For most movie fans, summer is the grand season; the blockbusters, the spectacles, the tent-pole, flagship studio films, etc. etc. But for film enthusiasts, and us the summer is generally a wasteland if you have a modicum of acumen and a period where he have to suffer through and tolerate the inhospitable cinematic season. Still there’s always something worth checking out and lord knows the tent-poles are easy, fun topics to skewer. So without further ado, the Playlist Summer Movie Preview. We’ll do the blockbusters in another version of the Cockpunching Your Brain Into Next Tuesday summer preview like we did last year.
Oh yeah, and we recognize we’re a little late here, but better late than never.
MAY 23
Bigger, Stronger Faster – You’ve gotta love documentaries that are essentially propaganda pieces meant to debunk conventional wisdom and basic intelligence. Apparently, steroids aren’t that bad for you – or at least that’s what ‘BSF’ hopes to prove. The idea seems absurd and the trailer is wildly shocking (images of guys with the most fucked up and disgusting wrong muscles you’ve ever seen, plus a horrendous shot of a body builder being crushed under the weight of gigantic barbells), but then again it’s made by a rubberneck who took “performance enhancing drugs” (gotta love that euphemism) and hell, he and his muscle head brothers are doing, fine right? Fascinatingly disturbing.
Sex And The City – Technically not a blockbuster because nary an explosion goes off, ‘Sex’ is also finding itself somewhat of an underdog as mainstream publications like GQ, the Associated Press and Time Out are basically urging you to avoid it at all costs (the AP actually just gave it a negative review and a surprisingly sexist one – the female writer calls the film, “flabby” which kind of amused us in a strange way). The City girls are in their ’40s and ostensibly happy, but more adventures are on the way I guess. There’s a big “surprise” in the first 20 minutes of the film during Carrie’s wedding and we already know (SPOILER) that Mr. Big doesn’t die. So he probably leaves her at the altar, right? We’re pretty sure all the spoilers are already on the web, but frankly, we don’t really give a damn. For all the bad press this film is already receiving, the core audience of this flick are going to be there opening night regardless. Go vag power, go.
MAY 30
The Foot Fist Way – Danny McBride is Hollywood’s favorite new comedian and this cult film is so adored that Will Ferrell and Adam Mckay (the pair behind “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights”) snatched it up and made Paramount Vantage distribute the film. McBride plays a doughy, buffoon strip-mall tae-kwon doe instructor who belittles his students while simultaneously trying to teach them the tenets of the martial art. The film was shot three years ago on a shoestring budget, and much of the crew comes from the extended-David Gordon Green family from North Carolina (McBride got his start in “All The Real Girls”). Now if only it were as funny as the trailer and the auspicious first 20 minutes.
JUNE 6
The Go-Getter – It’s a road trip flick of personal discovery inspired by a parent’s death that stars Lou Taylor Pucci (the breakout star of “Thumbsucker”), Zooey Deschanel, indie-enthusiast Jena Malone and has been scored by sensitive Merge alt-folkie M.Ward (who also has a cameo in the film as one of Pucci’s friends). The film also features supporting roles by the great Judy Greer and Maura Tierney and the soundtrack also features Elliott Smith, The Replacements and the Black Keys. It premiered at Sundance 2007 and is finally getting its due this year.
You Don’t Mess With Zohan – We should really lump this one with the blockbusters, but what the hell. Adam Sandler plays a Mariah Carey-loving Mossad agent that leaves Israel to pursue his dream – cutting hair in a New York salon. It’s produced by Judd Apatow (Sandler’s former roommate years and years ago) and co-written by Robert Smiegel (the genius behind Triumph the Insult Dog), but even one brief skim of the trailer tells you you’re simply dealing with another silly and mostly ridiculous Sandler-vehicle. Emmanuelle Chriqui (E’s girlfriend on “Entourage”) plays the Palestinian love interest to the former deadly Israeli agent in Sandler. Could be marginally amusing, but we can’t imagine actually paying to see it.
Mother of Tears – It’s been a few years since Italian horror master Dario Argento brutalized audiences in limb-severing, disemboweling ways, so its probably time for him to get back to shocking people no? His daughter, the soft-core porn sadomasochist, Asia Argento stars as an art student tormented by a cult of witch followers. The witch’s evidently spend a lot of time naked in the film. “The witch is naked like the truth,” the elder Argento told EW. “Sex and horror – I like this mixture.” Hey, if it floats your boat… The younger Argento filths it up later in the summer in “The Last Mistress.“
JUNE 11
Encounters At The End Of The World – Venerable filmmaker, documentarian and maverick nutcase Werner Herzog’s eternal quest for “ecstatic truth” takes him to Antarctica to capture the life at the National Science Foundation where a thousand-plus scientists and people have it harder than any of his previous subjects (which range from foolish Grizzly Bear fanatics to Gulf War oil-firefighters). Expect Herzog to make the prosaic and mundane to become absurdly profound and with that in mind, if the topic doesn’t interest you, hey, it’s Werner Herzog and there’s never a dull moment when he’s around.
