Is this the worst summer for movies?

[godhood]

We all know that next summer is going to be the biggest ever for summer movies. Although this is not spiderman related I feel this summer has to be the worst for movies. Final Fantasy was kind of confusing for me, AI didn't impress me at all. When did special effects takeover for good storytelling? Will next summer be ten times better than this one? The summers not over yet still waiting for Planet of the Apes so let's see what happens next.

http://home.earthlink.net/~joselg

[jessie0770]

You are absolutely correct. This summer has been a huge disappointment. A.I. was a yawner, and Final Fantasy was less than what it could have been. The only films that have come close to impressing me have been "family oriented" (i.e., Shrek, Atlantis, Cats & Dogs, etc.). Swordfish and Tomb Raider (the latter film I walked out of the theater after 5 minutes. Five minutes! That's a record for me.) also stunk like pure ***! It also seems that no one wants to ACT anymore. Films have become to dependent on special effects and Matrix-like fight sequences. I am a HUGE Spider-man fan, and I am placing a lot of trust in the moviemakers. I will boycott films forever if this film disappoints.

[Spidon]

This summer has been one of the worst ever for movies. I look forward to every summer when good movies come out, so far this summer the only good movie I've seen is Cats and Dogs. Planet of the Apes looks like it might be good, as well as Rush Hour 2 (I'm a huge fan of Jackie Chan and Rush Hour was the best). So there may be hope yet to how horrible this summer has been.

Spidon21

[RandallBruce]

I agree. This summer has been one of the slowest starters w/ most early disappointments in a few years now. The only hopes I have left that haven't already been mentioned (Planet of the Apes, Rush Hour II) are Kiss of the Dragon and Jurassic Park III. We'll see. . .

[godhood]

I see that "AI" looks like a bomb, it didn't make a lot of money this past weekend and has been going down on the top 10 list. "Rush Hour II" I will see just because the girl from "Coaching Tiger, Hidden dragon" will be in it.

http://home.earthlink.net/~joselg

[Dark_Angel_Uriel]

Am I the only one in this entire world that sat and watched Final Fantasy and "UNDERSTOOD" it...? It was not that difficult a movie to follow unless you were drooling so bad over Aki or Grey (depending on your preference) that you stopped paying attention to what was going on around them...

And give the animators some credit, they have blown away the CG of the past with this movie, they put Jar Jar to shame, Shreck was so "cartoony" I almost puked, (not to say the movie was bad, just not my style) and Jurrasic Park III.........What can I say about JP3 exept that I think it's a bad idea...Not that the animation won't be top notch but there's only so much you can do with an island full of Dinosaurs...

Anyhow I just don't understand why Final Fantasy the Spirits Within is taking such a pounding, I personally have named it my alltime favorite movie for characters, plot, and visuals...Final Fantasy has set a standered in visual effects that is going to become a benchmark for the future of digital entertainment...

Watch and see...

[Greener]

Other than American Pie 2. There is nothing good out this summer. Watch out for the raise in ticket prices for next year people. It starts with the Fellowship than its great movies all year. Man the trailer for Spiderman totally kicked ***. Now that is true to the word: TEASER. Sam Raimi Rocks.

[godhood]

"Final Fantasy" was just ripping off themes from other sci-fi movies like "Aliens", sure it was a feast for the eyes but that was it. I mean aliens that swallow souls? I think you can do a better story than that. I do agree that "JP3" is the same story over and over again being chased around by dinosaurs is getting old.

http://home.earthlink.net/~joselg

[Webslinger]

I went from expecting this year to be a virtual sensory overload for summer movies, to severely disappointed in the lame arsed crop o' movies we wound up getting. It seems like most agree that this year just plain sucked, for summer movies, so far. I haven't seen Final Fantasy.... I had planned on seeing it, and I probably still will, since I'm a computer animator.... If for no other reason than to enjoy some breath-taking CG visuals and nothing more. The story really didn't seem all that appealing in the previews, so I'm not surprised that it's a dud movie. Planet of the Apes looks to kick much ***, and I have alot of faith that it will, considering the fact that there has yet to really be a Tim Burton film I don't like. As for Jurrassic Park 3?... whatever. It may surprise me, but I might just wind up waiting to rent the DVD. Looks like POA is the only movie I'm really looking forward to, for the rest of the summer. Next year will, however, is gonna be really interesting. We'll have Spiderman, Matrix 2, StarWars Episode 2.... help me out, people, what else can we expect, next year?

