Summer Blockbusters 2009

[theJudeAbides]

It's hard to believe that in less than a month we'll be swinging summer blockbuster mode, with plenty of action-packed movies in the pipeline. Here's a list I've compiled (with the use of IMDB):

• Crank: High Voltage (April 17)
• X-men Origins: Wolverine (May 1)
• Star Trek (May 8)
• Terminator Salvation (May 22)
• Up (May 29)
• Land of the Lost (June 5)
• Year One (June 19)
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 26)
• Public Enemies (July 1)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17)
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (August 7)
• Inglourious Basterds (not a typo) (August 21)

Personally, Star Trek is probably the movie that has me the most excited, as the previews look totally awesome. This could be the much-needed kick in the butt that will bring back Star Trek in a big way. Is it 100% kosher with the old Star Trek? No, but I'm of the opinion that that's a good thing. Out with the old & cheesy and in with the new hotness.

Other than that, each of these look like they could be entertaining in their own way, except for maybe Harry Potter and the Half-Baked Sequel. I still can't bring myself to actually care about that crap.

You may be wondering about that "Inglourious Basterds" movie and what it's doing on the list. I only discovered it recently myself, but it is the next outing by Quentin Tarantino, and I'm a big fan of his stuff. Heck, I even enjoyed Grindhouse, which most critics hated, so I'm pretty excited for what old Quentin has in store (other than the expected gratuitous foot-shots).

So which movies are you excited about? Which ones could you care less about? Break out the popcorn and grab a soda people, it's summer blockbuster time!

[Draykov]

I'm probably most excited for Trek...(been pumped about that for a while). I'm also excited to see Up, since Pixar movies are about the only ones good enough these days for me to justify spending $50+ on "the theater experience" for the whole family. Most of the rest I'd like to see (possibly not until Netflix though).

As far as my skip list goes, I think Jason Statham is at his best when under the direction of Guy Ritchie, so I'll probably be passing on The Crankporter. I only found the first Transformers to be kinda watchable, so I'll probably see the sequel, but I'm in no hurry to catch Michael "KA-BOOM" Bay's latest effort. G.I. Joe, while a memorable part of my early 80s childhood, is probalby gonna stink up the place...but Sienna Miller as the Baroness sounds pretty hot.

...also, Tarantino peaked with Pulp Fiction (but I'll still see Inglourious Bastards).

[Andi]

Well, just loving to see Hugh Jackman - Wolverine is a must-see for me. :-)

Then, of course Star Trek sounds very interesting and promising.

And maybe I will watch the Harry Potter movie as well. I've seen them all, so why not this as well. And it's long ago that I read the book, so the shock might be not too big.

[Joedward]

• X-men Origins: Wolverine (May 1)
• Star Trek (May 8)
• Terminator Salvation (May 22)
• Up (May 29)
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 26)
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (August 7)
• Inglourious Basterds (not a typo) (August 21)

Those are the ones I really want to see, most of them because I love ridiculous amounts of over the top, gratuitous violence, and I expect Bay, Tarantino and McG to deliver quite nicely.
I can't wait to see Up, because Pizar hasn't let me down this far, and I don't expect them to start.

Crank looks ridiculous. Jason Statham is generally fun to watch, but from what I've seen from the trailers this doesn't look so great.
Not sure what Year One and Public Enimes are, btu if I like the look I have a free night and some spare change I might go to see those on a cheap night at the cinema
I think I pretty much stopped caring about the HP films shortly after seeing the either the second or third movie. It's a shame, the first film got me to read the first book, which got me to read the rest of them, several times, which ended up meaning I was horribly disappointed in all of the films. Moreso as the series progressed. I'm not optimistic about this one, or the next, they seem to get worse and worse. And although Emma Watson is very easy on the eyes, Daniel Radcliffe and his acting are really, really not...

Should be a good summer though.

[theJudeAbides]

Well, just loving to see Hugh Jackman...

Not sure what Year One and Public Enimes are...

