Re: Summer Movies 2002
robnephew, on host 207.167.35.25
Tuesday, May 14, 2002, at 07:13:08
Summer Movies 2002 posted by Sam on Monday, May 13, 2002, at 16:53:08:
May 16 - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones > > Nothing needs to be said about this. Everybody will see it, even though the backlash against Episode I was harsh. Probably won't out-gross Spiderman, though, which is pretty surprising. >
Based on the early thrashing this film is taking from critics, I'll wait till it comes out in the dollar theatre, but I'll probably still see it.
> May 24 - Insomnia > > Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank star in a crime thriller by Christopher Nolan, who directed Memento. Williams is good in dramatic roles, although I've never seen him in a thriller. Pacino is always good. And I can't be the only one interested in seeing how Nolan follows up the brilliant Memento.
I'm very interested in seeing this movie. I'm a big fan of Al Pacino and I loved Memento. I thought what Williams did a good job in Death to Smoochy and I am sure that he'll do well in this film also, despite the fact that it strays from his usual fare.
> June 7 - Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood > > I read about this, I saw the trailer, and I still don't have any idea what this is all about. The tagline is "Mothers. Daughters. The never-ending story of good vs. evil." It marks the directing debut of screenwriter Callie Khouri, who wrote one movie I like (Something To Talk About) and one I did not (Thelma & Louise). The cast is impressive: Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, James Garner, Ashley Judd, Maggie Smith. Shrug. >
I'm slightly interested in this film. I'm sure that I'll be seeing it as it sounds like something that will really interest my wife.
> June 14 - Scooby-Doo > > A live-action Scooby-Doo movie with a computer generated Scooby -- if that isn't a humorously outrageous premise for a movie, I don't know what is. Anyway, I never liked the cartoon, so I don't know why I'd like this movie.
I loved the cartoon when I was a kid, but I'm not sure what to make of this film. I'll have to wait for some reviews of it before I decide whether or not to see it.
> > June 14 - Windtalkers > > John Woo's World War II movie with Nicolas Cage. Woo and WWII may not seem like much of a fit, and Woo is not a reliably good director. But when he's good, he's very good, and I can see how his use of ultra-violence for anti-violence would fit perfectly in a film about World War II. A reviewer on the IMDb describes it as "pure adrenaline, struggling, and in the midst of it all, a crazy sense of re-rationalizing." Enthusiastic early word of mouth is often suspect, but if Woo can pull off something close to that, I'm there. >
This is another film that I'll have to wait for reviews on. I like Nicolas Cage and I like some of John Woo's work, but the WWII genre is becoming cliched. As a Native American I'm interested to see if a non-white director can portray Native Americans as actual human beings rather than the stylized, nature-loving charicatures we usually see in films and television.
> June 14 - The Bourne Identity > > Matt Damon was trained by the government to be the perfect assassin. But he washes up out of the Mediterranean with amnesia and has no idea who he is or why government agents are trying to kill him. I'm cautiously optimistic about this one. The premise has a lot of potential, and while things like it have been done, there is a lot left unmined.
I'm fairly interested in this film. The premise is interesting and it stars Franka Potente of Run Lola Run(Lola Rennt) fame.
> June 21 - Minority Report > > Steven Spielberg directs Tom Cruise in a movie based on a Philip K. Dick novel. The idea is, in the future, the police force can learn of crimes before they happen and arrest the perpetrators for crimes they would have committed had they not been arrested first. Cruise plays a cop who suddenly finds himself a wanted man. I'm lukewarm on Tom Cruise, but Spielberg is The Man. >
I'm interested in this film, but I think I'll wait until the video release or at least the dollar theatre. I liked A.I. and I liked Vanilla Sky, but I don't know if this director/star combination will augment or negate each other.
> July 12 - Reign of Fire > > Matthew McConaughey wages war with dragons in a post-apocalyptic future. Hollywood needs ideas. >
Huh?
> July 12 - Road To Perdition > > Sam Mendez (American Beauty) directs Tom Hanks in a drama about a hit man. This is another one that strikes me as really odd, although not without potential. I don't know what this is doing in summer. Summer is traditionally reserved for movies that sell well; movies that slip in under the radar tend never to surface. A fall release would permit this movie to gather an audience as word of mouth spreads. But what do I know? I have no idea what this is all about. >
I'm really excited about this movie. From what I've read it sounds like it's going to surprise a lot of people. Of all the movies on this list, this is the one I am anticipating the most.
> August 2 - Signs > > M. Night Shyamalan has yet to err with me, and Mel Gibson is one of my favorite modern actors. I'm pumped for this. >
I've enjoyed M. Night Syamalan's previous films, especially Unbreakable, but for whatever reason this film just doesn't grab me. I'm sure I'll see it eventually, I just don't know how soon.
> August 2 - XXX > > Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson star in what looks like a really noisy brainless action movie. In spite of the fact that Samuel L. Jackson is smooooth, I don't see this as being anything but obnoxious and irritating. >
I love Samuel L. Jackson, but there's no way I'm going to see this film. I've yet to see any film starring Vin Diesel and I'd like to keep it that way.
> August 14 - Blood Work > > A retired FBI director (Clint Eastwood) is hired by a woman to investigate the death of her sister, who happens to have given Eastwood his heart in a heart transplant. The transplant angle makes me wonder, but the screenplay is by Brian Helgeland, who has written a number of films I like if not love: L.A. Confidential, Conspiracy Theory, Payback, A Knight's Tale.... Thing is, he also wrote the screenplay for The Postman, but I suppose everybody has to crash and burn at least once. Eastwood directs -- another point in the movie's favor. >
I'm not particularly interested in this film, but if it gets good critical reviews I'll probably see it eventually.
> August 16 - Simone > > Andrew Niccol wrote two recent films that I treasure highly: The Truman Show and Gattaca, different in every way except in the underlying themes about the triumph of humanity in dehumanizing circumstances. Niccol knows how to write films with substance and food for thought while not forgetting that movies are basically about entertainment. So I am more than a little intrigued by Simone, a movie about a producer that creates a digital actress for his film when the real actress walks out. The subject of this movie couldn't be more relevant, and I can't even imagine what thought-provoking things Andrew Niccol (who directs as well as writes) would have to say about it. Moreover, the stars, Al Pacino and Catherine Keener, are eminently reliable.
This is actually the first time I'd heard of this film, but it sounds fascinating.
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