Alright, ladies and gents, here it is:
Papa Shango's Ten Movies to See This Summer
10) Hamlet 2- The guys who helped bring South Park and Team America to the big screen bring us a movie about a talentless actor-turned talentless high school drama teacher who, when the school decides to close his department, writes a musical sequel to Shakespeare's classic work Hamlet. Starring British comedian Steve Coogan, best known for his characters Alan Partridge and Old Greg, Catherine Keener, SNL's Amy Poehler, and David Arquette.
Why you might like it: It's raunchy, offensive, and right along the vein of South Park and Team America.
Why you might not like it:It's raunchy, offensive, and right along the vein of South Park and Team America. Also, it's about writing a musical, so of course, we're gonna have musical numbers. Not everyone's favorite genre.
My take: It's completely absurd, and I like the sound of that. Plus, you know it's gonna have more than fair share of laughs with a musical number entitled "Rock Me, Sexy Jesus"(Oh, did I forget to mention that the way Coogan's character brings all the characters from Hamlet back from the dead involves the Savior and time travel?).
9) The Incredible Hulk- It turns out that the oh-so-cool Edward Norton has a little bit of a nerd streak in him, and did not appreciate Ang Lee's attempt to bring his favorite green-skinned freak to the big screen. So, Mr. Norton decided to take a crack at it. Technically, he's just the star, but word is that Ed Norton has had a heavy hand in the script and direction of the picture. This isn't a sequel, people; It's a mulligan, a retake, a do-over. And it looks like an upgrade from the schlock we were handed five years ago. Starring Edward Norton as the title character, Liv Tyler as the love interest, Quentin Tarantino's oft-used character actor Tim Roth as bad guy-turned even badder guy Abomination, and the always great William Hurt as the General "Thunderbolt" Ross.
Why you might like it: Edward Norton knows badass, and duality, as witnessed by his fantastic performances in Primal Fear and Fight Club, as well as his dark turn for American History X. Add in the fact that superhero screenwriter Zak Penn and Norton have teamed up to write it, and this is bound to be as dark yet adventerous as we all want Hulk to be.
Why you might not like it: Simply put; Market saturation. With all the other superhero movies being released, Hulk could end up being overshadowed by some of it's highly anticipated brother Iron Man, or The Dark Knight, or Speed Racer, or Superhero original Hancock. Also, Zak Penn HAS been known to write a few stinkers here and there. The biggest offenders; X-Men: The Last Stand and Elektra.
My Take: I blame the cheese of X3 more on Brett Ratner than Zak Penn, especially seeing as with Bryan Singer at the helm, Penn's X2 script came out looking fine. Also, Edward Norton is notorious for his effort and attention to detail. He would not have let this picture get a release date unless he was satisfied, or at least mildly confident in the finished product. Overall, It think The Incredible Hulk will turn out more like X-Men 2 or Spider-Man and less like Hulk or Elektra.
8)Tropic Thunder- Robert Downey Jr. is gonna have one high-profile for summer, that's for sure. After starring in Iron Man, and then reprising his Iron Man role for a cameo in The Incredible Hulk (an interesting result of Marvel now producing it's own films and THEN distributing them, is that they can create it's own film universe with interlocking characters and crossovers. A little spoiler; there may be a S.H.I.E.L.D movie in the works, because Nick Fury will be making an apparent cross-over appearance in Iron Man. I won't spoil who's playing him, but I will say this; he will look more like his Ultimate version than his old school version.)Anyways, after all that, Jr, will co-star in Tropic Thunder, an Action-adventure comedy that features Downey as a method actor who, in preparation for his role as a soldier, undergoes sugery to make him a black man. Basically, Tropic Thunder is about a group of actors who are so difficult on the set, that the director decides to just drop them all in the middle of a war zone and see what they can make of it. Starring Ben Stiller as the Action Star and Top Billing for the film, Jack Black as the comedian who's trying to get real work, Robert Downey, Jr. as the Critically-Acclaimed actor brought in to bring the film prestige, and a slew of minor parts and cameos by those such as Steve Coogan ( a big summer for him as well, eh?), SNL's Bill Hader, Nick Nolte, Matthew McConaughy, and Tom Cruise.
