In May, we get a seriously strong start to the summer with Thor. I have to admit I was not a fan of the comics per say. I thought the character was kind of ho-hum. He is a god of thunder and talks like he is in Shakespeare. Not much to admire. This changed when I read The Ultimates, a comic series that reimagined the Avengers as if they started today. The first two story arcs were awesome and gave me an appreciation of Thor. After that, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes came out on Disney XD. Thor is one of the best characters on that show and him, along with Cap and the Hulk, bring me back time and time again to watch. Thor showed that he is a truly awesome warrior and his take on humanity is often times hilarious due to his being an outsider (he is a god that normally resides in Asgard, the godly realm of Norse mythology). Now being primed by new takes on the character, I was excited to see that a live action movie was being made about him.
I was a bit leery about it, I must admit. I say this because comic movies are often times just huge marketing giants meant to be light on story and heavy on merchandising. Although, several recent submissions of comic films have broken this trend, Nolan's Batman movies, Superman Returns and Iron Man name just a few. While people have conflicting opinions of the quality of the stories in these movies, they were deeper and more character driven than previous comic movies. Which thrilled me to no end because it meant that comic book movies might actually get taken seriously and made with respect instead of hammed up dialogue mixed with over the top art direction and excessively hokey situations meant to be "family friendly."
But my leeriness was put to rest when I saw the first trailer. From the 2 minutes of footage and how the story is shaping up, Thor looks to be a great addition to the marvel cannon of movies that will culminate in next summer's The Avengers, a team up movie of Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. This movie has me amped up in anticipation to the point of playing with the toy hammer for Thor and yelling things like, 'Thy Odinson is not pleased!" and "Ooooodin!" while pressing the thunder sound effect button. People in Target stare but I know they are jealous of how I wield such power.
Click here to see the Thor Trailer
June brings Green Lantern. Much like Thor, I wasn't always the biggest fan of GL. He was alright with his energy ring that could do anything he imagined but he was no Superman. I have grown to appreciate him more as I have read comics and seen him on various shows like Justice League: The New Frontier and First Flight.
When I heard the movie announced, I wasn't overly thrilled until I found out who was playing Hal Jordan (Green Lantern's secret identity). Ryan Reynolds had been cast as GL and I thought that was great. I like Reynolds a lot. He can do action, drama or comedy and GL will require all three.
The trailer doesn't exactly have me so pumped I could punch my mom, or even your mom. Instead, it seems like a run of the mill superhero movie for summer time. I know I just discussed this earlier but I am still willing to give the movie a chance. I don't think the trailer is doing the movie justice and I want to see what they do with all the characters in the movie. How much have the honored them and how much have they screwed up? Because of this, I am going to give it a chance and most likely enjoy it.
July is a double whammy for awesome movies. First up, we have Transformers: The Dark of the Moon, the third and supposed final Transformers film by Michale Bay. At the end of the month we get to see Captain America. Both of these are just about tied for the top of my summer list.
Transformers has had a roller coaster past with its live action movies. The first one was pure awesome. Getting to see Optimus Prime and Megatron fully realized on screen was amazing. The second movie was a bit of a let down. It felt rushed and was overly silly when it should have been taking itself seriously. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy it, but it could have been better, stronger and faster. So with that in mind, my nerd glands are producing record amounts of excitosauce in anticipation for this release. Which might cause a release of my own. Especially after hearing Peter Cullen voice Optimus, which is the best part of any of the movies.
No full trailer yet for Tramsformers but here is a tv spot.
Next is Captain America. This is another one that has me so pumped I could uppercut 100 orphans. I can't figure out what movie I want to see more, Thor or Cap. I am still on the fence. Just when I think I have it figured out that I want to see one over the other, I get a new trailer or image from the opposing movie and it sways my vote. Oh, but don't you worry, I will see both.
Cap has been one of my favorite heroes for awhile. Much like Thor, it took reading The Ultimates to really get a good grasp of him though. After that Marvel launched a new line of comics for him and the first arc or two for the story really drew me in. I always imagined Captain America as this boy scout who worried more about honor and doing the right thing over getting the job done when it came to cleaning up a room of bad guys. I mean, he doesn't want to soil his image of being a role model by punching a guy who might not deserve it. Wow was I ever wrong! Yes, Cap is a conservative of the highest flavor but instead of holding him back, this conservatism actually fuels his ass-kickery. He still holds the 1940s ideals in the 2000s, and because he sees things as being wrong, when we accept them, he fights to keep up the standard that he knows. This actually works in his favor and I love reading and watching it unfold. I truly hope in the movie they can keep this ideal in place and have Cap bring all the blunt force trauma I can handle with his shield.
Trailer for Captain America
That about wraps up my summer movie nerd fest list. Yes, they are all comic book or superhero movies, but that is the kind of guy that I am. I dive head first into these kinds of movies. I am glad they are starting to mature in their film making and not just made as merchandising cannon fodder any more because they make much better movies when they are taken seriously and I really hate to think of myself as the lowest common denominator when it comes to the movie seeing public.
Here is a list of other movies I am looking forward too this summer. These don't make the list for most anticipated but they do look good and I will try to see as many of them as I can. Click the titles to see trailers and teasers.
May
Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides
Hangover 2
June
X-Men: First Class
Super 8
July
Harry Potter
Cowboys and Aliens
August
Conan the Barbarian
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