Lights! camera! popcorn! It’s summertime which, in movie terms, means budgets, blockbusters and great expectations. But which of the remaining summer movies are the must-sees?
Recession? What recession? At a time when global industries are taking a collective hit, the movie business continues to go from strength to strength with box-office numbers at an all-time high. But, it was ever thus. The only queues longer than those for the soup kitchens in 1920s New York were the queues to catch escapist Busby Berkeley fare at the local cinemas. For our part, Ireland has always topped those cinema-going-per-capita charts and that figure has again risen in the past 12 months. There were almost 18 million cinema admissions in the country last year, with the summer months providing the majority of that audience, thanks to the likes of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Up and the ongoing success of Avatar.
This summer looks like being another triumph at the Irish box-office. Not only are there some cast-iron sequels hoving into view, but the success of the 3D format (take a bow, James Cameron) has proved very attractive, with younger audiences in particular. So far this summer, we’ve had a bunch of hero movies for the alpha-male market: Iron Man 2 paved the way and once again, Robert Downey Jr delivered the goods (it’s fast approaching the $250 million mark in the US alone). A buffed-up Jake Gyllenhaal attracted a young, gaming audience for Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, while Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe successfully paired up for the fifth time to bring a thoughtful Robin Hood to the big screen.
All of those titles might have been released a little later in the summer but for two things. One was the World Cup (not many movies are guaranteed to entice blokes away from that couch); and the other was the phenomenon known as Sex and the City 2. Far from being an obstacle to its success, the World Cup schedule is actually a boon for Carrie and co. as it gives female audiences an excuse to leave their blokes with their beer cans, footie schedules and crisp packets and head down the cineplex with their gal pals for 146 minutes of sheer escapism.
Coming soon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (July)
Dir: David Slade
The crowds, the squeals, the media frenzy: yes people, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will be heating up our screens this summer!
Twilight fever is ready to spread across the land once again as the saga’s third instalment, Eclipse, opens in cinemas July 9. The drama heats up as Edward (Pattinson) and Bella (Stewart), reunite after spending most of last year’s New Moon estranged, face daunting new challenges. In the continuation of this decade’s most iconic love story, a string of unsolved murders in the big city (Seattle) by an army of vampires brings Twilight’s posse of vampires and werewolves together to fight a common enemy. Jacob 'Let’s Just Be Friends' Black (Lautner), meanwhile, isn’t about to abandon his pursuit of Bella just yet. Bella is once again forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob, knowing that her decision has the potential to reignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, our leading lady is confronted with the most important decision of her life.
What we think: A more action-oriented director (David Slade’s credits include 30 Days of Night) could give Eclipse appeal outside Twilight’s usual fanbase.
Fresh blood
Playing vengeful vampires and wild werewolves, these newcomers give Eclipse some real bite.
Xavier Samuel
The Aussie actor joins Eclipse as Riley, the human who falls for Victoria and becomes a vampire to do her bidding. Although he has starred in films down under, Samuel faced a steep learning curve adjusting to Twilight fame. "It’s a bizarre thing, the whole celebrity phenomenon", he said. "It’s a little strange having someone follow you to get a coffee."
So for the most important question of them all; is he Team Jacob or Team Edward? “I’m gonna sit on the fence. I’m not down with the wolfpacks; but I’m not down with the Cullen clan either.”
Bryce Dallas Howard
Replacing Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria – the fiery nemesis who creates a band of newborn bloodsuckers to hunt down Bella – Howard told MTV she felt "a huge responsibility to do my best". Howard, daughter of Ron Howard, most recently starred in Terminator Salvation as Kate Connor and also appeared in Spider-Man 3, Lady In The Water and The Village. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her leading performance as an actress in the HBO film As You Like It.
Booboo Stewart
He launched his career not on the big screen but in the studio. At age 12, Stewart signed a record deal with Walt Disney records and the pop group T-Squad. The LA native later starred in the indie flick American Cowslip before joining Taylor Lautner’s tribe as enthusiastic werewolf Seth Clearwater.
Twilight trivia!
* Kristen Stewart wore a wig for this film after cutting her hair short for The Runaways.
