Yes, I know that it's only May 1st... but this time of year always feels like an early summer for me. And the reason is simple.
The summer movie season begins.
For a film-lover, I can rejoice that--finally--we can move out of the dead zone from January-April that rarely offers anything of significance (other than the Oscar nominees and winners which we released last winter). Too early for films to be noticed for next year's awards and the least opportunity in terms of financial success, it's a dark few months in terms of quality. Yes, occasionally, The Hunger Games or The Matrix raises eyebrows but really the winter months usually brings little value in terms of selection.
Now, don't get me wrong. The summer box office is often filled with below average tripe that makes more money than it should. It's the time of year when studios put forth their most marketable projects in an effort to draw moviegoers out of the heat and into the air conditioning. Still, there's something to be said for the thrill of Hollywood's big budget projects--and the lesser known films--that are released during the next three and a half months.
As such, I have decided again to offer some of my picks for the most intriguing films of the summer. Now, as a caveat, I would state that these are not necessarily the films I'm most excited about seeing, though there is certainly some of that here. (Prometheus, anyone?) Rather, due to the focus of this blog, I feel it important to mention some films which may have some of the most relevance to my faith and spiritual journey. In other words, the purpose of this post is to look for what could be moments of God's Kingdom breaking through in our cultural zeitgeist.
So, let's get started...
Marvel's The Avengers - May 4th, 2012
'Wait? There's an Avengers movie now?'... is what you'd be saying if you had just emerged from living in a cave for the last 4 years. In truth, ever since Samuel L. Jackson announced that 'they were going to put a team together" at the end of the first Iron Man movie, Marvel has been building to this Friday. That's four years and five movies... promoting one movie.
To say that this isn't going to make buckets of money is to live in denial... but will it be good? Early reviews have been extremely positive (96% on Rotten Tomatoes!?) and it's been doing VERY well overseas already--something which happens rarely for superhero films.
Nevertheless, what interests me more than whether or not I get my money's worth in explosions is the content of the film. Since it's directed by Joss Whedon, I expect that The Avengers could carry with it some emotional depth. Whedon is known for caring about emotional story arcs while balancing it well with action set pieces so this will be interesting to watch unfold. How does God figure into a story like this? Personally, I expect conversation about the value of living in community but, with Whedon at the helm, a film like this could very much surprise us.
Safety Not Guaranteed - June 8th, 2012
When I first heard about this film, I was intrigued. Based on a true story, the story centres around a team of journalists tasked with getting to know a man who recently took out an ad in the newspaper who was 'looking for someone to go back in time with [him]'. (Incidentally, the fact that the ad really took place is the only grain of truth in the story.)
Why include it on the list? Truthfully, I'm simply intrigued.
An independent film, Safety seems free to explore things other than one man's belief that he's a time traveller. Based only on the trailer, there appears to be hints of the exploration of the reality of the human experience. If that's the case, then Safety could provide some insight into our understanding of how the world views the image of God or simply our culture's quest for hope.
Though, to be fair, that's 'not guaranteed' either...
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - June 22nd, 2012
Since the turn of the millennium, end of the world movies have almost become a genre unto themselves, with mixed results. (Actually, the same can be said about Steve Carell's movies...) Still, there seems to be something earnest in this effort that appeals to me. Carell seems to bring an emotional groundedness to this film and yet, also guarantees that this will be decidedly lighter in tone than, say, Von Trier's Meloncholia.
The questions that films like these ask are always interesting as they inevitably explore what one would do with the remaining hours of their lives. In this case, Carell and co-star Keira Knightly's road trip appears to search for family and the meaning of love. Still, whatever the focus of the journey, films like this can provide valuable insight into the values of our culture. It may be one to watch.
Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D - July 5th, 2012
I'll explain myself.
I don't think I've entirely lost my mind by including this. Love her or hate her, Katy Perry has emerged as this generation's Britney Spears (as opposed to the Britney Spears, circa this generation). In a few short years, she's quickly become a cultural icon. Over that time, through songs like 'Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)' and 'California Gurls', she has shown herself to be both controversial, divisive and even somewhat endearing as a celebrity. The interesting thing to me is that she has strong Christian roots. Growing up in the Church, she actually began her recording career as a gospel singer known as Katy Hudson. However, when her albums failed to chart, she 'kissed a girl', changed her name to Katy Perry and the rest is history.
Why does this interest me? Mainly because I'm interested to hear how a change like this took place. Not to judge her at all. I would just like to know what happened and what place her faith remains in her life. No, I'm not entirely sure that the film will deal with these type of issues... but the trailer does indicate that it will wrestle with her Christian roots. (The film was also directed by the same team that put together the Justin Bieber doc, Never Say Never, which was truthfully quite well done.)
Hopefully, that helps to explain myself.
The Dark Knight Rises - July 20th, 2012
Maybe including this film on the list restores my credibility... lol.
Similar to Marvel's The Avengers, this film has been a long time coming. Building Christoper Nolan's Batman trilogy to a climax, expectations for this film are higher than most other superhero films. Why? Quite simply because Nolan's trilogy alway seems to be about something else. Although the content is about Batman and DC Comic universe, the context is always much deeper in its scope. For instance, even though The Dark Knight was promoted as an action film (built around Ledger's Oscar-winning performance as The Joker), it was really about living outside of the moral black and white and the nature of true justice.
Ever since Memento, Nolan's films have proven themselves to be intelligently written and directed, often in a way that other filmmakers seem to be missing right now. There is absolutely no reason to suspect that this will change here.
So, circle the date on your calendar.
And do yourself a favour... see it in IMAX.
(BTW, as I was writing this the long-awaited third trailer was released online. If you haven't seen it a hundred times already, you can see it here.)
The Bourne Legacy - August 3rd, 2012
Personally, I see this as an interesting film. Neither starring Matt Damon nor helmed by Paul 'Shaky Cam' Greengrass, The Bourne Legacy arrives with expectations of failure. Still, a solid first trailer led by a fierce looking Jeremy Renner appears bring with it a bit of hope. Why include it on the list? Mainly because I have a feeling that this film may surprise us with some depth. Although this is Tony Gilroy's first turn as a director in this series, he did write the first three scripts so he clearly understands the world. What's more, Gilroy even has shown himself adept behind the camera already, receiving an Oscar nomination for his directorial debut, Michael Clayton, in 2007.
In light of this, I am extremely curious to see where this film attempts to go. The first three Bourne films were well-written characters pieces about a man attempting to wrestle with the events of his past. If the same holds true here, we could be looking at a fascinating exploration of how one's history affects their present and future.
Or we could just end up missing Matt Damon.
