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Trekker's Summer Movie Summation Thread

Trekker4747

Boldly going...
Premium Member
I was going to wait until after I saw Inglourious Basterds to do this, but with it now being September (pretty much meaning the end of the Summer Movie Season) and I'm not likely to get to see it for a while -if not until it's on DVD- I'm decided to do this now.

So, I'm going to surmise my take on this Summer's movies and reflect on my grades and ultimately the final grade for it. Will I buy it on DVD?

The Summer Movie Season as a whole? Pretty damn weak. Last Summer I went to see a movie nearly every weak, there was something "must-see" out that often, in fact weeks where nothing was coming out it was OK because TWO things came out the week before! This season? Not so much. Pretty light season and there were weeks where I went and saw something just to fill the void that is my life.

It's worth pointing out that in my "grading scale" I'm pretty generous. For a movie to get in the C's it has to be pretty damn terrible.

Wolverine:I gave this movie a "B" after seeing it. On reflection I'd probably take it a bit lower to a B-. All and all it was a wasted opportunity and a waste of characters. The movie is inconsistent with established X-Men movie lore (unless Sabertooth takes a bath in Rogaine and has a lobotomy at some point in the intervening time) and it just doesn't do much with what it has to work with. They could've focused a lot more on Wolverine's "growth" between being a child and when he meets Stryker (as we don't really need to see that part of his "life" as we already know what happens from the other X-Men movies) for the experiment that gives him the adamantium on his skeleton. A lot of missed opportunities here as Jackman is a perfectly cast Wolverine. Not likely I'll pick this one up on DVD unless/until Rifftrax does their take on it.

Star Trek: This was really the only must-see movie for me this Summer and it was well worth it. It got an A then and it gets an A now. I don't really like that they diverged from he "Prime Universe" and some of the decisions they made concerning the look/style of the Trek Universe, the characters and other aspects I can ignore all of that and just accept this as it's own thing. I'm not comfortable with it, but I can deal with it. The cast in this movie is damn-near perfect as they all do great jobs with these iconic roles. I just wish Quinto as Spock had a bit more "gruff" to his voice like Nimoy had. I guess Spock's balls haven't dropped yet. I will most certainly buy this one on DVD. In fact, I'll very likely buy it on Blu-Ray.

Terminator 4: This one I gave a B-. On reflection I'd probably drop it to a C+. It just wasn't that great, which is a shame because there's tons they could've done with this particular movie's set-up and they just wasted it. The action scenes in this movie weren't even that great. Not likely to get this one on DVD.

Up: Probably one of the "worst" Pixar movie I've seen. That said? It's still pretty damn great. It has a decent story and look but there's no real "gimmick" (talking toys, the mundane lives of monsters, a family of superheroes, a rat with culinary skills) to pull one in. The story itself is sweet and all but, honestly, I didn't care about the damn bird and I hated the kid. It's a very "meh" Pixar movie but it gets a "B" from me, although I likely won't get the DVD.

Year One: Jack Black, Michael Cera in a movie made by Harold Ramis?! How could it go wrong? Oh, it can. It CAN. A movie that is MADE of missed opportunity. When the movie was doing jokes on Biblical tales and times (Abraham on circumcision: "Believe me, this look is really going to catch on!") it was very funny. But those moments are few and far between and what is left is a lot of juvenile humor regarding eating poop and hairy or ball-less gay men in Sodom. The few "Biblical times" jokes in it are too far and few in between to make this movie worth seeing even once. I gave this movie a C back then, today it drops to a C-. Not one I will get on DVD.

The Hangover: This Summer's "Tropic Thunder" as the "comedy of the year." Hilarious movie, mostly from the brother-in-law character, that will leave you gasping for air. Got an "A" then, gets an "A" now. Only problem with it is that it's too short and Heather Graham only pops a boob for an instant. I will certainly get this one on DVD.

