Movie Jacuzzi

Hello, movie addicts! Movie Jacuzzi is still going through construction, so you might see some changes around here over the next couple of days.

Fall is here. Kids are back in school, the leaves are changing color, and snow is right around the corner- it makes me sick.

But at least the summer movie season had a good run. And it was quite an eventful one too: Robert Downey Jr. made the comeback of the decade, The Dark Knight smashed box office records left and right, Pixar continued its fabulous streak, and audiences and critics together trashed movies by Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy. Compared to last year’s disappointing sequel-heavy slate of films, this year’s new movies and sequels were much more original.

But what was the best film of the season? Or the worst? Which was the most surprising? Or the most disappointing? And what was ? All these questions and more shall be answered.

Movie Jacuzzi presents THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE REST OF SUMMER 2008!

Also, please note that these are only my opinions of the films I have seen this summer.

And without further ado, we first have Most Surprising Movie- A movie I wouldn’t expect to be as good as I thought it would

Nominees:

Kung Fu Panda- Paramount/Dreamworks It’s been a while since Dreamworks Animation rolled out a movie this fresh and exciting, the last one must have been the original Shrek. Jack Black brings great energy to his role as Po, a panda who aspires to become a kung fu master, and has his chance when he becomes the Dragon Warrior, who must defeat the evil snow leopard Tai Lung. The animated kung fu scenes are suprisingly fun to watch and the score is good too. No wonder Dreamworks head Jeffery Katzenberg said he wants to do another one.

Iron Man- Paramount Robert Downey Jr. gives what will be one of the best performances of the year in Iron Man, which I can say is one of the best superhero movies ever. Downey plays Tony Stark, owner of weapons manufacturer Stark Industries who is captured by terrorists and creates a superhero when he learns how his weapons are used. Aside from Downey’s performance, which will relaunch his career, supporting casts members Gweneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges are great in their roles, the script is strong, and the action scenes are very engaging. Can’t wait for the sequel.

Get Smart- Warner Bros. Get Smart is the most criticlally underrated film of the summer, because it is one of the funniest. The story, which involves Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrell) and Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) on a mission to stop a potential nuclear explosion, perfectly blends action and comedy together. The roles are perfectly casted, and the entire cast, which includes Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin, give great performances.

THE WINNER: Iron Man- Movie Jacuzzi Temperature: 92°

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Next is Most Disappointing Movie, which is a film you are heavily looking forward to seeing but winds up being a letdown

Mamma Mia- Universal Believe it or not, I really liked seeing Mamma Mia! on Broadway. In fact, I saw it twice. ABBA’s songs worked well with the plot, which involves a girl’s potential three fathers coming to her wedding for a ‘trip down the isle you’ll never forget’, and the acting was strong too. Some musicals like Hairspray or Chicago can successfully make the transition from the stage to the screen, but not this one. The acting is solid enough, and it is surprising to find out that Meryl Streep can sing too, but the film seems in a rush to finish all of its 18 songs at a trim 108 minute running time it has no chance to catch its breath and feels somewhat empty when it is over. And watching former Bond Pierce Brosnan belt out ‘S.O.S’ is something no one deserves to sit through.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull- Paramount There was a time where people believed Indy’s first adventure in 19 years would be the biggest and one of the best films of the summer. So much for that. The man in the fedora has rounded up $315.8 million dollars as of this day, a solid number, but it is $2 million below Iron Man and is only the third biggest film of the season when you put The Dark Knight into the picture. As for quality, I don’t think the film is as bad as some Indy fans think, but the film did not nearly live up to the hype. All of the actors were good (and it was great to see some of them again), but what they are after is absurd, even for Indiana Jones, and the scene with the lead refrigerator almost made me wonder why I anticipated this so much. I am glad they made it, but I hope Spielberg and Lucas don’t make another.

Hancock- Sony/Columbia Will Smith, as a superhero, in a action/comedy 4th of July blockbuster. You have your money right there. But the problem with Hancock, Will’s first Independence Day release since Men in Black II, is almost everything. The jokes are seldom and aren’t very funny, the fight scenes feel almost cartoonish, and about an hour into the film there is a twist so bizarre it ruins any chance of Hancock being a decent movie. Will Smith gives an always-good performance as the titular superhero who becomes a hero after becoming a drunken mess, and so does the rest of the cast , which includes Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron. Some of the special effects also show of the film’s reportedly $150 million budget, but for such a great idea, this film feels like such a waste.

THE WINNER: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull- Movie Jacuzzi Temperature: 70°

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Worst Movie of the Summer- What film is, well, the worst film of the summer

The Love Guru- Paramount Before summer arrived, I thought that the first non-Shrek movie for Mike Myers in five years would go back to his very funny work on SNL, and it did, but was just not funny. It was painful. I am sad to report that The Love Guru is one of Mike’s worst films yet, and that is coming from a big fan. Despite a short 93 minute run time, the film drags through Guru Pitka’s (Mike Myers) attempts to put hockey player Darren Roanoke back together with his wife Prudence. Random musical numbers and pee jokes ensue. When the funniest part of the film is a small role by Stephen Colbert as a hockey broadcaster, you know something is wrong with your movie. It even makes you wonder if this is what Myers has been doing for the last five years.

Movie Jacuzzi Temperature: 15°

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And now, we have The Best Movie of the Summer, which is…

A tie between The Dark Knight and WALL-E

These two films have a quality to them that are more then just summer entertainment. The Dark Knight is not like any other comic book movie- it feels like a dark crime drama, complex and disturbing, and shows a new side of the Batman franchise. The plot involves the Caped Crusader’s (Christan Bale) fight against the Joker, a crime lord played by the late Heath Ledger, and his relationship with Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Gotham’s district attorney and ‘white knight’. Ledger’s performance doesn’t make you think this is a talented actor gone too soon, it makes you fear this character. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman give depth to their roles as well, the score is spectacular, and the film receives beautiful direction by Christopher Nolan.

Movie Jacuzzi Temperature: a boiling 100°

As The Dark Knight redefined the comic book movie, Pixar’s WALL-E redefined the animated movie. Andrew Stanton, director and writer of fellow Pixar film Finding Nemo, gives us a visionary tale of a robot named WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class), living on an evacuated planet 800 years into the future, when mankind (with the help of the megacorpration Buy ‘n’ Large) has made the earth inhabitable. Millions of WALL-E units are made to clean up the world while the people live in space, but all break down except for one (gets its beeps and boops from Bet Burtt), who has developed a personality. His 700 year routine is broken when he meets the robot EVE, who WALL-E falls in love with and follows back into space. The film, while visually breathtaking, takes on issues like mass consumerism and dependence of technology but at heart is a sweet robot love story. The film is such poetry it may change how I- and hopefully many people- view a animated movie. One of Pixar’s best works to date.

Movie Jacuzzi Temperature: another boiling 100°

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And here are the rest of the winners…

Most Impressive Money Maker The Dark Knight ($505.4 million and counting)

Most Disappointing Money Maker Meet Dave (a measly $11.7 and counting)

Biggest Star Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, Tropic Thunder)

Best Reviewed WALL-E

Worst Reviewed Disaster Movie

That’s all for this post. You can post your thoughts below on what you think would win these awards. The next time I write, I am going to select the five biggest films of the fall season.

Til’ then, movie fans!