Public Enemies has Johnny Depp (whom, to the best of my understanding, is considered "good looking" by the fairer gender) playing John Dillinger, a notorious bankrobber from te 1930s. Some are saying that this could be the best gangland movie since Scarface. I suppose it'll probably be more of a drama than an action movie, but it does look quite good.

Year One is probably more of a comedy than an action movie as well (much like Land of the Lost) starring Jack Black. That's really all I know, but it's also all I really need to know. Jack Black is hilarious, so there's a chance I might go see it.

[Heady]

Oh yess! Star Trek will be one of the only movies in the past year that I'll bother going to the cinema for! It looks like nerdgasms one after the other!

[ki-adi-windu]

Transformers got me hooked in the first one, and I've been catching up with the new characters and such from a Transformers Live-Action specific blog. Star Trek isn't a priority, nor is X-Men, Terminator, GI Joe, or Potter. Those aren't really my nerd cup of tea. Public Enemies looks like a good fresh movie, and Up, Basterds and Year One look awesome.

Oh, and I saw the first Crank, and I can't even begin to describe how utterly ridiculous it was. The opening shot has the guy waking up to a DVD saying '**** you' written on it.

And so begins the stupidity.

[Jedd the Jedi]

You missed out "Angels and Demons"! It looks better than the Da Vinci Code and I love the Vatican as a movie location.

Of all the Summer blockbusters this year though, I'm most looking forward to Terminator: Salvation. When I first heard they were doing this with director McG (Charlie's Angels) at the helm, I had very low expectations. However, upon learning that Christian Bale would play John Connor (he can do no wrong aside at losing it with directors of photography) and seeing the trailers, I was assured this would be awesome. After all, the apocalyptic resitance/Terminators battle is what all Terminator fans have been looking forward to since we got a teaser of this grim future in the first Terminator. Just in the trailers alone there are several wonderful moments that reference the great original films, and I hope this will be a return to form for the franchise after the monstrosity that was Terminator 3.

I'm not enthusiastic about Year One at all: for those who must know, Jack Black and Michael Cera star in this period comedy about two shepherd brothers who travel through stories in the early books of the Bible, encountering biblical figures like Adam and Eve, Cain and Able and Abraham. This looks like yet another irreverent frat-boy shtick to me. It's produced by the current king of comedy Judd Apatow (frankly, I'm not much of a fan) and is touted as more of a Monthy Python-style film along the lines of the Pythons' controversial spoof on the life of Jesus Christ, The Life of Brian.

As for Star Trek, it looks very well put together. I've never been a Trekkie, always a faithful Star Wars fan, but my best friend showed me that one can be both Trekkie and Star Wars geek. I only have very limited knowledge about the storylines and characters so I'm glad that this film is going back to retell the origins. Judging from trailers, the effects look amazing. Plus, I can't wait to see John Cho and Zachary Quinto in action, since both are already famous for cult roles (John Cho as Harold in the Harold and Kumar movies and Zachary Quinto as-who else-Sylar in Heroes).

[Flynn]

Any movie trying to compare itself to Life of Brian is absolutely hilarious.

As for Star Trek, I may see it because I do like TOS, but this really just looks like some random action film with Star Trek stuff thrown in. The trailers don't really seem to grasp the feel of what I liked about Star Trek- Which included a little cheesiness here and there. I may end up seeing it, but I can safely say there's no way it'll match up to Wrath of Khan.

As far as the effects go- Models will always look better. It's really a shame they hardly use them anymore- CGI doesn't look real, and it's all anyone really uses nowadays. It's too bad they don't use older special effects anymore, just one more thing to further highlight our dependence on computers.

[Jedd the Jedi]

I absolutely agree with you about effects-my main beef with George Lucas and one of the reasons why I couldn't enjoy the newer Star Wars and Indiana Jones films as much as the classic originals was because of his over-reliance on computer-generated imagery. I have utmost respect for the programmers that make stuff like that possible, but I have equal amounts of respect for model-makers who painstakingly create landscapes, buildings and vehicles that have to look as convincing as possible. I really enjoy it when modern blockbusters rely equally on old-fashioned model work and computer graphics: the explosive finales of V for Vendetta (houses of parliament explosion) and Batman Begins (train derailing) were achieved mainly with model work, and the sequence in The Dark Knight with the Tumbler ramming the garbage truck was done with minuatures as well.

