Summer Movie Malady

It's been a couple months and already a few great movies have come through.  As we've been remarkably busy, it's taken me a while, but I'm finally ready to come through with some mini-reviews on some of the Summer releases.

Week 1 - Iron Man
My favorite movie experience so far since Spider-Man.  This one had it all.  The acting, the plot, the effects, and the action, it all came together so seamlessly and entertainingly.  It is the best superhero movie since Batman Begins and the best movie so far this year.  John Favreau and Marvel Studios have created something terribly exciting and I cannot wait for the sequel or for what Marvel has in store for its next series of films.

Overall score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Week 2 - Speed Racer
This is the first movie I've ever seen by myself.  Really.  Should I be willing to admit that?  I'm not so sure, but it doesn't matter.  The movie itself was stunning, visually.  It was everything the original material was and more as the Wachowskis have mined everything in their visual lexicon to craft a new experience.  Off-putting for most movie-goers, I enjoyed it for its action, but was lukewarm to the non-driving sequences.  Perhaps a bit too long, it had me looking at my watch for the last forty-five minutes or so, but kept my attention due to the technicolor visual graffiti.  Definitely something to watch for in the future.

Overall score: 3 out of 5 stars

Week 3 - Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
One of the tentpoles of the Summer movie season, Indie returns to the screen a man of a different era and a movie of a different era.  Where the first one was a much smaller movie with giant aspirations, this film knows what's at stake.  The scale outreaches all three of Indie's previous efforts, but the characters are still true to themselves.  Shia wasn't too bad, but I was disappointed in the "Tarzan" sequence.  The visual effects were jarring, especially at the end, but impressive.  It was an enjoyable Indie feature, but compared to what we've seen thus far, they'll have to do better.

Overall score: 3 out of 5 stars