Summer 2009 Movie Preview

The summer is the best season for movies! Films have even moved their debut dates in order to be a part of this steamy time of year. And with the economy still as sticky as a movie theater floor in August, cinema execs are anxious to see what the summer of ’09 will bring. Here are 6 films to sit in the a.c. and enjoy this summer…

June

June 5th – Away We Go – I saw this trailer during “Adventureland” and promptly (and semi legibly) scribbled down the release date so I wouldn’t forget. This “road trip” comedy starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph is about a couple having their first child who travel from friend to family member in order to find a place they can call home for their new little one. The ensemble cast is impregnated with our favorite character actors including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Jeff Daniels, and Catherine O'Hara just to name a few. This dramedy is sure to be chocked full of outlandish parenting advice, touching moments and lots of laughs.

June 24th – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Summer is a time when the industry likes to pump out sequels and 2009 is no exception. Just from the trailer “Transformers 2” looks promising with more action, total destruction, CG galore and an intriguing back story. Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf – who was in a car accident and seriously injured his left hand during the time he was making the movie) learns more about the history of the giant robots wreaking havoc worldwide in countries like Egypt, Paris and the US. I’ve also read that there is some IMAX footage, which only adds more excitement to the eye popping special effects.

July

July 1st – Public Enemies – If I was a movie exec and you pitched this film to me all you would have to say is “Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.” “Sold! Where do I sign?!” That’s how easily I'd agree. As an added bonus, this movie is directed by the hugely successful Michael Mann (‘Collateral,’ ‘Ali,’ ‘The Insider,’ ‘Heat,’ and ‘The Last of the Mohicans’). “Enemies” is a crime drama about infamous, depression era bank robber John Dillinger (Depp) and the clean cut FBI agent on Dillinger’s tale Melvin Purvis (Bale). With behind the scenes accounts that Bale was in character 24/7 and that Depp was as giddy as a school girl at the opportunity to handle Dillinger’s actual brief case – this film is producing expectations of being the only summer hit that will be remembered at Oscar time.

July 15th – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – This shouldn’t be on the summer ’09 list, but the head honchos who made “Prince” wanted to move the film to the summer for financial reasons. The latest installment of the JK Rowling series is ready to be showcased on the big screen. A darker story yet focusing on the origins of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named with a number of memory type flashback sequences that hold a lot of information for Harry. We also get a little more love in our favorite Hogwarts’ students lives (but I won’t tell you who in case you haven’t read the book).

August

August 21st - Inglourious Basterds – Yes, that’s spelled correctly. The latest movie by Quentin Tarantino starring Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, B.J. Novak and Cloris Leachman – is a movie with two stories combined. The first revolves around some Jewish-American soldiers out to take down a group of Nazis. The second revolves around a young Jewish woman who witnessed the death of her family and plots to avenge them while working at a movie theater. How do these two stories relate? The movie theater is the key (oh the irony).

August 28th – The Boat That Rocked – About a week ago I’d never heard of this movie, but then the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly landed in my mailbox and all I had to do was read the cast for this summer film to catch my attention. “Rocked” stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Gemma Arterton (“Quantum of Solace”), Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, January Jones (“Mad Men”), Rhys Darby (“Yes Man”), Jack Davenport (the “Pirates” series), Nick Frost (“Hot Fuzz”), Rhys Ifans (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Kirsty Mather (“Mamma Mia”), and Tom Wisdom (“300”). I mean…wow! What a line up! AND it’s directed by the man who gave us “Love Actually” – Richard Curtis.

What summer movies are you looking forward to? Can’t wait to see the ones mentioned above?

“Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.” – Frank Sinatra
So may the prayers, tranquilizers and JD be with you and see you next time.
http://moviesworketc.blogspot.com/

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DVD Review – “Twilight”

Summit Entertainment’s hit vampire flick “Twilight” is now on DVD. The film, based on the best selling series by Stephenie Meyer, in the theaters grossed over $376 million Worldwide (and had the 4th largest opening weekend gross for 2008) according to Box Office Mojo. But how does the DVD compare to the excitement theater goers felt? My only request for the next film (New Moon in theaters November 20, 2009) when it's available on DVD is bloopers!

Let’s uncover its secrets of “Twilight” on DVD…

If you buy the DVD from Target you get the 3 disk special edition (yippy!). The movie (of course) in addition to a “Special Features” and a “Bonus Features” DVD. Here are some of the highlights from the extra two disks:

- The Adventure Begins: The Journey from Page to Screen: This is one of my favorite features mostly because of the interviews with some of the key characters. The interviews are interspersed with footage from when the movie was being filmed and features commentary from a lot of the crew - everyone from the director to the special effects person to the casting director to screen writers to the author herself. As a movie geek I love learning how a film was made, so this Bonus Feature is particularly interesting to me, but even for non-geeks it gives outsiders a very in-depth but not too technical look into a hit film (and if you are a fan of the books you’ll love this section because throughout are the actors discussing how they develop and interpret their characters and situations – very interesting!).

- If you’re a fan of the books then you’ll love what’s on the third DVD from Target. An interview with the humble author Stephenie Meyer. She discusses everything from how she came up with the idea for Twilight to the mythology within the series to her first fan letter to becoming a New York Times best selling author. It’s sweet to hear how she perceives the world she’s created within this series.

- Becoming Edward – Want to know what actor Robert Pattinson thinks about his character – the perfect and pained Edward Cullen? Find out this and a lot more about the very talented British actor in a feature titled “Becoming Edward.”

- Becoming Bella – If you’ve ever wanted the description of an award winning actor listen to the movie director, screen writer and author talk about Bella’s Kristen Stewart. Stewart talks to the cameras about who Bella is and how complicated she is. She repeats “I didn’t know what I was getting into until after I had signed up to do the film.”

- Piano Concert – A tasty treat also on the third disk is Pattinson playing “Bella’s Lullaby” on the piano. Creative camera angles make the concert a delight to watch as the soothing melody is played out by the actor/musician. It gives new meaning to “tickling the ivories” to watch Pattinson play.

What are your favorite bonus features from the Twilight DVD?

“Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.” – Frank Sinatra

So may the prayers, tranquilizers and JD be with you and see you next time.

http://moviesworketc.blogspot.com/

Read more!