With the summer movie season of 2009 drawing to a close, it’s time to look back at the ten films that made us laugh, cry, howl and above all entertain us. Now bear in mind while films like The Hurt Locker and Moon saw release over this summer, they won’t be included here as this focuses more on the blockbusters than it does some films that had play at festivals. Enough babble, onto the films.

10. GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

Some are going to have films like Land of the Lost, The Proposal, or dare I utter Year One on their top ten lists, but I’m going to opt to put this one on there. Oh yes, it’s a shock this shows up here but the film was actually a decent little romantic comedy. It’s more a comment on how this summer has been, but let’s not discredit a movie that actually took the time to develop the leading characters and moved rather briskly. Matthew McConaughey is more than tolerable as Michael Douglas steals every scene he’s in. May 1st started blockbusters off on the wrong foot with Wolverine, but romantic comedies started off well with this fairly underrated movie.

Current Grade – 7/10

9. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

Potter die-hards snatched this film up and drank every last drop of it, others (like yours truly) felt it did just enough to be considered good, but lacked an explosive action scene present in most blockbusters. Word on the street is the book has a climatic battle that could have been present here helped the picture. Instead this remains a decent Harry Potter picture that shows the growth and talent of the leads and might be considered one giant build up for the final two films. If it is, it’s a well done ad for Deathly Hallows and did get me interested to see where this is going to end up.

Current Grade – 7/10

8. G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA

First, this by no means has anything in it resembling a good, even decent film. However, the film spoke to the child inside me and for that I enjoyed the hell out of it. Besides when you’re a kid playing with your action figures you don’t care about your Boba Fett or Batman action figure on a deep quest to find themselves. No, you want them to take out everyone in the room and engage in an all-out war, plot be damned. While the effects are spotty in some spots, it doesn’t matter in the end as Stephen Sommers gets the tone of G.I. Joe right and gave us the blockbuster Terminator Salvation, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen promised but failed to deliver.

Current Grade – 7/10

7. DRAG ME TO HELL

Look for this in something I’ll concoct at the end of the year called “Films I Was Wrong On.” It’s still not one of the films of the year, the movie is a nice mish-mash of new and old Raimi while the director just has a blast making a nice throwback film. Like another film on this list, it gets a little too self-indulgent for it’s own good and Raimi’s slapstick style doesn’t always work, but who doesn’t love an anvil taking out a demon. The performances were a little better than expected as well, the best of whom comes from Dileep Rao. Oh yeah, and I’ll still stand by it being one of the best horror films of the decade, credibility be damned.

Current Grade – 7/10

6. THE HANGOVER

You have to applaud this film for being the one to debunk Warner Brothers’ “no more tentpole R” films as this went on to become one of the highest grossers of the year. As far as the funny goes, this film brought it in spades with a decent plot and some great comedic performances. In fact, most of the random things these characters end up in are plausible considering this is supposed to be the craziest Vegas hangover ever. Ed Helms was terrific both on the piano and as “Dr. Douchebag” as Zach Galifiankis made up for his turn in What Happens in Vegas. It loses it’s way toward the end, but it still comes out as one of the funniest films of the year.

Current Grade – 7.5/10

5. STAR TREK

Most have called this ‘the film to beat this summer.’ While the film has some really big plot problems, overall J.J. Abrams brings it all together to craft one of the most entertaining and best films not just of the summer, but the year. This one also furthers the destruction of the “even-good odd-bad” theory that Nemesis helped to take care of. I may be the only one, but I still feel Chris Pine gave a better Kirk than Shatner (flame me below) but Karl Urban so sneakingly steals the film away from everyone, he should be arrested for it. It was action-packed, featured wonderful characters and while fun, wasn’t completely dumb. Oh, and it’s fourth best of the entire Trek series.

Current Grade – 8/10

4. DISTRICT 9

Boy, science fiction sure is having a wonderful year with Moon, Star Trek, Watchmen, and now this. It doesn’t insult it’s audience’s intelligence, the action is coherent and shot well, and the performances are just as powerful and moving as anything you’ll find this year (Sharlto Copely deserves at least a nomination.) One of the most original pieces of the year, District 9 remembered what it was that made summer such a gold mine for films in the first place. It’s tough to talk about anything in the film as the less you know going in the better but just know this: District 9 is the summer blockbuster we deserve and hopefully it’s a success so studios take notice that we want our movies to have some form of intellect behind them. Leave now, go see it.

