Hot movie madness

Giant robots, Nazis, wizards, comedians
and Julia Child cook things up

EVEN MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

by MARK SLUTSKY

This year’s summer movie season could quite plausibly have been programmed by a time-travelling, 13-year-old me. Terminators! Transformers! G.I. Joe! A movie about bloodthirsty, Nazi-killing Jewish commandoes! A movie about Nazi zombies!

Yes, it’s that time of the year when substance takes a backseat to spectacle. But that’s the fun of the movie season, isn’t it? And it’s not all special effects and chaotic calamity—there are always some thoughtful grown-up movies hidden away in there, plus a handful of festivals and special events.

WIZ KID: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

ACTION ALL-STARS

Right, so… Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen looks to be just as ridiculous as Michael Bay’s first take on the franchise. Shia Labeouf and Optimus Prime return. If you didn’t get your fill of giant robots in Terminator Salvation, this is probably for you (June 26). The other beloved toy franchise of my youth is resurrected for big screen glory in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy) and featuring the likes of Dennis Quaid and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Aug. 7). Making an unlikely comeback is The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Tony Scott’s remake of the 1974 New York subway car hijack thriller. John Travolta plays the baddie, with Denzel Washington as a transit-worker-turned-hero (June 12).

One of the most interesting-looking thrillers this summer comes courtesy of master director Michael Mann, whose Public Enemies stars Johnny Depp as legendary outlaw John Dillinger; Christian Bale is the G-man on his trail (July 1). And I can’t wait to see Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino’s latest, about a crack squad of Nazi-killing Jewish soldiers; Brad Pitt, Eli Roth (yes, the director) and Mike Myers all appear (Aug. 21). They better make sure they stay dead, though, as Norwegian flick Dead Snow features a gang of revived Hitler-lovin’ zombies looking to reclaim a cache of gold. Tommy Wirkola directs (June).

Who’s that handsome little wizard, all grown up? Why it must be Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth installment in the ever-popular franchise, this one delayed from last Christmas when Warner realized they were lacking a summer tent pole. All the usual suspects return as the saga enters its final chapters (July 15).

There’s plenty of bargain-barrel action, horror and adventure thrown in there with the more prestigious, big-budget franchises. Take Orphan, another creepy-little-kid horror flick from House of Wax director Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard (July 24). Or H2, Rob Zombie’s sequel to his critically reviled but successful Halloween remake (Aug. 28). The fourth Final Destination movie is called just The Final Destination and should presumably feature teens getting killed off in entertaining ways (Aug. 28). A low-budget genre flick that seems way more interesting than those, though, is South African director Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, about a refugee camp for aliens (Aug. 14).

OUTLAW ACTION: Public Enemies

HOT HILARITY

Summer’s as much a time for comedies as effects-driven blockbusters, and the one I’m looking forward to the most has got to be Brüno, Sacha Baron Cohen’s follow-up to 2006’s Borat, this time featuring his flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter character (July 10). Funny People is the first film Judd Apatow’s directed since the hit Knocked Up; it stars Adam Sandler as a dying comedian who takes a younger comic (Seth Rogen) under his wing. This one’s supposed to be a little more grown-up and bittersweet than his previous offerings (July 31).

Meryl Streep plays Julia Child in Julie & Julia, Nora Ephron’s film based on the eponymous non-fiction book (about a woman, played by Amy Adams, attempting to cook 524 Child recipes in one year) and Child’s own autobiography (Aug. 7). Michael Cera stars in two very different-looking comedies this summer: Year One, with Jack Black and directed by Harold Ramis and set in ancient times, and Paper Heart, a love story written by and starring his squeeze Charlyne Yi (Aug.).

GAY LORD: Brüno

A couple more indie-ish comedies fill out the slate. Humpday is about a couple of straight guys who make a gay porno (July 17). Adam is a romcom about a gal (Rose Byrne) who falls for a guy (Hugh Dancy) with Asperger’s Syndrome; Peter Gallagher co-stars (July 29). And of course, the ultimate indie filmmaker, Woody Allen, is back with the Larry David-starring Whatever Works (June).

Of course there’s also a handful of grim-looking studio comedies. The Proposal sees Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in a Green Card-ish marriage of convenience (June 19). Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler star in The Ugly Truth; she’s a TV producer and he’s the correspondent who gives her love tips (July 24).

INDIE LOVE: Paper Hearts

FAMILY FUN

As the little munchkins are out of school and looking for something to occupy themselves with, there’s always plenty of family fare on offer. I’m definitely stoked for Ponyo, the latest from Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki, about a boy and his goldfish and featuring voicework by Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon and others (Aug. 14). Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the latest in the successful prehistoric cartoon series (July 1) and G-Force is a disturbing-looking live-action flick about secret agent guinea pigs voiced by Will Arnett, Penélope Cruz and others (July 24). Robert Rodriguez returns to kids’ stuff territory with Shorts, about a magic rock that affects the small town where it’s found; it stars James Spader, Kat Dennings, Leslie Mann and Jon Cryer (Aug.).

FISH FANTASY: Ponyo

For the grown-ups there’s Francis Ford Coppola’s latest, the Argentina-shot, Vincent Gallo-starring Tetro (June); the adaptation of the popular novel The Time Traveler’s Wife with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams; and the 1920s Paris-set romance Chéri, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Michelle Pfeiffer. There’s also some interesting-looking docs: Food, Inc. is another take on the scary state of the eating industry and The Cove, a big success at the Hot Docs! fest in Toronto, tells the story of the slaughter of 2,500 dolphins in Japan.

And don’t forget the festivals. Fantasia (fantasiafest.com) runs July 9–27, the Just for Laughs Film Festival (hahaha.com) will be in mid-July and the World Film Festival (ffm-montreal.org) rounds out the summer Aug. 27–Sept. 7. Plus, there’s always the Ciné-jazz programming at the Cinemathèque during the Jazz Fest and assorted screenings at Divers/Cité (diverscite.org).