* Director David Slade originally spoke out against the Twilight series, saying that he wouldn’t go near the franchise. Shortly after he was announced as the director of Eclipse, he quickly withdrew his previous remarks, claiming it to be a joke he was doing to promote some comedy shorts.
* Both Paul Weitz and Drew Barrymore were considered as directors.
* Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson descend upon the 2010 MTV Movie Awards on June 6 to create mayhem. They’re also there to present an exclusive clip of Eclipse to their adoring fans, reports MTV.
* A little over a month after Eclipse hits the cinema, the people behind movies like Disaster Movie, Epic Movie, Date Movie and Meet the Spartans are planning to unveil their latest travesty: Untitled Vampire Spoof Movie.
Jonah Hex (June)
Dir: Jimmy Hayward
Starring: Josh Brolin, Megan Fox
Megan Fox had a pretty good 2009, graduating from pin-up to Hollywood A-lister with consummate ease. So while DC comic book fans have been looking forward to Josh Brolin getting his teeth into the role of the disfigured bounty hunter, the rest of the (male) world is waiting to see Ms Fox as his gun-wielding gal pal. Brolin himself is well aware of the Fox phenomenon and recently declared that his passionate love scenes with the 23-year-old actress in this film were payback for his wife, Diane Lane, getting to lock lips with Oliver Martinez and Richard Gere in Unfaithful. If (unlike Josh) you can tear yourself away from Ms Fox, the movie also stars John Malkovich and our man Michael Fassbender.
Shrek: Forever After (July)
Dir: Mike Mitchell
Starring: the voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz
Given that the Shrek franchise has taken in more than $1.5 billion at the US box-office, you would expect the fourth instalment to deliver the goods. A relatively lukewarm opening in the States notwithstanding, the latest ogre-fest has a lot going for it, not least its 3D format and its coterie of audience favourites (yes, Puss in Boots is back). In addition to the usual team of Myers, Diaz, Banderas and Murphy, some extra clout is provided by the presence of Kathy Griffin as the Dancing Witch and Glee fave Jane Lynch as Gretched. This is likely to be the final outing for the jolly green giant so make the most of it!
Knight and Day (July)
Dir: James Mangold
Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz
It’s one of the corniest titles of the summer but the Cruiser usually knows what he is doing when it comes to choosing movie roles. He reunites with his Vanilla Sky co-star Diaz for this comedy spy thriller. That phrase ‘comedy spy thriller’ and the fact that it was once attached to Chris Tucker, doesn’t fill one with much hope, but Cruise brought ace scripter Scott Frank on board and the results (if the trailer is anything to go by) are impressive.
Inception (July)
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page
Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi drama Inception is his first original work since his debut feature, Following, in 1998 (why bother writing your own stuff when you get handed such cracking yarns as Insomnia, Memento and a brace of Batmans?). The slightly bonkers trailer gives nothing away but the director has described Inception as ‘a contemporary science fiction tale set within the architecture of the mind’. Very intriguing and Nolan has certainly assembled a top-notch cast that includes Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Tom Berenger and our man Cillian Murphy. In a recent interview, Leo told The Guide that Inception was the most exciting project he has been involved with for years.
Toy Story 3 (July)
Dir: Lee Unkrich
Starring: the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
He was the editor on the first film and co-director on the second, now Lee Unrich gets to direct the 3D version of Pixar’s most beloved franchise. It’s hard to bet against this one being a gem. Darrell Rooney (the Meet the Fockers scribe) had penned a tale which sees Andy heading off to college but not before, gasp, binning his beloved toys. All the voice talent has returned with Michael Keaton taking on the role of Barbie’s Ken and Timothy Dalton voicing Mr Pricklepants the hedgehog. A sure-fire winner.