Transformers 2:: Ok, it's no secret that I didn't like this movie. It's no secret that I didn't like the first one. This one makes Transformers 1 look like a frigging' masterpiece. This movie is every Michael Bay cliche rolled into one and then multiplied by a billion. Look, I like Michael Bay he's made some fun movies (The Rock is one of my more favorite actions movies), but this movie just skull-fucks you for two half hours with nonsense. First of all, there's characters in it we don't need, entire sequences in it we don't need to further the "plot", "humor" sequences we don't need (and aren't funny. Sam's mom on hash brownies? :rolleyes:) and stuff we just don't need period. (Who really wanted to see Turturo's hairy taint?). Terrible, terrible movie and the the last hour of it is just one long action sequence where nothing happens. I actually fell-asleep during it for about 20 minutes and when I came-to I realized I hadn't missed anything. Not many movies you can miss 20 minutes of and not miss any plot-points. Got a D+ then, gets a D+ now. Certainly not getting it on DVD, not even Rifftrax can save this turd.

Julie and Julia: I liked Julia Child and I like cooking. Amy Adams is also really cute. This is a wonderful little movie that was a nice diversion from the splendor of the rest of the Summer. I likely won't get it on DVD as it has little re-watch value but it was a nice little movie with very few flaws. A+

G.I. Joe: A nice contrast to "Transformers" on the "action figures cum movie" front. Pretty good, if illogical on many fronts, action pieces (thankfully the "accelerator suits" bit was a small part of the overall movie) and lots of illogic to it. LOTS. Plot holes you can drive a tank-through. But it was a nice, fun, diversion and it'd be interesting to see what they do with this series. It's by no means a great action movie and the SFX in it are out of a video-game on a first-generation X-Box, but overall an OK movie. C+, but that's probably being a "bit" harsh considering my "scale." It just didn't feel right putting it in the B's. Rifftrax, if/when they do this, will rip this one to shreds. When they pick it up, I'll get the DVD.

District 9: Excellent movie. Not without its flaws but it's well made, with spectacular effects given its budget, and story (though my knowledge of South African segregation is limited) is very well executed and presented (even if the "documentary" and "traditional POV camera" styles conflicted with one another at times and even got confusing) and it has some great action scenes in it. A must-have on DVD for this "A" movie.

The Final Destination: The last movie I saw this "Summer" and only because it looked interesting and I enjoyed the others in the series. Nothing spectacular here it's the same old dance just a different tune. It's just funny to watch the over-the-top deaths in the movie which is really the only reason to see it. Just saw it for a diversion. I gave it a B- simply for that entertainment value alone. Not likely to get it on DVD.

So that's it. All the movies I saw this Summer (between the first of May and the end of August). Again, a weak Summer with only two movies I'll certainly get on DVD and a couple others I will only for the "riff value."
 
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You should check out Inglorious Basterds. Of the movies on your list I have seen Wolverine, Star Trek, T4, Up, The Hangover and District 9. I think that Inglorious Basterds is better than all of them plus a few others I've seen this summer.
 
You should check out Inglorious Basterds. Of the movies on your list I have seen Wolverine, Star Trek, T4, Up, The Hangover and District 9. I think that Inglorious Basterds is better than all of them plus a few others I've seen this summer.

IB is one I do want to go see.

I may try and go see it Friday Afternoon if I've got the time.
 
I pretty much agree with your assessments of Trek, T4, District 9, and TF2 (although unlike you I loved the first movie).

I agree I didn't love Up as much as I thought I would, but I think I still need to give it another chance. I watched it in 3D, and just found the process way too distracting to fully get into the movie.

And yeah, Basterds was clearly the best of the summer.
 
I thought I was going to a lot of movies this summer-but everything I wanted to see got a big "fail" from the critics. So I saved my money. I DID go to TREK and am happy I did. Now I watch it on DVD-I've seen it like 4 times and it just gets better. (Um, don't ask.:shifty: )

Wolverine and Terminator were s'posed to be my other big ones-but after all of the pastings they took I passed. I do want to see District 9, but it's the only one I believe needs to be seen on the big screen-I can do the DVD/HDTV/pause capability in my living room for the rest.
 
I was going to wait until after I saw Inglourious Basterds to do this, but with it now being September (pretty much meaning the end of the Summer Movie Season) and I'm not likely to get to see it for a while -if not until it's on DVD- I'm decided to do this now.

So, I'm going to surmise my take on this Summer's movies and reflect on my grades and ultimately the final grade for it. Will I buy it on DVD?

The Summer Movie Season as a whole? Pretty damn weak. Last Summer I went to see a movie nearly every weak, there was something "must-see" out that often, in fact weeks where nothing was coming out it was OK because TWO things came out the week before! This season? Not so much. Pretty light season and there were weeks where I went and saw something just to fill the void that is my life.

