daniel cohen looks back at the summer in the cinema …
Summer 2011 is in the books. We laughed. We cried. We saw Thunder Gods, Pirates, Robots, Mutants, Apes, Wizards, and Bridesmaids … oh my! With the exception of maybe 2005, I can honestly say this was the best summer movie season of my lifetime. I’ll be counting down my Top 5 films, special awards, and some general closing thoughts. There was a lot to take in, but I’m here to break it all down.
First off, let’s quickly revisit my domestic box office predictions. Keep in mind, some of these films like Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes are still in theaters. While a lot of my financial predictions were way off, my ordering wasn’t half bad. I hit Harry Potter and Transformers 1 and 2 respectively. Pirates 4 and Hangover 2 over performed a little more than I thought. But when looking at my Top 10, the only three movies I had in there that won’t make the cut are Green Lantern, Super 8, and X-Men: First Class, which is currently in there, but will be knocked out by Apes eventually. I underestimated Kung-Fu Panda 2, and Bridesmaids shocked us all. So there you go.
But now, let’s get into the big guns …
Top 5 Movies of the Summer
5. Captain America: The First Avenger
Chris Evans was great, and really sold us on the Steve Rogers character, especially in the digitally altered scenes where he’s skinny. But it’s the plethora of supporting roles that made Captain America: The First Avenger an upper echelon superhero movie. Tommy Lee Jones was oozing with one-liners, Stanley Tucci was memorable in the short amount of time he had, and Haley Atwell was charismatic as hell as love interest Peggy Carter. Oh, and let’s not forget Hugo Weaving’s menacing performance as Red Skull. What’s most important to me in a superhero movie is the hero/villain relationship, and every time Captain America and Red Skull were in a scene together, I was riveted. Oh yeah, and the shield was badass.
Read Logan J. Fowler’s review of Captain America.
4. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part II
While I put Harry Potter fourth on my list, I was disappointed. I was expecting No. 1 with a bullet. I had insane expectations, which the film met up until the last 15 minutes (not including the epilogue). The final confrontation just doesn’t work. But having said all that, there are some truly incredible moments. Snape, Snape, Snape, and Snape. I’m still of the opinion Alan Rickman will get Oscar buzz when it’s all said and done. Harry Potter — a great movie, but teeters out at the end.
Read Daniel Cohen’s review of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part II.
3. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
I totally wrote this film off because I still have nightmares about Tim Burton’s 2001 re-make. And even though I knew this had nothing to do with that atrocity, it still scared me away from the franchise as a whole. But after seeing it, I totally went ape shit for this movie. I can’t believe how character driven it was. Andy Serkis … wow.
Read Jason Stives review of Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.
2. Thor
When you think of the concept behind Thor, it sounds like a Saturday morning cartoon. Not only did director Kenneth Branagh interweave the worlds of Asgard and Earth perfectly, but he created a strong character piece in the middle of all this portal jumping insanity. Tom Hiddleston was an insanely devious villain, Anthony Hopkins had a great presence as Odin and Chris Hemsworth was down right fantastic as the God of Thunder. You even like him when he’s a total dick at the beginning. Thor also had the best set piece of the year … the rainbow bridge.
Read Daniel Cohen’s review of Thor.
1. X-Men: First Class
This had about 100 things going on, but it all comes together seamlessly. The climax is truly spectacular. Director Matthew Vaughn (in a very short amount of time) really made something special here. Short of being in an actual chemistry lab, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender could not have had better chemistry together. Jennifer Lawrence may give the most impressive performance though, as her character deals with three very complicated relationships. The real brilliance of this movie though is that you are still heartbroken at the end, even though you already know what happens. Now that’s impressive.
Read Daniel Cohen’s review of X-Men: First Class.
Now, let’s take a look at a few other categories and give some shout-outs (both positive and negative) to the rest of the summer.
Biggest Surprise: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
The trailer looked like a bunch of apes running around throwing things … clearly there was more.
Most Overrated: Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids is everything I hate about bad comedies (gross out humor/shock gags), but everyone seems to like it but me. I’ll give Kristen Wiig a lot of credit for her performance, but I was not a fan of this one.
Read Jason Stives Review of Bridesmaids.
Most Underrated: 30 Minutes Or Less
This one kind of came and went, but I really liked it, and had an absolute blast. Aziz Ansari is hysterical.
Read Daniel Cohen’s review of 30 Minutes Or Less.
The ‘How did this Movie make so much Money’ Award: Pirates Of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Sigh. It’s a worse rehash of the first one. I can’t believe people still love this franchise. How many times do we need to see Johnny Depp stumble around as Jack Sparrow?
Read Daniel Cohen’s review of Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Most Disappointing: Green Lantern
Some might say Hangover Part II, but this is my pick. While it’s not as bad as the 27 percent it currently holds on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s an underwhelming effort. With the three other superhero movies, you can tell the directors cared. Martin Campbell did not.
Read Daniel Cohen’s review of Green Lantern.
The Lazy Award: Cowboys & Aliens
My thinking with this one was a big budget spectacle that thought it could just ride the coattails of its big stars and director, but ultimately underperformed. There isn’t one thing in this movie I found half way interesting. It should be re-titled Going Through The Motions: The Movie.
Read Bill Bodkin’s review of Cowboys & Aliens.
The ‘I Hate 3D’ Award: Thor
What ticks me off is that I saw this in 3D by accident! I specifically chose a time where it was supposed to be shown in 2D, but the theater screwed up. The dumb 3D glasses made the battle at Juttenheim so dark. Thor was my last straw with 3D. I’m done.
Best Performance: Alan Rickman as Snape (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part II)
Oscar-worthy.
Worst Performance: Paul Bettany as Priest (Priest)
I hate to pick on a movie that no one saw, but I’m sorry, Paul Bettany looked asleep during this film.
Read Daniel Cohen’s review of Priest.
Worst Movie: The Change-Up
Again, I hate to rag on a movie that did poorly at the box office, but it opened with a poop joke … the end.
Read Daniel Cohen’s review of The Change-Up.
I think we covered enough. All in all, it was a great summer. And it wasn’t just the big budget spectacles. We had a lot of solid comedies as well, such as: Bad Teacher, Midnight In Paris, Horrible Bosses, and 30 Minutes Or Less. So if you still haven’t seen everything, get the Netflix ready.
But let’s quickly look ahead to summer of 2012. Here’s what we have to look forward to: The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises.
And why would Alan Rickman get a nom? He didn’t appear to be doing anything particularly special with the role he’s had for the past decade or so. He said his lines in his usual “Alan Rickman” voice, looked all mall-metal goth an had such little screentime that I was left wondering what all the fuss was about. If this film gets ANY noms besides special effect or costumes, I’ll be disappointed.