BLUE MAG

The Summer of 2007 has faded into memory leaving several disastrous blockbusters in its wake. I tried to see as many as I could but alas I am but one man. Anyway, here’s a rundown of the rest of this films I saw this past summer:

Bourne Ultimatum was by far the best action movie of the summer (although I loved the action scenes in “Transformers”). Director Paul Greengrass knows how to put action and drama together so just about everything works well in this movie. Matt Damon says about ten words total in the movie but does it brilliantly. No other major movie star has made better choices and Bourne is no exception.

The Simpsons Movie doesn’t suck. In fact the film version of the greatest show of all time is quite enjoyable. The first thirty minutes are downright breathtaking and much of the time I was in awe of how good the animation looked. My only complaint is that the satire the Simpsons is famous for seems a bit watered down in long form. There’s nothing as cutting as the Halloween episode featuring Kang and Kodos running for president. Also there’s a distinct lack of Krusty but these are minor compared to the joy the movie delivers.

Sunshine is perhaps the most beautiful film I saw this summer. Many complained about the final 1/3 of the picture where the sci-fi switches to psycho killer thriller but I didn’t have a problem with it. Director Danny Boyle (”Trainspotting”, “28 Days Later”) makes movies that a just plain enjoyable to watch and Chris Evans should be the next big thing.

Hot Rod is like an Internet video that somehow made it in theaters. I mean, come on, it references the Lonely Island’s other Internet videos. This is not a good thing. It’s boring and rambling and not consistently funny. Andy Samberg and Isla Fisher are likeable enough but that about all I can say about them and the movie.

Rescue Dawn Werner Herzog makes movies that are so infused with realism that you can’t believe the incredible images you are watching precisely because you know they are real. In “Fitzcarraldo” he actually pulled a steamship over a mountain; in “Aguirre: The Wrath of God” he dragged an army into uncharted portions of the Amazon. Rescue Dawn is no exception to lengths he and his actors will go to achieve realism. Based on his own documentary “Little Dieter Needs to Fly” his new fiction film starring Christian Bale and Steve Zahn is in some ways the feel good movie of the summer. In other ways it is a harrowing ordeal. The end result is one of the best movies of the year.

Superbad is the funniest film I saw this summer. I ended up seeing it twice I enjoyed myself so much. Seth Rogen (the new king of comedy) took what could have been a terrible “Porky’s” meets “American Pie” formula picture and personalizes it to such an extreme that I felt I was watching one of the most truthful portraits of adolescence ever put on the screen. That may be stating the case a bit much but Michael Cera is just great to watch do anything. He can just stand there and be funny. How does he do that?

King of Kong is about competitive video game players. If this wasn’t a documentary you would swear it was an over the top Ben Stiller movie on par with “Dodgeball” or “Blades of Glory”. I’m not sure how long the filmmakers followed these guys around for but it looks like it took a few years to fully capture their strange world. Thank God for their dedication because this movie satisfies on nearly every level from its unique characterization to its Rocky-like plot.