Current Grade – 9/10

3. PUBLIC ENEMIES

I love Michael Mann, and will worship pretty much any film he makes (hey, I’ll at least admit it.) Public Enemies is another great one of his, and is the equivalent of Picasso painting a masterpiece or Mozart conducting another classic. That won’t work for some as Mann follows the beat of his own drum but at least here it ended up being one of the best flicks of the summer. It’s the 1930′s through the eyes of Michael Mann, and seldom has it ever been this stylish or cool. Public Enemies also has the best shootout this year with the cabin shootout and one of the most beautiful scenes that Mann’s ever filmed with Dillinger’s last moments. It’s poetry, pure poetry.

Current Grade – 9/10

2. UP

Pixar just outdoes themselves every year, even though WALL*E made a case that the trend had ended. Well, it doesn’t as Up edged the robots out to take the crown. Ten minutes in, Up gives one of the best directed scenes ever in ANY film and doesn’t let go from there. There’s likely not going to be a more deserving animated film to break the barrier and be nominated for Best Picture. It still overwhelms me how terrific this film is, from how subtle it is with telling it’s characters to making Ellie a character without her being there and not making Russell an annoying little kid. All that, and we’ve yet to talk about the story is pure bliss. In short, it’s Pixar’s finest hour to date.

Current Grade – 9.5/10

1. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

If I were a history teacher, I’d be teaching this film in history classes as fact. Tarantino has crafted a movie that’s his best since Jackie Brown, and no that’s not an overstatement. The journey might have been a long one for the Basterds to get to the screen but it was well worth it. Brad Pitt is at his finest and way, way better than he appeared in last year’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button namely because he as a personality in this one. The big winner of this is Christoph Waltz who should go on to bigger things thanks to his performance as Col. Hans Landa. For Tarantino, he does self-indulge like he did in Death Proof, but doesn’t go overboard and uses the dialogue to build tension during scenes. Also unlike that film, there’s no fat to be cut as everything moves the film along briskly. The results are magic, and as the writer/director himself puts it, a “masterpiece.”

Current Grade – 9.5/10

So there you have it, these are the films that took summer 2009 by storm. Sure things started off bumpy with Wolverine and there were pot-holes along the way in Terminator Salvation, Year One, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen but this summer didn’t limp to the finish line. In fact it went out with a big bang and turned in some fun and two seriously great pictures. In fact, that may as well define the summer as one that showed promise, faltered, then delivered big time in the clutch. Here’s to a great end of the year with The Lovely Bones and Black Dynamite still to come.

What turned out to be a not-so-surprising end result, Disney/Pixar’s Up dominated the weekend box office. Raking in 68.2 Million, it jumps into the top three biggest opening Pixar movies (behind Finding Nemo & The Incredibles). Up, featuring the voices of Edward Asner and Jordan Nagai, was a film that definitely filled up the seats in a theater and cracked open the water works for those who know what this reporter is referring to.

"What are you freaked out for Russell? Were above everyone else."

Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell tried to drag the horror fans out to the best of it’s abilities, but fell a little short by wrangling up 16 million, landing in fourth underneath the Ben Stiller starring film Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and McG’s Terminator Salvation. Wrangling in tons of mixed reviews did not help the film’s case either, even with the families making their trips to the movie theaters.

Every other film in the top ten faired pretty well, with Obsessed still getting a form of a crowd in while Terminator: Salvation hopes to get a consistent one to make up its 200 million dollar budget. The weekend intake is listed below:

Weekend Box Office (May 29-31)

1. Disney/Pixar’s Up  ($68.2 Million)
2. Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian  ($25.5 Million)
3. Terminator: Salvation  ($16.4 Million)
4. Drag Me To Hell  ($15.8 Million)
5. Star Trek  ($12.8 Million)
6. Angels & Demons  ($11.2 Million)
7. Dance Flick  ($4.9 Million)
8. X-Men Origins: Wolverine  ($3.9 Million)
9. Ghost of Girlfriend’s Past  ($1.9 Million)
10. Obsessed  ($665,000)

Coming up for this next weekend is the Will Ferrel Land of the Lost along with Away We Go, My Life in Ruins & The Hangover. Keep your eyes on here for the latest reviews and news on movies and then some!

Jump scares have become staple of horror films for a long while now. Usually they crop up when a scene is quiet and sets the mood, only to surprise with a scary image and a loud noise. They’re used to make a woman jump into the arms of the male courting her around on that night, or a child cover his eyes in fear. Above all, they’re supposed to be fun and make the horror movie going experience a treat when used effectively. Directors such as Sam Raimi have used this tactic amidst his career starting with Evil Dead, but that film didn’t rely on them as at the end of the day it’s more comedy than horror. Many will make the argument for Drag Me to Hell, a film that wants to throw as many jump scares as it can at the viewer.

