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Interchangeable Parts
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is a pile of summer junk.
by Wayne Melton
The action-movie sequel “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” cost $200 million, and it seems like a bargain. You couldn’t get more gaudy junk if you bought the entire city of Miami.
Is it enough to point out that, despite the title, no revenge is ever had during the course of the movie’s two and a half hours?
In the run-up to its release, the director, Michael Bay (“Bad Boys”), endlessly repeated his worry as to whether the colossal picture would be completed in time. Gosh! Sounds like marketing hooey, but just imagine this modern-day Michelangelo, working late into the night on his Sistine Chapel, a movie in which a lime-green robot with a gold tooth cap and a Mike Tyson lisp beat-boxes. Read the rest of this entry »
Action Figures
A look at big dollar summer movies and the 50-year-old toys that inspired them.
by Wayne Melton
No one needs to tell you what the summer movie season entails anymore. The big studios love their repetition, and as much as other seasons see serial killers and Oscar performances, summer swims in fancy computer-generated imagery and family films. The summer of 2009 may have already begun with movies such as the new “Terminator” installment (reviewed on page 31), but it’s shaping up to offer a few surprises, too, such as Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” and Nora Ephron’s “Julie & Julia.” The following is a list of some of the notable rides you’ll be offered, with plenty of aliens and talking kids’ toys, but also some semigrown-up fare offering an idea or two between bites of popcorn.
“Drag Me to Hell”
Director Sam Raimi, the man behind the “Spider-Man” movies, returns to his “Evil Dead” roots in a way with this campy-but-scary horror film. It stars Justin Long, which is a good start for creepiness. May 29.
“Downloading Nancy”
Hollywood types are going to lick the successful cyber thriller if it kills them, and perhaps us. “Downloading Nancy,” with Jason Patric and Maria Bello, is a strange hybrid indeed — part creepy erotic thriller, part Craigslist. OK, maybe that’s not so strange. June 5.
“Imagine That”
Say what you will about Eddie Murphy, but he’s a genius in the guise of a bozo. “Imagine That” is another old-fashioned-feeling, 1960s-Disney-type film about a father (Murphy) whose daughter has magical powers in her imagination. It will be mindless. It may or may not be any good. But it will almost certainly be a hit. Murphy plus cute little girl plus family friendliness equals I wish I were its executive producer. June 12.
“Year One”
Someone has finally figured out what to do with Jack Black and Michael Cera. Put them together. As goofy as this stoned-age comedy about Biblical times looks, something about the two actors and their opposing styles comes together like a magical Reese’s comedy cup you want to see replicated, even before the first one arrives. June 19. Read the rest of this entry »
