a super season

I've been to a bunch of movies this Summer and it's been one of the best seasons in a very long time. I don't recall going to the movies as often as I have this Summer. My weekends have been too chaotic to go to the drive-ins. I've missed going. They are doubling up some great ones up there at Sand Mountain Twin and at the 411 in Centre (now with twin screens). I've avoided most of the comedies because most comedies are a waste of money - meaning - not very funny. I did go see Get Smart. I have yet to see Hancock or Wanted. There are new movies being released in the upcoming weeks that I don't want to miss. I read my friend Michael Bynum's great review of the new Dark Knight movie. Just click on the hyperlink below. It's well worth the read.

* * * * * The Dark Knight surpasses Batman Begins. Gina and I went to see it last weekend and it was very intense. I thought Heath Ledger did a better job as The Joker than Jack Nicholson. This says a lot because I loved Jack as The Joker. I haven't seen much of the late Heath Ledger's work but he was simply incredible.

* * * * * IronMan with Robert Downey, Jr was one of the early Summer blockbusters. IronMan is a Marvel Comic book character and it is a great action packed thriller. I am not a big Downey fan but he's wonderful. Can't wait for the next movie. I left the theater without seeing the surprize clip of Samuel Jackson showing up as Agent Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.D. after the credits. Darn it! I never pictured Fury being a black guy - but if he's gonna be black - Jackson is the man to play the part. I love Samuel L. Jackson.

* * * * * I loved the first Hellboy movie and the new Hellboy II is just as enjoyable as the first. Gina refused to go to the movie because of the name. The Hellboy character is an ugly - intimidating superhero that just wants to be appreciated. I like Hellboy because it's riddled with that familiar Marvel humor that I enjoyed from the comics I read as a kid. I didn't read superhero comics - I read Marvel's Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos. Hellboy is a cheroot puff'n, tough talking good guy that reminds me of ol' Sgt. Fury himself.

* * * Wall-E wasn't one of my favorites. I've bumped into a lot of people that love this flick but I just sat in the theater regretting that I didn't spend my money on Will Smith's Hancock (I have yet to see it). Wall-E is a cute movie. It has great animation and great character development. My twelve year old enjoyed it but it just didn't offer much to the 50 year old sitting there.

* * * * The Happening is a good movie but not for everyone. If you liked M. Night Shyamalan's The Village and Signs, you might like this one. My favorite of Shyamalan's work is The Sixth Sense. The Happening reminds me of Alfred Hitchcocks, The Birds - nature turned against man. Shyamalan's work doesn't always make sense but he weaves unusual stories together with eerie imagery.

* * * * I liked the original 60's television spy comedy Get Smart with Don Adams. The series was written by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. It was hard to imagine any actor filling Don Adam's telephone shoes but Steve Carell did it nicely. I went to the movie with little to no expectations. I was merely taking my kids to the movies. Get Smart is actually a funny movie with a lot of action.

* * * * * The Incredible Hulk is a great cat and mouse movie - only the mouse is big and green and can whoop cat tail all day long. Stupid cats. I had a hard time convincing Gina to go see this one with me because Gina had seen the first movie only a few weeks earlier. We were in Cheraw and I walked in the hotel room where she and the girls were laying on the bed watching it. I told them that they were wasting their time. Gina said that it was a terrible movie and didn't care to go see the newer movie when it came out. After the lights came back on, she looked at me and thanked me for talking her into it. She even gave me a high-five. I don't recall getting a high-five since I was in high school.

* * * * * I've already remarked in an earlier post regarding the newest Indiana Jones installment. Harrison Ford is a good bit older and crustier than he used to be - but it was every bit as good as the first in the franchise.

X Speed Racer is a loser of a movie. It's one big computer animated over-stimulated ride. It's as if somebody gave the director too much coke and candy during the production. If you want to really enjoy Speed Racer - just watch the original cartoon. It won't be as high-tech and glossy, but it's a lot better than watching this multimillion dollar waste of time and money. Funny thing, Susan Serandon (who plays Speed's mom) said that this movie is right up there with Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odessey. Yeah - riiiight.

* * * * Disney's second installment of the Narnian Chronicles - Prince Caspian was a good movie. It's not a great movie but being a long time C.S. Lewis fan, I enjoyed it. The movie is darker than the movie The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe. They casted the perfect children to play the rolls of Peter, Edmond, Susan & Lucy. Even if the story isn't an exact telling, it's well worth going to see.

Well, I think that's it. I'll post another personal movie rating at by the end of the Summer.