Best and Worst Movies of the Summer
September is not a good month for movies. Period.
I cannot think of one good film I have seen throughout recent Septembers or those of years past. For instance, last September flaunted Bless the Child and Highlander: Endgame as the post-summer blockbuster/pre-Oscar season movies to watch. If I dig farther into the September movie cellar, I can remember Stigmata, For Love of the Game, The Avengers, Mimic and The Peacemaker.
Could someone please pass the barf bag and refund my money, because transition month – the famine after the feast – in Hollywood is almost as thrilling as a Gary Condit interview.
Therefore, as we wave good-bye to the 2001 summer movie season and prepare for a bleak September, let’s consider the best and worst of, as Variety magazine’s Peter Bart said, the summer of the “one-weekend wonder,” and decide on some alternate VHS/DVD rentals for the first month of school.
THE BEST – Shrek
Shrek is DreamWorks’ first animated blockbuster after a string of flops (see The Road to El Dorado and Anastasia) that left Jeffery Katzenburg, a former big-wig with Disney, wondering if he could muster enough ammo to beat The Mouse and Disney CEO, Michael Eisner. Thanks to the work of talented artists, writers who thrive on irreverent humor and the vocal talents of Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, John Lithgow, and Cameron Diaz, Katzenburg can finally tell Eisner and the rest of his Disney cohorts to, in the words of The Gingerbread Man, “Eat me!” Shrek is clearly the best movie of the summer. Look for the DVD release on Nov. 9, 2001.
The Others
Despite having to read about ex-husband Tom’s escapades in Fiji with Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman was on top of the world this summer. Beginning with Moulin Rouge and ending with The Others, the red-haired Australian beauty has established herself as one of the best actresses in Tinsletown. Director Alejandro Amenabar (who also wrote the story and composed the music) has designed an old-fashioned ghost story, but with a twist so severe and surprising, that becoming engrossed in his gloomy creation is a certainty.
American Pie 2
Yeah, it’s a sequel, and if you’ve seen its 1999 predecessor, then some of the jokes will seem rehashed. But in the end, even the rehashed jokes are hilarious. Bottom line: The characters are, dare I say, lovable, and what the first movie did for apple pie and beer, the second does for champagne, superglue and summer jobs doing house painting. Ah, house painting.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Based on the video game, the film’s tagline reads, “Unleash a New Reality.” Nothing could be truer about this film. Unlike other animated movies, there is a point in Final Fantasy when you forget you are looking at characters forged from the belly of a computer.
The Deep End
The Deep End was one of the best films at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, and the movie continues to grip audiences with the tale of a mother’s unconditional love for her gay son. Intertwine that love with some mystery and blackmail, and you have The Deep End. Tilda Swinton (Orlando, The Beach) should receive an Oscar nomination for best actress based on her performance as the embattled, afore-mentioned mother. Unfortunately, you probably won’t see this in any Cache Valley theaters.
Honorable Mentions go to Moulin Rouge, Wet Hot American Summer, Ghost World, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and The Fast and The Furious.
THE WORST Pearl Harbor
Sometimes when I pack a lunch, the contents are in perfect harmony. I include the right amount of chips and fruit to compliment my sandwich. More often than not, I place a candy bar in the lunch to add just the right touch. Other times, I pack too many chips and I feel like a fat pig. That is what Pearl Harbor is – a poorly filled lunch box. Is it a war movie or is it a romance? Is it the sequel to Armageddon or is it the WWII version of Titanic?
Also, whose idea was it to put Ben Affleck and Alec Baldwin in the same movie? Baldwin’s career is what Affleck’s is now, and vice versa. I would use the word “suck” to describe both their acting resumes, but I’ll forgo any more insults.
The Mummy Returns
Roger Ebert said the problem with The Mummy Returns is the filmmakers abandoned the characters for more special effects and action. True, but I’m wondering where Mr. Thumbs-Up got the idea there were actually pliable characters in the first movie. Nevertheless, The Mummy Returns, is a 120-minute Universal Studios adventure ride pretending to be a movie.
A.I.
This was hard to put on the crappy summer movie list. I liked the premise of the film, in fact, I’m sure the Kubrick version – certainly an R-rated version – would have been a better movie. I also like Haley Joel Osment tremendously. He is, at 13, a strikingly accomplished actor; some men twice his age spend countless hours perfecting the craft and never even draw near the altitude Osment has gained. Nonetheless, despite it’s potential, I felt as though I was watching Bicentennial Man all over again.
Planet of the Apes
If Tim Burton’s goal was to “re-imagine” Pierre Boulle’s novel and the 1968 original with Charlton Heston, he did an outstandingly poor job. The movie is crammed with dialogue references from the first Apes movie, and the ending was a joke, literally. Instead of establishing purpose and grandeur, Planet of the Apes becomes a director’s personal, extravagant indulgence, thus creating a shallow movie, full of holes, clichés, and mediocre acting.
Scary Movie 2
The first Scary Movie was one of the most ungodly, stupid, brain-damaging movies ever to occupy the silver screen. I laughed once, at the end when I knew I could leave. Fortunately, I saw this movie free, because if I had paid, well, therapy would be my only recourse.
Honorable Mentions go to A Knight’s Tale, Cats and Dogs, Swordfish, Evolution and The Animal.
Andy Morgan is a graduate
student at Utah State University. Comments
can be sent to lordofthejazz@hotmail.com.