It's worth pointing out that in my "grading scale" I'm pretty generous. For a movie to get in the C's it has to be pretty damn terrible.

Wolverine:I gave this movie a "B" after seeing it. On reflection I'd probably take it a bit lower to a B-. All and all it was a wasted opportunity and a waste of characters. The movie is inconsistent with established X-Men movie lore (unless Sabertooth takes a bath in Rogaine and has a lobotomy at some point in the intervening time) and it just doesn't do much with what it has to work with. They could've focused a lot more on Wolverine's "growth" between being a child and when he meets Stryker (as we don't really need to see that part of his "life" as we already know what happens from the other X-Men movies) for the experiment that gives him the adamantium on his skeleton. A lot of missed opportunities here as Jackman is a perfectly cast Wolverine. Not likely I'll pick this one up on DVD unless/until Rifftrax does their take on it.

Star Trek: This was really the only must-see movie for me this Summer and it was well worth it. It got an A then and it gets an A now. I don't really like that they diverged from he "Prime Universe" and some of the decisions they made concerning the look/style of the Trek Universe, the characters and other aspects I can ignore all of that and just accept this as it's own thing. I'm not comfortable with it, but I can deal with it. The cast in this movie is damn-near perfect as they all do great jobs with these iconic roles. I just wish Quinto as Spock had a bit more "gruff" to his voice like Nimoy had. I guess Spock's balls haven't dropped yet. I will most certainly buy this one on DVD. In fact, I'll very likely buy it on Blu-Ray.

Terminator 4: This one I gave a B-. On reflection I'd probably drop it to a C+. It just wasn't that great, which is a shame because there's tons they could've done with this particular movie's set-up and they just wasted it. The action scenes in this movie weren't even that great. Not likely to get this one on DVD.

Up: Probably one of the "worst" Pixar movie I've seen. That said? It's still pretty damn great. It has a decent story and look but there's no real "gimmick" (talking toys, the mundane lives of monsters, a family of superheroes, a rat with culinary skills) to pull one in. The story itself is sweet and all but, honestly, I didn't care about the damn bird and I hated the kid. It's a very "meh" Pixar movie but it gets a "B" from me, although I likely won't get the DVD.

Year One: Jack Black, Michael Cera in a movie made by Harold Ramis?! How could it go wrong? Oh, it can. It CAN. A movie that is MADE of missed opportunity. When the movie was doing jokes on Biblical tales and times (Abraham on circumcision: "Believe me, this look is really going to catch on!") it was very funny. But those moments are few and far between and what is left is a lot of juvenile humor regarding eating poop and hairy or ball-less gay men in Sodom. The few "Biblical times" jokes in it are too far and few in between to make this movie worth seeing even once. I gave this movie a C back then, today it drops to a C-. Not one I will get on DVD.

The Hangover: This Summer's "Tropic Thunder" as the "comedy of the year." Hilarious movie, mostly from the brother-in-law character, that will leave you gasping for air. Got an "A" then, gets an "A" now. Only problem with it is that it's too short and Heather Graham only pops a boob for an instant. I will certainly get this one on DVD.

Transformers 2:: Ok, it's no secret that I didn't like this movie. It's no secret that I didn't like the first one. This one makes Transformers 1 look like a frigging' masterpiece. This movie is every Michael Bay cliche rolled into one and then multiplied by a billion. Look, I like Michael Bay he's made some fun movies (The Rock is one of my more favorite actions movies), but this movie just skull-fucks you for two half hours with nonsense. First of all, there's characters in it we don't need, entire sequences in it we don't need to further the "plot", "humor" sequences we don't need (and aren't funny. Sam's mom on hash brownies? :rolleyes:) and stuff we just don't need period. (Who really wanted to see Turturo's hairy taint?). Terrible, terrible movie and the the last hour of it is just one long action sequence where nothing happens. I actually fell-asleep during it for about 20 minutes and when I came-to I realized I hadn't missed anything. Not many movies you can miss 20 minutes of and not miss any plot-points. Got a D+ then, gets a D+ now. Certainly not getting it on DVD, not even Rifftrax can save this turd.

