PoP! Summer Movie Preview 2009
August 7th
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (PG-13)
Starring Dennis Quaid, Marlon Wayans, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The Joes finally get a live-action movie 45 years after hitting the toy shelves and 27 years after this particular take on the Joes came into existence. It’s the same old story since those A Real American Hero days: G.I. Joe versus Cobra. Honestly, do you really need to know ANYTHING else other than “live-action G.I. Joe movie”? I didn’t think so.
–Walden
Paper Heart (PG-13)
Starring Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera
Directed by Nicholas Jasenovec
Yi, the mousy-Asian-stoner-chick from Knocked Up, stars as herself, shooting a documentary about the existence (or lack thereof) of true love. The project, originally intended as a doc, evolved over the course of shooting, and a narrative was set into place involving Yi’s IRL boyfriend, Cera. Keep your eyes peeled for cameos from Seth Rogen, seen this summer in Funny People, and Demetri Martin, of the brilliant Important Things with Demetri Martin, and this August’s Taking Woodstock (scroll down for the low down on Woodstock). Paper Heart could very well be rmy pick for the sleeper hit of the summer, and possibly a Juno-sized juggernaut, PoP!pers. You heard it here first.
–Knize
Shorts (PG)
Starring William H. Macy, Jon Cryer, James Spader
Directed by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City)
A mystical rock lands in a Texas burb, granting the most redonkulous wishes of the neighborhood kids. The “shorts” are told through the eyes of 11-year-old Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennet) in the same fractured structure which led director Rodriguez to refer to his flick as “Pulp Fiction for kids”. Watch out for when one of the tykes wishes to “bring out the gimp”.
– Knize
August 14th
Taking Woodstock (R)
Starring Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Liev Schreiber, Emile Hirsh
Directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
Based on the memoir of the same name by unlikely hero Elliot Tiber, Tiber (Martin) stumbles and fumbles his way through the planning and staging of the defining moment of a generation, Woodstock. It will be interesting to see if Martin, wonderful on his segments on The Daily Show, genius in his stand-up specials, and revolutionary on Important Things, can step away from the large pad and actually ACT. As you view Taking Woodstock, you might just be witnessing the beginning of Martin’s certain overexposure, so enjoy him while he lasts.
– Knize
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (PG-13)
Starring Jeremy Piven, Will Ferrell, Ving Rhames, Alan Thicke
Directed by Neal Brennan (Chappelle’s Show)
Jeremy Piven is gold. Here, he plays a used car salesman trying to salvage the last vestiges of profitability from a down-and-out car lot. Adam McKay (Talladega Nights) and partner-in-crime Will Ferrell produce (Ferrell also cameos), and with Brennan, the co-creator of Chappelle’s Show (what was the other guy’s name again?), this hunk-a-celluloid should fare well with those looking for a late summer chuckle. Did we mention, it’s Jeremy Piven! He’s made a career out of playing slimy a-holes. Trust this one.
– Kerouac
August 21st
Inglourious Basterds (N/A)
Starring Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Samuel L. Jackson
Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)
After not impressing many with Death Proof (part of the Grindhouse collaboration with Robert Rodriguez), Tarantino attempts to show the world he still has “The Touch” with his new WWII-era movie. Brad Pitt leads a secret US Army unit bound to smash Nazi skulls with any means necessary. Expect colorful brutality and smart-ass dialogues for 160 minutes.
– T. Soiker
August 28th
H2 (R)
Starring Scout Taylor-Compton, Tyler Mane and Malcolm McDowell
The sequel to Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake (Why not just call it Halloween 2?) focuses on the psychological ramifications the first movie had on Michael Meyers’s sister Laurie and her descent into paranoia and perhaps even madness after all she witnessed in the first movie. It sounds like a very different take on the characters and genre in general. Here’s hoping it’s as good as the first one.
–Rodriguez
Final Destination: Death Trip 3-D (R)
Starring Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Hayley Webb, Nick Zano, Mykelti Williamson, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella
While at the races, Nick O’Bannon gets a premonition of a multiple car crash that ends up spilling over into the stands. Nick is able to get himself and his friends out of the area, just before the accident actually happens. Death does not to be cheated. You know what happens from here… but the fun part is seeing how. Final Destination movies are always good fun, so look for more of the same from the director that gave us Final Destination 2 (you don’t say!), Cellular and Snakes on a Plane. Plus, it’s 3D!!!
– Walden
The Boat That Rocked (NR)
Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, Rhys Darby
Written and Directed by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral)
Set in 1966, a rag-tag team of long-hairs and burnouts launch a pirate radio station at the height of the “British Invasion”, and up the ante on the “pirate” definition by doing so while adrift at see onboard a junker in the North Sea. The impeccable cast and soundtrack will assuredly provide moviegoers with some counter-programming to the BRAKKA-DOOM! nature of the other films populating the multiplex. Also, it’s great to see Nick Frost getting work without Simon Pegg.
–Knize
That does it for the first annual PoP! Summer Movie Preview. Assuredly, some of these flicks will be garbage, but some might surprise you. Get your tickets early, and no saving seats!
–The PoP! Stars
Ted McGinley improves anything!
I am really excited about this summer lineup!
Lots of eye candy!
Year One and Public Enemies will definitely be theater viewings for me. I’ll get around to seeing Wolvie, and Trek is a possibility.
Being that I won’t be back home in the States until Christmas, it’s nice to see a good summary of what I have to look forward to on dvd/bd.
Thanks!