Inspired by the recent post over at Rawbrick, suspecting my summer movie preview issue of Entertainment Weekley is lost in the mail, and having some extra time at the desk between telling people where the books are, I engaged in intensive research to compile the following list of movies I want to see this summer:
Wolverine gets long flowing hair extensions and fights all the monsters from Universal’s back catalog. Is it too much to hope for shirtless cage match monster fighting? Probably.
Men fighting in leather miniskirts with many boats and a giant horse. This movie has something for everyone. Orlando Bloom for my little sister. Brad Pitt for anyone with an appreciation for the male form. Eric “you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry” Bana for people who like cute off-kilter Australians with big ears. And PETER O’TOOLE!!!!!!
This is a product of going on the library job market shortly after Gladiator was released and the nation was gripped with Russell Crowe fever, but now whenever I see men in leather skirts I remember that long summer, filled with endless job interviews. I was taken on tours of the library staff areas and I’d play spot the gladiator screensaver. With every library I visited, I’d see at least 2 screensavers featuring Mr. Crowe in his gladiatorial garb. I predict a similar phenomenon after this movie is released.
Clive Owen looking yummy in armor. Really there is nothing more to say about this movie, I love King Arthur stories, even adaptations like Camelot 3000.
This is a huge bibliography of comic book adaptations and references to King Arthur: http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/acpbibs/comicbib.htm
Mage will always be my favorite King Arthur adaptation in comic book form, I wonder if Matt Wagner will get around to doing part 3?
Also in this movie Guinevere looks like she gets a little fierce, what with painting herself blue and sticking people with arrows.
The movie written and directed by the guy from scrubs. I dunno, the trailer looked intriguing in an “angst montage” sort of way.
Probably the best soccer movie of all time. I want to see this so badly, and I hope it goes into wide release soon. I think that anyone even contemplating making another soccer movie should just give up, because I fail to see how anything could top this story of a good kung-fu soccer team that battles “Team Evil”, with soccer balls that burst into flames. FIRE!
Spiderman 2. I will see this, I have much love for Sam Raimi (I sadly own 2 copies of the Army of Darkness dvd) but I am feeling a little lukewarm about it perhaps because movie Peter Parker is much less quippy than comic book Peter Parker. But Doc Ock smashing up stuff will probably make for a fun summer afternoon.
Takeshi Kitano as a blind Samurai. Zatoichi. Could there be a better samurai movie coming out this summer? I don’t think so!
The sequel to the movie I saw while playing hooky during ALA in Atlanta. Summer in Atlanta is horrific, so I was glad to spend some time in an air conditioned movie theater seeing Matt Damon punch people. Bourne Supremacy 2!
Jude Law flies retro-futuristic airplanes and Angelina Jolie wears an eyepatch. There has really been a dearth of women wearing eye patches in movies recently, so I am glad that this will be corrected. This movie looks so pretty, shiny, and nostalgic.
Clive Owen as an ex-druglord out to avenge his brother’s death. OK, it maybe is a Get Carter remake (note to self: start watching old Michael Caine movies) but two Clive Owen movies in one summer is a Good Thing. And the title “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” reminds me of classic 1940s crime fiction, so I’m tempted to like it anyway.
I probably shouldn’t admit this publically, but I saw Pitch Black three times at the movie theater when it came out. It really is a wonderful modern sci-fi B movie. So I will happily see Vin Diesel return with his freaky contact lenses and overdeveloped arm musculature in the Chronicles of Riddick.
That one alien from that movie fights the alien from that other movie.
Movies I will not see or feel very iffy about:
The Notebook
Catwoman
Thunderbirds, Jonathan Frakes directs
Shall we dance, the Japanese movie this is adapted from is lovely and I see no reason to watch a
JLo/Richard Gere remake.
Princess diaries 2. Can we agree to impose a 10 year moratorium on princess movies, unless the movie involves a cool ninja princess, or something like that?
The release of Sky Captain has been pushed back to September 17th. You can see why. It’s gonna be a big summer for movies.
Oh, and yay for King Arthur. I’ll see almost anything with Keira Knightley in it!!!
Gah, I forgot about that sequel to The Bourne Identity! I will see (almost) anything with Matt Damon in it. Especially if it also has Franka Potente in it.
I agree on the uselessness of the Shall We Dance remake. Good grief.
Don’t forget about Sean Bean in Troy! Woooo! The woman playing Helen looks somewhat “meh,” but who cares when there’s so much male prettiness in leather skirts abounding?
Also, Riddick has Judi Dench and Colm “Glen Gould & the best Cyrano/Pirate King of Penzance in the world” Feore in it. I hope it does better than Vin’s recent movies, because I’m still holding out faint hope that American Gods gets made into a movie and he gets to play Shadow.
Also, I suppose it’s too much to hope for that Troy has the sequence where Achilles cross-dresses?
Yikes, how could I forget about Sean Bean?! I must have been distracted.
I don’t know how well the Chronicles of Riddick will do, considering it is a sequel to more of a cult (not big box office) movie. But I’ll see it at least!
I’ve been waiting for Hero to be released ever since I was in diapers. Jet Li versus Donnie Yen, again. I just can’t wait.
It’ll be great to see Shaolin Soccer in theatres, and understand what the heck they’re saying to one another. It’s nice to see Miramax isn’t changing it around all too much either.
Interesting note: you really don’t see much of Vin in the trailers for Riddick, do you? Apparently the studio is not expecting much of the movie, which is probably why he’s in talks to do Fast and The Furious 3.
One summer movie that you left off your list–the re-release of Donnie Darko. With 20 minutes restored! Like most people, I didn’t see it in the theatre, but loved it on DVD, so I’m quite looking forward to it.
I thought Miramax cut around 15 minutes from Shaolin Soccer — maybe there will be a better dvd of it out eventually? I can hope!
I was thinking that there wasn’t a whole lot of Riddick in the trailers because they wanted to maintain an air of mystery about him, but I guess no one sane will predict big box office for a sequel to Pitch Black. Oh well!
The Chronicles of Riddick! I’ve been waiting for this one since Pitch Black came out! I’m impatient like that
.
OMG!!!! Beat Takeshi as a *samurai*!!!! I think I’m about to hit Nirvana!!!
Good to know the family has excellent tastes in their selection off-beat Japanese directors/actors.
I don’t know that he’ll elipse Mifune, but it’ll be close.
*secretly hoping there’s a scene where he decapitates Tom Cruise*
I would SO pay to see the movie “Tom Cruise Gets Decapitated”