Summer Movie Roundup

It was last March when, here on this blog, I threw down the gauntlet to join up for the Sac-Town Summer of Movies. This is, getting the gang together as much as possible for what promised (and proved) to be one of the biggest movie summers ever. And the gang did not disappoint (unlike some of the movies)! Now that it's all behind us, I wanted to first take the chance to thank everyone for making the scene as often as they could. Many good times were had. Can't wait to do it again next summer...how 'bout you? And second, I thought I'd look back on the big list of movies I first put up and see how each of them turned out. Let's talk a stroll through the carnage, shall we?

RUN, FATBOY, RUN. Uh, we didn't actually make this one. The first film listed didn't end up happening. And I don't know anyone who saw it. Heard it was so-so. Anyone see it?

STREET KINGS. WTF? What a waste of a cast (that being everyone besides Keanu who was in it) and a writer (seriously, Ellroy..."L.A. Confidential" to THIS?). The Tomatometer was right on the money at 33%. I think the meter was too kind. CRAP!

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL. Loved, loved, loved this. Ended up seeing it three times, just because I ended up with a couple other people to take to it. Fantastic writing debut for Jason Segal. The Apatow gang scored again. Great performances from everyone, comedy gold.

HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY. You had to be in just the right mood and with the right crowd. I scored on both counts. Silly fun that made me and my boys laugh like idiots. And George Bush's best performance ever.

IRON MAN. Say no more. Redefined the super-hero film, brought Robert Downey Jr. back from the dead. Best action film of the summer. One of the best super-hero movies ever, considered by some to be THE best.

SPEED RACER. Huh? Okay. Well, we didn't do it as a gang, but I snuck in with a free movie pass after a couple of weeks of hearing it bashed by everyone. Curiosity got the best of me. As a kid's movie, it did what it set out to do. Wasn't horrible. Just...confusing. And a kids movie, and...I'm not one. And my eyes hurt for days afterward from the color overload, but that was part of the charm.

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. DIE, Lucus! DIE! If you missed the recent South Park episode that dealt with this film, it said all that needed to be said. Bigger piece of crap than I could have imagined in my worst nightmares. Thanks, George!

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN. And we didn't. Didn't get together for this one. Heard it was awfulish, but I'll wait 'til cable and make up my mind.

THE HAPPENING. We didn't group up on this one, but I heard so many horrible things that I had to burn another free movie pass and find out. Wow. M. Night made such a bad film that I actually had a great time laughing at it. It really does have to be experienced. Inadvertantly hilarious.

INCREDIBLE HULK. The best videogame I've ever played! Oh, wait, it was a movie? Uh...better than the last one, I guess? It needs a rewatch for my final vote, but overall, it was okay.

WANTED. Guilty pleasure, anyone? To the Nth. Had no idea I was going to have that much of a good time with it. I'm buying the DVD. MAN fun.

HANCOCK. We didn't make this one. I heard very bad things. Wasn't curious enough to find out. Hello, HBO.

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY. Uh... LOOKED great... It was enjoyable. I just wasn't that into it. Didn't quite work for me. No real desire to see it again. One of the coolest bad guys I've seen on screen in a long time, though.

THE DARK KNIGHT. Stunning, unexpected, epic, brilliant. Re-redefined the genre. Some say we got the two best super-hero movies ever this summer. Hard to argue. Glad I got to see it on IMAX the second time around. Sequel! Now!

X-FILES 2: I WANT TO BELIEVE IT COULD HAVE HAD A BETTER TITLE. Didn't see it. No one saw it! One of the worst marketed movies ever! No one even knew it had come out! Critics and fans were not kind. I'll DVD this one for old times sake.

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR. We missed this one too. Sounds like that was a good thing. Didn't look promising.

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. My apologies to those offended by the very idea of this film. Funny...as...hell. Apotow gang scores again. Seth Rogan has yet to do wrong. Thug life!

And there's the score. Some BIG winners, and losers just as dramatic. Hell of a summer for film. Glad all you dudes and ladies went through it with me. Stay tuned here come spring when we start gearing up for next summer. Going to be hard to top this one. But I'm show Hollyweird will try.

J.J. Abrams + Trek = woo hoo!!!