By Brett Blake Summer’s over. I mean, I guess technically we’ve got another three weeks or so before the fall season officially begins, but for movie-going purposes, the summer is gone. I thought this might make for a nice opportunity to look at where we’ve been over the last four months, cinematically. If the summer of 2013 will be remembered for anything in years to come, it will be for the quite large number of films that either underperformed at the box office, or downright bombed. Of course, there were some films that exceeded expectations (The Conjuring, The Great Gatsby, and World War Z did significantly better than they were forecast to, for example), but these are outnumbered by the slew of pictures that struggled. Films like Man of Steel and Star Trek Into Darkness weren’t the massive hits their respective studios were hoping for (but by any definition, they were still successful), while The Lone Ranger, Pacific Rim, White House Down, and After Earth were pretty much full-blown financial disasters (domestically, anyway; foreign box office tells a slightly different tale), with each resulting in huge net losses for their production houses. It has to be said, though, that box office returns are not at all definitive indicators of the quality of the films from this summer (Pacific Rim, for example, is certainly a good movie), but there is most likely some kind of broad correlation, which brings me to this: I don’t think there were very many films from this summer that were unequivocally “great” or “events,” but there were many that were just “okay,” which makes the season - in retrospect - feel kind of underwhelming, at least from where I’m standing. So here’s how I want to tackle this - I’m going to present a film that I felt was the “Surprise of the Summer,” a film that turned out to be better than I was expecting; I’ll follow that with the “Disappointment of the Summer,” which I would hope is self-explanatory. Finally, I’ll list the five films that I enjoyed the most. It has to be said there are plenty of films from this summer that I missed. Some of these were movies I just had no interest in (White House Down, The Heat, Fast & Furious 6, This is the End), while others I simply haven’t had a chance to see yet, but still intend to (Now You See Me, The World’s End, You’re Next). Surprise of the Summer WORLD WAR Z No, World War Z isn’t a great film, but it is a solid entertainment with an interesting spin on the zombie movie genre; additionally, the third act - which slows things down and embraces the more conventional aspects of the zombie genre - is a pretty fantastic, self-contained setpiece. That a film this troubled (there were lots of problems behind the scenes) turned out this well is kind of bizarrely remarkable, and a pleasant surprise. Disappointment of the Summer Star Trek Into Darkness I want to say this first: I think Star Trek Into Darkness is a very good movie, but it’s because of this that its flaws are magnified. The plot lurches forward with little momentum, it shamelessly tries to recall famous moments from the franchise’s past, it almost wastes the estimable talents of Benedict Cumberbatch by saddling him with a shoe-horned in (and, basically, irrelevant) villain, and it offers a spectacularly anticlimactic ending. The final result is a film with great action and wonderful character moments, but no real coherent or interesting story to latch onto. This is a movie that should have been so much better. The Five Best Movies of the Summer 5. THE WOLVERINE A strong effort from all concerned, The Wolverine treats its title character with a more serious and mature mindset, and that pays off with an unusually thoughtful superhero film that still manages to bring in all the required action and excitement. Keep expectations in check, because this is certainly no masterpiece, but it is a welcome, lower key change of pace from the usual bombast in this genre. 4. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY Some people have described this film (very curiously) as just another soulless animated film bearing few of Pixar Studios’ hallmarks. I think that opinion is quite misguided, as Monsters University has a lot of heart, and a unique, powerful message about finding your place in the world. There seems to be a perception with Pixar that if each new film isn't bigger and better than the one before, then it's somehow a failure. I think that's nonsense, and even if MU doesn't reach the heights of The Incredibles, or Up, or Toy Story, it's still a completely satisfying and affecting film. 3. MAN OF STEEL Probably the most controversial blockbuster of the year, Man of Steel seems to be one of those “love it/hate it” type situations. I acknowledge its flaws, but count me as among those who really dug this one, and I think it was a fitting way to approach the character of Superman in a more modern or “realistic” fashion while still being true to the essence of who the character has always been. Henry Cavill makes for a fine Clark Kent/Superman, and he's backed-up by a fantastic ensemble portraying a roster of supporting characters who each get a moment to shine. 2. THE CONJURING Man, am I a sucker for a good horror movie. The Conjuring isn’t the scariest movie I’ve ever seen (far from it), or the most unique from a story perspective, but in an age of “found footage” and “torture porn,” this film’s gleefully old fashioned approach to its scares is simply a delight, and the movie - a Poltergeist-ian horror house ride - is hugely entertaining, both for those familiar with the genre’s storied past, and for those who’ve grown tired with the horror genre’s mostly “same old, same old” lukewarm offerings in recent years. It's a classical haunted house story in the best sense of the phrase. 1. IRON MAN 3 We’re going all the way back to the first weekend in May for my number one pick. It’s kind of telling that my favorite film of the summer was the first one I saw; I guess it was all downhill after that. But that’s neither here nor there - Iron Man 3 (or Three, as the end titles would have it) is probably the best of Tony Stark’s stand-alone adventures, and it is a whole ton of fun, filled with witty dialogue, legitimately spectacular action sequences (the free-fall rescue, in particular, is exhilarating and kind of astonishing), and a cast doing top-notch work. This is everything we want from a summer popcorn movie. It's a blast. So there it is. Please feel free to share your own thoughts on what went down these past few months, or to set me straight on where I went wrong with some of these picks. Now, the summer might be over, but here’s the good news: in a few short weeks, we’ll begin to enter the prestige/awards bait season, which usually means a lot of quality films will be showing up in cinemas, and if the release schedule is any indication, the final four months of 2013 could be pretty spectacular. Let’s hope it pans out that way!
2 Comments
Ed
8/31/2013 12:10:51 pm
I also really enjoyed The Conjuring! I don't think I can value the opinion of any horror "fan" who didn't like that one.
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Brett Blake
8/31/2013 02:32:10 pm
They're out there, Ed. On a side note, I think 2013 has been a pretty strong year for mainstream horror so far; MAMA was solid, the EVIL DEAD remake was great fun, V/H/S/2 (although very uneven) had some knockout sequences, and - of course - THE CONJURING. And there's still INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER II coming a few weeks.
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