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Thursday, April 24, 2008
Which summer movies will be hits/misses?
Next week on this blog I will preview the summer movies month by month in advance of my review of the first big’un, Iron Man. Before I get going on that, however, I wanted to get you all thinking about this year’s lineup and talk about which summer movies are going to be blockbusters, and which will simply be busts.
Here’s how I break down some of the highlights of summer. I’ll tackle the whole list next week.
MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - George Lucas may already be steeling himself for complaints about the movie (guess all the griping about the Star Wars prequels got to him). Still, even IF …. IF people perceive this movie as a Phantom Menace-level disappointment, it still clears $300 million. You can take that to the bank. After all, Phantom Menace cleared $400 million, and people talk about it like it should have made 40 cents.
MOST LIKELY TO BE THE BEST MOVIE: WALL-E - The folks at Pixar are geniuses, plain and simple. They’re taking a bit of a gamble by making the movie almost dialogue-free, but if anyone can sell that, it’s these guys.
EVEN BIGGER THAN PEOPLE THINK: Sex and the City - No other film so squarely hits the sweet spot for women this year. When I saw its trailer in front of Definitely, Maybe, EVERY female in the audience went “OOOOOOO!”
NOT AS BIG AS PEOPLE THINK: The X Files: I Want to Believe: Sure, the geeks will come out, but what about everyone else? The first movie didn’t quite make it to $85 million.
MOST LIKELY TO DISAPPOINT (again): The Incredible Hulk, for reasons already stated.
MOST LIKELY STAR VEHICLE TO FAIL: The Love Guru - Have you SEEN the trailer? Ack. And putting it directly against the much funnier-looking Get Smart seems like suicide.
MOST LIKELY TO BE THE WORST MOVIE: Postal - Uwe Boll-S*
Talk back and tell me which summer movies will either ring your bell or hit the gong. Click here for a list to jog your memory.
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Only one more week of “meh” openings!
No, it’s not QUITE summertime yet (by Hollywood standards, anyway) so there’s one more week of take-em-or-leave-em attractions.
Baby Mama: The old Weekend Update crew at SNL, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, go all maternal when Poehler agrees to be Fey’s surrogate mom. I’ll deliver my review tomorrow.
Deception: An accountant (Ewen McGregor) is introduced to a mysterious sex club by his new lawyer friend (Jackman). But McGregor becomes the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist. Lots of talent here, so why isn’t this being screened for critics? Funny net flub of the week: the “review” on Rotten Tomatoes by Glenn Erickson links to his DVD review of Deception - the 1946 movie with Bette Davis. Whoops!
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay: I really don’t have much to say about this movie, except to ask a question: Do you have to have been stoned at least once in your life to find these guys funny?
That’s it for now. Get ready for next week when I review the movie I’m sure you’re all chomping at the BIT to see, Made of Honor, with Patrick Dempsey!
(Insert awkward pause here)
Just kidding! I’ll review the movie about the flying metal guy. In fact, I’m hearing that buzz is so strong on Iron Man that Paramount MIGHT have Thursday evening shows. I’ll keep you posted.
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