Lest I digress, more of my feelings about the upcoming Summer movies. I should be able to watch X-Men Origins and I do want to as I am a fan of the original films and Wolverine is just about the most badass mutant out there. I have pretty high expectations for it and hope it lives up to Bryan Singer's films. I like Hugh Jackman and I think he's a perfect fit for Wolverine (he was actually a last-minute replacement for Dougray Scott). The effects sequences also look fairly explosive-I mean Wolverine jumping onto a helicopter from the ground? Count me in! And of course, it'll be wonderful to see fan favourites such as Deadpool, the Blob and Gambit come to life on the big screen. I don't think it's going to be The Dark Knight (nothing can match that-ever) but I'm certain this won't turn out like The Fantastic Four or Ghost Rider (shudders!) either.

I've never been a GI Joe fan, but I want to watch it just for Dennis Quaid (and maybe Sienna Miller as the Baronness...drool). However, it looks disturbingly like Dragonball Evolution or even Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li to me, from the trailers at least. I hope Stephen Sommers can deliver-after all, he was the guy in charge of the Mummy. Many will complain of their childhood getting raped (As was the case with that god-awful Dragonball movie) but I'll be watching this one with no such baggage. However, it's pretty low on my Summer must-see list-I shall wait and rent the DVD.

[Master Fetty]

* Crank: High Voltage (April 17) - Meh.
* X-men Origins: Wolverine (May 1) - Its X-Men, so will be good in some way. Wolverine has to me always been overrated, but we'll see. I think its scope sounds good.
* Star Trek (May 8) - Never really watched it. Seen the trailer - looks too much like a Star Wars clone and will do well because of that, but just doens't excite me. Probably will see it because of JJ though.
* Terminator Salvation (May 22) - Heck Yeah. Terminators are always good to some degree, and this one has Bale and early versions. Kinda like TPM of Terminator (although this should be good).
* Up (May 29) - HECK YEAH (with capitals). Its Pixar, so should be in this years Top 3 automatically. I expect this to be the only one out of the list that will have a lasting effect and be the best of the bunch. It may even trump Slumdog/Frost/Nixon.
* Land of the Lost (June 5) - Only read a little about this. Seems a bit too meh for my liking.
* Year One (June 19) - Better than Land of the Lost I expect, but just a bit too odd.
* Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 26) - Its a sequel. Of a film based on toys. With Shia LaBeouf. Those three things automatically gorram it (at least for me). Aside from Avatar this is dubbed the most expensive film ever. Probably with be the biggest flop too.
* Public Enemies (July 1) - Is it coming out that soon? Can't wait for this one. Quality actors and a great story.
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17) - Its Harry Potter, so will be good story-wise. This is the best novel of the bunch (and oddly doesn't involved Voldemort), so hopefully should make the best film too.
* G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (August 7) - Lets just skip this one.
* Inglourious Basterds (August 21) - Seen Pulp Fiction (good). Seen Kill Bill Vol. 1 (not as good). Started watching Sin City (not sure if I saw his QTs bit, but what I saw was bad). My thinking is that QT is overrated, but I love the concept of IB. Just a shame the trailer was worse than the Star Trek one. Oddly, one to miss.

[Masta' Bo]

I've never, ever paid attention to anything Star Trek, but the commercials make it look exciting and aesthetically pleasing, so I'll probably see it. (Is it a prequel, sequel, or what have you?).

Then, Up and Terminator will both be good. 'Nuff said.

As for X-Men...meh. Well, I generally like Marvel superhero movies, i.e. I'm a huge fan of Spiderman, and I've enjoyed X2 and Iron Man, but I don't know how this story is going to work, or if it will be good enough to start an "Origins" series. So, meh, I'll see it on DVD in October.

