Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Summer of Disappointment: Movies 2008

Every year, I have great anticipation for the summer movies. Not just the blockbusters, but the demo-specific films they think will fill in some gaps (as in, everyone who is not a teenage boy), and sometimes even the indies. When the kids go to Camp Nana, in the past we've always had a movie night. I rushed out with glee to see all the great films I've looked forward to for months, even years.

This year, in that regard, has been a great big bust.

Sure, there've been decent movies. Iron Man stands out as the best of them all. But after that, it's been pretty downhill. Indiana Jones, while fun enough, didn't live up to the hype, and I left the theater very unsatisfied. Kung Fu Panda, Wall*E, and Get Smart earned "great!" votes from me, but none made me want to see them again. And all the rest in between, the ones I wanted to see and haven't yet...Leatherheads, Wanted, Hancock...well, they're not making me feel compelled.

We haven't had a single Camp Nana movie night.

There's still some hope. But even the ones coming up (The Dark Knight, Mummy 3, Tropic Thunder) don't make me bounce in my seat.

Is it me? Is it the circumstances of my summer? Am I bored? Tired? Lazy? Perhaps it's timing. Simply that the subjects of the movies aren't strong enough to draw me away from the entertainment I have here in my house.

Whatever it is, I'm severely disappointed.

I do have to say, however, that Journey to the Center of the Earth is not a disappointment. It's no Pirates or LOTR, but for what it is, it was a lot of fun. The acting was very good. I liked the boy (Josh Hutchinson or something like that) in his previous movie whose name escapes me right now, and the Icelandic actress was talented and beautiful, and of course there was Brendan Fraser.

Long-time readers or people who know me may recall that Brendan Fraser was my first obsession passion. I could not get enough of him! I rented George of the Jungle! Then he kind of faded away for a while, and there was nothing to feed my obsession passion, and it moved on to Lord of the Rings, which took a lot of energy for a while. But in JttCotE, he was perfect. A kind of geeky, kind of sweet, very clueless guy goes on an adventure and becomes tough and manly and heroic. Totally swoon-worthy.

You do, of course, have to suspend some pretty heavy disbelief, but hey, it's inspired by Jules Verne, and no one disses Jules Verne. The movie is fun and did leave me feeling very satisfied when we left the theater.

So how would you rate this summer movie season?

5 comments:

MJFredrick said...

I think you might have hit the nail on the head with the thought that you're not inspired because you have plenty of entertainment at home. I know that is part of our problem - that and the dh only has 1 day off a week and it's hard to get to the movies when he has band stuff 2 nights during the week and wants to be home the other nights.

I'd love to see Journey...maybe I'll go see it this week while the boy is at camp, since I'm sure no one else in the house cares. And we're anxious to see Dark Knight, too, as soon as the dh's back gets better - he hurt it at a gig.

Like you, I want to see Wanted and Hancock but am not compelled to leave the house ;)

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Well, I always have entertainment at home, so it's a combination.

Your schedule certainly has a big influence!

I hope his back is better soon!

Anonymous said...

I loved Hancock. Different strokes. I'm going to see The Dark Knight in about 7 minutes. Both kids have seen it already and both really enjoyed it.

I liked the Hulk better than Ironman, although I do love me some Robert Downey, Jr.

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

You liking Hulk better than Ironman makes me question whether we have similar tastes or not, but since I didn't see Hulk, I shouldn't use that as a basis. :) I'll have to check out Hancock soon and use that, instead. :)

MJFredrick said...

I was hoping tonight would be Dark Knight night, but no.....

I haven't seen Hulk, either, though Edward Norton is one of my favorite actors.