The July 2008 Movie Preview
The Wackness
Just to be original, I'd try to tell you that there's something more interesting happening this month than The Dark Knight, but that would be a lie.
JULY 4
HANCOCK
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Alcoholic superhero gets PR makeover.
WILL IT SUCK?
Dude, how awesome would it be if this turned out to be a Herbie Hancock bio-pic with Will Smith in the lead, and all this superhero stuff was just a scam?
I think the mock-superhero genre is played out (the death knell was My Super Ex-Girlfriend). The only thing that gives me hope here is the combo of underrated helmer Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom) and X-Files vet writer Vince Gilligan and Vincent Ngo, who wrote a couple of those kick-ass BMW shorts back in the day.
Early buzz is mixed with audiences taking a shine while critics bring up the specter of Last Action Hero.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Will Smith with July 4th weekend all to himself? I don't care if the marketing campaign can't make up it's mind as to what kind of movie this is, he'll pwn that shit. $192mil.
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THE WACKNESS
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Kid grows up in New York dealing dope to his therapist while dating the therapist's daughter.
WILL IT SUCK?
It's not the second coming of Rushmore or anything, but it's a good, hip, indie coming-of-age flick. More here.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Been building good buzz since Sundance. $10mil.
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GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Doc about the life and work of that weird-looking muppet. No, wait.
WILL IT SUCK?
Writer/director Alex Gibney is one busy motherfucker. Fresh off a Best Doc Oscar for Taxi to the Dark Side, he's back with this Sundance pleaser. Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Always nice to have name recognition for your doc. $3mil.
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KABLUEY
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Guy dresses up as big, blue corporate mascot. There's more to it than that, but that's the most interesting part.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is very strong. Honestly, just watching that guy run around in that blue suit has gotta be good for at least a half an hour.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Do not, do not, do not open your indie comedy against the one high profile indie comedy of the summer. $2mil.
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DIMINISHED CAPACITY
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The good news is Cooper's (Matthew Broderick) uncle Rollie (Alan Alda) has a baseball card worth a fortune. The bad news is Rollie's Alzheimer's-impaired, and Cooper's not doing too well remembering things either. Sweet family comedy ensues.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is fairly good, with Cubs fans singled out as particular beneficiaries of its appeal. Has a great supporting cast, with Virginia Madsen, Bobby Canavale, Dylan Baker and Louis C.K.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
What I said before about indie comedies taking on The Wackness still applies, though this at least has name actors. $3mil.
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JULY 11
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HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Del Toro's back. And this time he's got an Oscar nod.
WILL IT SUCK?
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is actually sharing story credit this time with the now Oscar-nominated (and were it a Best Foreign Film loss to any other movie than Lives of Others I would have said "robbed") writer/director Guillermo Del Toro. Also, this is no longer in the hands of the thankfully defunct Revolution Studios. That alone might make all the difference.
I wasn't a huge fan of the original, but I'm very curious to see what a Pan's Labrynth-empowered Del Toro brings to the table.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
You do not want to be between Hancock and Dark Knight. But I suppose it's better than opening against them. $74mil.
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JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Live action 3-D version of the Jules Verne classic.
WILL IT SUCK?
There's some very preliminary buzz that's good, but, you know, theme park ride good. From the director of some Xena eps.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Probably the one film likely to do worse than Hellboy II but better than Meet Dave. $31mil.
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MEET DAVE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
As explained more clearly by the flick's original title Starship Dave, spaceship takes on the form of a human and walks around New York City being funny.
WILL IT SUCK?
From the director of Good Burger and Norbit. Trailer looks like it's gonna hurt. A lot.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Even Space Chimps is gonna give this a run for its money. $15mil.
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GARDEN PARTY
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A bunch of yoots try to make their way in big, sleazy L.A.
WILL IT SUCK?
In spite of a trailer that makes it look like a mid-season replacement on Fox, early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Tricky because the presumptive target audience doesn't go to art house flicks. $1mil.
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AUGUST
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
It was only a matter of time before we had a personal drama set against the backdrop of the Dot Com Bust.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz has this about as dull as writer Howard A. Rodman's Joe Gould's Secret. But, hey, Jason Calcanis as himself!
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Indie Josh Hartnett is a difficult draw with even good reviews. $3mil.
