Favorite Flicks of Summer

[JasonEvans]

Ok, the summer at the movies is pretty much done. Here is a list, in boxoffice order, of the films I have seen this summer.

1. Spidey 3
2. Shrek 3
3. Pirates 3
4. Transformers
5. Potter 5
6. Rat
7. Simpsons
8. Bourne Ultimatum
9. Knocked Up
10. Live Free or Die Hard
11. Fantastic Four 2
12. Ocean's 13
13. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
14. Evan Almighty
15. Rush Hour 3
16. Surf's Up
17. Premonition
18. License to Wed
19. Talk to Me
20. Sunshine
21. Gracie
22. The Invasion

There are a few flicks I want to see that I have missed. I have not seen Superbad or Hot Rod yet (Rod will probably wait for DVD). I missed Sicko, and will CERTAINLy see that soon. The wife is dying to see No Reservations. I still want to see Stardust and heard very good things about 1408 and Rescue Dawn. Still, I think I have a pretty solid list from which to base this ranking.

Here are my top 5 movies of the summer... in reverse order.

5. Sunshine - I already wrote a thread (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2886) about how much I enjoyed this film. Yeah, it had flaws and not everyone will like it (my wife hated it), but I thought it was stylish, smart, wonderfully acted, and pretty darn original. That's rare at the movies these days. As an aside, I almost put Talk To Me in this slot, but it was a tad too preachy and didn't really go anywhere in the end.

4. Knocked Up - Actually wasn't as funny as I had hoped because I had ridiculously high expectations for it, but still a darn amusing film. It meandered a bit in the middle but tried to remain mostly honest and real and I respect that. Really well-acted too. As you will see from my list, comedy had a pretty good summer (much better than action, for sure).

3. Simpsons Movie - More consistently funny than anything else all summer. Had so many laugh out loud jokes and memorable lines. My family spent 30 minutes after the movie was over with each of us recounting our favorite lines or scenes. My personal favorite was when Albert Brooks made President Schwarzenegger pick option #4. The reveal of Bart's ding-dong was a close second.

2. Bourne Ultimatum - I know I had some criticism (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2845)for this flick when I saw it first time around and I still think the plot was too thin, but this was the best adrenaline rush of the season... and it was not even close. In a summer where sequels and action flicks consistently disappointed me, this is the one that I actually enjoyed.

1. Ratatouille - This will go down as the worst performing Pixar film ever and that is a pity. As I said a while back (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2341), I adored the story and found the quality of the animation to be wonderful. It is a pity that the concept of a rat hero turned off so many people and more folks did not get to see this film. This film did nothing to shake my belief that Brad Bird is the best animation director around.

Well, that's it. Like I said, Talk to Me almost cracked my top 5 but there was not a lot else that really stood out to me in a lasting way. I am betting that if I had seen it, Sicko would be in the top 5 (I would probably drop Knocked Up, if that makes any sense). All in all, I felt it was a very lackluster summer for movies. Of course, the summer is about bringing in the bucks, not being artistic or daring or original. Those kind of films come along in the winter, just in time for Oscar nominations. I imagine that Rat, Zodiac, and 300 are the only flicks I have seen so far this year that stand a chance of being in my end-of-year top 10... at least I hope so ;)

-Jason "Zodiac is the top of my yearly list, so far" Evans

[Channing]

well, i do not have even 1/10 the knowledge of or appreciation for movies that Jason does, and my top 5 is arranged basically according to entertainment value. I went back and looked at what I thought would be my top 5 at the beginning of the summer . . . that list was:

(5) Bourne Ultimatum
(4) Shrek 3
(3) Spiderman 3
(2) Evan Almighty
(1) Pirates 3.

As it turned out, my list is:

(5) Knocked Up
(4) Bourne Ultimatum
(3) Rush Hour 3
(2) Superbad - pure hilarity
(1) Transformers

like i said - my basis generally isnt cinematography or storyline, but more entertainment.

[Olympic Fan]

Obviously a subjective list -- and in my case, I have absolutely no interest in such high profile flics as the Spiderman movies or the Pirates of Carribean series. I'm waiting for Transformers on cable.

The best money I spent this summer was on:

(5) Waitress
(4) The Simpson's Movie
(3) Sicko (I just wish Moore had left off the visit to Cuba -- which only goes to reinforce the right-wing proganda that universal health care is a commie plot).
(2) Harry Potter
(1) Live Free and Die Hard (the perfect mindless summer entertainment)

One addition, I really liked "300" ... I know it's not a summer movie, but didn't see it until June, so does that count?

Still planning to see Superbad, but I'd be surprised if it cracks my top 5

[Bostondevil]

I keep watching Ratatouille's box office numbers, I'm rooting for it to break $200 million so Jason can win his bet. I haven't seen it yet. I wanted to take the kids but the grandparents beat me to it and they don't seem to want to see it again. I'll try again in 2 weeks the last stulfying week before school starts.

Movies I've seen this summer

Pirates, Surf's Up, Shrek 3, Waitress (I escaped with a girlfriend), and Daddy Day Camp. Yes, I paid money to see Daddy Day Camp. For these sorts of movies I have two rules, if I don't fall asleep and there is a discernable plot, I give it a kid qualified thumb's up. Surprisingly, Daddy Day Camp passes. It's a terrible movie but I didn't fall asleep and it had a plot so . . .
Cuba Gooding Jr really is a decent actor, can't someone get this guy better scripts. The kids in Daddy Day Camp were atrocious though, just atrociious, some of the worst kid actors I've ever seen. My boys thought it was a hoot, particularly the scene where the bathroom blows up.

I still want to see Bourne, I'm just waiting for all my babysitters to get back in town.

I can't rank the ones I've seen. Surf's Up failed the kids thumbs up test though.

[bluebutton]

I only saw 4 movies this summer--I'm picky--but here they are

1) Live Free or Die Hard
2) Bourne Ultimatum
3) Ratatouille
4) Transformers

1 & 2 were way ahead of 3 & 4 in terms of being entertaining. But I liked 3 & 4 for their own reasons--I like food a lot and I watched Transformers/played with the robots when I was a kid.

[billybreen]

The only movies I saw this summer were Simpsons and Superbad, and I liked them both. This message sucks, but it's post 300.