I’ve decided to rank the summer movies I’ve seen so far based on their awesomeness. Then again, I haven’t seen anything that I haven’t liked yet his summer. We’ll see how much this list changes once The Dark Knight opens on July 18th. =) I CANNOT WAIT!!! (And I am so excited that I am already considering being The Joker for Halloween. Sweet!)
1. Iron Man: The only thing that can beat this is The Dark Knight. Until then, it will remain the Best Movie of 2008. I could see it over and over and over. It’s the summer of The Downey!!! Submit to it!
2. The Incredible Hulk: Edward Norton + Tim Roth + having them both shirtless + a pretty cool Hulk = HULK SMASH THE COMPETITION!!! There better be a sequel!
3. Wall-E: Pixar can do no wrong. I think they’re incapable of making a horrible movie. And I would love a M-O plush toy. Or a real M-O to follow me around.
4. Kung Fu Panda: SKADOOSH! That is the word of the summer.
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls: It was slightly strange, but it had lots of greaser Shia (looking like Marlon Brando) and Harrison Ford kicking ass.
6. Sex and the City The Movie: This movie made me cry (a lot). I’m glad that the girls were able to have a happy ending and that Mr. Big (Chris Noth) got yelled out a lot since I am not in NYC to yell at him personally.
7. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl: I read the American Girl books when I was younger, and I loved this adaptation of the books about a young girl during the Depression. Abigail Breslin has to be the cutest kid actor in America.
8. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: This is lower cause it did not have enough Edmund and was trying to force a Caspian/Susan romance. Not cool.
9. Speed Racer: Plot-wise, it’s not as strong as the other movies, but it’s still very entertaining and full of pretty colors (and people) to look at it. Sensory overload for all!
This entertains me so much. I could watch it over and over again and never get tired of it. I really hope that Tropic Thunder is hilarious since the stuff Ben Stiller, RDJ, and Jack Black are doing together to promote it is comedy gold. And I would love to see RDJ in an Iron Man mask and Jack Black in a panda head fight some more. Good times.
I just got back from a midnight screening of The Incredible Hulk with my younger brother (a big thanks for my dad for driving us to and from the movie and having to stay up until 2 am to get us. Thanks Poppy!), and, as with Iron Man, I had to write about it before I headed to bed (except this time I don’t have an internship to get up for and rush to in the morning). I really enjoyed the movie; it was definitely an improvement over the 2003 version. Marvel should produce all of its movies from now on cause the casts from the 2 they’ve taken charge of themselves (Iron Man and Incredible Hulk) are spectacular. Edward Norton is just nerdy/tough/emotional enough to be Bruce Banner, and Tim Roth is pretty bad ass as Emil Blonsky. The movie had a great mix of action, humor, and romance, and it didn’t seem too slow or too fast. Hulk looked a lot more realistic and The Abomination was pretty cool too (the CGI was A LOT better). Their fight scene was well done, and it looked like 2 “monsters” were actually tearing up “New York City” (aka Toronto where it was filmed). Plus the movie sets up perfectly for not only a sequel (Bruce not able to hold The Hulk in for as long and still can’t fully control it or get rid of it so has to remain on the run) and its villain (THE LEADER), but also an Avengers movie (thanks to a Tony Stark cameo and his mention to General Ross about how “we’re putting together a team”). I love how the Marvel movies are being interconnected whether it’s through that last scene or the mentions of SHIELD and Stark Enterprises. They acknowledge that there’s a bigger universe out there, and I love it (it’s be great if DC did that too, but then we might get that crappy JLA movie they were developing so maybe not). I highly recommend The Incredible Hulk and think that comic book fans will really enjoy it while other moviegoers will also like it as well; though not as spectacular as Iron Man, it was still entertaining and, well, incredible. Here’s hoping it does well throughout the summer and gets a sequel lit. HULK SMASH!
Quote of the Day - Bruce Banner (in Portuguese no less): Don’t make me hungry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m…hungry? Wait, that’s not right.