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JULY 18
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THE DARK KNIGHT
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Joker Begins
WILL IT SUCK?
Chris Nolan is one of the most solid writer/directors working today, and on this joint he's joined by his brother, who wrote the short story for Memento and co-wrote The Prestige. Begins' David Goyer has story credit again. The cast has expanded to include what looks to be a glorious if tragic swan song performance by Ledger, backed by Aaron Eckhart, a Katie Holmes-replacing Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eric Roberts, Anthony Michael Hall, Nestor "Eyebrows" Carbonell, Michael "Spawn" Jai White, William Fichtner, Nicky Katt and last, but not least, Tommy "Tiny" Lister.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This will own the rest of the summer. $256mil.
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MAMMA MIA!
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Movie version of the ABBA-riffic musical.
WILL IT SUCK?
Very hard to say. Newbie (at least to feature film) writer and director. And who knows what Pierce Brosnan sounds like when he croons?
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Clearly Universal's counting on a repeat of Streep's Prada appeal, and given the success of Sex and the City, that's a decent bet. $89mil.
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SPACE CHIMPS
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
I suppose the only confusion the title might create is the impression that the chimps are from outer space as opposed to Earth chimps sent into space. So, to clarify, it's the latter.
WILL IT SUCK?
From the writers of Racing Stripes and Happily N'Ever After so, my goodness, yes.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
You have to have a lot of faith in your kids film to open it against Batman. Or none at all. $20mil.
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JULY 25
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STEP BROTHERS
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are the title.
WILL IT SUCK?
Understand, there are good Will Ferrell movies and bad Will Ferrell movies. Some of the better ones (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, The Landlord) were co-written by Ferrell and Adam McKay and directed by McKay. So was this one. It's also interesting to see Reilly get a story credit here, as it's interesting to watch him re-invent himself as the Big Budget Comedy Sidekick instead of his previous gig as the Low Budget Drama Guy Who Gets Shit On.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Some of the better performing Ferrell flicks have also been Ferrell/McKay outings. $112mil.
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THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Mulder! Scully! Aaah!
WILL IT SUCK?
They've got Chris Carter directing and co-writing with long-time X-Files scribe Frank Spotnitz, so it's coming from the heart. It's also a stand-alone, monster-of-the-week ep, which should suffer less from convolution. And it's got Xzibit. What more do you want?
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
For better or worse, X-Files is its own thing and doesn't really suffer from competition. And the residual audience is stronger than you might think, especially if they don't have to deal with the mythology which, by the end, had become a mess. $84mil.
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AMERICAN TEEN
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Doc profiling several teens at a midwestern high school.
WILL IT SUCK?
It's very good. Infectious even. More here.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The The Wackness of summer docs. $7mil.
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BOY A
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Kid commits horrible crime. After he gets out of jail, tries to start over as an adult. You can guess how well that goes.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. From the writing/directing team behind Intermission. Apparently on British TV first, as it was nominated for a bunch of BAFTA TV awards, taking home Best Actor and Best Director.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not much to make this stand out. $1mil.
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BRIDESHEAD REVISITED
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Remember when you were talking about Brideshead and I was all, "Let's revisit that later." I wasn't bullshitting.
WILL IT SUCK?
I'm more psyched than I probably should be given my lack of enthusiasm for literary adaptations. But when you put Michael Gambon, Emma Thompson and Matthew "If this doesn't break him, Watchmen will" Goode in the same flick, I pay attention. Not to mention that one of the scribes here penned the 400-hour-plus-but-you-should-see-it-anyway BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and the other co-wrote The Last King of Scotland. The director has done loads of British TV (Cracker, Touching Evil) and last year's Becoming Jane.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Once it hits wider release, look for this to be the August counterpunch to all the suck. $11mil.
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A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The latest from Wayne Wang has a father (Henry O) visiting his daughter in the States as she goes through a divorce.
WILL IT SUCK?
Director Wayne Wang started out great guns with The Joy Luck Club and Smoke then took the express to Suckville with limp romantic comedies like Maid in Manhattan and Last Holiday. This appears to be a return to form.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Nobody else has been paying attention to the career trajectory of Wayne Wang. $2mil.
Next Month: Another Star Wars movie! Yeah, I can't get psyched about that, either.