The A-Team (July)
Dir: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper
Big-budget remakes of ’70s TV shows haven’t exactly been a roaring success to date (Dukes of Hazzard or Starsky and Hutch, anyone?) so the jury is out on this one. Casting is always key with such pop culture icons and it’s interesting to see our man Liam Neeson assuming the George Peppard role as Hannibal. Elsewhere, Bradley (‘It’s always been a dream to do an action movie’) Cooper is Face and UFC fighter Quinton Jackson gets to channel Mr T. The story has our heroes as Iraq War veterans attempting to clear their names with the US military brass. Lone female Jessica Biel is excited about the project: "There are a lot of throwbacks to the TV show", she explains, "but at the same time it’s emotional with dramatic elements." Watch out for cameos from original A-Teamers, Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz.
The Karate Kid (July)
Dir: Harald Zwart
Starring: Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith
Hands up who remembers the old ’80s classic? ‘Wax on, wax off’, the Crane Kick and all that? Well, that faithful old yarn is being remade with Will Smith’s young son, Jaden, in the Ralph Macchio role and Jackie Chan taking on the role of the Kung Fu guru. Director Zwart has a track record for cheesy comedies (Pink Panther 2, anyone?) but this one looks pretty good, the China settings are lush and, best of all, young Smith seems to have the goods when it comes to the action stuff.
Salt (August)
Dir: Philip Noyce
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber
It’s a measure of how powerful Angelina Jolie has become in Hollywood that this thriller, originally written with Tom Cruise in mind (the movie was called Edwin A. Salt), was rewritten for a female lead when Ms Jolie expressed an interest. The story of a CIA agent who has to prove her loyalty when a Russian defector accuses her of being a double agent, Salt is a full-blown actioner in which the durable Angelina performs all of her own stunts (bet the insurance guys loved that) and not even a head wound that required hospital time could put a stop to her gallop.
Scott Pilgrim Vs the World (August)
Dir: Edgar Wright
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary-Elizabeth Winstead
The buzz around this one has been growing for months, particularly among comic book aficionados. Michael Cera takes on the title role as the wannabe rock star who fancies Mary-Elizabeth Winstead but must defeat her seven evil former boyfriends before he can secure a desired date. The supporting cast includes hot newcomer Anna Kendrick, Kieran Culkin and Chris Evans (no, not that one). Featuring the tag-line ‘an epic of epic epicness’, Scott Pilgrim is directed by Englishman Wright, who is well regarded in Hollywood following his modest success with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. This could be his passport to the major leagues.
The Expendables (August)
Dir: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke
On paper, this action yarn about a group of mercenaries heading off to a banana republic is standard action fare. Fair play to Sly, therefore, for upping the ante by packing the movie with enough testosterone to power a nuclear plant. Stallone himself is on hand, surrounded by, wait for it: Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin and Mickey Rourke. Van Damme and Segal both turned it down but Stallone more that made up for that ‘setback’ by getting his old Planet Hollywood mockers, Arnie and Bruce, to sign up for cameo duties. Watch out for the late Brittany Murphy in her final role.
Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps (September)
Dir: Oliver Stone
Starring: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf
Twenty two years after declaring ‘greed is good’ and starting a fashion for natty red braces, Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko is back in the spotlight. Given the turmoil in the global financial market in general and Wall Street in particular, Oliver Stone felt this was a good time to revisit one of his most famous screen creations. Now disgraced, Gekko is contacted by a young trader (LaBeouf) who seeks his help in averting the impending fiscal disaster. "The individual Gekko would no longer exist in this new Wall Street", quoth Stone. "The big players now are major banks and hedge funds. The money's too big." Carey Mulligan, Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon and Josh Brolin all star, while Charlie Sheen returns in a cameo role as Bud. Incidentally, that chemistry between LaBeouf and Mulligan obviously wasn’t confined to the big screen.
The Town (September)
Dir: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner
Ben Affleck the actor hasn’t always been garlanded but Ben Affleck the director certainly did the business with Gone, Baby Gone. For his sophomore effort, Affleck is back in Boston for an adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s novel about four bank robbers on the run from the FBI. Affleck cast himself in one of the major roles and then lucked out when he cast Jeremy Renner in another. Renner was a jobbing actor on day one on set but once The Hurt Locker started hoovering up the awards, Affleck knew he was looking down the lens at a major A-lister. So it goes. The cracking supporting cast includes Blake Lively, Rebecca Hall and Jon Hamm.
Michael Doherty
