Cultural Cuisinart

So the summer blockbuster season is upon us. Some thoughts on movies I'm looking forward to seeing, as well as some that I'm a bit on the fence about:

Absolute must-sees:

1. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. I am a huge fan of the first Hellboy movie, which apparently wasn't much of a box office success. I know a lot of my friends missed it. Still, it was a great flick and Ron Perlman just rocks as Hellboy. Even Selma Blair, who's a very hit-and-miss actress for me, brought her A game to the film, displaying some great chemistry with Perlman. Guillermo del Toro directed both films, and judging from the trailers for the movie much of the haunting imagery from his critically acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth has made its way into the new Hellboy film. This one is worth the price of a full price ticket, at a quality theater.



2. Iron Man. My sister groans whenever she sees the trailer for this. Perhaps it's because I'm a huge comic book fan, but everything I see in the trailer tells me they really nailed this one. First, Jon Favreau legitimately seems to respect the source material, which is a big problem for me with other comic book films. Second, Robert Downey Jr. is perfectly cast as playboy billionaire Tony Stark. Stark is a bit of a prick in the comics, and the clips I've seen make it apparent that they've really captured this part of his character. I'm hoping it's in the same vein as Spiderman 2 and X-men 2 - good action flicks that remember that compelling character moments are still essential to a great film.
   
3. The Happening. A lot of people want to hate on M. Night Shamalayan, but I have enjoyed every single one of his films. Yes, some are better than others, and he has never really topped his first hit, The Sixth Sense. Still, you can't discount his visual aesthetic style and the man sure knows how to set a mood. This one's probably a matinée show for me.

Possible diamonds in the rough

1. The House Bunny. At first glance, it looks like Legally Blonde Light. And I'm never a big fan of movies where the nerdy, geekly, or just alternative girls are only worthy of love and attention when they get a makeover and look like plastic Barbie dolls. However, it stars Anna Faris, who constantly makes me laugh, even when the actual film she's in is terrible. As one reviewer said recently, watch out if this girl ever ends up in a film worthy of her talents. Anyway, the trailer made me laugh out loud several times (seriously, click the link and watch the trailer and then tell me you didn't laugh too), which is a good sign. It's an August release, which doesn't necessarily bode well for it, but since there's usually not a lot of good movies out during that month, this could be worth the price of an afternoon show.
2. The Strangers. Oh, what's this wet spot here? Just the puddle of my own urine that I'm now sitting in, because that trailer is fucking scary. I've always said that the scariest movies to me are the ones that might actually happen in real life. A home invasion is one of my top personal nightmares. Scott Speedman is a dud of an actor, but the premise is scary and some of the visuals really freaked me out. Could be a quality horror film.
3. Hancock. The first trailer looked kind of lousy. But Will Smith is a charmer, and the second trailer looked a lot better. Could be a decent film after all. If it gets decent reviews I might go check it out.
4. Wanted. Because I'm Angelina Jolie's bitch. Also, it's based on a comic by Mark Millar, who is a great writer, and it stars James McAvoy (from Atonement). It looks like a really fun, turn your brain off, buckle in and hold on kind of film. If it's half as entertaining as Shoot Em Up, I'm in.

What about you folks out there? Thanks to the magic of Google Analytics, I know my stalkers live in Oregon, New York, Virginia and (inexplicably) Minnesota. What movies are you looking forward to this summer?