Wow, is summer really over? Well, we still have Labor Day weekend to look forward to, but as of this week I think it's safe to say that the summer movies season ends and the fall season begins. Kids are going back to college, new seasons of network TV shows are just around the corner, and it's fire season here in LA. Ah, ash-filled skies and 100+ degree weather. If that doesn't scream "Fall!", I don't know what does.
But what I do know is, it's once again time for my annual Summer Movie Wrap-Up - a look back on the summer movie season that was, and a handy guide to what was hot and what was not over these last couple of months.
The fact is, this was one of the strangest summers I can remember as far as movies go. In some ways, things took a turn for the ugly as compared to last year. I mean, last summer's highest-grossing blockbuster was the game-changing, critically-acclaimed Dark Knight. This year, the biggest movie, at least in terms of dollars, was the mostly abysmal TRANSFORMERS 2. It was no big surprise that Michael Bay's f/x-driven sequel was a box-office smash, but at the same time, you kind of hoped that audiences might simply stay away. But hey, I ended up seeing the movie and shelling out my $12, so I guess that makes me as guilty as anyone. Like many, my curiosity got the best of me, and my love of action-packed sci-fi extravaganzas compelled me to see the movie even though I had low expectations following the first in the series. To me, Michael Bay's brand of film-making tends to fail on so many levels ... not only do his movie's scripts tend to be mind-numbingly dumb, but even his action scenes border on incoherant. He makes movies for the brain-dead masses, and it's sad to see the public continue to eat them up.
That said, I don't put Transformers 2 in the same category as a GI JOE. What GI Joe had that Transformers lacked was that it truly had fun with the material. Whereas Bay focused on lame comedy hijinks and an overstuffed "plot," GI Joe kept things simple and simply presented us with a live-action version of the old cartoon series. Will GI Joe win any Oscars? No. But I give it high marks because, even though they tend to have their flaws, Stephen Sommers' movies usually feel like they have their heart in the right place. Not to mention that the guy knows how to direct insanely fun action sequences to boot.
But while GI Joe was a mostly pleasant surprise, the fact is that a number of big blockbusters did not live up to the hype this summer. Other than Transformers 2, the chief offender had to be TERMINATOR: SALVATION. I mean, I pretty much knew that Transformers 2 would suck. But man, I was hyped for Salvation. Thanks to the trailers and the presence of Christian Bale, I really thought the movie had a shot of kicking ass. And it was a fun, enjoyable movie with a couple of particularly choice action scenes. But it had a lot to live up to, and nobody wanted a merely decent look at the much-imagined post-Judgement Day future that had been hinted at in previous movies and TV series.
Another big movie that landed with an even bigger thud? WOLVERINE. This one looked iffy from the start, but man, what a clunker. This to me was the film that finally killed whatever enthusiasm I had left for the X-Men universe on film, as established by Bryan Singer way back when. Especially coming on the heels of bar-raising superhero movies like Dark Knight and Iron Man, Wolverine was a letdown.
When it comes to true, big-budget blockbuster movie-making, though, I think that this was undoubtedly the summer of STAR TREK. JJ Abrams' franchise reboot succeeded on multiple levels - as both a great standalone movie, and as a reintroduction to a beloved set of stories and characters. It had plenty of homages to the past, but also felt fresh and new. Star Trek was the one movie that lived up to and exceeded the hype this summer - it got me excited about a franchise I was only mildly interested in before, and I give Abrams and team all the credit in the world for doing this the right way.
Other big movies that worked this summer? Well, Pixar hit another one out of the park with UP, for one. I think that it was hard for them to match the triumph that was last summer's Wall-E, but UP was still a very interesting, extremely well-made film. Those first fifteen minutes or so remain some of the most incredible storytelling Pixar has ever put to film. Similarly, I've never been a huge HARRY POTTER fan, but this summer's latest entry really impressed me in many respects. The best Potter movie to date, I think, and a visual stunner as well. Somewhere in the middle was PUBLIC ENEMIES, which was another slickly-directed, absorbing movie from Michael Mann, although it never quite lived up to its potential given the all-star cast and interesting historical premise.
