Summer Movies, Part Two

OK, let's move on to part two.

Man of Steel
I kind of enjoyed the latest edition of Superman, at least while I was watching it. However, there really wasn't much that stuck in my head, other than mulling over exactly how insane Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) was in the movie. Oh yeah, and thinking about how the Smallville Casey's will be getting a lot more business.* Perhaps they can use some of the more problematic elements (such as the incredibly high death toll/property damage) in the sequel.

Monsters University
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this, considering from its trailer it looked rather middle of the road. Please stay tuned for a longer post about the latest adventure of Mike and Sulley.

Much Ado About Nothing
Who follows a top grossing summer Blockbuster with a barebones rendition of Shakespeare shot at his house? Joss Whedon, that's who. There isn't much value beyond watching some of your favorite Whedonverse regulars play at Shakespeare, and some inspired physical comedy from Amy Acker and Alexis Denisov. Which was good enough for me.

White House Down
I still contend that Roland Emmerich's big, dumb summer movies are in a different league than the typical big, dumb summer movie**. With one exception*** I've enjoyed every one of his movies, even if they are full of implausible science, magical "technology", and ridiculously over the top set pieces. White House Down did not disappoint, although it wasn't quite as good as some of its summer brethren. Still, it has one of my favorite over the top movie lines ever.

The Heat
So far, this is the funniest movie I've seen all year. Yeah, the plotting is far too beholden to typical "buddy cop" cliches. However, that is secondary to the performances by Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock. When you watch this, be on the lookout for a cameo by Paul Feig, the director of the movie.

Despicable Me 2
Eh, this wasn't too bad, and a few parts were pretty inspired. Like the first one, this one felt like they had a edgier film in there somewhere, before those edges were smoothed over by committee thinking and screen tests. The minions had some good moments, particularly towards the end (you'll know it when you see it). I can't see a movie based around them being very good.

The Lone Ranger
This was definitely a weird movie at times. There certainly were parts I enjoyed, and I'm not going to try to dissuade you from seeing it*****. However, I can't forgive the movie for holding the Promontory Point ceremony in Texas (hundreds of miles from the actual site in Utah), or for playing a anachronistic "Stars and Stripes Forever". C'mon, Mr. Verbinski, couldn't you at least use a contemporary march. Considering this was right after the Civil War, there were plenty that could have been used.

Pacific Rim
Holy crap, a big popcorn movie that ISN'T a sequel or reboot of a franchise? That's a real shocker. Like many movies this summer, it wasn't as original as it could have been. After all, this is a Guillermo Del Toro film, so you kind of expect more. However, I stopped caring about the time one of the giant Jaegars picked up an ocean freighter and...well, you'll just have to see the movie.

R.I.P.D.
Jeff Bridges was fun to watch, as usual, and I enjoyed Mary-Louise Parker as well. Frankly, they seemed like they were picked up out of a much better movie, and placed in some mediocre Ryan Reynolds vehicle. Once again, a pretty great premise was poorly executed. I think the next time I want to see Bridges fart around as a frontier lawman, I'll go with True Grit.

My Recommendations
Monsters University
White House Down
Much Ado About Nothing******
The Heat
Pacific Rim

* You midwesterners know what I'm talking about. After the big fight in Smalltown, you can spot a Casey's in a overhead shot of the town, well away from the battlezone where at least one of its competitors was destroyed.
** See Bay, Michael for more details.
*** Godzilla, for the record. That's a completely forgettable piece of crap.
****For the record, completely out of context: "I CHOOSE THE PEN!"
*****Judging by the box office, the movie doesn't need any help convincing people not to see it.
****** Only if you are a Whedonverse fan.

Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Summer Movies, Part One

Who's ready for some thoughts on the Summer movies? Because reviews of movies that have been out for two months is very timely. Oh well, at least I'm not making separate posts for each. I will try to avoid spoilers on some movies, but there is a spoiler coming up for one of them, although you probably already know that if you care about the movie. (Hint: The movie is Star Trek)

Iron Man 3
Iron Man is one of my favorite "comic book" movies. Iron Man 2, although enjoyable, was not nearly as good. I found Iron Man 3 to rest comfortably in the middle. I particularly enjoyed the twist that came part way through the movie, although this is not quite a consensus opinion here at Doctor Strangeblog. The movie probably could have used a bit more coherence with the whole Tony Stark suffers PTSD from the whole flying into a trans-dimensional portal to save the world thing*, but I had a good time watching it, and thought it was pretty funny.  Like all Marvel movies, be sure to stick around until after the credits.

Now You See Me
This one was a big surprise at how much I enjoyed it. Yeah, it was the typical twist upon twist upon twist kind of movie, but considering it was a movie about magicians, that seems to be expected. Fortunately, they didn't play "The Final Countdown" once, or the movie probably would have lost me.

The Great Gatsby
When we are introduced to one of Gatsby's crazy parties for the first time, I'm pretty certain my body almost shut down due to an overwhelming of the senses. I'm also pretty certain that this was the whole reason Baz Luhrmann directed the movie. It's just too bad he didn't show as much enthusiasm for the rest of the movie. The actors did pretty well with what they had, but in the end perhaps this is just a story that is unfilmable. Even though directors beat on against the current, borne back ceaselessly into failure.**

Star Trek Into Darkness
KAAHHHHHNNNNN!!!

Now that is out the way, I enjoyed the movie. Even if it kind of falls apart when you think about after the fact. And it really didn't do that much to stand up against the troubling lack of strong female characters NOT in a Paul Feig directed movie (more on that in part two). Still, it has Scotty, in a trendy club, wearing a suit that is hopelessly out of date. Ever the true engineer, that one.****

After Earth
Why did I see this? I'm not sure, although I'm guessing its because it was there. I can't say the science holds up on this one too well. Although I like to think that it maybe is a sequel to The Happening. Still, I think I'll pass on the next Smith family therapy session. Even if it has killer baboon squads and tigerish animals that attack eagleish birds nests.

This Is the End
I have to say I was enjoying this as a movie even before the whole Apocalypse thing went down. In fact, I almost forgot that was going to happen, until it did happen. What followed was pretty hilarious. Emma Watson definitely stole the show in this one, although pretty much every character had their moment.

Final Verdict:

Go See, if It's Still Playing
This Is The End
Now You See Me
Iron Man 3
Star Trek Into Darkness

Rent it Once It Comes Out
The Great Gatsby

Check it Out If Its On Cable, and Nothing Else Is On
After Earth

Check back later in the week for Part Two. 

*Look, I know that you can't bring The Avengers back in every movie, but what is their threshold for action? Apparently ultraviolent terrorists are not part of their mission. Perhaps the other franchises will shed some light on this. But probably not. Stupid logistics and budgets fudging up the continuity.
**Sorry***
***Not sorry
****That last one is the spoiler I was talking about. Yep, totally that one.