Iron Man 3 (May 3)
Robert Downey, Jr. reprises his role as the ever-arrogant, ever-brilliant, ever-sleepless Tony Stark. I've already seen this movie, and it did not disappoint. Tony's wit and confidence continue even though they both take a beating. His beautiful counterpart Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) continues to show why she is the perfect partner and foil for Stark. There's plenty of action and a few twists in the storyline to keep a viewer interested. I went with a friend who had never seen the other two movies and she LOVED it.
I don't know that the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic would normally fit into the summer blockbuster category, but under the direction of Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby it promises to look and feel much more like a summer blockbuster than the original Robert Redford/Mia Farrow film. I have a soft spot for Baz Luhrmann, the Australian director is responsible for one of my all time favorite films, "Strictly Ballroom" but is best known for his takes on "Moulin Rouge" and "Romeo and Juliet." It promises to be an amazing vision of the decadence of the 1920's. I am anxious to see how DiCaprio approaches the character of Gatsby in comparison to Redford's iconic performance. Luhrmann's approach to the music is amazing with using the likes of JayZ, Kanye West, Florence and the Machine, Brian Ferry along with Fats Waller, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin.
The reboot of this iconic series has been so much fun. The casting of Chris Pine (This Means War. It matches him and Tom Hardy...sigh) as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto (He will always be Sylar on Heroes to me) as Spock, Simon Pegg (He was awesome in Ghost Protocol) as Scotty, and my personal favorite Karl Urban (If you've not seen Red, he was perfect) as Bones has breathed new life into the characters. J.J. Abrams direction has balanced homage to the original with a vision of for the future of the series. I loved the first one, and this one should be its equal and may perhaps pass it depending on whether Benedict Cumberpatch (the BBC's latest Sherlock) is as compelling as the villain as I think he's going to be.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love superheroes. They take us out of our every day world and show us what could be. Superman has been done and done again. There's certainly not be any sort of shortage of steel-jawed men to play him. From the beginning of the serial with Kirk Alyn to Christopher Reeve to the latest iteration in Henry Cavill. I am not a comic book reader, so I don't know how close to the actual story this will be to the comic book world. For me, it looks like it has the potential to be a super appealing story and have portrayals that endear me to characters again that I have seen many times. Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, and one of my all time favorites Amy Adams as Lois Lane add to the superb casting of Henry Cavill. Cavill brings a manliness to the man of steel that is more than the clean cut Clark Kent we are used to.
Between Star Trek and Man of Steel are several weeks of movies that I hold little or no interest in. The Hangover Part III, though I love Bradley Cooper, these movies are not my cup of tea. Disney's offering EPIC seems like a reboot of Ferngully. I may grow some interest in Will and Jaden Smith's After Earth, but I am thinking if I'm still unemployed, I'm not wasting my money on that one.
There is one other film before Man of Steel that is a must see for me. It's Joss Whedon's take on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. (June 7) It's one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. It's done by one of my favorite director/producers, Joss Whedon. (see my earlier posts) It has a great cast that might not be your usual major motion picture cast (Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker are not lead actors usually, but I love them both). I love that the idea for the movie is borne out of the parties Whedon would have at his home to read Shakespeare. And of course, I am super giddy that Nathan Fillion is in it.
I am going to address the other summer films in another post! Mark your calendars!