[BrutusJr]

I couldn't agree more regarding this year's crop of summer movies. "Shrek" has been the only movie I have really liked so far. A.I. wasn't that good, and should have ended before the "alien" B.S. Tomb Raider had everything going for it, but was a total disappointment. (Remember Aliens #3?) How do you screw up something like that with such promise?

I hope they develop a story in Spider Man, and don't just throw special effects at us.

[BrutusJr]

Almost forgot, another thought on Final Fantasy:

Yes, I saw this movie too, and the special effects were awesome, but the storyline wasn't very good at all. It did seem like a lot of other scifi movies rolled into one.

[stgibb]

I think the main problem with movies nowadays is the lack of originallity. It's not often a movie comes along where you come away from it thinking WOW! That rocked. Most blockbusters seem to be more concerned with how good the FX and Soundtracks will be rather than the story(Mi2).
This yrs movies seem poor. I decided not to go see Tomb Raider the moment i saw the trailer, all that we dont want to make it a chessy game movie, HA, what about all the shots of Lara's curves! The games were bad enough! I'm going to look out for movies that aren't blockbusters, they seem a safer bet. Big budget doesn't always mean good movie!
Roll on Lords of the Ring.
And one more thing. Studios should realise that sometimes a movie is best left on its own and a sequel should NEVER be made. I saw they are planning on making a sequel/prequel of Gladiator!! LEAVE IT!!!!

[qwenstacy]

I feel the same way, most of the movies this summer have been lacking in the writting dept, but the effects have been crazy! why can't we have a movie with a good story line along with really cool special effects? The producers/directors, etc have focused on the effects more than anything because they think moviegoers won't notice the blah writing and gush over the effects. I feel that Spiderman will be a combonation of both..... It's gonna be cool.

[jbluna]

For anyone that was hoping that Jurassic Park 3 was going to pull this summer out of the gutter and finally provide a good film I say this, SORRY!!! I just got back from seeing this big budget yawn. Number 1, it was only 90 minutes long, if that much. There was absolutley no plot to the movie whatsoever. Way too many happy coincidences and no suspense. There were a few sparsley placed humorous moments that broke up the monotany. Other than that, it was just another wasted trip to a dried up well. Plus, they didn't show the Spider-man teaser like they are in some other theaters and since when did they start charging sales tax for movie tickets? As if they aren't way too expensive as it is. Well, that's enough of my ranting. Somebody want to take it from here?

[allisonofwales]

yeah i pretty much agree about that JP3...i saw it opening night. it was only 90 minutes, the ending was abrupt, the death count was too low to strike fear into anyone, the plot was so thin....the guys behind it just seemed to need an excuse to go back to the island and use more special effects with dinos. it wasnt a total waste of money though, there is one solid scene that is real jurassic park material....i just wish the producer(s) and director were as smart as micheal crichton was writing the book(s).
it seems like a lot of movies today are worried more about how visually pleasing it is than the real structure of the storyline...MAKE SPIDEY BETTER!

[BuzzLY]

I thought JP3 was pretty good, myself. I wasn't expecting much of a plot, and at least the plot it DID have was somewhat believable. I thought it quite humorous that Dr. Grant really didn't want to go back, and when he was asked about what he thought about a dinosaur being let loose in San Diego, his comment almost made my Coke spurt out of my nose. There were some funny moments -- it was obvious that the actors didn't take themselves too seriously. Plus, the plot twists regarding the Raptors was interesting. Not a blockbuster, to be sure, but it was fun. Anything longer than 90 minutes would have gotten old.

