2008
FILM
BY MITCHELL HUGHES
W
ELL, SPRING HAS SPRUNG, but the Summer movie season seems to keep coming earlier and earlier. We saw last year’s award season end in February with No Country for Old Men receiving the Oscar for Best Picture (that was one hell of a haircut, wasn’t it?), we saw Lady Liberty removed of her crown in Cloverfield, and though we were made to see Jason Segal’s junk we’ve all but forgotten Sarah Marshall. Iron Man is already a hit, Speed Racer already isn’t, but such is the cutthroat world of the Summer blockbuster. Enough talk. Let’s get it on! MAY SAVAGE GRACE May 30th The Cast: Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Stephen Dillane The Plot: Spanning 1946 to 1972, the film is a dramatization of the shocking murder of Barbara Daly Baekeland, a London socialite who married above her class to the heir of a plastics fortune, and depicts the tumultuous and sordid details of their dysfunctional family which includes a son. The Scoop: For an actress as daring as Julianne Moore (Short Cuts, anyone?), it’s ludicrous to think that she hasn’t won an Oscar. She might have a chance for another nomination with Savage Grace, if only it wasn’t just a tad lurid (and by a tad, we mean more like a ton). But bonus points should be awarded for the film not being titled Saving Grace. Wasn’t that a Kate Hudson movie? If it isn’t, it probably will be. THE FOOT FIST WAY May 30th The Cast: Danny McBride, Mary Jane Bostic, The Plot: Through the five tenets of Tae Kwon Do: courtesy, self-control, perseverance, integrity and indomitable spirit small town Tae Kwon Do instructor Fred Simmons (McBride) teaches his young protégés the power of the Foot and Fist. But when his wife leaves him he and his odd-ball friends make a pilgrimage to meet the greatest Martial Artist of all time, “The Truck.” The Scoop: It may not be saying much, but McBride all but stole Hot Rod from underneath Andy Samberg (he was hilarious as Rod’s ramp-making friend, Rico) and is on the cusp of comedy stardom. This deadpan film originally came to the attention to FunnyorDie.com founders Will Ferrell and Adam McKay in 2006, and the duo helped get it a theatrical release. PG 12 • insiteatlanta.com • June 2008
It just might be the sleeper hit of the summer. JUNE YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN June 6th The Cast: Adam Sandler, Emmanuelle Chriqui, John Turturro, Nick Swarsdon The Plot: In You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, a comedy from screenwriters Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel (Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) and Judd Apatow, Sandler stars as Zohan, an Israeli commando who fakes his own death in order to pursue his dream: becoming a hairstylist in New York. Dennis Dugan, the maker of some of the worst so-called comedies in memory, directs. The Scoop: Sandler continues to dance with the one who brung him and is back with another familiar, conventional “Adam Sandler Movie”. Granted, most of his films do not contain Israeli soldiers or amorous hairdressers, and with Reign Over Me he’s shown some out-of-the-box thinking, but it would be a shame to think that his Big Daddy, Waterboy-era fanbase has outgrown him. KUNG FU PANDA June 6th The Cast (Featuring the voices of ): Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie The Plot: Jack Black is the voice of Po the Panda, the laziest of all the animals in the Valley of Peace. Po’s dreams become reality when he joins the world of Kung Fu and studies alongside his idols, the legendary Furious Five-- Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey-- under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu. Suddenly, their world is threatened by the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung, and Po is the unlikely one chosen to defend their peaceful existence. The Scoop: Try as they might, DreamWorks Animation can’t quite measure up to the consistent excellence that is Pixar. As long as they continue to dabble in tired pop culture references and in-jokes only parents will get, Kung Fu Panda is likely to be nothing more than a temporary diversion on a hot day. THE INCREDIBLE HULK
June 13th The Cast: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt The Plot: The Hulk returns, this time played by Ed Norton in place of Eric Bana and directed by Louis Leterrier in place of Oscar-winner Ang Lee. When the movie begins, Bruce Banner has already transformed into the giant green Hulk and hiding out in Brazil trying to find a cure for the gamma-ray exposure that turns him into a monster. On his trail is Gen. Thunderbolt Ross (Hurt) and Emil Blonsky (Roth), a soldier who turns into his foe, Abomination. The Scoop: The new film is said to be truer, not only to the comic book, but to the ‘70s TV show. However, there have reportedly been major creative differences over the final cut of the picture between Norton and Marvel Studios. Marvel opted for a leaner, more fast-paced version and apparently prevailed. If Ed Norton is as apoplectic as has been reported… well, that’s not a good sign. THE HAPPENING June 13th The Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Spencer Breslin The Plot: While on a train journey to sort out their rocky marriage, Wahlberg (as a Philadelphia-based science teacher) and Deschanel discover that a mysterious and deadly force is wreaking havoc throughout major American cities. Heading for the Pennsylvania farmlands, where they hope they’ll be out of reach of the grisly, evergrowing environmental attacks, they discover that nowhere is safe. The Scoop: The Happening looks to be a return to form for M. Night Shyamalan after the failures of The Village and The Lady in the Water. It looks incredibly scary. Give him credit also for the unlikely pairing of Wahlberg
and Daschanel as a married couple. On the downside, the chances are slim of someone in this movie declaring, “It’s my happening baby and it freaks me out.” Which is ironic when you think about it. GET SMART June 20th The Cast: Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terrence Stamp The Plot: Maxwell Smart (Carell) is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of the U.S. spy agency CONTROL is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst, Maxwell Smart. With little field experience, but with the help of Agent 99, Smart must thwart the doomsday plans of KAOS. The Scoop: It’s hard to predict which Steve Carrell will show up in Get Smart. Will it be the Carrell of 40 Year Old Virgin and The Office, or will it be the Carrell of Evan Almighty and his somewhat stilted SNL hosting stints? More importantly, does director Peter Segal (The Longest Yard, 50 First Dates) have what it takes to match the sardonic wit and comedic timing of the classic 1960s spy spoof sitcom? We wouldn’t bet on it. THE LOVE GURU June 20th The Cast: Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Verne Troyer The Plot: Pitka (Myers) is an American raised by gurus in India who returns to Canada in order to break into the self-help