Why you might like it: It's an action comedy with an ensemble cast made up of some of the funniest men in the Hollywood.
Why you might not like it: Neither Black or Stiller have had great success recently. Stiller's had lukewarm reviews and receipts for The Heartbreak Kid, Jack Black's been responsible for Nacho Libre and the disappointing Tenacious D: In the Pick of Destiny. And Stiller and Black do not have the best track record when working together. Anyone remember Envy? You don't. Lucky.
My take: Not only is Stiller the director, but he co-wrote the movie with King of thr Hill and Beavis and Butthead writer Etan Cohen. And Stiller ALWAYS delivers when his performing his own material. Zoolander is still one of his finest works, Reality Bites, Stiller's directorial debut, is a rarely seen gem, and The Ben Stiller Show was the pre-Freaks and Geeks KING of the underappreciated TV comedies. Plus, Tom Cruise... bald... in a fat suit... need I say more?
7)Hancock- Will Smith plays homeless drunk-on-the-job superhero Hancock, who, in desperate need of some good PR, hires the talents of a publicist whose life he saves. Things get complicated when Hancock starts crushing on his publicists wife. Will Smith's co-stars are Jason Bateman as Hancock's publicist and Charlize Theron as his wife.
Why you might like it: Um... cuz Will Smith's in it. But really, not only is Will Smith cool and funny, but he has Jason Bateman to work with. Bateman is hilarious in his cameos in Dodgeball, Smokin' Aces, he deserved more screen time in The Break Up, and if you haven't watched at least one episode of Arrested Development, shoot yourself. Also, cuz Will Smith is in it. Throw in the Charlize, and I'll watch any damn movie... except Aeon Flux. AND... cuz Will Smith's in it.
Why you might not like it: Well, it's a rather unique film. It's an original superhero, and that's rare, and it also means that it lacks the natural familiarity that we all love about our big screen heroes. Let's be honest, would ANY of us had gone to see a movie called Spider-Man if it were an original flick? Plus, I'm not sold on dorector Peter Berg. Alright, granted, he made Friday Night Lights, a movie that was bound to be an inspiring hit, and he made The Rundown, a entertaining popcorn flick. But last year's The Kingdom wasn't nearly as good Berg was trying to get people to think. And I will never be able to forgive him for a dispicable film he made in 1998 called Very Bad Things. A dark comedy that brought the dark, but not the funny. The low point for almost everyone involved, Dan Stern, Jeremy Piven, Jon Favreau, Cameron Diaz. The only person who isn't ashamed to be involved in that film is Christian Slater, and I think it's obvious by now that Slater has no shame (Alone in the Dark, Hollow Man 2).
My take: Will Smith can do no wrong. I actually enjoyed Hitch. I KNOW!! And any error Smith may make, will quickly be erased by the genius that is Bateman. This movie will be good, so long as Berg doesn't put a dead stripper in the script.
6)Iron Man- Well, for those of you who DON'T know, it's about a guy in a metal suit, he's basically a human weapon, whose goal is to stop the crime that he has influenced through his manufacturing of weapons. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Tony Stark aka Iron Man, Terrence Howard plays his good friend Lt. Col. Rhodes (who, as some know, in the comics becomes War Machine) Gwenyth Paltrow as Tony's secretary and love interest, and Jeff Bridges as rival Obidias Stane aka Iron Monger.
Why you might like it: Have you seen the trailer? Have you seen the effects? I rest my case. But seriously, in addition to what appears to be state-of-the-art visual effects, we have Robert Downey, Jr. as the likeable asshole, the guy you at first hate to love, but eventually love to love. Iron Man has one of the strongest lead characters of the summer. And as we all know, a strong main character is one of the most important ingredients in a good movie.
Why you might not like it: Like I said, the market has been saturated with Superhero flicks lately. Obviously, they can't all be good, and sometimes, no matter how good it may be, we're just tired of the same stuff. However--
My take: Iron Man will be that damn good. In the words of the great Stan Lee, " 'Nuff said."
Well, I'm tired, so I tell ya what: If I get some good feedback, I'll finish up later with my Top 5 Movies to see this summer. If they want, maybe a mod could move this into it's own thread. Hope you enjoyed!