JUNE 13
My Winnipeg – Guy Maddin’s “docu-fantasia” about his Winnipeg hometown is part propaganda piece, part civics history lesson and part imagined fabrication. Infused with his trademark wintry aesthetics, a drunken sleepwalking milieu and dysfunctional autobiographical elements that are eroticized and creatively embellished, ‘Winnipeg’ is extremely idiosyncratic and unique. There’s no one like Maddin and there probably no reason you’d ever want to watch a “documentary,” about this provincial city otherwise. Superb and a must-see. One of our favorites of the year, thus far.
June 27
Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot – Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (MCA) follows eight of the country’s top 24 high school players shooting for the big time and a free ride with a college scholarship who participate in the first “Elite 24” tournament on the same court that helped turn Dr. J, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain into legends. Sounds like “Hoop Dreams 2” only with six more kids and a hip-hop soundtrack that boasts Nas and Jay-Z. Whether Yauch has proved himself a filmmaker however, remains to be seen.
July 3
The Wackness – Is a semi-autobiographical manhood tale set in 1994 New York against a backdrop of a sweltering summer and burgeoning hip-hop sounds. The film chronicles a troubled teenage drug dealer (the up and coming Josh Peck), who trades therapy sessions for pot with his drug-addled psychiatrist (Sir Ben Kingsley). Their already-weird relationship is complicated when the hip-hop loving dealer falls for the doctor’s daughter (played by 2008’s soon-to-be indie It girl, Olivia Thirlby). It also features rapper Method Man as a Jamaican drug connection and Mary-Kate Olsen as a fruity hippie. It’s aiming to be this year’s “Juno,” but it’s unclear if its disparate pot-comedy and unrequited love tones will gel with audiences in the same way.
Gonzo The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson – This documentary focuses on the good doctor’s amphetamine soaked, wild turkey hey day of 1965-1975 with lots of never before seen footage, home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts.
July 18
Lou Reed’s Berlin – Reed’s 1973 concept album about drug addict, prostituting mother losing her kids, Berlin, was critically reviled upon its release and it was never performed live until 2006 at the urging of his friend, filmmaker Julian Schnabel. Essentially just A concert film of Reed’s New York St. Anne’s Warehouse 2006 Berlin performances, it’s engaging to a point, but gets old after a while unless you think Berlin is as underrated as many critics seem to think it is (we don’t, it aight and all, but…) For Reed die-hards only.
July 25
American Teen – The celebrated Sundance documentary about high school seniors growing up in Warsaw, Indiana follows five Indian adolescents in their final year in high school getting ready to take the leap into adulthood and it’s is being marketed in the easily classifiable way: the jock, the heartthrob, the rebel, the princess and the geek (hence the “Breakfast Club”-like poster). The soundtrack recently changed to a young,hipster one, but no other elements of the film have been tweaked aside from a new coda updating the current whereabouts of the doc’s teens.
Step Brothers – Judd Apatow reteams the creative cast and crew of “Talledega Nights” (the same guys that brought you “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”): friend and long-time collaborator Adam McKay directs (he’s the father of FunnieorDie star Pearl McKay), plus Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly star as spoiled adults who become ultra-competitive step-brothers when their single parents get married. The script was written by Ferrell and McKay (natch) and also stars another Veronica Mars cast member, Adam Scott (he had a tiny role in ‘Knocked Up,” they must have a thing for that show).
AUGUST 1
The Rocker – We’re sorry, but Rainn Wilson is a wretched one-trick pony and his shtick is insufferably unfunny (remember he delivers some of the most contemptible “Juno” dialogue). There’s probably not one recent comedian in recent memory that we dislike more. This chuckleheaded conceit centers on a failed, over-the-hill drummer (Wilson) who, 20 years after getting booted out of his now uber-famous band, gets a second chance at fame with a new act, a high school garage band headed by his nephew (Josh Gad). It also stars name brand actress Christian Applegate. Best of luck to you all. Its release date has been bumped more than a Heidi Fleiss call girl, which doesn’t bode well.
