The box office party doesn't usually start for Hollywood until the first weekend in May. Of course, anyone who's paid any attention to the charts so far this year knows that we've practically been in blockbuster season since January. Just look at the grosses for Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Taken, Friday the 13th, and Fast & Furious. Some of the most high-profile films coming out this summer probably won't out-earn those early-year mega-hits and that’s more than a little unusual.
Perhaps that's why we're going into this summer season somewhat apathetically. Not only has the first third of 2009 produced a respectable number of hits, but it's also produced a much higher level of quality than most comparable seasons in years past. Taken, Coraline, Duplicity, Observe and Report, I Love You Man, and Adventureland were above-average multiplex fare and very few years have produced a string of quality films like Two Lovers, Gomorrah, Goodbye Solo, Sin Nombre, and Anvil! The Story of Anvil at the arthouse this early in the year. In other words, it's been a kick-ass year so far, which, oddly enough, makes the build-up to May kind of less exciting.
Or maybe it's the product. We know there are people out there excited for every single major Hollywood blockbuster landing between May and August 2009, but a good chunk of what's about to come our way leaves us, well, “cold” would be a nice way to put it. We'll address the films that have us the most wary in an upcoming feature, but several of the major sequels are not on our most anticipated list for a reason. Let's just say, May looks like it could be a little rocky.
Does that mean the whole season will be a wash? We doubt it. Any season with movies by Michael Mann, Quentin Tarantino, Judd Apatow, Sam Raimi, Woody Allen, Steven Soderbergh, Sam Mendes, and Pete Docter (of Pixar fame) is going to have a few bright spots. Will this year produce a one-two punch as vital to the cinematic picture as WALL-E and The Dark Knight did last year? Will Apatow continue his reign of comedy supremacy? Can Pixar do it again? What will be the best sequel? The best comedy? The best franchise reboot directed by J.J. Abrams? We have our own theories and thus here are our most anticipated movies of summer 2009.
- Brian Tallerico
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10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Release Date: June 24th, 2009
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Rainn Wilson, Hugo Weaving, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, and Isabel Lucas
Written by: Ehren Kruger & Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Directed by: Michael Bay
Either you're already preparing your angry comment or you're wishing it was higher on the list, but people are going to be talking about Transformers 2 all season long and we have to admit that the preview has made us curious. One of the more critically divisive films of the last several years, the first Transformers felt to us like the movie that Michael Bay was born to make. It perfectly fits his larger-than-life approach to cinema and the fact that he could be even louder, crazier, and more over-the-top with the sequel has us intrigued. Of course it doesn't hurt that Megan Fox is getting hotter by the day and John Turturro is back on board. Will Revenge of the Fallen be one of the best movies of the summer? Maybe, maybe not, and perhaps we're just buying into the very well-designed hype machine, but, good or bad movie, we still can't wait to see it on the big screen, even if we should know better.
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9. Star Trek
Release Date: May 8th, 2009
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Jennifer Morrison, Simon Pegg, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Rachel Nichols, Diora Baird, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, and Leonard Nimoy
Written by: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
We've liked or loved nearly everything J.J. Abrams has done to date, are hardcore Trek fans, and think this has the potential to be the best franchise reboot since Casino Royale. So, most of you are probably asking yourselves, “Then why ninth place and not higher?” Well, unlike a lot of fanboys, we have yet to be blown away by the previews and footage out there (and, no, we haven't read the early reviews, choosing to go in as unspoiled as possible even though we know the buzz out of Australia and Austin has been good...but, come on, would you have expected it to be anything but?). We love Eric Bana and think Quinto is well-cast, but something about Star Trek feels a little wrong. Not Battlefield Earth wrong, but we have a strange feeling that this will fall somewhere in between Wrath of Khan and The Final Frontier and, like a lot of franchise reboots, ultimately just be another film in the series. And you may notice something above or may have realized it already – Star Trek was written by two of the same guys who wrote Transformers and co-wrote its sequel. There's something about that that makes us worry a bit that our beloved Enterprise will be turned into just another machine.
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8. The Hurt Locker
Release Date: June 26th, 2009
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Evangeline Lilly
Written by: Mark Boal
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
The first great Iraq War movie could be here as early as this summer. We know, we know. Most of the Iraq movies so far have been misguided, deadly dull, or just plain stupid, and the dog days of summer seems like an odd choice for serious fare like this but they can’t all be popcorn escapism. The buzz on The Hurt Locker coming out of Toronto was absolutely deafening. We're a little worried as to why Summit Entertainment held this potential awards bait for so long, dulling its momentum, but this is a new studio that was probably both afraid to play with the big boys in the Oscar horse race last fall and was too busy counting their Twilight money. Regardless, The Hurt Locker continues to be one of the most buzzed films of the year and we can't wait to see it.
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7. Bruno
Release Date: July 10th, 2009
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen
Written by: Sacha Baron Cohen
Directed by: Larry Charles
Is there anyone out there who didn't like Borat? Sure, sure, there are probably conservative folks, the easily offended, and people who felt sorry for Pam Anderson, but those people probably aren't on MovieRetriever.com. Honestly, we run into divisive films all the time but the adoration of Borat seemed strikingly universal. Of course, Bruno isn't a straight (pun intended) sequel to Borat, but it's pretty damn close. Once again, Cohen will be pushing the boundaries in his effort to make people uncomfortable. Our only concern is that, sometimes when people are put in a position to be "outrageous again," it can lead to forced comedy in an effort to top what they did the first time. Luckily, Cohen is smarter than that and that first preview is damn, damn funny.
