECTOR: Matthew Vaughn
WRITERS: Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman
WHEN: Aug. 10 (wide)
WHY: So this is the movie that convinced Layer Cake director Vaughn to ditch X-Men 3 and allowed Brett Ratner to pummel us with his mediocrity? Well, that alone puts this one at the top of any must-see list, because if this film was so important he let that hack unleash such disappointing inferiority of viewers this one better be something special. Granted, with a storyline straight out of The Princess Bride and a cast as wondrous as this (not to mention source material by the beloved Gaiman) he’s certainly on the right track. I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see.
THE REST (potential highlights in bold)
El Cantante (Aug. 1); Charlie Bartlett, Hot Rod, Resurrecting the Champ, The Ten, Underdog (Aug. 3); Daddy Day Camp (Aug. 8); BRATZ: The Movie, Cronica de una fuga, Rocket Science, Rush Hour 3, The Signal (Aug. 10); Fan Boys, The Invasion, The King of Kong, Penelope, Superbad, The Wedding Daze (Aug. 17); Out of the Blue (Aug. 22); The Comebacks, Good Luck Chuck, The Hottest State, The Last Legion (Aug. 24); Death Sentence, Halloween (2007), Ladron Que Roba A Ladron, Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Wristcutters: A Love Story (Aug. 31)
BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS
This is the point in the annual Summer Preview where I look like a complete idiot. Considering how many emails I get congratulating me on how wrong I am with these box office numbers, my gut is that a lot of you enjoy seeing me fall flat upon my face. Something tells me this year isn’t going to be any different, but that doesn’t mean I’m still not going to try.
I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment. Who knew?
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End $365,000,000
2. Transformers $342,000,000
3. Spider-Man 3 $320,000,000
4. Shrek the Third $295,000,000
5. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix $265,000,000
6. Ratatouille $240,000,000
7. Evan Almighty $190,000,000
8. The Bourne Ultimatum $177,000,000
9. Live Free or Die Hard $162,000,000
10. Fantastic Four & the Rise of the Silver Surfer $145,000,000
POTENTIAL BOX OFFICE SPOILERS
· 1408
· 28 Weeks Later
· Georgia Rule
· Hairspray
· I Know Who Killed Me
· I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
· Knocked Up
· License to Wed
· Mr. Brooks
· Nancy Drew
· No Reservations
· Ocean’s 13
· Rush Hour 3
· The Simpson’s Movie
· Stardust
· Surf’s Up
· Underdog
