This Summer's Best...

So this was a pretty successful summer as far as movies go. There were some misses, but overall I kept going back to the theater week after week and was not disappointed. Now that Labor Day has come and gone, the summer blockbusters are also sadly done. We will have to wait until next year for what could possibly be even greater than this year, with the new Harry Potter, Transformers 2, Watchmen (!!! I hope...), G.I. Joe, Dragonball, Akira (maybe?). Too many to name but it could be insane. Before I can look ahead to next summer, I have to reflect on this one. The best movies of the summer. Another top 5 list...a couple honorable mentions are Hancock (I continue to believe that Peter Berg is one of the best working writer/directors) and Step Brothers which was hilarious. Much funnier than the two other big budget comedies, Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder.

#5 Hellboy 2
Great follow up the the first one. I thought the story was great but really, it was the visuals that did it for me. It might be one of the most imaginative, colorful, alive atmosphere I have ever seen on film. I have seen some great special effects before, but Del Toro is a master at them and really gave this movie every thing he had.

#4 Hamlet 2
Just barely got in before Labor Day, but this movie was hilarious. Not actually a sequel to Hamlet, but about a guy who writes a musical called Hamlet 2. Steve Coogan is hilarious throughout and the rest of the cast is just as funny though I can't help but wish my boy David Arquette had more lines. Probably the most fulfilling comedy of the summer. Definitely should be this years little Indie that could. Go see it! It's still expanding into more theaters and should be out for a while.










#3 The Dark Knight
I know, I know... #3? But the more I see it, the more I like Batman Begins better. Don't get me wrong. I loved the movie. I think Heath Ledger gave one of the greatest villain performances (or any performance for that matter) of our generation. He was The Joker. It was crazy good. But the story had so much going on, and yet not a whole lot at all. I thought they could have almost made two different movies out of this. I think the Two Face story line suffered a little bit because of the need to end that one and The Joker. No need to explain or recap, I'm sure you've all seen it at least once. I loved this movie, but it wasn't the best of the summer.


















#2 Wall-e
WaaaAAAAAAllll-EEeeee, indeed. What a great movie. In my book this is an oscar contender for best movie, not just best animated. It was great. Kind of amazing actually. If you haven't seen it, it might be playing in some theater near you. Go see it. Pixar continues to blow me away with great movies. I actually can't think of another studio that only puts out classics every time they release something. It's insane. Great characters, great story, great everything.




















#1 Iron Man
My favorite movie in forever. I was so hyped for this movie it was almost impossible to live up to my expectations, but somehow it surpassed them. It was perfect. I could have had a little better final battle, but I can't complain. The rest of the story was amazing. It held true to the comic even though it updated a little. I thought Terrance Howard could have done a little more to be like James Rhodes but hopefully he'll have that chance in Iron Man 2. Much better story and acting than The Dark Knight. I thought Robert Downey Jr. was as much Tony Stark as Heath Ledger was The Joker. Probably not an Oscar nod for Jr. but it was still something special. It comes out on dvd in a few weeks so if you never saw it in theaters, pick it up on dvd.

Anyways, I'm out. You probably don't agree but I've seen about every movie worth seeing this summer (though I lived in Michigan for most of the summer so I missed some indie releases that I feel would have made this list like Son of Rambow or The Promotion). Well, that's it. Go big...

-M, p, z & shredder

oh ps - Entourage ruled last night. I like where it's headed. I was worried after last season but it seems to have gotten back on track. Also that new series True Blood is awesome.

The Dark Knight...

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! Finally!!!!!!!















I actually haven't even processed or come to terms with the fact that it's finally been released and I've finally seen it.

Right now Spider-Man III holds the record for biggest opening weekend at 151.6 million. That's kind of a lot. And kind of hard to top. Spider-Man III was ridiculous. Not in a good way. I enjoyed the movie, but it was silly. Summer fun. This morning I saw the Dark Knight. It might be one of my favorite movies ever. Obviously I say this a lot right after I see a movie. But do me a favor and go see it. This weekend. Today, tomorrow or Sunday. You need to see this. It's obvious you're going to see it. Just do it this weekend. I want this movie to break every record ever. I want it to break the 1.2 Billion that Titanic made worldwide and I want it to break the opening weekend record as well. It deserves it.



















As far as the movie goes, I was blown away. I didn't even realize it until after I came out and relaxed that I was tense for the whole movie. On edge. Waiting to see what was going to happen to who. It was crazy. Batman Begins was one of my favorite movies so my hopes were as high if not higher than anyones. I have been waiting 3 years for this. And it was worth every second. Seriously. Heath Ledger will win the oscar. No question. Start placing bets in Vegas.

Anyways, go big and go to the movies. Now.

-M, p, z & shredder

oh ps - bring your friends. bring as many people as you can. have a batman party. just go see it. if you don't like it, call me and I'll refund your money.

The Red Album...

So Weezer's new album finally came out and I must say, for those of you that are still fans of Weezer, it's finally an album worth the wait. In my opinion it is the best since 1995. If you do care, buy it on I-Tunes so you can get the Deluxe Edition which has 5 extra songs which are worth the extra couple dollars than if you bought it at Best Buy.

Also, it's getting to that time when the summer movie schedule starts to heat up. This friday we have the newest Apatow produced film, You Don't Mess With the Zohan which looks silly but also like it has about 100 one liners that I can recite for the rest of the summer. If you live in a city lucky enough to get The Promotion though, I definitely say choose that one. John C. Reilly and Sean Williams Scott pair up in an indie comedy which looks pretty good so far.



The countdown to Batman is still all I can think about but while we wait for that on the edge of our seats we do have Wall-e and Wanted to look forward to. Wanted might be the most bad ass movie to come along since Shoot Em Up (which is very underrated). Also, not sure how I feel about the clearly CG looking Hulk, but I love Edward Norton and since he wrote and produced this (he grew up loving the Hulk) I am pretty excited for it. Also my boy Mr. Shyamalan's new movie The Happening looks pretty sweet and really creepy.



Today also marks the last two primaries (finally). Not sure what Hillary is waiting for, and I don't fault her for staying in the race, but she's kind of beating a dead horse. She just won't be the nominee and she needs to accept it. But whatever, I'm just ready for November already.

As always, get your feet off the ground...Go big...

-M, p, z & shredder

oh ps - The Promotion isn't coming out here in Michigan yet so if you do get a chance to see it let me know how it is. Also if you don't believe me about Wanted, here is the trailer they only released in Russia because it's so bad ass...