As far as comedies go, the spring was so loaded up with modern classics like Adventureland and Observe & Report, that it was kind of hard for the summer to compete. Yeah, THE HANGOVER was really funny, but I think when the hype dies down it will be regarded as a decent but not amazing movie. On the other hand, it's too bad that BRUNO underperformed to some extent, as I found it to be totally hilarious, about on the same level as Borat. I'm sure it will make a ton of dough on DVD, etc., but man, I give Sascha Baron Cohen huge props for making one of the most balls-out (literally) comedies of all-time. One other flick worth mentioning? 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, a pretty cool indie romantic-comedy that was unique enough to have lots of appeal beyond the typical audience for such movies. Meanwhile, Judd Apatow's FUNNY PEOPLE had some bright spots, but ultimately rubbed me and presumably others the wrong way with its overlong, seemingly self-indulgent storyline. Like I said in my review, I remain a huge fan of Apatow and his body of work, but this one was in many ways a misfire, at least as compared to the likes of The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up.
Of course, there was also the completely awesome horror-comedy that few saw but is likely destined for cult-classic status - that being DRAG ME TO HELL. Sam Raimi picked up right where he left off with the Evil Dead movies and presented one hell of a crowd-pleasing flick that hit all the right notes. Crazy, over-the-top, and insanely entertaining, Drag Me to Hell will be a fright-night classic for years to come.
Overall though, when I look at this past summer at the movies, I can't help but marvel at the number of smaller or underhyped movies that seemed to come out of nowhere and proceeded to blow my mind. First, there was THE HURT LOCKER, an absolute sledgehammer of a movie that is a new milestone in the career of director Katherine Bigelow. The Hurt Locker was amazing in that it combined Oscar-worthy acting and direction with true depth of character and theme, alongside absolutely riveting action scenes and nail-biting intensity. Seeing this one shortly after the cluster that was Transformers 2 was a shock to the system, a reminder of the power of great filmmaking. So I'll say it one more time - if you haven't seen The Hurt Locker yet, go, run out, and see it now.
Several weeks later, there was MOON. Another "where the heck did this one come from?" sort of movie, that benefitted from a lack of hype, in that its shocking twists came as a complete surprise to most viewers. I mean, what a stunning debut for first-time director Duncan Jones, and what a performance from Sam Rockwell. Sam Rockwell needs to get an Oscar nom for this one, no question. Moon wasn't the only underdog indie movie to make a splash this summer. Unfortunately, I've still yet to see a couple of potentially interesting releases like Paper Heart, World's Greatest Dad, etc. But I did manage to see the insane vampire romance, THIRST, from Chan-Wook Park, the director of Oldboy. Not quite on that same level, but very interesting all the same.
It's amazing, because between Moon and DISTRICT 9, real science fiction filmmaking came back with a vengeance this summer. And what a megaton bomb District 9 was, both creatively and in terms of surprise box office success. Those of us who had been following this one's development had an inkling that it might be something special, but nobody expected it to be this friggin' good. District 9 was an epic. It had a great, original premise and style, matched by some of the most kickass action of the summer.
Even more amazing, District 9 wasn't the only landmark film to hit theaters in August. Only a week later, we got the latest from Quentin Tarantino, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. This one got mixed reviews from some, but in my mind it was a cinematic triumph, and one of QT's best yet. The movie was a perfect endcap to the summer - filled with memorable dialogue, colorful characters, haunting imagery, a thought-provoking story, and exciting action. With so many wannabe QT-style movies over the last several years, it was great to see the real deal back and once again on top of his game.
To sum up, this was a summer that was about a lot more than run-of-the-mill blockbusters. While there were a few huge movies that hit the mark, like Star Trek, the biggest success stories of summer '09 were in fact the movies that dared to be different, that came from true creative visionaires who brought a unique storytelling perspective to the screen. This summer had three movies - The Hurt Locker, District 9, and Inglorious Basterds - that received flat-out A's from me. At the end of the year, I have little doubt that this trifecta will still be at or near the top of my Best of '09 list - they are simply that good.
So without further ado ...
DANNY'S TOP 10 MOVIES OF SUMMER 2009:
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. District 9
4. Star Trek
5. Moon
6. Up
7. Drag Me to Hell
8. Bruno
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
10. 500 Days of Summer
Honorable Mentions: Thirst, Public Enemies, The Hangover, GI Joe
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