Summer Movies Part Two
It’s June, friends! The kids are out of school, the pools are sparkling blue and the movie theaters are getting pumped full of the biggest releases we’re going to get until Thanksgiving. The summer blockbuster has taken a beating in recent years, but it’s still possible to find some really strong movies this time of year. Let’s see what may fall into that category, shall we?
Opening June 2:
The Break-Up. Jennifer Aniston (“Rumor Has It”) and Vince Vaughan (“Dodgeball”) star in this romantic comedy about a couple who (duh) breaks up… but neither of them is willing to move out of their shared condo. The two recruit their mutual friends in a battle of will to try to force each other out of their lives… or are they really fighting to stay together? Honestly, this sounds like a rather by-the-book romcom to me, but that doesn’t mean it may not be enjoyable. The trailers aren’t half bad, and with a supporting cast including Joey Lauren Adams (“Chasing Amy”), Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”), Peter Billingsly (“A Christmas Story”), Jon Favreau (“Made”) and even the legendary Ann-Margaret (“Bye Bye Birdie”), this may just be a strong turn for both stars.
Opening June 6:
The Omen. The latest in the race to see who can produce the most unnecessary remake is director John Moore (“Flight of the Phoenix”), with this new version of the classic 1976 horror film about a child whose adoptive parents begin to suspect is the Antichrist. Liev Schreiber (“The Manchurian Candidate”) and Julia Stiles (“The Bourne Supremacy”) play the parents, with newcomer Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick playing the creepy little Damien. I definitely think this is a case where the film most certainly did not require a remake, but I’ve got to give 20th Century Fox credit for having fun with the release date - 06/06/06.
Opening June 7:
The Heart of the Game. This new wide-release documentary by director Ward Serrill follows the Roosevelt High School Roughriders, a girl’s basketball team from Seattle, as one of their players struggles to retain eligibility. Rapper Ludacris does the narration, which was written by Serrill. Miramax films is distributing the documentary, which probably says a lot for its potential. Films like March of the Penguins are really starting to open up American audiences to the documentary as a legitimate storytelling format, so this may perform quite well.
Opening June 9:
Cars. Disney and Pixar Studios, the company that brought us such hits as “The Incredibles” and “Finding Nemo” is back again with the newest film by director John Lasseter, the man behind the “Toy Story” films and “A Bug’s Life.” In “Cars,” a hotshot stock car (voiced by Owen Wilson, “Wedding Crashers”) is sidetracked on his way to a big race, winding up in the desert town of Radiator Springs. There he finds a group of cars that teach him that life isn’t always about the finish line, and that friendship and family may be the real rewards. The movie also features the voices of Paul Newman (“Road to Perdition”), Bonnie Hunt (“Cheaper By the Dozen”), Larry the Cable Guy (“Blue Collar Comedy Tour”), George Carlin (“Jersey Girl”), Michael Keaton (“White Noise”), Katherine Helmond (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), Cheech Marin (“Spy Kids”), Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”) and perennial Pixar second-banana John Ratzenberger (“Cheers”), plus a slew of real-life race car drivers like Richard Petty. I’ll be honest with you, I downright love Pixar. I’ve yet to be disappointed by one of their films and the fact that Lasseter has been put in charge of Disney’s animation division as a whole is the best thing to happen at the House of Mouse since The Lion King. I expect this movie to be a blast.
A Prairie Home Companion.
Director Robert Altman (“Gosford Park”) and writer Garrison Keillor turn out this interesting piece of metafiction. “A Prairie Home Companion” is Keillor’s long-running, smash hit radio comedy. In this big-screen version, Keillor and Altman show the behind-the-scenes antics of the last episode of the perennial favorite. The all-star cast includes Woody Harrelson (“The Big White”), Tommy Lee Jones (“Men in Black”), Lindsay Lohan (“Mean Girls”), Kevin Kline (“The Pink Panther”), Virginia Madsen (“Firewall”), John C. Reilly (“Chicago”), Maya Rudolph (“Saturday Night Live”), Meryl Streep (“Adaptation”), Lily Tomlin (“I Heart Huckabees”), Robin Williams (“R.V.”) and Keillor as himself. Keillor is one of America’s foremost wits, and Altman is a fine choice to help his words. This is really shaping up to be a great summer for comedy.