AUGUST 8
Pineapple Express – Judd Apatow’s stoner comedy for is directed by normally-artsy dreamer David Gordon Green and stars Seth Rogen and James Franco (both of “Freaks & Geeks alumni) as stoner buddies who inadvertently witness a drug-related murder involving a cop (Rosie Perez), and try and use the threat of mob fugitives out for blood as motivation to get their shit together and lives in order. It’s apparently a lot more bloody and funny than most people had expected – sort of like in that “Tango & Cash” kind of way evidently. One of the summer’s most anticipated films.
Towelhead – Alan Ball’s proclivity for suburbia and pedophilia are again on display. This time we throw in a little heated race relations to boot. The story follow a young Arab girl named Jasira sent to live with her strict Lebanese father during the first Gulf War. Becoming sexually aware, she becomes obsessed with her neighbor: a bigoted army reservist (Aaron Eckhart). From a musical perspective, Randall Poster and Jim Dunbar are the acting music supervisors, so that’s at least a plus, but this one seems a little creepy.
AUGUST 15
Tropic Thunder – The theoretically awesome premise: a pretentious director (Stephen Coogan) having difficulty making his war epic realistic, sends his actors off to real war so they’ll get a taste of what the action is really like (at the behest of insane military film supervisor Nick Nolte). The actors-as-soldiers (Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., plus Jay Baruchel and Brandon Jackson) think they’re in a very realistic movie, but their lives are actually in very real and very grave danger. And of course, Downey’s method-obsessed character takes the role so bloody seriously, he gets a controversial skin-bleaching treatment so he can both act and look black. Brilliant, right? Now if only Ben Stiller’s writing, acting and directed doesn’t entirely fuck it up.
AUGUST 22
The House Bunny – Anna Faris plays an over-the-hill playboy bunny (she’s 27 for Christ sake) that gets kicked out of Hugh’s mansion and put out to pasture. But she needs a home so she convinces a bunch of nerdy college students to form a sorority with her as the house dame that attempts to pretty up the brainy girls. Sounds retarded, but the trailer actually looks fun and Faris is solid in comedy (and plays an endearing twit) when given good material to work with which this may or may not be. Emma Stone, the charming belle from “Superbad” co-stars as does American Idol singer Katherine McPhee.
Hamlet 2 – Who wasn’t obsessed with Elisabeth Shue when they were younger?
Sundance 2008’s biggest hit (and most expensively sold, it was bought for $10 million by Focus Features) stars Stephen Coogan as an inept drama teacher trying to motivate his students who develops a fawning and obsessive crush on the real Elisabeth Shue (as played by Elisabeth Shue in a kind of ‘Being John Malkovich’ style self-parody). Oh yeah, and they try and put on a play…the sequel to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
AUGUST 29
Vicky Cristina Barcelona – Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz make out. Oh, you want the plot! Two dissimilar young American women, Vicky (a sensible Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (a sexually adventurous Scarlet Johansson) travel to Barcelona for a summer holiday and are drawn into a series of romantic entanglements with a charismatic Don Juan (Javier Bardem), still involved with his tempestuous ex-wife (Penélope Cruz). The comedy set against the “sensual Mediterranean” is supposed to be a “open-minded celebration of love in all its configurations.” Umm, yeah, there’s a threesome and Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz make out. Woody Allen you’re still an old perv.
Others: The Duplass Brothers (“The Puffy Chair”) return with the first-ever mumblecore horror flick “Baghead“; a depressed Luke Wilson finds hope and love when the image of Jesus appears as a stain on his house in “Henry Poole is Here” (Aug 15); the life of seminal punk poet Patti Smith is feted in “Patti Smith: Dream of Life (Aug 6); Jason Patric plays an aggro-asshole cop trying to find love with meter maid Samantha Morton in “Expired” (June 20); Sean William Scott and John C. Reilly are rival supermarket employees vying for “The Promotion” (June 6); the top prize-winner at Sundance, “Frozen River,” about women who smuggle illegal immigrants; “Hellride,” a biker movie that stars David Carradine, Dennis Hoper and Michael Madsen (Tarantino must be the executive producer or somehow involved, no??); a Lithuanian train ride from hell, “Transsiberian,” stars Ben Kingsley, Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer as Americans who should have flown instead; Don Cheadle plays a CIA operative who must infiltrate a terrorist group in “The Traitor“; and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” an animated film serving as the teaser for the upcoming Cartoon Network that features Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan’s adventures between prequels 2-3. As much as Lucas has destroyed the Star Wars magic, these will be fun because they’ll dispense with plot and acting and will be pure anime spectacle (the only way possible to now enjoy the Star Wars universe).
Once Summer Bound, Now Bumped To the Fall: The adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s “Choke” starring Sam Rockwell as a sex-addict who’s also a feigning choking victim has moved to September 26 and Bill Maher’s “Religulous” has also changed dates to October.