April begins the inevitable summer movie season. In preparation of Hollywood's biggest couple of months, I have taken a look at the next couple of months and picked 20 films I plan on seeing. The numbers correlate with my level of excitement. The list represents everything from high profile sequels to smaller arthouse fair. Bring on April and August!
20. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (June 24th)
Why it could be good: Transformers, though needlessly convoluted, did offer exactly what it promised: Robots destroying robots. On that front, Transformers 2 looks to up the robot destruction ante.
Why it could suck: As mentioned, Transformers had FAR too much exposition and, well...plot. I could care less how they got their power. Shia Labeuf and his family problems? Cut it. Any other movie I'd welcome narrative complexity, but with Transformers, keep it simple and clear. Quickly set the stage and let your Bots go to work, or you run the risk of having yawns outweigh the eye pops.
19. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1st)
Why it could be good: The first two X-men films were superb examples of comic book adaptation. By staying faithful to the tone and characters of the comic, but not inhibited by preexisting story lines, X-Men 1 and 2 provided gravitas to melodrama. Hugh Jackman brought to the character of Wolverine a nice blend of "fist pumping", action hero swagger and touching humanity. A movie based completely around him? Why not.
Why it might suck: The trailers it look more like the insipid X-Men 3 than anything else. Boring and bland, the advertising campaign alone has pushed Wolverine all the way up to my 19th slot. Rumors of endless script revisions and massive reshoots should also cause a few eye brows to raise.
18. The Taking of Pelham 123 (June 12th)
Why it Could be Good: Tony Scott and Denzel have previously teamed up for two very slick, but overall entertaining films. Man on Fire and Deja Vu, had Denzel doing what he does best--being Denzel. Scott meanwhile excels with flashy, self aware cinematography keeping the pacing and momentum high from frame 1.
Why it Might Suck: Though entertaining, Man on Fire and Deja Vu both come dangerously close to being guilty pleasures. Thematic simplicity is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as you keep it that way. Pelham 123 looks dangerously close at taking itself too seriously. If Scott, Denzel, and company treat the material as a summer film, all should be fine. Turn the script into heavy social commentary, and we might have a problem.
17. All the Good Things (July 24th)
Why it Could be Good: The cast. Jeffery Dean Morgan (Watchmen), Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Half-Nelson), Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), and Kristin Whig (SNL). Any film with this...random and eclectic of a cast deserves a spot on the list. Oh, and the film's director ,Andrew Jarecki's, also directed one of the all time great documentaries Capturing the Friedmans.
Why it Could Suck: Until this afternoon, I had not heard anything about All the Good Thing. The plot as taken from IMDB ( A detective begins to unravel a missing persons case that looks to spell doom for the heir to a New York real estate dynasty) doesn't do any favors.
16. Terminator Salvation (May 21st)
Why it Could be Good: Christian Bale and his muscular, immersive style of acting looks to be a revelation as the iconic character of John Connor. The ad campaign promises a gritty reboot to the Terminator series, rather than a strict continuation. The film looks tailor made for the season in which it is being released.
Why it Could Suck: Try as I might, I simply cannot believe that the creative minds behind Charlies Angels and Aeon Flux will be able to deliver a quality product. There is no other film in my top 20 that I want more to be great, yet expect to be terrible.
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