Opening June 16:
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Because no one demanded it! Following up The Fast and the Furious and the painfully-named 2 Fast 2 Furious, Lucas Black (“Jarhead”) stars in the third film in this series because the people in the first two were too smart to come back. Black, to avoid a jail sentence, runs off to Tokyo, where he finds an underground world surrounding “drifting,” a unique car racing style involving light cars, smooth tires and high danger. Unfortunately, that list doesn’t include “believable characters” or “plausible plotlines.” The first time I saw the trailer for this movie, the theater filled with actual laughter. I think we’re looking at the must-miss film of the summer.
The Lake House. Keanu Reeves (“Constantine”) and Sandra Bullock (“Crash”) star in this remake of a Korean film about a man and woman who live in the same lakeside home two years apart. Miraculously, the two somehow begin exchanging letters through time, and they have to figure out how their bizarre love came to be. It’s a very clever idea, although Reeves as a leading man in a deep romance is a little hard to swallow (“anyone remember “Sweet November”?). Although watching the trailers begs the question, why doesn’t the one in the future just tell the one in the past where they’re going to be and arrange to meet up? Seems simple to me…
Nacho Libre. Jack Black (“School of Rock”) stars in this comedy about a Mexican priest who dons a mask and joins the bizarre world of Mexican wrestling to win the money to save an orphanage from closing down. Black is a funny, funny guy, but he’s also been known to pick really lousy movies. “Orange County” is Exhibit A. Trouble is, it’s almost impossible to tell if this one will be another “County” or another surprise hit like “School of Rock.”
Opening June 23:
Click. Adam Sandler (“Spanglish”) and Kate Beckinsale (“Underworld”) star in this comedy about a family man who finds a universal remote control that gives him the power to pause, fast-forward and rewind his life. But when the remote begins to go haywire, he’s got to fight to put his world right again. The film also stars Christopher Walken (“Domino”) and Sean Astin (“50 First Dates”). Sandler is even more hit-and-miss than Jack Black is - he makes some surprisingly good films (such as “50 First Dates”) and some that are so bad it makes my eyes bleed (“Little Nicky” being the best example). But I’ve got to say, the trailers for this one make it look really good. I think it will fall into the hit category.
Garfield’s A Tail of Two Kitties. On the other hand of the comedy spectrum, we’ve got this film, the sequel to 2004’s lame adaptation of the “Garfield” comic strip. This time out, the hapless Jon Arbuckle (Breckin Myer) takes his pets to the United Kingdom for a vacation only to find Garfield mistaken for a cat ruler. Bill Murray reprises his role as Garfield and Jennifer Love Hewitt returns as Liz the vet. They’re joined this time by Billy Connolly (“A Series of Unfortunate Events”) and Lucy Davis (the British version of “The Office”). Connolly, Davis and Murray are all top-rate talents that are being wasted on this movie.
Waist Deep. Tyrese Gibson (“Four Brothers”) stars in this drama about an ex-con thrust back into a world of crime when his car is hijacked with his young son inside. To save the child from the hoods, he’s going to have to go further than ever before. I must admit, the trailers for this film are actually pretty good - although the title stinks.
Opening June 30: The Devil Wears Prada. Anne Hathaway (“The Princess Diaries”) stars in this big-screen adaptation of Laura Weisberger’s best-selling novel about a hapless young woman trying to make a name for herself in the big city, only to get caught under the heel of an unreasonable and overdemanding boss (Meryl Streep, “Adaptation”). Honestly, I’m not Streep’s biggest fan, but Hathaway has proven herself to have strong comedic talents. She’s breaking free from her child star image, and this should be another stepping stone to a great career for her.
Superman Returns. Ah, the crown jewel of June. Director Bryan Singer - the man who gave us the first two hit “X-Men” movies - turns his talents to the world’s first superhero. In this film, which builds on the first two Christopher Reeve movies, the Man of Steel (played by newcomer Brandon Routh) has been missing from Earth for five years. He returns to find that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth, “Blue Crush”) has moved on with her life and now has a son, and his old enemy Lex Luthor (played to perfection by “American Beauty” star Kevin Spacy) is up to his old tricks. Singer is working again with screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, the men who wrote the second (and better) X-Men film, and he’s using the foundation created by Reeve and director Richard Donner. He’s even using the original John Williams score from the first film. I got chills just hearing the strains from “The Planet Krypton” in the trailer. This, for me, is the most exciting film of the year.