Julie and Julia: I liked Julia Child and I like cooking. Amy Adams is also really cute. This is a wonderful little movie that was a nice diversion from the splendor of the rest of the Summer. I likely won't get it on DVD as it has little re-watch value but it was a nice little movie with very few flaws. A+

G.I. Joe: A nice contrast to "Transformers" on the "action figures cum movie" front. Pretty good, if illogical on many fronts, action pieces (thankfully the "accelerator suits" bit was a small part of the overall movie) and lots of illogic to it. LOTS. Plot holes you can drive a tank-through. But it was a nice, fun, diversion and it'd be interesting to see what they do with this series. It's by no means a great action movie and the SFX in it are out of a video-game on a first-generation X-Box, but overall an OK movie. C+, but that's probably being a "bit" harsh considering my "scale." It just didn't feel right putting it in the B's. Rifftrax, if/when they do this, will rip this one to shreds. When they pick it up, I'll get the DVD.

District 9: Excellent movie. Not without its flaws but it's well made, with spectacular effects given its budget, and story (though my knowledge of South African segregation is limited) is very well executed and presented (even if the "documentary" and "traditional POV camera" styles conflicted with one another at times and even got confusing) and it has some great action scenes in it. A must-have on DVD for this "A" movie.

The Final Destination: The last movie I saw this "Summer" and only because it looked interesting and I enjoyed the others in the series. Nothing spectacular here it's the same old dance just a different tune. It's just funny to watch the over-the-top deaths in the movie which is really the only reason to see it. Just saw it for a diversion. I gave it a B- simply for that entertainment value alone. Not likely to get it on DVD.

So that's it. All the movies I saw this Summer (between the first of May and the end of August). Again, a weak Summer with only two movies I'll certainly get on DVD and a couple others I will only for the "riff value."

great list...and I agree with the ones I saw so I will see the others you liked..YOU BETTER BE RIGHT!!!

Rob
 
I saw Wolverine, and thought it was a terrible beginning to the season, but thought it could only go up from there. Then I saw T4, and realized how wrong I was. Then I saw Transformers 2 and realized I had just been through the worst summer since Batman & Robin, Speed 2 and The Lost World aborted my brain in 1997.

Thank God for Star Trek.
 
:techman:
I saw Wolverine, and thought it was a terrible beginning to the season, but thought it could only go up from there. Then I saw T4, and realized how wrong I was. Then I saw Transformers 2 and realized I had just been through the worst summer since Batman & Robin, Speed 2 and The Lost World aborted my brain in 1997.

Ugh. The Summer of 1997, the year my spirit for movies died. :(

Thank God for Star Trek.

:techman:
 
You should check out Inglorious Basterds. Of the movies on your list I have seen Wolverine, Star Trek, T4, Up, The Hangover and District 9. I think that Inglorious Basterds is better than all of them plus a few others I've seen this summer.

Where as I thought Inglorious Bastards was a complete waste of time. TREK and District 9 were both better (and were actually saw) by more than the critics who love Quentin and the 'college' in crowd that bothers too see this stuff...

Jackie Brown was FAR better...

Rob
 
You should check out Inglorious Basterds. Of the movies on your list I have seen Wolverine, Star Trek, T4, Up, The Hangover and District 9. I think that Inglorious Basterds is better than all of them plus a few others I've seen this summer.

Where as I thought Inglorious Bastards was a complete waste of time. TREK and District 9 were both better (and were actually saw) by more than the critics who love Quentin and the 'college' in crowd that bothers too see this stuff...

Jackie Brown was FAR better...

Rob
Well, tastes in movies is subjective. :) I thought Jackie Brown was really good, but IMO there's nothing in that film that compares with the opening scene of Inglorious Basterds.
 
I find Inglourious Basterds and Jackie Brown to be Tarantino's two best pictures...though Inglourious Basterds is the better of the two.

District 9 was also an excellent movie this summer.
 
Wolverine was a big disappointment. I thought by nabbing an auteur director this time in the presence of Gavin Hood was a huge upgrade from hiring industralist Brett Ratner for X-Men 3 so I thought Wolverine was bound to be decent. Boy, was I wrong. Working with 20th Century Fox can even taint the most talented of directors, apparently.

Star Trek was, of course, a highlight of the summer. Just fantastic on every level.

Terminator Salvation is underappreciated in my opinion but still not the best summer has to offer. I was actually genuinely surprised at how much I liked it.

The less said about Transformers 2, the better.

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince was the best in the series since Prisoner of Azkaban in my opinion. Stylish, moody, but still with a great sardonic sense of humor, it was a much better film than the over-the-top Goblet of Fire and the slow and uneven Order of the Phoenix. I look forward to the last "two" installments.

