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Thursday
30Apr2009

What Will Be the Best Movies of the Summer?

DateThursday, April 30, 2009 at 6:39PM
There are really two conversations when you bring up summer movies. There's the discussion about what movies will make the most money (we covered that earlier this week) and then there are all the opinions about what the best summer movies will be.

That doesn't account for every movie released between now and Labor Day, because many of them weren't made to necessarily compete in this environment and have been put here as counterprogramming for one reason or another. We're considering those movies that are really driving the industry for the next few months, and my short list is 15 films long.

As for the smaller movies, what we would consider indie fare, we'll discuss those this weekend. It's a very good crop of non-event movies, too.

It's going to be a great summer for Christian Bale, who most movie fans probably consider the star of the best movie last summer. This year, by my own accounting, he might have the top two movies between now and September, with Terminator Salvation and Public Enemies. They're entirely different, and I'm not even convinced Public Enemiesis a good fit for the July 4th weekend, but both films have tons of potential.

For Terminator, it's a real chance to set up a very good franchise, particularly with an actor of Bale's intensity as John Connor. You've also got a possible star-making turn by Sam Worthington, who is suddenly one of the more in-demand actors going. Public Enemies is a gangster movie with Bale and Johnny Depp, directed by Michael Mann. Tough to knock that combination.

I'm going to cheat a little bit on a couple of May movies because I've seen Wolverine and Up. Wolverine won't replicate Iron Man, commercially or critically, but Up is in the upper tier of Pixar movies, and that's really saying something. But May also has Star Trek, Angels & Demons, and Drag Me to Hell in this discussion, and the reaction to Star Trek to this point has been almost unanimously positive. The other two would be surprises, frankly, but there are plenty of good things about both of them on paper.

June, for reasons I just don't understand, is not a big month for Hollywood. I've heard it's because the studios feel more people are on vacation that month than in May and July, and they don't want to jeopardize the super budget movies in a month where attendance might be down. And yet...the Fourth of July. Go figure.

So June has less candidates for best of the summer, although the ShoWest crowds loved what they saw of The Hangover, and there's always Transformers to contend with on June 24th. Year One and The Taking of Pelham 123 are also on the June schedule, but realistically, Transformers is the most legitimate candidate. The first once certainly didn't disappoint.

With Public Enemies, Harry Potter, Bruno, and Funny People all hitting theaters in July, we could see a high percentage of the summer's best films in its second biggest month. The comedies are the big question marks; can Bruno repeat what Borat did, and can Judd Apatow keep his hot streak going? I'd say the odds are better for Bruno, just because it looks funnier and more compelling in the trailers. Hard to say it'll be the "best" of the summer, though.

And August is a contributor this year. Normally an afterthought, August gave us the best movie of the summer of 2007 with The Bourne Ultimatum, so anything's possible with the freaky sci-fi alien movie District 9 and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds on the way that month.

But if I had to rank them now, knowing what I know and assuming a great deal more, here are my predictions for the best movies of summer 2009:

1 - Terminator Salvation
2 - Public Enemies
3 - Star Trek
4 - Up
5 - Harry Potter
6 - Bruno
7 - Transformers
8 - Inglourious Basterds
9 - Taking of Pelham 123
10- The Hangover

There are a few other films with high profiles that I just don't think are going to be good enough to make the cut, like Land of the Lost, G.I. Joe, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , , , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment6 Comments |

Reader Comments (6)

1. Inglorious Basterds
2. Public Enemies
3. Up
4. Moon
5. The Hangover
6. Star Trek
7. Terminator Salvation
8. Funny People
9. Paper Hearts
10. The Hurt Locker
(10&1/2 Bruno)
(10&3/4 Give em Hell Malone)

Thursday, April 30, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterAnybody

See, I don't consider Moon, Paper Hearts, Hurt Locker, or Give 'em Hell Malone "summer movies." Those we'll cover in our next column on the subject, probably Saturday. Interesting that you think Basterds will leapfrog everything.

Thursday, April 30, 2009 | Registered CommenterColin Boyd

Ahhh I see what you mean, not movies released during the summer but a blockbuster summer genre thing... then just drop those four out (since I went two over anyways) and put Transformers at 9 and GI JOE at 10.

Thursday, April 30, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterAnybody

Public Enemies!!!!

Friday, May 1, 2009 | Unregistered Commenterlau

Well I'll try based on what little I've seen to this point.

1. Public Enemies
2. Star Trek
3. Terminator Salvation ( though I hope it surprise me)
4. Up
5. Funny People
6. Potter
7. Inglorious Bastards
8. Transformers ( Will certainly be the most visually stunning)
9. Bruno
10. Angels and Demons ( Please?)

Friday, May 1, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterScott

The best movie of he summer is transformers 2, the second is harry potter 6, and the third is wolverine.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 | Unregistered Commenterbb

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