The best movie I’ve seen so far this summer is Taladega Nights: The Ballad of Rick Bobby.
Wait, you say! That movie won’t even be in theaters until August 4th! How did a lowly commoner like me see it? Well, to be completely honest, I haven’t seen the whole movie…just some funny bits via the two different trailers I’ve seen.
As excited as I am about Ricky Bobby, it’s also a commentary on the sad state of cinema so far in summer 2006. I’ve seen more movies this summer than the past few combined, and yet I’ve been let down again and again with what I’ve seen.
I got hyped up for DaVinci Code, again for Pirates, and now I’m really looking forward to Ricky Bobby, especially after the latest trailer. We’ll see if Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow can save this summer with their third classic summer comedy in a row (Anchorman in 2004 and 40-Year-Old Virgin in 2005).
Some movies I’ve seen this summer, with brief comments:
MI:3 (Mission: Impossible 3) - *** out of 5 - Blazing action scenes, a sensible, borderline unique plot, and suspense without cheapness combined to make this movie an enjoyable distraction. I wish this was the first in the series; I’d like to see a couple more like this.
The DaVinci Code - ** out of 5 - The most disappointing film I’ve seen in quite some time (since 2003’s Collateral), DaVinci sums up my feeling about the summer movie season this year: It’s overwraught, it trys to hard, it’s lamely funny, and it doesn’t end well.
The Break-Up - ** 1/2 out of 5 - Notwithstanding the Old 97’s appearance, as well as the Annie Hall-esque ending, The Break-Up was not as funny, nor as poinant, as it tried to be. I still enjoyed it more than most critics across the country, who I feel are consistently (and unfairly) harsh to Jennifer Aniston.
Cars - **** out of 5 - My favorite movie of the summer so far. With spectacular animation and a thoroughly interesting plot geared more towards adults, Pixar did it again. I’m still mildly annoyed at their inability to present any type of humor besides lame, outdated pop culture references.
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest - ** out of 5 - Another major let-down. A movie without the charm, humor, pacing, and excitement of first. To be fair, it also lacks the suprise of the first, but that’s not really a good excuse to spend two-and-a-half hours boring me.