Opening June 2:
The Break-Up. Jennifer Aniston (“Rumor Has It”) and Vince Vaughan (“Dodgeball”) star in this romantic comedy about a couple who (duh) breaks up… but neither of them is willing to move out of their shared condo. The two recruit their mutual friends in a battle of will to try to force each other out of their lives… or are they really fighting to stay together? Honestly, this sounds like a rather by-the-book romcom to me, but that doesn’t mean it may not be enjoyable. The trailers aren’t half bad, and with a supporting cast including Joey Lauren Adams (“Chasing Amy”), Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”), Peter Billingsly (“A Christmas Story”), Jon Favreau (“Made”) and even the legendary Ann-Margaret (“Bye Bye Birdie”), this may just be a strong turn for both stars.
Opening June 6:
The Omen. The latest in the race to see who can produce the most unnecessary remake is director John Moore (“Flight of the Phoenix”), with this new version of the classic 1976 horror film about a child whose adoptive parents begin to suspect is the Antichrist. Liev Schreiber (“The Manchurian Candidate”) and Julia Stiles (“The Bourne Supremacy”) play the parents, with newcomer Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick playing the creepy little Damien. I definitely think this is a case where the film most certainly did not require a remake, but I’ve got to give 20th Century Fox credit for having fun with the release date - 06/06/06.
Opening June 7:
The Heart of the Game. This new wide-release documentary by director Ward Serrill follows the Roosevelt High School Roughriders, a girl’s basketball team from Seattle, as one of their players struggles to retain eligibility. Rapper Ludacris does the narration, which was written by Serrill. Miramax films is distributing the documentary, which probably says a lot for its potential. Films like March of the Penguins are really starting to open up American audiences to the documentary as a legitimate storytelling format, so this may perform quite well.
Opening June 9:
Cars. Disney and Pixar Studios, the company that brought us such hits as “The Incredibles” and “Finding Nemo” is back again with the newest film by director John Lasseter, the man behind the “Toy Story” films and “A Bug’s Life.” In “Cars,” a hotshot stock car (voiced by Owen Wilson, “Wedding Crashers”) is sidetracked on his way to a big race, winding up in the desert town of Radiator Springs. There he finds a group of cars that teach him that life isn’t always about the finish line, and that friendship and family may be the real rewards. The movie also features the voices of Paul Newman (“Road to Perdition”), Bonnie Hunt (“Cheaper By the Dozen”), Larry the Cable Guy (“Blue Collar Comedy Tour”), George Carlin (“Jersey Girl”), Michael Keaton (“White Noise”), Katherine Helmond (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), Cheech Marin (“Spy Kids”), Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”) and perennial Pixar second-banana John Ratzenberger (“Cheers”), plus a slew of real-life race car drivers like Richard Petty. I’ll be honest with you, I downright love Pixar. I’ve yet to be disappointed by one of their films and the fact that Lasseter has been put in charge of Disney’s animation division as a whole is the best thing to happen at the House of Mouse since The Lion King. I expect this movie to be a blast.
A Prairie Home Companion.
Director Robert Altman (“Gosford Park”) and writer Garrison Keillor turn out this interesting piece of metafiction. “A Prairie Home Companion” is Keillor’s long-running, smash hit radio comedy. In this big-screen version, Keillor and Altman show the behind-the-scenes antics of the last episode of the perennial favorite. The all-star cast includes Woody Harrelson (“The Big White”), Tommy Lee Jones (“Men in Black”), Lindsay Lohan (“Mean Girls”), Kevin Kline (“The Pink Panther”), Virginia Madsen (“Firewall”), John C. Reilly (“Chicago”), Maya Rudolph (“Saturday Night Live”), Meryl Streep (“Adaptation”), Lily Tomlin (“I Heart Huckabees”), Robin Williams (“R.V.”) and Keillor as himself. Keillor is one of America’s foremost wits, and Altman is a fine choice to help his words. This is really shaping up to be a great summer for comedy.
