The Valley Wire - 6/5/2009

Hollywood Heats Up For Summer
By Mary Beth Gentle

It’s that time of year again and Hollywood is hoping to set the Box Office on fire. The month of May has already started off with a bang with early openers; X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek, Angels and Demons and Up. I can already tell that it’s going to be one of those summers, the kind where if you miss just one weekend at the movies, there may be no hope of catching up at all. Of the big May releases I have only seen two so far, so unless I do a marathon movie weekend I may be waiting for the fall DVD season.

Of the two movies that I have seen so far, I am happy to report that the summer is shaping up to be a good one for movies. Star Trek was one of the best ‘popcorn’ movies I have seen in awhile. Director, J.J. Abrams breathed new life into an otherwise sagging franchise. I think whether you are a full-blown ‘Trekkie” or have never watched one incarnation of the series – you will enjoy this action packed adventure. The other early summer movie I saw was Disney/Pixar’s Up. It is the story of 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen and the adventure he embarks on by tying thousands of balloons to his house to float away to a remote waterfall in South America. What he expects to be his final journey is only the beginning as his adventure brings him new friends and a new sense of purpose. The bonus was the amazing 3D imagery.

June promises more fun with a slew of new movies every week, with the big ones being; Land of the Lost, The Taking of Pelham 123, The Proposal and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. That does not even cover the buddy comedies or the horror films that will make their debuts in the month of June. I can’t help but look forward to The Proposal. In an otherwise testosterone filled summer of car chases, monsters and space battles, it’s nice to look forward to at least one romantic comedy. Sandra Bullock plays a high-powered book publisher who forces her younger assistant, Ryan Reynolds, into marriage so she can avoid deportation to Canada. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, take my advice, put this one on your must see list.

And then there is always one movie that is the hands down favorite to win the summer box-office and this summer it is without a doubt, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. July is the month of Harry Potter and it is the movie to beat. Although, there are a few other entries that will attempt to challenge the young wizard, namely, Johnny Depp as gangster Dillinger in Public Enemies, 3D family comedy G-Force from Disney and finally Adam Sandler will take a shot with the comedy Funny People. But, as much as a few of these other movies look interesting, I have read the books, seen the movies and I can’t help but root for the boy wizard to win this one.

August has always been the traditional summer dumping ground, the place where Studios release the movies that they hold little faith in. But, in a crowded summer box-office season I don’t know how true that is anymore. August holds a few potentials with G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, Julie & Julia and Inglorious Basterds. Not one of those titles sounds like dumping ground material to me. I especially look forward to checking out Meryl Streep as Julia Child in Julie & Julia. It looks like an utterly charming movie as it chronicles the life of frustrated secretary Julie Brown (Amy Adams) as she sets out to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s famous cookbook in the span of a year.

This list of movies alone should be enough to keep us all busy throughout the summer, but sprinkled throughout the three months are smaller movies that might steal away some of the lime light from the tent-pole Studio offerings. A few that have made my potential list are; My Life in Ruins – the trailer alone makes me want to pack it in and head to Greece! The July entry Adam, looks like it could steal a few hearts in the moving tale of an emotionally fragile writer who is drawn to her handsome downstairs neighbor who has Asperger’s Syndrome. It looks quirky enough to be a nice escape from the normal summer fare. And finally August offers a 1960’s comedy, The Boat that Rocked about an illegal radio station run by a group of rogue DJ’s. Looks like a fun way to wrap up the summer!

So wherever your movie tastes run, whether it be the long buried inner ‘Trekkie’ with Star Trek or the desperate for a descent romantic comedy with The Proposal you are sure to be pleased this summer. I know that I will be venturing out of my Hollywood Cubicle to catch more than a few of these movies.