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6. Whatever Works
Release Date: June 19th, 2009
Starring: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Henry Cavill, Patricia Clarkson, Michael McKean, Ed Begley Jr., and Kristen Johnston
Written by: Woody Allen
Directed by: Woody Allen
Could there be two good Woody Allen summer comedies in a row? In recent years, a great Allen flick like Vicky Cristina Barcelona has usually been followed by one or two so-so entries in his annually-expanding canon. Did anyone see Cassandra's Dream? Scoop? But Whatever Works has the potential to break that pattern. Not only is Larry David a perfect lead for Woody's unique ear for dialogue but also Evan Rachel Wood seems like an expertly cast female lead. Very little is known about the plot of Whatever Works, but there’s something about Allen's return to NYC after a few films abroad that has us more than a little intrigued. This could be the arthouse hit of the season.
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5. Drag Me to Hell
Release Date: May 29th, 2009
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, David Paymer, and Fernanda Romero
Written by: Ivan & Sam Raimi
Directed by: Sam Raimi
This movie divided a number of our friends at SXSW, which almost makes it more intriguing. But, honestly, even if no one had told us it was great, it would be high on this list simply because we love that Raimi went back to the genre that made him and that he still loves – horror. Think about it. Even after the failure of Spider-Man 3, Raimi could have made big-budget, special-effects heavy action films for the rest of his life. There are studios sending him scripts for the next summer blockbuster on a regular basis. But, no, he went and developed a passion project, a horror film about a young woman being dragged to hell. Anyone who ever got a thrill from watching any of the Evil Dead movies better be there for Drag Me to Hell. It's like a homecoming. With less blood.
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4. Funny People
Release Date: July 31st, 2009
Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Eric Bana, Leslie Mann, Jason Schwartzman, Aziz Ansari, and Sarah Silverman
Written by: Judd Apatow
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow is the man. We realize that the burn-out factor seems to be approaching (if we’re not already there) on the Apatow-verse, but please remember that Judd himself has only directed two films before this one – The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Two of the best comedies of the last ten years. Hands down. And Funny People looks like a natural progression for this undeniably talented writer. Virgin dealt with sex and Knocked Up the aftermath. Funny People goes the next step to deal with something that eventually enters the mind of everyone after they've settled down, their mortality. And Sandler may have burned some bridges with his goofy family comedies, but when he keeps it real in films like Punch-Drunk Love, he can be an excellent performer. Everything about Funny People – the casting, the choice of material for the writer/director, the timing apparent in that preview – just feels right. We have a feeling Apatow's going to be three for three and might actually produce his best film yet.
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3. Up
Release Date: May 29th, 2009
Starring (the voices of): Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Delroy Lindo, and Jordan Nagai
Written by: Bob Peterson
Directed by: Pete Docter & Bob Peterson
Do we even have to say it? Okay. Here's why – Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E. 'Nuff said. It's this simple – until Pixar drops the ball with a couple of so-so releases, every film they make is going to make our annual anticipated summer movies list. They're the damn Yankees of movies. Not animation, movies. They're a contender for the top of the list every time they go to the cinematic plate, hands down.
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2. Inglourious Basterds
Release Date: August 21st, 2009
Starring: Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Cloris Leachman, Diane Kruger, Mike Myers, Sam Levine, Eli Roth, Til Schweiger, B.J. Novak, Michael Fassbender, and Julie Dreyfus
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
We just noticed this is the only film on the list coming out after July. It's gonna be a long August. But Basterds has the potential to make it all okay. We'll just see it a few times to make up for the lack of competition. Kind of like Pixar and Apatow's film, this one's kind of a no-brainer. I mean, who's NOT looking forward to an ultra-violent, three-hour Quentin Tarantino WWII movie about crazy soldiers killing Nazis? We'll be sitting front row opening weekend at this potential gorefest from a man who has yet to direct a remotely bad film with goofy grins on our faces. Brad Pitt doesn't seem like the right fit for Tarantino at first (though he was EPIC in the Tarantino-scripted True Romance), but QT has made casting decisions that seemed wrong on paper that turned out great on the big screen before. We have a feeling it's going to happen again.
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1. Public Enemies
Release Date: July 1st, 2009
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Channing Tatum, Billy Crudup, John Ortiz, Emilie de Ravin, Leelee Sobieski, Giovanni Ribisi, and Marion Cotillard
Written by: Ronan Bennett and Michael Mann & Ann Biderman
Directed by: Michael Mann
Have you seen that preview? Michael Mann, one of the best filmmakers of the last quarter-century, seems almost destined to tell this story. Think about his amazing filmography. He's dealt with good men chasing bad men for years in films like Manhunter, Heat, Collateral, and Miami Vice, and he clearly has a thing for larger-than-life personalities ranging from Hannibal to Ali to Tubbs. The story of John Dillinger seems like as ideal a fit of material and director as we’ve seen in years. And even though we'd love to see Johnny Depp play a part without a period costume, he looks amazing in the preview. Everything about Public Enemies feels right. We'll go out on a limb and say that this will not only be one of the best films of the summer but also one of the best films of the entire year and be a major player come Oscar season. Anyone want to take that bet?