District 9 was the last "true" summer movie in my opinion, and it was just phenomenal. A true mix of indie sensibility and smarts and high octane imagination. Very original, and very entertaining.

Inglourious Basterds was good. I'm not that big of a Tarantino fan but it's definitely his strongest film in years.

For me, the true revelations of the summer was Duncan Jones' micro-budget, high on imagination sci-fi film Moon and Marc Webber's ingenious little anti-romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer. Indies kind of owned the summer in my personal opinion.
 
Yeah, I'm jaded, I guess. I thought this summer was a weak one. Only saw 5 films first run (Wolverine, Star Trek, Terminator, Basterds, GI JOE).

Basterds and District 9 seem to have been the most interesting.

I think Terminator Salvation was overly maligned, but I'll admit it added almost nothing to the mythos.

Star Trek was decent but overrated.

Wolverine, well, it's a movie you see for the actor playing the character, not the story. That's the best way to look at it. Definately lacking, one of those flicks where the best part of the film are the first 10 minutes.

Angels and Demons was mildly watchable. Had no hopes for it beyond entertaining me enough to justify the $1 I paid to see it.

Public Enemies, one of those that sounded great on paper. In actuality, bad audio mixing early on (hard to even hear some lines), Bale gets overshadowed by a better costar...again, and the end result is kinda "meh". And that's disappointing, since Michael Mann's efforts are usually more memorable.

Transformers 2, glad I waited for discount theater. It wasn't totally horrible, though. I was never especially bored. There was ample amounts of crap and stupidity in the film, but I didn't expect much.

GI JOE: The Rise of Cobra, as a long time fan, I was interested to see how they'd translate 80's franchise to the big screen. It wasn't a total train wreck, but it wasn't especially good.

Land of the Lost was so forgettable, I keep forgetting I saw it. Applying the Will Ferrell formula to a 70's kid's show...not sure why they bothered.
 
Public Enemies, one of those that sounded great on paper. In actuality, bad audio mixing early on (hard to even hear some lines), Bale gets overshadowed by a better costar...again, and the end result is kinda "meh". And that's disappointing, since Michael Mann's efforts are usually more memorable.

That was another one that disappointed me this summer. It should have been so good, but it just didn't come together at all and in the end was rather forgettable. Truly a disappointment.
 
Public Enemies, one of those that sounded great on paper. In actuality, bad audio mixing early on (hard to even hear some lines), Bale gets overshadowed by a better costar...again, and the end result is kinda "meh". And that's disappointing, since Michael Mann's efforts are usually more memorable.

That was another one that disappointed me this summer. It should have been so good, but it just didn't come together at all and in the end was rather forgettable. Truly a disappointment.

And continues a trend when two so called 'big' stars get together and the movie..sucks. City Heat, I think thats the title, that teamed Clint Eastwood with Burt Reynolds is a good example...

Rob
 
I saw Wolverine, and thought it was a terrible beginning to the season, but thought it could only go up from there. Then I saw T4, and realized how wrong I was. Then I saw Transformers 2 and realized I had just been through the worst summer since Batman & Robin, Speed 2 and The Lost World aborted my brain in 1997.

Interesting, I had a sort of exact opposite view. Having not seen any of those movies and seeing Star Trek, Moon and District 9, for me 2009 was a pretty good summer of movies, even a banner year for sci-fi pictures.

Ah, Moon. I loved that movie so very, very much. In all seriousness that is now one of my favourite sci-fi films ever. People need to see it. Go, now. Seriously, hypothetical reader, you didn't see Moon? You need to.

Other films I saw where Hurt Locker (good, a trifle predictable but a solid, serious war drama) Inglourious Basterds (a work of sheer creative genius) The Hangover (a filthy-minded Preston Sturges picture - Mike Tyson steals scene, sings) the Mesrine films (a solid French arty crime epic) and Antichrist (intense and uncomfortable is one way of putting it).

That's a pretty decent run. The only outright dud was Public Enemies, and what a dud that was - bloated, self-important and utterly shallow tripe. Well-meaning, though, but it's a film that thinks it's this amazing-deep gangster epic when it has all the substantial richness of taffy.

Up was only released here once summer ended, oddly enough, so it doesn't count.
 
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