Around the same time every year a glimmer of hope shines in my eye as the summer trailers are quickly released. I believe that if you asked my friends, they would tell you that I describe every summer as the best one yet. This summer might just be that. With epic blockbusters like The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones and Iron Man, the studios are banking on a heat wave that’ll take them out of the red. Instead of reviewing one movie, I’ve opted to give my thoughts on a few of the early summer blockbusters-_The Love Guru_, Don’t Mess with The Zohan, Indiana Jones and Sex and the City– though not the biggest ones, these were the few that I had a chance to catch.
The Love Guru
Mike Meyers first live film in five years, spoofs the holistic culture in a childish way. The jokes are so hit or miss, with Justin Timberlake’s character being a complete miss. Taking a page out of the Judd Apatow handbook, there are several song breaks that seem to bear the biggest laughs in the film, but still there was no way to save this one. I laughed, but for the most part I wished I was ten years younger, an age that I might have been able to appreciate The Love Guru.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Though never a big fan of the Indiana Jones series, I really liked this one. The cinematography was very similar to the first three (something I really appreciated), and I seriously love Shia Labouf-the guy can do no wrong. The script was great, Spielberg was excellent, and I had an all around good time. My only complaint was the twist at the end, it was a little too far out for me to enjoy. Still this was a blockbuster that lived up to its expectations.
Don’t Mess with The Zohan
If you are Jewish and know anything about Israeli culture, this film will be one of your favorites of ’08. If not, you might have a hard time getting into this one. Adam Sandler is hilarious as an ex-Mossad agent who leaves the intifada to follow his dream-becoming a hair dresser. I imagine that after the success of last years Borat, the studio heads were eager to see how another foreign character would react to American audiences. This is definitely one to check out, whether you like Adam Sandler or not.
Sex and the City
My whole band went to see this film in Grand Rapids, MI the night it opened. We were the only guys in the theater and the girls in back of us asked why we were there- sexism at its worst. I’ve been a fan of the series since its inception, my only problem with it was the similarity in episodes. Carrie questions something about the culture of relationships, and that episode explores it. The movie is different- there is no cheesy inner dialogue and the story stands on its own. All of the cast is back and if you’re familiar with the series at all, you will feel right at home.