After a lousy winter and spring at the movies, the summer slate kicked things into high gear and provided a season at least on par with the crop from last year. I was awestruck by how many movies I was enjoying, many of which were receiving chilly reception from major critics (I still can't believe so few of them embraced Get Smart). Reading reviews this summer helped me realize just how lame film criticism is getting; instead of focusing on the smart, daring pictures, most of the praise went to easy, safe ones. Not that those aren't fun; it's just sad to see how lazy the critical taste is becoming. The best movies of the summer for me were the ones that succeeded at being more than just an average blockbuster. They were all marketed that way, but I'll be damned if they each didn't aim to do more than simply provide the audience with visceral thrills. I have chosen five movies to single out, although I could have picked ten. When it comes to a list representing a season, the shorter list feels more appropriate. So here's to a terrific summer, one that hopefully has paved the way to an even better fall lineup.
5) Hellboy II: The Golden Army dir. Guillermo Del Toro
An experience of endless imagination, Hellboy II takes the ground laid by the first movie and shoots it to the heavens. Ron Perlman is even better than he was the last time, but the real pleasures of the picture are all the little touches. Del Toro fills the movie with jaw dropping visuals, memorable supporting characters, and at least three inspired moments of comedy. He's a classic storyteller, and Hellboy II is proof that he was the ideal choice to bring on board for The Hobbit. I'm almost disappointed he's been distracted, since Del Toro has already announced plans to do a third chapter. Patience can be a bitch.
4) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull dir. Steven Spielberg
Critics and fans complained and complained about how it wasn't what they were hoping for after all these years, which leaves me with one question: what were they expecting? The picture has Harrison Ford, who at sixty-six can still kick ass like he's thirty-three. There's plenty of action, staged as breathlessly as anything Spielberg has done. And then there's the screenplay, which is sprinkled with a startling amount of memorable dialogue about aging and the theories behind god and higher beings. While I can agree some of the CGI stands out, I appreciate the movie's intentions enough that it barely made an impression. My second favourite entry in the series behind Raiders.
3) Hancock dir. Peter Berg
It made a shitload of money, but nobody was talking about it and I don't understand why. Hancock is a movie full of ambitious ideas, with most of them executed in a way that's not only entertaining, but also profound. Will Smith is the best he's ever been in a role that couldn't have been played by anyone else, and if some of the special effects are lacking, director Peter Berg's effortless dedication to the material makes it a worthless argument. The picture is, aside from being a sly take on the superhero genre, a bold look at romance and race in modern day America. Like Berg's other movies, it'll only be a matter of time before audiences finally realize how genius his work truly is.
2) Tropic Thunder dir. Ben Stiller
It's been many years since a movie made me laugh as loud as Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller's merciless Hollywood satire. The casting is half the genius, from Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise's brilliant disguises to Matthew McConaughey and Nick Nolte's subtle nuances. Aside from the inspired gags, there's plenty of exciting action, too. None of it holds any weight, but it's all staged with relentless gusto. No one is safe in Tropic Thunder, and yet the movie is not mean spirited. Instead, it goes to great lengths to show the ridiculous pressure actors will put themselves under in order to become a "star," a theme that's brilliantly set up by three mock trailers. Equally as great is the way the picture spits on actors attempting to develop their craft. Stiller seems to be saying it's a bunch of bologna, that trying that hard to become a character will leave you not only alone but also doubting who you really are.
1) The Dark Knight dir. Christopher Nolan
I wanted so badly to avoid jumping on the bandwagon here, but after four viewings and plenty of pondering, I cannot deny the greatness of The Dark Knight. It's problems are minor enough they are barely worth mentioning (although I still can't stand Batman's voice; and why does he talk that way around people who know his true identity?), leaving us to instead focus on the movie's many themes and characters. The familiar story arcs are given an incredible boost thanks to Nolan's knack for serious storytelling, but what really elevates the picture are its central performances: Christian Bale's tortured Bruce Wayne, Heath Ledger's unpredictably insane Joker and Aaron Eckhart's overly ambitious Harvey Dent. The picture is impossible to shake off; what first amazed me about it was how disturbed and afraid it made me. Usually those types of feelings would keep me away from revisiting a movie frequently, but not this one. It's a movie full of so many rewards that it demands to be seen more than once. If that's not the sign of an unforgettable movie experience, I don't know what is. The Dark Knight has redefined what it means to be a summer movie. The question is will the next movie, hopefully helmed by Nolan, be able to up the stakes on what he's accomplished here?
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Copyright, Hell and Beyond, 2008
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