To it’s credit, the story of Drag Me to Hell is pretty intriguing. Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is having one of the worst day’s that’s ever happened to her as she’s trying to fight for an assistant manager’s position at her bank. Adding to this is her beau’s mother doesn’t feel she’s up to snuff with the standards they’ve set before their child. It’s heartbreaking due to the film presenting Christine as a genuinely kind person who always wants to “do right” rather than get ahead. Unlike most horror films of recent, Drag Me to Hell makes it’s lead character interesting and someone to root for. That is, until she does decide to stray from her nice path and deny Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver) another extension on her house. One curse and a really fun cat fight later, Christine is cursed and will be dragged to hell three days later. The opening scene and credits do a solid job of establishing where the film is headed and both are a nice marriage of old and new Raimi. But it’s the story that by all accounts shouldn’t work and somehow does. It drives the film forward even when the wheels are slowly starting to come off and it’s nice to see filmmakers put actual thought into the characters in a horror film. Guaranteed you won’t find a more interesting and entertaining story than the one Raimi and brother Ivan concoct here.

Sam Raimi has a tendency to throw in “Three Stooges” humor into his films and it’s really hit and miss. It soars wonderfully in films like Army of Darkness but crashes and burns in flicks like Spider-Man 3. Here it’s somewhere in the middle as some scenes feel like they belong in a different film altogether. I understand this is style but that doesn’t mean it’s a ‘Get Out of A Bad Scene Free Card’. The anvil scene in this film is fun, and I did enjoy it, but it felt taken more out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon than it did a fun horror-comedy. That seems to be the films problem as it wants to be horror with some good laughs, which is fine. However it tends to go for laugh out loud comedy that falls flat. Drag Me to Hell also falters when tries to gross out horror, for instance when Sylvia accidentally crashes onto Christine and spews some liquid all over her. It’s gross and while Raimi is laughing, it makes the audience cringe in disgust. There are some solid scares, namely a scene toward the end involving a goat. It’s very Evil Dead-esque but nonetheless it’s still a trip to enjoy. Sam Raimi shows us that both the good and bad of his tricks  and while I’ve lamented on the bad, the good should be had by those who venture to this.

As mentioned, in Raimi’s bag of tricks are the aforementioned jump scares. Yes, it’s vintage Raimi but that doesn’t mean that it’s perfect or works. Some do, when Christine is being chased by the lamia to her house. The film then goes on to make just about every scare a jump one complete with a loud noise to follow it. Where in some films he uses it sparingly, here it becomes an endurance test to see if he can in fact make his audience deaf. If Raimi really is going for comedy, he should include Steve Carell on the Blu-ray shouting “LOUD NOISES” every time an unnecessary jump scare comes up. Likely Alison Lohman was chosen because she looks good screaming. It couldn’t be because she’s a well-trained actress as she’s something of a chore to swallow during the quieter scenes. Justin Long though, is the exact opposite and does a tremendous job creating a real character out of Christine’s boyfriend Clay rather than just a plot device. Lorna Raver is fine as Slyvia Ganush but the real stand out of the supporters was Dileep Rao as Rham Jas the spirit counselor. A role that could have easily came off as Miss Cleo becomes an actual character who wants to help Christine. But its Lohman who tries to bring these scenes down with her bland and confused look. She handles the screaming well, far better than Ellen Paige could have, but she’s dull when she’s doing everything else.

It may sound like I hated Drag Me to Hell when just the opposite occurred. I liked it and thought it was one of the best horror films of the decade and certainly the best of the year. Sam Raimi is back and the world is a better place for it, don’t get me wrong and I’m sure it’s going to provide a fun theater experience. However, there are some problems with the movie that people seem to be letting go because it’s Sam Raimi’s first horror trip in sixteen years. Yes he’s great at it, but let’s not forget he’s problematic at times and unfortunately those holes shine through in Drag Me to Hell. Horror fans should be thrilled with the movie on the whole, but for everyone else there is a good story with some decent scares in it. Even with it’s problems, it’s good to have you back Mr. Raimi.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Not hot.

We heard a giant collective sigh coming from horror fans when Sam Raimi’s new thriller, Drag Me to Hell, landed a PG-13 rating -normally a death blow in the genre. The vaunted director of The Evil Dead and Army of Darkness explained the decision and why fans shouldn’t get hung up on his new movie’s rating.

After all, it’s just a letter:
Fans of the Evil Dead movies might be put off by the PG-13 rating. Why didn’t you just shoot an R?
Because those are just letters that people have prejudices about. It’s not about the rating; it’s about the intent of the film. If people want to see a blood-and-guts picture, this will not satisfy them and they should see an R. In fact, why not an X-rated or unrated film? R is for wussies if you’re talking about blood and guts.

