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Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2009 > April > 30 > Entry
August’s summer movies: GI Joe, Tarantino
Summer’s final month usually contains a decent prospect or two in the first couple of weeks, then tails off as we enter the no-man’s-land of early fall. This year, however, August is a bit better than usual - though there’s still more than enough junk.
Look back at May, June and July.
AUGUST 7
The pitch: Highly trained military fighters battle an evil force named after a scary-looking snake. It is what it is, ya know?
The buzz: The trailer has some neat visuals, but the director is Stephen Sommers, who was last seen trashing the Universal monsters in the awful
Van Helsing. I’m … scared.
The prospect: C
The pitch: Meryl Streep plays the legendary cook, Julia Child, Amy Adams plays a woman trying to cook all 524 recipes in her book.
The buzz: As previously demonstrated, I’ll watch anything with Adams, and Streep’s no slouch herself. They’ve got me hooked, even though writer-director Nora Ephron is sometimes good (Sleepless in Seattle), sometimes not (Bewitched)
The prospect: A
The pitch: A wish-granting rock causes a stir and major trouble when adults get hold of it.
The buzz: The director is Robert Rodriguez, but is this The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl or Spy Kids?
The prospect: C
The pitch: Kristen Bell is unlucky in love (!) until she steals some coins from a supposed fountain of love, and finds herself surrounded by prospects.
The buzz: Seems to me Bell has potential as movie star, but hasn’t found the right vehicle. Could this be it?
The prospect: B
AUGUST 14
The pitch: A couple form a band and enter their group in a battle of the bands. Vanessa Hudgens co-stars.
The buzz: Todd Graff has mined similar material before in Camp, but it’s too early to tell how this will fare.
The prospect: C
The pitch: A sci-fi/action story set in South Africa, where extraterrestrials are refugees.
The buzz: Looks like a stab at low-budget sci-fi, and Peter Jackson is a producer, so this has potential.
The prospect: B
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
The pitch: Used-car liquidator Jeremy Piven is hired by a car dealership to turn their Fourth of July sale into a hit.
The buzz: Fourth of July sale? Isn’t that a bit late? At any rate, no read on this one yet.
The prospect: C
The pitch: Two couples, who include Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich, and Timothy Olyphant, go on a tropical vacation and discover someone is murdering the tourists. One is tempted to add, “Of course.”
The buzz: The premise sounds dull, but the director is David Twohy, who can be either lean and mean (Pitch Black) or bloated and dull (The Chronicles of Riddick.)
The prospect: C
The pitch: The best-seller comes to the screen with Eric Bana playing a librarian with a gene that causes him to time travel. Rachel McAdams is the love interest.
The buzz: I’m in if McAdams is.
The prospect: B
AUGUST 21
The pitch: Quentin Tarantino makes his World War II flick, with the help of one Brad Pitt.
The buzz: This could be great and I hope it is, but note my use of the word “flick.” That was deliberate. Tarantino’s recent career trajectory tells me he’s less interested in being a great director period then in being the ultimate B-moviemaker. That has its rewards, but after two Kill Bills and the overindulgent Death Proof, the method has become a bit stale.
The prospect: B
The pitch: Alexis Bledel plays a recent college graduate who can’t find a job, so she moves back in with her family.
The buzz: I always believed Bledel had the potential to break into bigger stardom. With Michael Keaton and Carol Burnett in the film, the comic possibilities are certainly there.
The prospect: B
AUGUST 28
The pitch: Love Actually writer-director Richard Curtis returns with a 1960’s comedy about a pirate radio station run by a band of rogue DJs.
The buzz: Early reviews have been less than kind, but I can’t help but be interested in a film by this director, with actors as funny as Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Nick Frost around.
The prospect: B
Final Destination: Death Trip 3D
The pitch: Last time it was a roller coaster. This time it’s a race track.
The buzz: You know, I thought this series was kind of imaginative the first time around, but as so many horror franchises do, it wore out its welcome. Will this series ever actually be final? What’s next, an aquarium?
The prospect: D
H2 (Halloween 2)
The pitch: The guy in the William Shatner mask is back. Personally, I prefer Shatner.
The buzz: I gave Rob Zombie a chance the first time around, only to find him totally strip the chills form Michael Meyers until he become just another gross, misunderstood killer. Bor-ing. I’m not getting suckered again. Even the abbreviated title is stupid.
The prospect: F
And that’s a wrap. Wolverine review posts tomorrow once I burn the midnight oil. How does the August lineup look?
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Coming Attractions
Comments
By Daniel
April 30, 2009 9:13 AM | Link to this
I really wanted to see GI Joe for its easily likable star Channing Tatum, but not the movie has connections to Van Helsing! Wish I hadn’t read that! Julia & Julia feels like it should be on Lifetime, except it has A-list stars. I love Kristen Bell (she’s my Amy Adams) so this is one I HAVE to see in theatres. I miss Veronica Mars. I haven’t even seen the last remake of Halloween, and after hearing massive grumbles of disappointment I probaboly never will. Why redo what Jamie Lee Curtis did so well the first time around? (Because America is stuck on repeat cycle with no new ideas.) The rest are middle road movies for me, and most I will never see. One that will get a rental from me: Final Destination IV (It’s just slapstick horror at this point, and that’s great every now and then.) Aquarium! Great idea, Eric, I can see the killer whale now.