Summer Movies: Take 2

The Dark Fairy Tale: Snow White and the Huntsman June 1

Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen, sold. Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman. I'll take two. And the girl from Twilight as Snow White-meh. But, not just Snow White--badass forest-dwelling Snow White who hunts and battles huge, scary creatures--all right, you got me. This movie just looks amazing in every way, the visuals, the plot, the villain, the action. For everyone who is looking for a kick in the face to Disney happily ever afters, I think this is right up your alley.

The Ultimate Prequel: The Amazing Spiderman July 3

I saw three Spiderman movies and I fully intend on seeing a fourth one. Amazingly enough, the catch was the girl. As much as I like Kirsten Dunst, I really hated her in the Spiderman movies. She was just a completely unsympathetic character for me until the third one. Now, with a new female lead, played by Emma Stone, no less, I am ready for another installment. I can't say I didn't love Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker--the guy was born to be Peter Parker--but Andrew Garfield is a new kind of Peter Parker. One with a past, one with secrets, and in spite of the hair (which is way too coifed to be a nerdy photographer), I think it'll be good.

The Heavyweight Champion: BATMAN (aka The Dark Knight Rises) July 26

I've been waiting. I've been patient. But good God, this one is gonna be good. Aside from all the flack Anne Hathaway took for the Catwoman outfit, I never doubted the movie for a second. The poster has been my screensaver and Facebook profile photo for like a year now. New trailers with Joseph Gordon Levitt mean this is not just going to be good, this is going to be stunning. This one I may have to stand in line in the rain for. Seriously, I don't know anyone would bother releasing their movie the same weekend. This one is going to kill it. (I would have made this take up the whole screen if I could. Watch it in full screen view!)

The Guilty Pleasure: The Expendables 2 August 17

I did a double feature the day I saw the Expendables, and it was by far the favorite. I know I'm nostalgic. I love the all-star cast put together with old guys from the eighties, and I am a sucker for anything that recalls my beloved Die Hard movies, but adding Van Damme and Chuck Norris means I am looking forward to another real action movie. One that isn't trying to win any awards, but just wants to clobber you with explosions, guns and awesome hand-to-hand combat stunts. What can I say? I love my action movies and when Jason Statham and Bruce Willis are in them, there's just no way to say no.

PS: Thanks, IMDB. I couldn't do it without you.

Summer Movies: Take 1

The One Based On A Book: The Hunger Games (already released)

    So it's not really a summer movie, but it was pretty huge, so it's going on the list. I really liked it, and yes, I'm one of those people who didn't read the book first. However, I maintain that when it comes to major films like this, it's better to see the movie first and read the book after. That way, you're not disappointed when you read the book (which is almost always better), but if you read the book and then see the movie, it's always "Oh, I'm so mad! They left this out. They changed this part. That's not how I pictured that character."

    The cast was good, the costumes were amazing, and the twist was excellent. Jennifer Lawrence is definitely an actress to watch as movies go on (bonus: she seems to be the only cast member that's signed on for the sequel to X-Men!)

The All Star: The Avengers (released May 4)

    Yeah, that one. I've been waiting for this one for a couple years now, and it was worth every minute. In fact, I liked it so much I went back and watched both Iron Man movies and I plan on seeing it again soon. (Iron Man was for catch-up on Black Widow and teaser scenes from the Avengers--watching Thor and Captain America again will be purely for fun :)

    I was disappointed, though. I wanted more scenes with Thor, more fight/action scenes at the beginning, and a better Stan Lee cameo. I know he's getting up there in years, but I wanted more than a TV interview at the end of the film. However, none of these took away from how good the film was. Those were just a couple of my personal expectations, and the film exceeded all my other expectations brilliantly, especially with the Hulk. Mark Ruffalo was perfect, and the CGI Hulk was awesome. (Bonus: Another reason I have to go see it again is because--SPOILER--while I did see the teaser scene with the new villain after the start of the credits, I didn't see the one at the very end, which I must now go and sit through all the credits for.)

 

The Remake: Dark Shadows May 11

So I wasn't super thrilled about this when I first heard about it because I didn't know what the hell it was supposed to be. But, while Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are usually enough to get me into a theater, Michelle Pfieffer is more than enough. She's one of those people that you can't take your eyes off no matter what she does, and this movie looks hilarious in a creepy, off-beat way, which is the kind of vampire movie we need right now.

The Sequel: Men In Black 3 May 25

As awful as the second one was, I can't say I'm not intrigued. Josh Brolin as a young Tommy Lee Jones? He's only 20 years younger than him. the premise of the movie makes it seem like he's playing a much younger version than that (especially considering the first Men in Black came out in 1997.) But, in any case, I relish the chance to hear another Will Smith rhyme about the MIB, and another chance to enjoy the comedy and banter between two of the most unlikely characters to end up as partners.