Summer 2008

Welcome to Movie Talk, my first attempt at a blog, I hope you enjoy it.

I am starting off with a review of a few of the 2008 Summer movies. Although summer is not technically over until Labor Day in September, all the really big movies have been released.

I have to admit, I have not seen as many movies this summer as I usually do, my one big sin being I have not yet seen "The Dark Knight", which even to me is a shock. I have seen the other two big super hero movies, "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk". Those movies were made by the new Marvel studios, and they are two for two so far. Let's talk about those two.

"Iron Man" was kind of a gamble, as he is not as well known a super hero as other Marvel characters, but the gamble worked. "Iron Man" is incredible from start to finish. Great acting, awesome visual effects, and a good story. Robert Downey Jr. took the character of Tony Stark and made it his own, gave him confidence, yet vulnerability, and he makes this movie work in a way that I really think only he could. It was also nice to see Jeff Bridges as bad guy Stane, he made it so you kinda liked him at first, but then pulled that rug right out from under you later in the movie. I liked the fact that Director Jon Favreau made use of what is called "practical" visual effects, it was not all CGI. Don't get me wrong, CGI effects can be great, but I have always felt that CGI is not ALWAYS the way to go. I can't wait for the next movie in what looks to be a long running series of films.

Now we have "The Incredible Hulk", which has not done as well at the box office as I had predicted it would ($133 million so far, I was thinking closer to $170 million), but has done respectable business nonetheless. The first Hulk movie was directed by Ang Lee, back in 2003 and made a decent $132 million. It just was not what Hulk fans wanted, not enough action, too much concentration on the psychological aspects of the characters. The actors were actually good, Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliot, even Nick Nolte, thats a darn good cast and the acting was good, it just didn't feel like the Hulk. Well, Marvel studios decided it was time for another shot for the big green guy, and it worked this time. "The Incredible Hulk" is a loose sequel to the 2003 Hulk, not much time past the opening credits is spent explaining the Hulk's origin. But any Hulk fan knows how he got the way he is, so that's fine. The action is great, the acting as well. Edward Norton take over as Bruce Banner, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and William Hurt as General Ross. The story centers around the governments hunt for Banner and Banner trying to find a cure for his, um, condition. If you are a Hulk fan, this movie will not disappoint.

"Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was also released this summer, and wow did it do incredible business, $314 million to date. It shows you how much people missed the character. It has been 28 years since "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", so having the great Harrison Ford grab his whip and don his fedora hat was a bit of a gamble, but George Lucas and Steven Spielberg delivered the goods. Yea, the giant ants were a bit much, as was Shia swinging through the jungle like Tarzan, or Indy surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge, so it was definitely not as good as the other three in the series, but the thrills were plenty, and it was nice to see Karen Allen back as Marion Ravenwood, Indy's love, missing from the second and third films. I have nothing against Shia Lebouf, I liked him in "Disturbia" and "Transformers" but he wasn't needed in this movie. Not that he was bad, he just was not needed. It was one thing having Indy team with his dad, but to have a young kid at his side, just didn't work as well. I hear that they are considering a 5th Indy movie, and I for one, always welcome Dr. Jones.

Well, that's all for now, but please share your opinions with me. What are your thoughts on the Summer of 2008? Were you pleased with the movies or disappointed? What movies surprised you? What movies let you down?