2009 Summer Movie Preview

This summer, movie-goers are being treated to some incredible original movies as well as some amazing-looking sequels.  With blockbuster season already underway, I thought it might be a great time to look at what’s already out in theatres as well as what to expect in the coming months.

May was a big month this year with the release of Wolverine: X-Men Origins, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. There was some controversy with Wolverine being leaked online ahead of its’ big-screen debut but that didn’t seem to deter fans – a sequel to the film is already in the works.  Star Trek was generally well received and was my favorite of these three films but sci-fi purists could argue that it is more of an action film.  Terminator didn’t do as well as expected (it lost out to Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) but some have attributed that to the fact that the dark nature of the film was unappealing to audiences given the current economic crisis. 

June was also great for new releases which included the antics of Will Ferrell in Land of the Lost, the misadventures of a future groom and his friends in Las Vegas in The Hangover, the return to ancient times in Year One and the comedy-fuelled romance in The Proposal.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opened this week and I predict that it will easily claim the top spot at the box-office.  Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky who, after going off to college (without Bumblebee!), begins seeing symbols and enlists the help of Optimus Prime and the Autobots, who have been working with the military as part of a Top Secret team called NEST (they hunt down any Decepticons that are still hiding on earth).

When the Decepticons learn about Sam’s visions, and what he doesn’t know, things get ugly and the battle between good and evils starts all over again.

This sequel picks up two years after the events in the first film so it’s pretty amazing that Sam and Mikaela (Megan Fox) are still together.  I’m guessing this has to do more with pleasing the male audience than the strength of their teenage relationship.

During filming, Shai seriously injured his hand in a car accident but, fortunately, the writers were able to work it into the script.

After a highly successful turn in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (yes, that’s the entire title), Sacha Baron Cohen returns as Brüno (opens July 10, 2009), an overly flamboyant gay fashion journalist from Austria.

Like the last movie, Brüno was filmed as a mockumentary and, although it initially was assigned an NC-17 rating, Cohen edited the sexual content enough to get the film reclassified to an R rating.

Brüno travels around the world interviewing celebrities and world figures while shocking regular people in every day settings.  Judging from the trailers (and images), I would guess that viewers who were offended by or didn’t like Borat should probably steer clear of this one since the humor looks similar but could actually be a little worse.  I loved Borat but I definitely found myself cringing in some parts.

If you need an example of how convincing and degrading Brüno can be, check out his stunt with rapper, Eminem, at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.  Many people were fooled by the act but, fortunately, Eminem was in on the gag and “laughed hysterically” in his hotel room later that night.

With all of the books completed, Harry Potter fans already know how this story is going to end but, of course, they will want to see how it plays out on the big screen.

After audiences were wowed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, director David Yates signed on for the remaining three films (Deathly Hallows is being broken up into two parts which will be released in 2010 and 2011).

In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (in theatres July 15, 2009), we get to see Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) in their sixth year at Hogwarts and there’s more drama and excitement than ever.  With their hormones raging, the three navigate their way through teenage romances but, unfortunately, this is the least of their worries.

Hogwarts is no longer a safe place for students with Lord Voldemort taking a greater hold over the people in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds.  In order to try to stop the Death Eaters, Harry and Dumbledore must work together to tap into Voldermort’s weaknesses but, of course, this is not an easy task.  While Dumbledore believes that his old friend, Professor Horace Slughorn, could be vital to their mission no one is prepared for the tragedy that lies ahead.  If done correctly, this could be the most intense Harry Potter film yet.

With the summer predictably jam-packed with action films, horror-flick, Orphan (opening July 24, 2009), definitely stands out.  Before I proceed, I thought I’d offer an explanation to any readers who might think that this movie has already been released.  Yes, this is a scary movie about a child and the word “orphan” appears in the title.  This is not to be confused with another scary movie about a child called The Orphanage which was released in 2007.

In this film, a couple’s marriage suffers after the loss of their unborn child.  The wife, Kate (Vera Farmiga), begins having nightmares and is tormented by some things in her past.  In an attempt to move past the tragedy, Kate and her husband, John (Peter Sarsgaard) adopt a young girl from a local orphanage.

The couple are barely settling into life with their new daughter, Esther, when Kate realizes that something is not quite right with the child.  Unfortunately, no one else sees the problems and it could be too late when they finally see Esther for what she really is.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is the latest in a string of 1980s cartoons and television shows to be resurrected on the big screen.  Releasing August 7, 2009, the trailers of this film haven’t been entirely impressive but maybe they will get better closer to opening day.

As you might predict, the plot isn’t overly complicated.  In fact, the original theme song explains it all:  “GI Joe is the codename for American’s daring, highly trained special mission force. It’s purpose, to defend human freedom against Cobra- a ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world.”  Seriously, that’s it.

Currently, it does look like it relies too heavily on computer-generated imagery so I hope that it has more hand-to-hand fight scenes than what’s being shown.

The cast is decent enough.  I’m particularly pleased with Channing Tatum as Duke and Marlon Wayans as Ripcord but I am concerned with Sienna Miller as The Baroness and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander.

District 9 hits theatres on August 14, 2009.  It’s getting a lot of buzz on the internet due to the viral marketing but I’m still not completely sure what it’s about.

The promotional campaign reminds me a bit of what was used for films like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project in the sense that they are trying to make it seem like the events are really taking place.  For example, the official website is managed by Multinational United (MNU), a fictitious company from the movie.

In the film, “an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.”

I think it’s a creative idea and sci-fi fans will probably flock to the theater in droves to see it even if only out of curiosity.  I have to admit that I’m interested in it mostly because of the mysterious nature of the plot as well as the very effective online marketing.   

Quentin Tarantino’s highly anticipated film, Inglourious Basterds, finally opens on August 21, 2009.  The script took 10 years to write and features the largest number of speaking roles of any of his films.

The movie features two storylines: “One (based on a true story) follows a group of Jewish-American soldiers whose mission is to take down a group of Nazis, and the other follows a young Jewish woman who seeks to avenge the death of her parents by this Nazi group.”

The cast is great and surprising at the same time and includes Hollywood heavyweights like Brad Pitt and Mike Myers alongside foreign stars and new actors.  The international cast should bring an authentic feel to the movie but many critics at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival felt that there was too much talking and too little action.

After his reworking of the original Halloween, Rob Zombie is back with the sequel H2: Halloween 2 which will be released in theaters on August 28, 2009.

I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the first movie but, then again, I really didn’t think that Halloween needed to be reworked at all – the original film was perfect.  I am, however, more optimistic about this one after seeing the teaser trailer.

Aside from the short clip and production stills, there isn’t a lot of information to be found about this movie just yet but I do know that it picks up hours after the first film ended.  After Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) goes on his murderous rampage, his sister, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) is taken to the hospital.  The problems begin when Michael returns to Haddonfield, Illinois where he hopes to reunite with Laurie.

While this movie would probably do better at the box-office if it was released closer to Halloween, I’m pretty sure it will still attract a large audience.

Of course, I can’t write about every movie that will be coming out this summer so I’d love to hear about any movies you are planning to see even if they aren’t on my list!

images: Rotten Tomatoes

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