Some Summer

The summer movie season is officially here. It was kicked off a little early this year, by that box office wonder known as Star Wars: Episode I, and this weekend it continues with the eagerly anticipated Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

Now, it's worth noting that these two films are among the most publicly anticipated films of the year, and both are of course part of a series of films...i.e. sequels. (And yes, I realize that technically Star Wars I is a prequel, but that's a moot point).

Summer time is the land of sequels, and usually that means movies which are highly anticipated, but rarely live up to the magic of the original film. I suspect that Austin Powers will be very good (or maybe I just hope it'll be good), but I do have to say that Star Wars was disappointing (especially considering the "Plot Does Matter" retort to Godzilla's marketing campaign last year).

The history of sequels doesn't bode well for most films with a 2 or 3 or "Returns" in the title. Very rarely does a sequel live up to the original. For proof, one only has to look at Nightmare on Elm Streets II through XVIII - or whatever they're up to now - or the latest Lethal Weapon film (and why does everyone love Chris Rock so much...rarely have I seen someone so UN-funny in a movie).

Of course, not all sequels are bad...just most. There are examples of films where the sequel was actually better than the first film. They capture the magic of the first film and expand upon it, offering something new, yet familiar. I'm thinking specifically of The Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather Part II. There are other sequels which are good, as well, but whether they're better than the first is a matter of personal opinion (i.e. I liked Batman Returns better than Batman - Batman Forever & Batman & Robin were disappointments to say the least - that's Schumacher's fault though).

This year, we're surprisingly light on sequels. Besides Star Wars and Powers, it seems that nothing else is a part deux or higher. This probably is good news, but not necessarily.

Taking a look at this summer's lineup, we see several films which show some promise, but which could just as easily suck as bad as Godzilla. There are high concept action/comedy films (Wild Wild West), the pre-requisite Disney animated feature (Tarzan), comedies (Austin Powers, South Park, Notting Hill, Big Daddy, etc.) and of course, a big budget "art" film which is hoping to cash in on some big summer dollars (Eyes Wide Shut). This is all balanced nicely by the independent studios, who offer a few films for those people who are sick of big budgets (The Blair Witch Project, The Red Violin).

Of all the films coming this summer, the one which gets the "Most Likely to Suck" award is Wild Wild West with Will Smith. I have nothing against Mr. Smith, but I have a funny feeling that everything worth seeing in this film is in the trailer. Last minute reshoots, and a ballooning budget ($170 million according to the studio, over $200 million according to various other sources - either way, it's out of control) don't bode well either. Another tell-tale sign is the date shift. They pushed the release date up a few days, which is usually a way of grabbing as much cash in the first few days as possible. Of course, I could be wrong. This could be Will Smith's biggest movie since Independence Day. All I know for sure is that South Park opens the same day, and that's where I'll be. Given the choice between funny construction paper and two hours of CG effects, I pick construction paper every time. I'd love to see what would happen at Warner Brothers if South Park upstaged Wild Wild West (which won't happen - WWW will be blasting its way onto a huuuge number of screens).

Of the other films coming, I suspect the most successful will be Disney's Tarzan. Everything I've heard has been incredibly positive, and Disney is so confident in the picture that they screened it in its entirety at Sho-West in Vegas (where theatre-owners decide which movies they'll run through the summer). The last time I heard buzz this good on a Disney film, it was The Lion King and we all remember what happened there.

Eyes Wide Shut is a must-see for me as well, not only because it looks intriguing, but because it's also the final statement from the late, great Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick's films have never done that well financially, but then again, Kubrick's films have never starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman before. If it's a typical Kubrick film (i.e. made for people who don't everything spelled out for them), then expect a big opening weekend (because it's a Tom Cruise film) and a sharp drop off as baffled audiences tell their friends they "don't get it". I suspect the film won't break Cruise's $100 million streak though (his last five films in a row have all surpassed $100 million at the box office). Maybe we'll even see Tom Cruise win an Oscar next year (say what you will, the boy can act!).

The biggest curiosity for me will be Big Daddy starring Adam Sandler. I've always found Sandler incredibly funny (and yes, I'm aware there are a lot of people who beg to differ), but I've never thought of him as "mainstream" funny. I didn't expect anywhere near the numbers The Waterboy did, and now I'm curious to see how Sandler does against some real competition (i.e. summer movies as opposed to the late fall dumping ground). It'll probably do well, but the studio may have been smarter to hold off until September or October when competition isn't so stiff...then again, this is probably one of the cheapest movies getting a wide release this summer. Advance buzz has been positive as well, with this film expected to build on Sandler's Wedding Singer audience (this is deliberate, Adam Sandler is a very shrewd businessman...don't let his childish antics fool you, he knows what he's doing).

As for other films this summer? I'll see pretty much all the majors, skip the "middle of the road" films (i.e. The General's Daughter with John Travolta - snooore), and probably catch a few independents as well (Blair Witch is on my must see list). Of course, as I see the films, I'll be sure to post my opinions here...whether they matter to you depends on your taste in films, I guess (if it's the same as mine, I could save you some money, if it's not, well...at least it's an opinion).

Anyhow, I should probably quit my rambling and cut to a little bit of business now.

First and foremost, I'd like to ask my faithful readers out there for suggestions in regard to a title for this weekly editorial. I can't seem to come up with anything I like, so maybe an outside opinion would help. If you have a suggestion for a title that's better than "Ken Pierce", email me at ken@dvdfuture.com.

With any luck, I'll be interviewing David C. Fein from Sharpline Arts later this week. He's the producer of the supplementary material Sharpline provided on the Alien DVDs, as well as the documentary on The Last Starfighter DVD. I'm just waiting for a copy of the two documentaries (they're "in the mail") so I can watch them before interviewing him. I have a ton of questions for him, and I'm hoping that the interview will make for good reading. Keep checking back throughout the week, I'm hoping to have it done before Friday (but we'll see, I guess...).

I spent the weekend plowing through the Alien Legacy box set, and it certainly is a great set. It's well worth the purchase price if you're a fan of the films. Future Shop and A&B Sound both had it on for $79 Canadian (roughly $55US). If you purchased the set, make sure to send in the card for the fifth disc documentary early. Apparently there are limited quantities, and you wouldn't want to miss out. For those people who are in Canada and didn't get the card for the fifth disc, the address to send a copy of your original receipt and $4.75 (Cdn) to is:

The Alien Legacy: The Making of Alien
P.O. Box 97, Dept. DVD
Pickering, Ontario
L1V 2R2

Make sure to include a copy of your original sales receipt for the Alien Legacy four pack of DVDs, as well as a brief note explaining that you didn't receive the mail-in card.

Last weeks' column went up late, so I'm not going to reveal the answer to the quote of the week quite yet. Nobody has answered it correctly yet, so if you know what it is, email me. I'll answer last week's and this week's quote in next week's column (that's too many weeks in one sentence).

This week's quote is from a film I'll be watching on DVD again tomorrow night (so if you live near my house, just peek in the window and you'll see the answer!). It's pretty easy, so I'm hoping someone will actually get it.

Woman: In Japan, men come first and women come second.
Man: Or sometimes not at all.

As usual, email the name of the film and the characters to ken@dvdfuture.com

It's late, I'm tired, and this article is probably full of errors so...until next time...