Thursday, August 20, 2009

Summer Movie Review

When I was a kid my Mom would load up the car each week in the summer with me and my sister and a couple of our friends and head to the summer movies. This was before the age of summer movie blockbusters and sequels. I'm talking about the free summer movies (at least I think they were free, I wasn't paying). It was there I saw classics like "War of the Worlds", "Pipi Longstocking", and "The Time Machine". Now as each summer arrives there are always a ton of new movies released that I want to see (but they aren't free). Now that summer is officially over (I know it is because Walgreeen's has all flip flops marked down 75%) I will share with you my ratings for the movies I had the chance to see. I am rating on a five star scale because Blake thinks four is not enough.

Wolverine - 2 stars
I seriously considered a one star rating, but the special effects were good enough for one star all by themselves. This was the first movie of the summer that Emily and I went to see, and I was expecting it to be as good as last summer's first movie which was Iron Man. I was very disappointed. When this comes out on DVD don't rent it, borrow it from a friend.

Night at the Museum 2 - 3 stars
Sherry liked this better than the first one. I still like the original better, but this one was very good. Two new characters, Kamunrah and General Custer, added to the already funny mix. Also, my girls were happy with the voices of the Cherubim.

Star Trek - 4 stars
This was a movie that I didn't even care to see when it first came out. Then I started to hear great things about it, so Sherry and I went to see it on a date one night. It turned out to be my favorite movie of the summer. It had what too many summer blockbusters lack, a plot to go along with all the CGI and explosions. Also, it included lots of the elements from the original Star Trek series that guys my age used to watch after school on reruns. I can't wait until the DVD comes out so I can watch it all again.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - 3 stars
I had high expectations for this film, perhaps too high. The Half Blood Prince was my favorite of all seven of the books, but the film did a poor job of measuring up. I know that the book is always better, but I felt the climatic scene was so poorly presented in the movie that it lost the significance that was so evident in the book. I think that those who have read the book and seen the movie will agree.

G.I. Joe - 2 stars
I would have thought this movie was awesome if I was 12, but I'm 40.

Ones I missed that I will see on DVD:
Terminator Salvation and Public Enemies

No I didn't see Transformers. Frankly, I thought the first one was just o.k., so I didn't see the sequel. I know I'm in the minority on that, but I'm cool with it.

Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this summer's films.

2 comments:

Reveal Worship said...

Two recommendations.

1. Up - I love Pixar and thought this one was their best since The Incredibles. I saw it in 3-D which made it even better.

2. Bandslam - I haven't seen this one. But my daughter did. She thought it was very, very good and poorly marketed. She was expecting HSM and got something more along the lines of School of Rock. I'm definitely catching this one on DVD.

Agree about Star Trek. Thought it was the best movie of the summer. I loved Custer in Night at the Museum but didn't care for much other than that. Also agree with most of your thinking on Harry Potter but I thought the final scene was poignant. I see how the director wanted to end at that scene instead of following it up with a big battle scene. But I have no argument with someone who feels differently.

Peace!

Michael B said...

I pretty much agree with your ratings, Ebert! GI Joe was a let down.. I did love DISTRICT 9 and 500 DAYS OF SUMMER... and contrary to popular opinion, I liked THE TIME TRAVELERS WIFE.... I enjoyed your reviews!