Did you cut anything to get the rating?
In one scene, Christine uses a stapler to defend herself. We had to cut out one of the staples she delivers to the old lady. Also, we had to cut down a scene where the woman bites Christine without her dentures. Why gumming would be R-rated, I don’t know.

Read the rest of the interview for further details including Alison Lohman’s tolerance of pain.

PG-13 horror movies are usually pretty lame. Normally aimed at audiences who do not need to have mommy and daddy purchase them their tickets, these movies are notoriously tame regarding fright. It’s not just the absence of “blood and guts” that make them terrible, but the placement of boundaries. With an R-rated feature, moviegoers know that anything can occur and the possibilities are nearly endless which adds a glorious and unpredictable element to the film. However in PG-13 scary-fare, we pretty much know what is NOT going to happen: raw thrills.

Drag Me to Hell stars Alison Lohman as Christine Brown, a loan officer who angers a hell-dwelling demon by refusing to grant an elderly woman a mortgage extension.

Skynet this time around was not beaten by John Connor and the Resistance, but by a security guard and historical figures. That’s right, the family friendly Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian defeated the big action drama Terminator: Salvation for the weekend (53.5 million over 43 million). Some already say that the fourth Terminator movie was an under performer, even though it only missed the mark of tying with T3′s opening day numbers by just one million. Some speculate that the supposed ‘weak’ box office draw was due to the lack of an actual Schwarzenegger, others could say that it did fine if you included Thursday’s numbers.

Regardless of that, the biggest surprise was the performance of Night At the Museum 2 (to put it short). Not only does it appeal to mainly little kids who want to see the funny people, but its original release for the first film was a surprise in itself, accumulating up to 250 million domestically alone to trigger a green light for a sequel. Some, including myself, speculated that its sequel would not hold up well against the aritificial intelligence cyborgs, but families alike proved the skeptics wrong.

The last of the three films released this past weekend was the Wayan Brothers’ spoof comedy of sorts, Dance Flick. Even though it has been completely ripped apart by a many of critics, people still flocked out to see if it was even worth the price of admission. With only a 25 million dollar budget and already accumulating 11 million within it’s opening weekend, a little monster in my head tells me that this film will most likely make its money back (no surprise).

Honorable mentions among the weekend is how surprising not only Star Trek is doing, which must mean that Trekkies are definitely getting their helpings of it in theaters still, and Angels & Demons. Granted I do not get at all what the big hub bub is with Angels & Demons, and even though it has not fared well among others people are still power walking in to see it. Along with the rest of them, here’s the overall totals of the weekend.

Weekend Box Office (May 22-24)

1. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian  ($53.5 Million)
2. Terminator: Salvation  ($43 Million)
3. Star Trek  ($21.9 Million)
4. Angels & Demons  ($21.4 Million)
5. Dance Flick  ($11.1 Million)
6. X-Men Origins: Wolverine  ($7.8 Million)
7. Ghost of Girlfriend’s Past  ($3.7 Million)
8. Obsessed  ($2 Million)
9. Monsters Vs. Aliens  ($1.3 Million)
10. 17 Again  ($1 Million)

Coming up this week to hit the slab is the very hyped up and anticipated animated movie (which even I am looking forward to) Disney/Pixar’s Up, along with Drag Me To Hell & The Brothers Bloom. Stay here for the latest reviews, clips and more only on Atomic Popcorn!

Morbius thirst for your blood! Blargh!

Thanks to to the chitter-chatter coming from FearNET to Raimi, he spilled about the possibility of the next Spider-Man villain to go vampire mode. He hinted at the notion that the next villain would be Morbius, a scientist who in turn gets the vampire-like qualities thanks to scientific experiments. If this were to be the case, well it would definitely attract a form of an audience by the obvious bout of vampirism alone, seeing as its the latest craze in movies (thank you Twilight).

Even though it’d be an interesting turn to make, and a slightly strange one at that, all of this is just rumor. In Raimi’s interview with FearNET it is merely a mention with an obvious wink and grin following. Since it is so early in development, the fate of who will be the next villain or villains is still in the air. If you want to hold yourself down for the time being with more Sam Raimi goodness, check out Drag Me To Hell in theaters on May 29th. Want to know how it is? Then read the latest review from Maximus Meridius on Drag Me To Hell.

Well we decided to chunk these articles up into two portions so your eyes don’t hurt after reading through all of my recaps. I hope you are all still here with us. Make sure to check out the first one if you arrived here by some twist of internet fate!

We will start back on track with July.

