Summer Blockbuster Round Up
The Summer started with a bang, Robert Downey Jnr finally abusing his star power and it paid off hugely. A large part of that was the casting, Tony Stark was perfect for him and his charisma carries the entire film. This is well and truly the beginning of a franchise and as with Spiderman and Xmen the sequel is bound to be brilliant.
Check out my review for more.
http://www.smellofnapalm.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=217:iron-man&catid=38:review-archive&Itemid=59
So what is next for Iron man, well Iron Man 2 begins shooting next spring for presumably a summer 2010 release. No real idea for the story at the moment but some things are sure, John Favreau has confirmed he will be directing which is indeed great news and Robert Downey Jnr has said he is up for it, which is even better news. One rumor is that War Machine will make an appearance.
Speed Racer
Just as the Summer was supposed to be warming up, the trailers for Speed Racer looked like cars racing around a pinball machine. It was supposed to speed up the summer and if you saw it I’m sure you were hoping the summer would speed up and give you the next blockbuster. The Wachowski brothers showed us again exactly why the Matrix sequels were so poor, more concentrating on visuals than actual character development. Saying all of that at least the visuals in the Matrix sequel were nice to look at, Speed Racer should come with a health warning it’s so glaringly colorful and fast paced!
So what’s next for these two, well the brothers are currently producing Ninja Assassin for release in Jan 09. So far no news of what they want to direct next.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
This summer Harrison Ford adorned the leather jacket and fedora once more, almost 20 years since we saw him ride into the sunset with his father. The excitement was well and truly there and it was clearly one of the most hyped films of the year, the reaction- mixed. Fans and critics alike were shaking their hands at what did feel like an Indy movie but didn’t deliver like the originals. For me it was that over baked ending which fit the sci fi theme but not Indiana Jones.
Spielberg is teaming up with Peter Jackson next for the motion capture trilogy Tintin, should be very good with these two master minds behind it but c’mon motion capture!? The first Tintin is set for a 2010 release, no doubt a summer tent pole.
Sex and the City: The Movie
Check out my blog back in August 25th for a quick review, but this film was yet another one of the few revivals this summer. Much like Indiana Jones and the X files after it Sex and the City performed well enough for the hardcore fans but just didn’t live up to its origins
There is apparently a sequel in the works for release in 2011?
The Incredible Hulk
Another comic book movie, but this time a re envisioning of the Hulk. Ang Lee’s version was ridiculed by critics and quite right they were to. So the pressure was on, or was it? When the competition was so bad it was clear it was going to be received better especially by the casting of Edward Norton, who is used to playing tortured heroes. What we were given was a more fun Hulk movie instead of the more brain numbing father son thing we had in the first one.
Check out my review for more.
http://www.smellofnapalm.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=231:the-incredible-hulk&catid=38:review-archive&Itemid=59
There have been several rumors of a sequel and all the stars have said they would love to come back to it, but it only grossed the same amount as the last one so it does not bode to well for a sequel but I would put money on it.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The first real kids blockbuster of the summer was the second in the legendary book series written by C.S Lewis, much like Harry Potter the marketing aimed to tell you that “you may find narnia a more savage place than you remember” and that it was but I don’t think anyone told the child actors. Prince Caspian did deliver the goods, it had more adult themes and was filmed in a much darker way but the absence of a bad guy you could really hate, and the child actors not really grasping the drama, couldn’t really save the fact the only redeeming factor of the film was a certain talking rodent.
Wanted
Another Mark Miller adaptation graced our screens this summer and it was directed by the man who brought us the visually stunning Nightwatch. It was inevitable what was going to happen when the two collided and visually Wanted did not disappoint. For all its credits it still had a major flaw in its character development and rather flimsy plot, but still it looked good ah?
It was the surprise hit of the summer and was fairly entertaining, Mark Millar has entertained the though of a sequel and franchise but no official word yet.
Hancock
It wouldn’t be summer without Will Smith now would it and this year didn’t fail as much as stumble half way through. Much like I am legend another fine performance from the ever likable fresh prince was ruined half way through, in I am legend it was the cgi. In this film it’s the story line which takes an awful tangent half way through.
Check out my review for more.
http://www.smellofnapalm.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=251:hancock&catid=38:review-archive&Itemid=59
There’s nothing lined up for Will Smith for next summer but just wait he’s bound to announce something and Hancock does look like the start of a possible franchise.
WALL-E
The next installment for Pixar was a daring one, a lead character with no voice and completely on his own for a large proportion of the film. The funny thing is that not only did it pay off but it was the best part of the movie. As with all Pixar movies it looked stunning and the characters were very loveable.
Pixars next one is called up and its being called a “coming of old age story” about a seventy something hero who travels the world. Sounds like Pixar are planning on being daring once again and this critic has no doubt they will pull it off again.
The Dark Knight
Whichever way you look at it, it was always going to be the biggest film of the year. Batman Begins had created a legion of fans that eagerly awaited the film. It had an ingenious viral marketing campaign that had the internet on fire, the trailers were amazing and on top of that it was surrounded in controversy when Heath Ledger sadly passed away. Currently tearing its way up the biggest grossing films of all time The Dark Knight is still stunning audiences worldwide and is clearly the film of the year.
The summer began with a comic book movie and so it ended with a comic book movie, this one was a dark horse of the summer. The first Hellboy was entertaining enough but it lacked any real imagination and a great bad guy. That’s exactly what changed, Guillermo Del Toro still reeling from the success of Pans Labyrinth had a lot more freedom and you can see it. The film is a wonderful watch and the choice of more practical effects over cgi pays off brilliantly! The evil prince Nuada kicks ass the whole way through the film.
A third one? Well Del Toro is a busy man what with the Hobbit coming up but he really wants to make it a trilogy, watch this space…
Well thats it for now.....