I think Brad Pitt could be Thor (he proved he could look godlike as Achilles in Troy. Yes, I know Achilles wasn’t a god, but he was the son of a goddess). I’m skeptical of Leo as Cap since he would need to bulk up, but you never know. People were hesitant about the casting of RDJ and Norton as Iron Man and Hulk in the beginning (not me though - I’ve supported both castings since the beginning). This is just a list of people Marvel is looking at so there’s no guarantees that either will be offered the role. So we’ll see. The Avengers movie would be full of hotness if it was RDJ, Norton, Pitt, and DiCaprio though. =) And I would hate to see Matthew McConaughey or Josh Lucas as Cap cause they are both terrible actors and wouldn’t do Cap justice. So please branch out from that, Marvel. Thanks! (Oh and I wouldn’t mind Matt Damon as Cap so you can look into him!)
I sincerely hope that Marvel brings back Jon Favreau for Iron Man 2. He did an amazing job as the director of the first one, and I think they’d be taking away a vital dynamic. He and Robert Downey Jr. work well together, and I’m worried that if Favs drops out, RDJ will leave too (which would make me scream nooooooo!!!). It’s because of Favs that RDJ was cast as Tony Stark, something I’ve supported since the beginning since RDJ was Stark in another life (pre-rehab). Favreau and Iron Man are a match made in heaven, and I really REALLY hope that Marvel gets its act together and hires him to return. I’d rather have a good quality movie by Favs than a movie that was rushed through production and is crap. Haven’t we learned anything from crappy comic book movie sequels?
On another note, The Incredible Hulk is getting good reviews from early screenings and hopefully this good word of mouth will lead to a great box office return. I’m excited to see it and will be seeing it with my younger brother at the midnight showing. I’ve had faith in this movie since the news of the casting, and I’m glad to know that it will make fanboys happy while also be extremely entertaining. Hulk Smash!
Now I’m all for kick ass powerful female comic book characters. I was the little girl who collected the old cards for the female characters when she was younger because they were the coolest (with Batman, Gambit, Havok, and Bullseye thrown in cause I had a crush on all of them). But Lady Bullseye? Why does Marvel feel that they need a female version of an existing male villain? I understand that many feel that Bullseye is overused in the Daredevil comics (which he is sometimes) and that they want to expand Daredevil’s villain base, but why can’t they come up with a new villain that has nothing to do with an existing villain? It’s called being creative and original, people. (And I understand that Daredevil has a connection to Japan, but almost every villain or female doesn’t have to be connected to Japan or Asian.) And this isn’t even the only villain that is getting a female makeover; a female Kraven is on the way in Amazing Spider-Man. At least that one makes sense considering Kraven has been dead in the comics. Bullseye isn’t even dead! He’s currently out of action in Thunderbolts due to his spine being broken (something I still don’t understand since he had adamantium placed on his bones), but is also undergoing surgery in the current arc and is on future covers of the comic. So he’s obviously not going to die and will still be around although within the Thunderbolts. But now that it’s been announced that the Thunderbolts will finally be going after Spidey in his comic, isn’t a trip to Hell’s Kitchen also overdue? Brubaker may be setting up for that possibility, and that could set up an interaction between not only Daredevil and Bullseye, but also between Bullseye and his female counterpart (in which he stabs her Electra-style. Mwahahaha. Sorry, I got carried away there). I love Brubaker’s writing on Daredevil so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how this all plays out. It doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it though. They’re lucky they didn’t announced this at New York Comic Con, or I would have screamed bloody murder aloud and then fainted. And if Lady Bullseye turns out to be Electra? Don’t even get me started…
George Clooney and Brad Pitt doing comedy together post-Ocean’s trilogy and playing not so intelligent guys? (these 2 make me so so so happy and giggly!) Newly Oscar winner Tilda Swinton? Fargo favorite Frances McDormand? Both Brad Pitt and John Malkovich dancing in the trailer? Count me in! The Coens can do no wrong! I seriously cannot wait for this movie! (And this is why I was attempting to find Brad Pitt and George Clooney earlier this year during filming. Good times).