JULY

JULY 1

PUBLIC ENEMIES

I’ve said it before and I will again; cancel the 2009 Oscars as we can give every single award to this masterpiece. Michael Mann is my favorite filmmaker and his style has influenced my own direction and I’ll defend most of the guy’s work (my least favorite being The Keep.) This is going to be the film I see eleven times in theaters and will obliterate every other film that comes out this year. Yes, I’m predestined to love this film because everything I’ve seen leads me to believe Michael Mann has not only invaded our dreams perfectly with Bale and Depp, but is giving us a true work of cinematic greatness that will have it’s poster featured in the hall of the Academy of Science and Motion Pictures. The only movie that needs release after this is The Expendables, then cinema can end.

ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS

Public Enemies. Fox decides to revive a franchise that has been lukewarmly received from audiences and critics alike. Public Enemies. The franchise has always had the cute characters, but it’s lacked what made the Pixar movies special with the heart behind the cuddly li’l guys. Public Enemies. I do have to admit, the trailer did make me laugh but so did the ones for the first two, and I left with the same feelings; decent for kids, meh for adults. Public Enemies. It looks like it’s opening take won’t be strong and it’ll still do battle with Optimus Prime. Public Enemies.

JULY 10

THE HURT LOCKER

I need this movie like rain needs water. Kathryn Bigelow is one of my favorite talents and it’s a shame she’s been forgotten since K-19: The Widowmaker. Word on this has been nothing short of great as it’s tearing up festivals and awards alike. There’s not alot to dislike here as it looks like we’ll have an Iraq war drama finally worth a squirrel fart. If anything, I’m hoping it relaunches Bigelow’s career again like the perfectly awesome Point Break did.

I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER

I’m of the belief you can show an IMAX film on Hayden Panettiere’s forehead. She’s not bad looking, it’s just she has a giant forehead which I assume is her super power on that X-Men ripoff “Heroes”. This looks like it could either way, but it does have original writer Larry Doyle working on the screenplay of his own novel. Really unsure about the timing of this one though as it’s going to be facing competition from Sacha Baron Cohen.

BRUNO

It’s going to be interesting to see how Sacha Baron Cohen replicates the shock reactions he generated with Borat. The sightings have been great and apparently this killed at SXSW. The trailer looks like more of the same, but doesn’t since we’re dealing with a more flamboyant character.

JULY 17

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOODED PRINCE

Just call it Harry Potter and The Biggest Money Maker of the Summer. The Potter films have a wide fanbase and the movies haven’t sucked hard at all. Sure, it took them a while before they finally became good but that’s largely due to the improvements of it’s leading stars. The trailer has been the best they’ve given us but does it really matter for this movie? After what they did with the last film, I’ll be there in IMAX 3-D for this.

JULY 24

THE UGLY TRUTH

Like a few other films being released this summer, this has a pretty predictable ending without seeing so much as a trailer. Gerard Butler had such promise after 300 and while he hasn’t fallen off the map, he seems to be stuck in Romcom Hell. Katherine Heigl continues her string of romcoms as none look to eclipse Knocked Up anytime soon. Both could, should do and know better, but until they realize it, we’re going to be fed films like these.

G-FORCE

Sadly, this isn’t an adaptation of the “Gatchaman” anime series, but essentially a reimagining of Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Will Arnett plays agent alongside Nicolas Cage voicingg the leading…animal here and even though Arnett was enjoyable in Monsters Vs. Aliens it’s hard to see how he can elevate the material here. Hopefully the children have wised up since October.

JULY 31 (My Brother’s Birthday)

FUNNY PEOPLE

Apparently, this should be nominated for Oscars as early buzz would suggest. No clue if it’s really that good, but it does have many things going for it. Apatow and Rogen make for a good team, Sandler likes to give solid performances when he’s not making raccooon crap (i.e. -  You Don’t Mess With The Zohan) and Ms. Leslie Mann-Apatow should as always be stupendous. Interesting note is constant Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski is on board for this chances are it’ll be the best looking comedy of the year.

THEY CAME FROM UPSTAIRS

Ashley Tisdale = Minor interest. Trailer = Interest gone.

AUGUST

AUGUST 7

G.I. JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA

I demand Stephen Sommers to be banned from filmmaking as the man has yet to make a film that resembles decency. When he was announced as director of this film the fun was sucked right out of it and the buzz was shot to hell when the toy photos of Cobra Commander where leaked. I know going with the blue hood was too simple and cool for this film, but no one wanted Jimmy Vulmer. It looks like Wanted, but as long as Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow are handled well there shouldn’t be too much whining.

JULIE & JULIA

Amy Adams does her one fun film of the year in May, then comes back to the arthouse with this. Julie Powell steals a page from Diablo Cody and attemps to become a screenwiter. Too bad she couldn’t have found a better director than Nora Ephron (no relation to Zac obviously, although just as talented) who’s last film was the cinematic equivalent of Jack Bauer torture. It does have the presence of two great actresses so it should be ok. Maybe.

