The movie menu for this millennium's 11th summer offered up some promising fare across the genre spectrum to please both comedy fans and action addicts, or lovers of thrillers or light animated flicks.
If June represented the appetizer round, one could say it was a mixed bag. Rising talent Jonah Hill shone on two separate occasions in the early summer films Get Him to the Greek and Cyrus, while the established comedic standout Adam Sandler left a bad taste in viewers' mouths with the unenjoyable Grown Ups. July was dominated by the feast for the eyes - and mind - as Inception hit theaters but also was peppered with its share of misses (Predators, anyone?). And although the dessert course, August, aimed to give audiences a sweet end to their summers, it ultimately failed to whet any appetites.
By the end of this long cinegastronomic endeavor, I felt disappointed. I was full but with a persistent stomachache. Too much didn't agree, and a hefty bill is all there was to show for it. Action films were run ragged and stretched thin, while funny flicks were light on the funny.
Plus, few blockbusters lived up to the hype - not that the box offices would show it. Farfetched action capers Salt and Knight & Day have grossed well more than $200 million worldwide to date. They've also garnered 61 percent and 54 percent ratings on movie review syndicate Rotten Tomatoes, satisfactory considering some other lame summer duds.\nBut I say that this relatively high rating is a sign of the times. Pit these two films against a couple of last summers' best action adventures - Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and the Academy-Award-winning The Hurt Locker - and there would be no contest, as far as reviews go. The high box office tallies and rave reviews for productions like Salt this summer are the result of a lack of quality competition. Sure, it was pulse-pounding, and Jolie kicked some serious ass. But as far as being a good movie, worthy of the high praise and word of mouth that's been circulating during these muggy, sweltering months? Maybe people just needed to pay $10 for a couple hours of air conditioning, because I don't buy it. The buzz surrounding Salt is an indication of the staying starpower of Hollywood favorites like Angelina Jolie, rather than the quality of the film. Salt did feature a few good action sequences, but good movies - great movies - have heart, something Jolie's flick lacked.
Take, for example, Toy Story 3, a flick that skillfully blended adventure and comedy, pleasing the inner kid in all of us. It's approaching $1 billion in worldwide revenue and deserves every penny of it.
Another film that deserves every bit of revenue it can get is The Kids Are All Right, a beautifully-written dramedy about two children conceived by artificial insemination who meet their genetic father. The film features a stellar ensemble cast headlined by Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Annette Bening - actors who appeared to relish playing the timely, thought-provoking characters they fit into so well. You'll leave the theater moved by the slice of life you saw on screen.
Inception, a film that has generated the most internet buzz since ... well, Christopher Nolan's last masterpiece, The Dark Knight, struck me the same way. The plot - and the ending - had its fair share of detractors, but no one can deny that Inception was gritty and unprecedented in the way it drew viewers into the dream world unfurling before them. This is a movie that will live in legend.
There were also indies - the quirky Cyrus, the hilarious Please Give, the chilling Winter's Bone - that made my summer movie-fest worthwhile, stuck in between time-wasters like The A-Team, Jonah Hex and The Expendables. Worst on my list, though, were a couple of star-studded comedies. The inane, cringe-inducing Dinner for Schmucks may have forever tarnished my love of Steve Carell, while the latest Will Ferrell/Adam McKay collaboration The Other Guys made me angry with the over-the-top random humor, slapstick, deadpan and gross-out gags combined into two hours of pure ludicrous movie viewing that frayed my nerves.
Lucky for us, this fall could be a season of redemption, with lighthearted fare like Easy A as well as the-movie-with-the-best-trailer-ever, the Facebook-inspired The Social Network and the Ben Affleck-directed Boston drama The Town all on the near horizon.
I'm hungry for more.
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