Six Movies I Will Definitely Be Seeing This Summer

This promises to be a great movie summer. Of all the movies being released, there are six in particular that call for an $8 soda, some Twizzlers and my backside in a seat.

And let’s hope Marvel doesn’t screw up these comic book movies like they did Fantastic Four 2, The Hulk and Spider-man 3. Oh and Daredevil. Can’t forget that sad piece of crap. The Director’s Cut was decent, but the original - GAH!

And what was up with Electra? But I digress:

Iron Man

Release Date: April 30, 2008

I remember when I was a kid, my brother and I were looking at an ad for Mile High Comics. We saw that they were selling copies of Iron Man #1 for $30. It might as well have been a million.

Every now and then, I check to see how much it is worth, and then shake my head.

This is one of those Marvel Comics Group comics that I grew up reading, and I really hope they do it justice.

Iron Man is an upcoming 2008 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name.

The film is directed by Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist who is captured by terrorists in Afghanistan. Ordered to build a missile, Stark uses his resources instead to build a suit of power armor and make his escape. Returning to America, Stark improves his armor and becomes the technologically advanced superhero Iron Man.

The latest trailer starts off with a little AC/DC. Gotta love that.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Release Date: May 22, 2008

Yeah, he’s like 100 years old now, but this is FREAKING INDIANA JONES, MAN!!

…this fourth film in the Indiana Jones film series pits an older and wiser Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) against agents of the Soviet Union—led by Spalko (Cate Blanchett)—for the crystal skull. Indy is assisted by his former lover Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) as well as the greaser Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) and fellow archaeologist Mac (Ray Winstone). John Hurt and Jim Broadbent also play fellow academics.

The film is set in 1957, making it nineteen years since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, thus acknowledging the real-life passing of years between films. Indiana Jones is having a quiet life teaching before being thrust back into his old adventuring. He battles agents of the Soviet Union for the crystal skull. “The theory is they are shaped by higher powers or alien powers or came from another world, or an ancient Mayan civilization had the powers,” Marshall explained. Indy’s journey takes him across New Mexico, Connecticut, Mexico City, and the jungles of Peru, as well as the warehouse from the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. There will be mild humor regarding Indiana’s age.

The Incredible Hulk

Release Date: June 13, 2008

A little bit about the first one. I think Eric Bana was a great Bruce Banner, and Jennifer Connelly was a fantastic choice for Betsy Ross. In my opinion, Sam Elliot nailed the part of Thunderbolt Ross. And the CGI was top of the line.

But there was the rest of the movie, mainly, um, the story. Could they have butchered the story more? And what the heck was with the GIANT Hulk? I mean, the Hulk is big, but that Hulk was enormous.

This Hulk promises to be better, story wise. But I still like the original cast better.

It is directed by Louis Leterrier and stars Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, William Hurt as her father General Thaddeus Ross and Tim Roth as the villainous Emil Blonsky, known in the comics as the Abomination. The film follows Banner as he flees the pursuit of General Ross and attempts a cure to rid himself of the Hulk. But when Blonsky injects himself with Banner’s gamma formula and becomes an even greater monster, Banner must accept his own inner beast and defeat Blonsky.

WALL-E

Release Date: June 27, 2008

I love going to the theater. I love everything about it. And I love taking my kids to the movies. Pixar has yet to disappoint me, or my kids, so there is no reason to think that WALL-E will let me down:

WALL-E is the story of the last little robot on Earth. He is a robot and his programming was to help clean up. You see, it’s set way in the future. Through consumerism, rampant, unchecked consumerism, the Earth was covered with trash. And to clean up, everyone had to leave Earth and set in place millions of these little robots that went around to clean up the trash and make Earth habitable again.

Well, the cleanup program failed with the exception of this one little robot and he’s left on Earth doing his duty all alone. But it’s not a story about science fiction. It’s a love story, because, you see, WALL·E falls in love with EVE, a robot from a probe that comes down to check on Earth, and she’s left there to check on and see how things are going and he absolutely falls in love with her.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Release Date: July 11, 2008

I loved the first one, and I’ll admit, I have never read the comic. But Ron Perlman was fantastic. And the dialogue between Jeffery Tambor and Red in the movie was a highlight for me.

I keep telling my wife the first one is a love story, but even after watching it with me, I don’t think she gets it.

Women.

Anyway about the sequel, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola says:

I kind of equate it to the whole American Indian situation. The Indians were shoved onto reservations. You had your old, wise Indians who said, “You know, this is the way it is. We can’t fight anymore. We just have to accept our fate.” You then have your Geronimo character saying, “Or we could just kill the White Man.” That’s kind of the situation we have in the film. We have our elf characters resigning to the way things are and then there’s one saying, “Or we could take the world back.” The main difference is - what if the Indians had a nuclear warhead? The elves have their equivalent of the weapon that is too terrible to use. What if this guy decided to use it?[

The Dark Knight

Release Date: July 18, 2008

In my opinion, the first Christian Bale “Batman” is the best comic book movie ever made, hands down. When I heard Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker, I had reservations. The trailer put those to rest. See, the Joker is pure evil. He’s just a bad guy, insane, utterly insane. Ledger seems to have nailed it.

For the film Nolan took inspiration from the Joker’s first two appearances in the comics, and like the first film, he used Batman: The Long Halloween as a major influence on the story. The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in Chicago, (as was Batman Begins), as well as several other locations in and outside the United States. The director used an IMAX camera to film four major action sequences, including the Joker’s first appearance in the film. The Batsuit was redesigned, with a cowl allowing Bale to move his head. A recreation of the Batcycle, known as the Batpod, will be introduced.

The premise:

With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman has been making headway against local crime…until a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker unleashes a fresh reign of chaos across Gotham City. To stop this devious new menace–Batman’s most personal and vicious enemy yet–he will have to use every high-tech weapon in his arsenal and confront everything he believes.

So, that’s what I’ll be watching this summer. How about you? Anything coming out that you want to see, and are these on your agenda also?