SHORTS

Robert Rodriguez returns to working with children in this tale of a boy who finds a multi-colored, wish granting rock. RR’s not a bad filmmaker but his flicks always have the proper amount of cheese that have some form of charm to them. This might be why the Spy Kids films work so well or it’s Rodriguez’s way with child actors. Whatever the case, Shorts should deliver even if it looks borderline Speed Racer.

AUGUST 14

A PERFECT GETAWAY

Riddick creator David Twohy tells this tale of two pairs of lovers who discover they’re being stalked and hunted. Milla Jovovich plays Steve Zahn’s husband in this which isn’t so hard to believe when you consider who she’s really married to (another person who needs to be banned from filmmaking.) Some would say Twohy needs to hang it up too, but he’s better at ideas and not the actual construction of a script.

DISTRICT 9

Rumored Halo director Neil Blomkamp takes on this sci-fi action romp. I’m interested if only because I’ve never seen Neil’s work and he made quite a bit of noise when he was rumored for Halo all those years ago. It also has an interesting premise with the aliens being the hunted and not the hunters. Peter Jackson is behind this as well. Do I smell an exercise for Halo?

FINAL DESTINATION: DEATH TRIP 3-D

Race cars. Horror. 3D. Sounds like a grindhouse film right? No, but that’s what were getting from David R. Ellis in this forth installment of the Final Destination saga. I remember a time when 3-D used to be unique. Now it feels like a gimmick to put asses in seats and along with IMAX specific scenes, seems to be where cinema is headed. In fact, I HAVE HAD IT WITH THESE MONKEY FIGHTING STUDIOS AND THEIR MONDAY TO FRIDAY GIMMICKS!

THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE

Eric Bana will hopefully revive his career this year with this, Funny People, and some science fiction nonsense being released in May. Rachel McAdams is looking to do the same after her great turn in State of Play with this science fiction romance. The premise is intriguing enough and certainly the leads have enough talent to make it work, but will it be more Fountain or more Notebook? Time will tell.

PAPER HEART

No documentary and some narratives look to eclipse Anvil: The Story of Anvil this year but this small feature from Charlyne Yi has been garnered both kinds of good and bad buzz. Michael Cera is in this experiemental documentary that I hope isn’t what some say: lots of vision, very little substance.

AUGUST 21

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

I may be the only guy in the universe, but I find Quentin Tarantino to be overrated. He’s not bad, but he is not the end-all be-all of crime and cinema like everyone made him out to be (on a side note, what really annoys me is when people say my own work is derivative of his when none of my inspiration comes from him.) Because of my feelings, it made me feel good when Death Proof showed his greatest weakness in it’s true form and everyone came off his high horse. But now we get his “dream” project and while it’s not the case he wants, it still looks deliciously great. Nazi’s for sure will be destroyed gloriously, and Brad Pitt embodies Lee Marvin. If there’s one movie to end the summer, why not this one?

THE POST GRAD SURVIVAL GUIDE

Erm…did we really need this film? It’s relatable for sure, but it appears way too cute for it’s own good and even stars Sara Paxton’s non-sister Alexis Bledel. I just hope this isn’t some post-Juno nonsense that will sniff it’s own ass and pretend to have a lesson. If anything, the casting of Michael Keaton and Carol Burnett gives me some (if very little) hope.

AUGUST 28

H2: HALLOWEEN 2

So the summer ends with Rob Zombie poisoning us to an unwanted sequel to an pointless remake of a classic horror flick. I really, really don’t see the point in this picture much like I don’t think Zombie should let near a camera for a Halloween movie. Sure, rebooting all the horror franchises is necessary because of the continuity errors they all have but let’s at least pay the respects to what came beforehand. These don’t even feel like Halloween films but more like The Devil’s Rejects Feat. Michael Myers. Maybe this will bomb so we’re no longer plagued with Zombie’s Halloween.

And with that, this preview is over. This summer has way too many films that can go either way which means it could be as good as last year, or as hit or miss as 2007.  With that said, here’s the Ten Most Anticipated For Summer 2009:

1. Public Enemies
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Up
4. Moon
5. Terminator Salvation
6. Bruno
7. Funny People
8. Star Trek
9. District 9
10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

See you at the movies!

Well, it’s that time of year again when school’s going to be out, people will dive into their local pools or if you’re lucky beach, and baseball takes the sports limelight (GO ST. LOUIS GO!!!). But what really makes the summer so special are the mindless explosions, riveting car chases, and occasional psycho clowns who terrorize our cineplexes to provide us a fun escape from just plain regular psychos. It’s time for Atomic Popcorn’s 2009 Summer Movie Preview sponsored by PBar.