And as for Harry Potter...Of course I'll see it. Harry Potter may not have the best effects, but it has a gorram good author, and the movies, while not exactly like the books, are good. Sure, Daniel Radcliff isn't a cute 11 year old anymore (or maybe not the greatest actor of all time), but I'm a die-hard fan. And fans stick with franchises.

[Master Fetty]

I've never, ever paid attention to anything Star Trek, but the commercials make it look exciting and aesthetically pleasing, so I'll probably see it. (Is it a prequel, sequel, or what have you?).

It appears that your reasons for liking it appears to be my reasons for not liking it. Its a prequel of sorts - it shows the origins of the original people. There's also a sequel planned.

I know it isn't one of the big blockbusters, but Moon (directed by Duncan Jones aka Zowie Bowie) looks amazing. I just hope it gets a UK release.

[Lord T]

Definitely gonna see Wolverine, Transformers RoTF, Terminator and Star Trek but the others I can take or leave. Wall.E really left me disappointed and Up doesn't seem to offer the same kind of unique angle their films normally do.

[Servant Saber]

Don't forget Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea...

It will be released in theaters on August 14 2009. I'm excited about it because I really like Hayao Miyazaki's work, particularly Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away.


On the prior list, Definitely going with Wolverine for the summer, and possibly Up as well.

[Draykov]

Don't forget Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea...

Is that actually getting a theatrical release in the States? This is great news...I wasn't even aware of this movie and my daughter loves her some Miyazaki. Still, I don't know that it would fall into the "blockbuster" category, strictly speaking.

[Jedd the Jedi]

ServantSaber, I doubt that Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is classified as a Blockbuster, as lovely as it looks. If we're talking anime, I hear a remake of Akira will be produced in the near future. I'm not much of an anime fan, but nobody in his right mind can pass up Akira.

Anyway, please edit the original list to include Angels and Demons! I'm sure that fits the category of Summer Blockbuster and, as far as I'm concerned, it looks pretty cool and way, way better than the boring mess that was the Da Vinci code. Ugh. That, plus you can't beat Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) as the Carlemengo, the Pope's personal aide! I think Ayelet Zurer looks pretty hot as well, as much as I love Audrey Tautou from the first film.

As for Public Enemies, I have to say that looks positively awesome. A showdown between two of the best male actors of our generation set in gangland 1930s? Count me in! Judging from just the trailer, Johnny Depp brings his mischief and charisma very effectively to the dangerous John Dillinger and the way he spits at authority with a twinkle in his eye (perhaps like a Tommy gun-toting Jack Sparrow) will make for wonderful movie-viewing. Christian Bale looks good as the stoic FBI agent sent to hunt Dillinger down as well.

[ThinkingImpaired]

The world premiere showing of Wolverine is showing down here in Arizona. I was thinking about camping out for tickets for 12 hours but decided it wasn't worth it. Still cool though.

[Lord T]

Well despite being skeptical I really did enjoy Wolverine (and saw it twice in one afternoon due to a strange course of events) though I'm eager to see if the multiple post-credit scenes actually exist.

[theJudeAbides]

Well, I went to X-Men Origins: Wolverine this afternoon and definately enjoyed the film. I really like how they portrayed Sabretooth and his relationship to Wolverine (and how it developed over time). Definately some great action sequences, too. I'd definately recommend it to any fan of X-Men. It makes me want to watch the other movies again so I can see how they're tied together.

Also, there were some interesting trailers beforehand too. A new Transformers trailer was shown and it's raised my level of interest from "I don't care" to "meh." Lots robot-like things smashing stuff and people running around screaming. Really, though, it's doesn't look like anything that couldn't be similated by watching Godzilla vs. Mecha-Godzilla while binge-drinking tequila.

Also of interest was the new Terminator trailer, which, granted, has been on TV, but just looks so much cooler on the big screen. There was also a trailer for the new "Night at the Museum" movie which lowered my interest from "I really don't care" to "Why, God, Why?" Seriously, how is it possible that this is now a franchise? Somebody seriously needs to shoot Ben Stiller. It's for the good of humanity.