Opening June 16:
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Because no one demanded it! Following up The Fast and the Furious and the painfully-named 2 Fast 2 Furious, Lucas Black (“Jarhead”) stars in the third film in this series because the people in the first two were too smart to come back. Black, to avoid a jail sentence, runs off to Tokyo, where he finds an underground world surrounding “drifting,” a unique car racing style involving light cars, smooth tires and high danger. Unfortunately, that list doesn’t include “believable characters” or “plausible plotlines.” The first time I saw the trailer for this movie, the theater filled with actual laughter. I think we’re looking at the must-miss film of the summer.
The Lake House. Keanu Reeves (“Constantine”) and Sandra Bullock (“Crash”) star in this remake of a Korean film about a man and woman who live in the same lakeside home two years apart. Miraculously, the two somehow begin exchanging letters through time, and they have to figure out how their bizarre love came to be. It’s a very clever idea, although Reeves as a leading man in a deep romance is a little hard to swallow (“anyone remember “Sweet November”?). Although watching the trailers begs the question, why doesn’t the one in the future just tell the one in the past where they’re going to be and arrange to meet up? Seems simple to me…
Nacho Libre. Jack Black (“School of Rock”) stars in this comedy about a Mexican priest who dons a mask and joins the bizarre world of Mexican wrestling to win the money to save an orphanage from closing down. Black is a funny, funny guy, but he’s also been known to pick really lousy movies. “Orange County” is Exhibit A. Trouble is, it’s almost impossible to tell if this one will be another “County” or another surprise hit like “School of Rock.”
Opening June 23:
Click. Adam Sandler (“Spanglish”) and Kate Beckinsale (“Underworld”) star in this comedy about a family man who finds a universal remote control that gives him the power to pause, fast-forward and rewind his life. But when the remote begins to go haywire, he’s got to fight to put his world right again. The film also stars Christopher Walken (“Domino”) and Sean Astin (“50 First Dates”). Sandler is even more hit-and-miss than Jack Black is - he makes some surprisingly good films (such as “50 First Dates”) and some that are so bad it makes my eyes bleed (“Little Nicky” being the best example). But I’ve got to say, the trailers for this one make it look really good. I think it will fall into the hit category.
Garfield’s A Tail of Two Kitties. On the other hand of the comedy spectrum, we’ve got this film, the sequel to 2004’s lame adaptation of the “Garfield” comic strip. This time out, the hapless Jon Arbuckle (Breckin Myer) takes his pets to the United Kingdom for a vacation only to find Garfield mistaken for a cat ruler. Bill Murray reprises his role as Garfield and Jennifer Love Hewitt returns as Liz the vet. They’re joined this time by Billy Connolly (“A Series of Unfortunate Events”) and Lucy Davis (the British version of “The Office”). Connolly, Davis and Murray are all top-rate talents that are being wasted on this movie.
Waist Deep. Tyrese Gibson (“Four Brothers”) stars in this drama about an ex-con thrust back into a world of crime when his car is hijacked with his young son inside. To save the child from the hoods, he’s going to have to go further than ever before. I must admit, the trailers for this film are actually pretty good - although the title stinks.
Opening June 30: The Devil Wears Prada. Anne Hathaway (“The Princess Diaries”) stars in this big-screen adaptation of Laura Weisberger’s best-selling novel about a hapless young woman trying to make a name for herself in the big city, only to get caught under the heel of an unreasonable and overdemanding boss (Meryl Streep, “Adaptation”). Honestly, I’m not Streep’s biggest fan, but Hathaway has proven herself to have strong comedic talents. She’s breaking free from her child star image, and this should be another stepping stone to a great career for her.
Superman Returns. Ah, the crown jewel of June. Director Bryan Singer - the man who gave us the first two hit “X-Men” movies - turns his talents to the world’s first superhero. In this film, which builds on the first two Christopher Reeve movies, the Man of Steel (played by newcomer Brandon Routh) has been missing from Earth for five years. He returns to find that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth, “Blue Crush”) has moved on with her life and now has a son, and his old enemy Lex Luthor (played to perfection by “American Beauty” star Kevin Spacy) is up to his old tricks. Singer is working again with screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, the men who wrote the second (and better) X-Men film, and he’s using the foundation created by Reeve and director Richard Donner. He’s even using the original John Williams score from the first film. I got chills just hearing the strains from “The Planet Krypton” in the trailer. This, for me, is the most exciting film of the year.