MAY

MAY 1

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

Wolverine gets a third stand alone movie (first time credited) which will detail where he came from and how young James Howlett becomes the killing machine known as “Wolverine”. I see the reason to center around Wolverine and Fox is certainly hoping this will have some Batman Begins/The Dark Knight effect. However, there was really no clamoring for an X4 after Bret Ratner all but killed the franchise. Early buzz is not of the good variety but the pseudo-genius Tim Rothman has decided that this flick needs “secret” endings that will be exclusive to each screening. Yep, I sure smell a true award winner here.

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

Neo had Renée Zellweger, Tony Stark was paired with Michelle Monaghan, and Wolverine gets double with Jennifer Garner and Lacey Chabert, the latter of whom is the only reason I’ll even step foot in this film. Point is, it’s becoming obligatory for the summer blockbusters to be paired with a movie the girlfriends can venture to while their fellas get their dicks back. Headlining this is Matthew McConaughey as a man haunted by the girlfriends of his past at his brother’s wedding. Pretty sure the ending won’t be haunted by The Ghosts of Romantic Comedies Past though, but it does have the angelic Lacey.

TERRA

Also known as The Battle of Terra, this animation flick from Canadian based Snoot Entertainment has already been making it’s rounds at the festivals and garnering some really positive reviews. It features the voice of Luke Wilson as a space explorer who crash lands on Terra only to find the human race is planning on invading the planet. It also features Danny Glover, Brian Cox, and notably Justin Long and Evan Rachel Wood as the two alien teens who befriend Luke Wilson. Hopefully (and based on reports is) more like Pixar’s work than DreamWorks.

MAY 8

STAR TREK

Trekkies around the universes soiled themselves much like I did with Watchmen when the news of J.J. Abrams Star Trek started making it’s rounds. Was it a reboot? Sequel? Prequel? Apparently it’s all of those things and Trekkies are still in a panic even with the various reports around the interweb that it’s phenomenal. To be fair, this looks more Star Wars than Star Trek which makes me think Abrams misses the point. Yet, that will attract new fans who will want more of this action-packed Trek than the more strategic one of old. If it does get more fans on board, how will they take the less action packed entries? I’m just awaiting some half-witted critic to call the film “better than Wrath of Khan.”

NEXT DAY AIR

The trailer was decent, but the only reason I’m even remotely interested in this is because of Wood Harris who cemented his legacy as Avon Barksdale on “The Wire: The Greatest Television Show That Happened to Humanity”. It actually does have a decent cast including Donald Faison, Mike Epps, Mos Def and the aforementioned Harris even if the plot borrows a wee bit from Pineapple Express. This however looks to be more loud and even slightly more over-the-top. This comes to us from Summit Entertainment, who’s still busy counting their money teenage girl’s parents poisoned them with.

MAY 15

ANGELS & DEMONS

Robert Langdon returns in a race against time versus the Illuminati who threaten a terrorist act against the Vatican and destroy them. The principles are back including Ron Howard and everyone’s favorite to hate screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who made this a victim of the writer’s strike. I didn’t check out The Da Vinci Code but apparently I didn’t miss much, if anything at all. This entry looks more engaging, thrilling, and should be a better flick. Also, Ewan McGregor headlines a supporting cast that should at the very least make this decent. Wonder if Ron Howard will get an obligatory Oscar for this one.

MAY 22

TERMINATOR SALVATION (5/21)

I love both Terminator films equally (no, that’s not a typo) to the point in third grade I told this girl I’d crushed on I was a T-800 sent through time to kill her. With that said, there’s no other movie I’m scared of more this summer than this one. I’ve been very vocal about the supposed ending and should it come to pass, I’m walking out. The other thing that worries me is McG, who has yet to show me he can make anything remotely decent. But the rumored (yet changed, allegedly) ending is what I’m having trouble with. If I’m making a big deal about it then fine, but it needs to be understood this is going to make or break the film both critically and box-office wise. It might not suck as the trailers make it seem, but we’ll know the truth once that final reel comes up. Oh and PG-13? Fuck that.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN

Ben Stiller is reunited with Owen Wilson and is surrounded by some new faces for this sequel to one of the surprise hits of 2006. Robin Williams comes back as Teddy Roosevelt and Amy Adams continues to cash in her success by playing Amelia Earheart. As a film it could go either way as the first was fairly well-received but nothing spectacular. What I don’t get is the timing for this. It’s going up against one of the biggest films of the summer, then is followed next week by an animated film from a small company called Pixar. Unless this sequel captivates audiences like Dark Knight, this could be a big blunder.

