July and August Movies 2009

The last two months of summer are usually the best time for movie releases till after Thanksgiving. Audiences only deal with minimal blockbuster BS, and are treated to films that are just main stream enough to make money and earn accolades.

July 10:

• "Bruno" - It did not seem to get the same reception as Sacha Baron Cohen's last starring vehicle, "Borat." There may have been a backlash towards the exploitative style of film making, but critics were not overly harsh to the project, but not as rabid as they'd been for "Borat". Still, Cohen might be the contender for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical when he Golden Globes come around.
• "I Love You, Beth Cooper" - A PG-13 movie about teenage corruption is a paradox. It should not happen. With the more intelligent "Assassination of a High School President" making it to DVD this fall, this film will hopefully be forgotten even though I cannot say it was necessarily bad.

July 24:

• "G-Force" - I had fun watching this film. The only thing I would complain about is that it wasn't completely animated. People who were cast as people instead of rodents were done so because they look odd. Bill Nighy was cast because he's a creepy Brit, and Zach Galifianakis looks funny. None of their abilities as actors are used, so why not take the time to just draw these caricatures?
• "Orphan" - A tried horror concept in a time of bad horror movies. This is not a good thing.
• "The Ugly Truth" - Katherine Heigl in R-Rated comedies seems to work, and it would be nice to see Gerard Butler portray someone who is not shouting all the time. Otherwise, nothing unique about this flick.

July 31:

• "Aliens in the Attic" - Enough with the damn aliens this year. Didn't we just have a cute live-action animated flick?
• "The Collector" - Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan might be the smartest minds in horror, but if the film is not as intense as the latter "Saw" trilogy, it can't be good. Still, when "Saw" is mentioned, awards won't be.
• "Funny People" - It is a film that could have crossed Judd Apatow over to serious cinema, but I haven't heard anyone say that it did.

August 7:

• "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" - I like their tie in to Toys for Tots this year, but that is the only good to come from this film.
• "Julia & Julia" - This film may further Amy Adam's career with Golden Globe contention, but otherwise it is a chick flick. An overly sophisticated one, but a vagina venture none-the-less.
• "A Perfect Getaway" - I wanted to check this one out as a Milla Jovovich fan. Who wouldn't be curious about what her film might be with a genuine supporting cast? Provided they hadn't seen "The Messenger." Still, Jovovich is strictly niche, so this was kind of pointless to be distributed by anyone aside from Magnolia, First Look Studios, or ThinkFilm.

August 14:

• "Bandslam" - Nothing more than capitalizing on the lack of a "High School Musical."
• "District 9" - If "Moon" did not come out this year, this would be the best sci-fi movie of the decade. The effects are hit or miss, but bringing modern issues into sci-fi and doing it well is masterful. Still, the term sci-fi won't give you the 10th spot at the Oscars.
• "Ponyo" - It definitely can be argued as the best animated feature this year.
• "The Time Traveler's Wife" - It is sad to see that Rachel McAdam's is stuck in these chick films. This film will be overshadowed on all levels. "Julia & Julia" takes the chick audience, "District 9" takes the geeks.

August 21:

• "Inglourious Basterds" - "Moon" is the only film that may be better than this one, but Basterds has the advantage of being so huge. This better be the Weinstein's best picture spot.
• "Post Grad" - Another chick flick. Who had the bright idea to sell a picture with only one of the chicks from "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"?
• "Shorts" - Basterds is a long flick, so I don't know why Robert Rodriguez would release a flick the same time his good friend Quentin Tarantino released one. It's not like the kids could watch "Shorts" while the parents watched Basterds. Did the failure of "The Grindhouse" create a rift between the two?

August 28:

This week was devoted to horror movies. One was a crappy 3-D flick, the other was one from a director who doesn't understand terror. As a fan of Cinema, I don't know how will get this one back. Ang Lee chose the wrong weekend to get weird.

halloweenmovie.fandom.com - The Collector