Before I blog about the Vegas trip, I have to mention this lovely video: It was as amazing to watch in person as it is to watch on youtube. This is how NYU students do graduation. And it was a nice break from the otherwise dull ceremony (minus Michael Strahan, Michael J Fox, and the video the alumni did for us). The perfect way to end the college career.
I went to Vegas for 3 days with my dad, and we stayed at the Imperial Palace. Besides roaming around the various casinos (and yes, we did go to the Bellagio, Mirage, and MGM Grand. What kind of Ocean’s Trilogy fan would I be if we didn’t?), we also got to see Beatles Love and Cher. Beatles Love at the Mirage was really cool. It’s a Cirque du Soleil show set to Beatles music, and although occasionally strange, it was really entertaining. Not enough Ringo though. But the question on my mind during the trip was: do the 5 separate Cirque du Soleil troupes have rumbles in Vegas? (there are 5 different CdS shows going on in the city.) That would be amazing. It’d be like West Side Story except with ropes and trampolines.
The Cher concert at Caesar’s Palace was a lot of fun too. Cher fans are terrifying though. Not only were quite a few of them drunk, they were also very loud and insane. We had 2 obviously drunk women in front of us in line who were trying to get backstage and were very annoying. And the woman in front of us in the Colloseum gave us a look for not standing up to watch towards the end. I stand for no one except for Tom Petty!!! Cher looked pretty good for being 62 years old (it was her birthday that day) although she doesn’t move around as much as before. And the show would have been a lot better if she didn’t make so many costume changes and sang a lot more songs. Silly Cher. Although I’m sure the drunk crazy Cher fans didn’t care. I wonder if the Cher fans and the Bette Midler fans get into fights (Bette is also performing at Caesar’s when Cher has time off). Or they might possibly be the same fans.
Random Observation #1 Vegas Style: Why do the older people who come to Vegas feel that they need to dress younger? Just because you’re in Vegas doesn’t give you the right to wear that bikini or speedo especially with those guts and thighs.
Random Observation #2 Vegas Style: The Palazzo gets extra points for having a No Smoking Rule in the casino. My lungs thank you.
Random Observation #3 Vegas Style: The Vegas Strip is about to get even more crowded with the new Apartment/Condo buildings they’re putting between New York, New York and Monte Carlo. I don’t know if I’d be willing to live on the Strip unless they were filming another Ocean’s movie and it gave me better access to my boys.
Random Observation #4 Vegas Style: No, I do not want to come into your casino and get some free offers. Or see a “free” show. I have plans, thanks.
Random Observation #5 Vegas Style: Virgin American didn’t impress me as much as I thought it would. No free snacks and a lot of the TV Channels weren’t working. My heart still belongs to Jet Blue.
Now I am officially officially a college graduate!!! Whoooo! Now it’s onto the real world and trying to obtain a grown up job. Yikes. But to entertain me and celebrate my new status, I’ll just keep freaking out about this article: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985677.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Daniel Day Lewis in a musical???? I would giggle so much during the movie yet be extremely entertained like with Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, and Sasha Baron Cohen in Sweeney Todd. I love when actors I like sing and dance in movies (Christian Bale, Newsies wasn’t enough. Please do another musical!).
And also for everyone’s entertainment, watch Antonio Banderas (ANTONIO!) sing in Nine in 2003. I wish it had been open when I came to NYC,
I am now a college graduate…well at least from my individual school at college. I still have 1 more final tomorrow, and the school wide graduation on Wednesday. Then I’m free from school, FFFRRREEEEEE!!! I have to say that texting your brothers and friends during a ceremony does it make it more entertaining and faster. Diploma, here I come!
And since I enjoyed these so much last night and Shia hosting SNL is always win, please enjoy these clips of Shia while I go back to studying SciFi. It’s magic! And Shia would be a wonderful graduation present, hint, hint.