DANCE FLICK

There was a time when the Wayans were loved by everyone when they graced us with Homey D. Clown, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, and The Wrath of Farrakhan. Now, their shtick is tired and unfunny and even with the scarce details, Dance Flick looks no different. The Wayans have turned into that family member who you hope, and want them to do well because of their past, but recently they’ve constantly screwed up so much you can’t expect anything less. And given what it’s opening against, this is most likely going quietly.

MAY 29

UP

Pixar jumps on the 3D bandwagon to give us the story of a man frustrated with life and ties a thousand balloons to his house to go see the mountains of South America. However, he finds he has an unwelcome guest in a boy scout named Russell. Pixar’s track record speaks for itself so there should be no doubt this will at least be good. As big a gimmick as it will become, the 3D has impressed me with this flick so far. None of it has seemed as a “3D Effect” but rather you’re in the experience. All buzz thus far is tremendous but truthfully, I don’t see how they can top WALL*E.

DRAG ME TO HELL

Sam Raimi Returns! Well, at least to the genre he perfected with the Evil Dead films about a loan officer who has to evict an elderly woman who then puts a curse on her. Things start going tits up and Allison Lohman learns the title of this film is going to happen to her. After the dismal Spider-Man 3, Raimi needed to make this film to get his mojo back. This seems to be pure vintage Raimi and might even comment on the housing crisis going on. Maybe once Raimi gets back in our good graces, he can move forward with Spider-Man 4-D.

JUNE

JUNE 5

LAND OF THE LOST

Will Ferrell is 0-1 when it comes to TV adaptations and also working against him are the very few that happen to be good. Rick Marshall is now joined by his assistant (Anna Friel) and a survivalist (Danny McBride) instead of his children as he’s now sucked into a vortex that takes him to an alternate universe where dinosaurs still roam. I’ve never seen the 70′s version but I sure as hell can’t get that 90′s theme out of my head. As a film, this looks comedic, fun, and harmless and it does have the original creators behind it.

JUNE 12

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3

Tony Scott, while not as prestigious as his elder brother, knows how to construct entertainment. He’s very hit or miss, but when paired with Denzel he’s 3 for 3 which makes me believe we’ll get a good flick out of this remake of the 1974 film I hear is tremendous. The trailer was pretty slick (as expected for T. Scott) and I’m digging John Travolta’s digs so far. Even though Denzel Scott is a good hybrid, let’s hope this is more Man on Fire than their 2006 escapade.

MOON

David Bowe’s son Duncan Jones takes his father’s song quite literally to create a story about an astronaut (Sam Rockwell) sends back parcels along with his computer GERTY, of a resource that will help out planet’s power problems. The trailer wow’ed the lot of us and put this on our radar as a must see. Some have panned it, but it remains to be seen if this is going to be considered science fiction gold.

IMAGINE THAT

Eddie Murphy, please go back to doing rated-R films and stand up.

JUNE 19

YEAR ONE

Harold Ramis teams with two comedy stars of today in Jack Black and Michael Cera to take us back to the first year of planet earth. The trailer left much to be desired but this features a solid 80s comedy director (Ramis) and a man who has the comedy world by the palm of his hand (Apatow) so there’s no reason this shouldn’t be bad. Plus, it’s almost a Superbad reunion with Jack Black playing Jonah Hill. If it delivers the laughs, it should be well received and that’s all it’s aiming for.

THE PROPOSAL

Somewhere, someone said “Sandra Bullock quit The Expendables: The Movie to End Cinema to make films no one cares about and they are right. Much like a film released to start the summer, I already see where this one is headed and how it’s going to end but my gripe comes with whatever office Sandra Bullock works for that would deport her. She’s still got her looks even if the age is slowly creeping in and is probably still fun. It does have Ryan Reynolds though so that has some interest, at least. I just wish he’d pick better projects.

JUNE 26

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

As much as I don’t like this decision now, I saw the original Transformers ten times in theaters (once on IMAX) but now have barely watched it since owning the DVD. What captivated me were the visual effects which really set the benchmark and is a true Oscar crime it didn’t win the Oscar for it. Here we’re getting more robot kickassery, goofier robot scenes, and Megan Fox in a white dress. Amidst all this is Michael “Explodo” Bay promising more destruction and shot three scenes specifically in IMAX. I’m wondering if a certain fedora wearing star is going to show up and help his son as they climb up the pyramids looking for artifacts. If anything, should The Matrix make it’s appearance I better hear “YOU GOT THE TOUCH! YOU GOT THE POWER!”

Onto PART TWO