AI was a pretty good movie. When the movie ended, I thought to myself "Wow, now that was cool." It really made me think. As I got up from my seat, and realized that the movie was NOT over, I said "WTF?" and soon realized that Spielberg just can't leave a movie alone -- there HAS to be a neat, clean, tidy, fully-explained happy ending. BAH. Kubrick made a great movie. Spielberg spoiled it. And i believe those "aliens" are really evolved robots...

I don't know about Final Fantasy -- I haven't seen it yet. I probably will, though.

Shrek was very good. It was cartoony, but I think that was intended. Plus, it was VERY funny, on many different levels. It has my vote as the best movie this year, so far.

Legally Blonde was cute, but very predictable, and too convenient. The ending was a little campy, and I HATE when they put those little summaries at the end, telling you what happened to each person later on. It makes you wonder if their budget ran out, they couldn't show the ending, so they just told you the rest of the story in a couple of short words.

Back to AI... what the **** was up with the narrator? Where did he come from? Why didn't he narrate the rest of the movie? When he started to speak, it actually made me jump in my seat!

Tomb Raider did not surprise me in the least. Oh well. Angie looked good, though :)

Fast and the Furious DID surprise me. I expected a weak plot to support lots of racing. Parts of it were predictable, but the movie was MUCH better than I thought it would be. Vin Diesel did a good job... it would have been cool to have Harrison Ford and Chevy Chase in it too ;-)

I am looking forward to seeing Lord of the Rings, Scary Movie 2, Planet of the Apes, and Rush Hour 2. With all of the "of the" movies out, perhaps I should go see Kiss of the Dragon too?

[Blue_krystal]

I've seen SWORDFISH and was pleasently suprised. It was fast moving, excellent stunts and brilliant acting by none other than Hugh Jackman.

[LunarEx]

I dont watch movies too often.. but all the ones i saw this summer were so bad... le bad.. sooo le bad... reminds me on why i just dont watch tv or movies.... unless its seinfeld, or something funny....

[jacob54321]

Ai was a great movie, i just think people didn't understand it...and also those are ROBOTS at the end of the movie NOT aliens like many people think.
Final Fantasy was good but it was a big rip off of the greta Princess Mononoke....if u liked Final Fantasy or not ur gonna really LOVE this movie...it's anime if u want to reant it this weekend.

[capo]

HERE IN ARGENTINA WE ARE IN WINTER HOLIDAYS NOW,AND IT SUCKS BIG TIME IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MOVIES,JURASSIC PARK 3 WAS THE BEST (AND PLANET OF THE APES MAYBE)

[0verkill]

was wondering if any1 has seen "the fast and the furious"
It maybe the last ditch effort for a good movie this summer?

[jacob54321]

lol i was looking at ur CAPS and i thought to myself "im gonna call him CAPO" but then i looked at ur name and it was already.....
thats a great story eh?
wanna hear anotha?

[BuzzLY]

I was looking at your post, and I thought to myself, "nyah, what a maroon!"

Then I looked over at your screen name, and thought "wow, what are the odds on that coincidence?"

[jacob54321]

i dont get it :?

[TheBeaver]

I saw JP III, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, Cats and Dogs...basically every movie that's had potential to be the top in the box office. I enjoyed all of them except the fact that Tomb Raider could have been better, JP III should have been longer, Cats and Dogs was more like Homeward Bound than it should have been, basically the best movie I've seen this summer is possibly Final Fantasy and maybe Tomb Raider. I remember that one of the reasons I wanted to see Final Fantasy was because of the Spider Man teaser trailer. I wanted my dad to see it because i saw it on JP III and thought it was the best teaser trailer i had ever seen. My dad loved it and agrees that the movie is going to be awesome.

[Spidon]

I saw Rush Hour 2 yesturday. Best movie out this summer! It's way better than the first one. There are even hints to a Rush Hour 3....

Spidon