Moviegoers tend to hold a semi-reliable consensus about movies of the summer, primarily because thematically trivial popcorn extravaganzas are the season's bread-and-butter. Critics also, for the most part, aren't prepping for the Oscars and gearing their expectations toward \Million Dollar Baby;"" more than ever, the emphasis is on sheer entertainment value.
Overall, the summer movie crop of 2005 was very typical: crowd-pleasing action, some of the best and worst examples of the superhero subgenre, science-fiction, sequels and remakes of all shapes and sizes, a few chick flicks and a couple of raucous, mirthful sex comedies. Whether it's about penguins marching, superheroes or ""Dukes of Hazzard,"" I'll give it a fair shake.
[b]Tabloid Advertising[/b]
Three of the season's best offerings were more notable for the off-screen hijinx of some of our more high-profile celebrities. ""Mr. and Mrs. Smith"" probably would have cleaned up anyway, but its success was ensured once Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt started having sex in real life. Luckily, Doug Liman's tale of comically extreme domestic strife is a breezy and stylish lark, one mixing subtle humor in with its many explosions.
Tom Cruise may be a whack-job, but he and fianc?? Katie Holmes starred in the best movies of the summer. Spielberg's best film since ""Minority Report,"" ""War of the Worlds"" is a spectacular, ballsy saga as nail-biting as any thriller of recent memory. A lot of people complained about the film's comparably sunny ending, as if it ruins the experience as a whole. I, for one, don't think one minute of sentimentality sullies 119 minutes of hardcore, apocalyptic action.
""Batman Begins"" is narrowly this summer's best film and, for my money, it tops ""Spider-Man 2"" by a mile as a contender for ""Best Comic Book Movie Ever Made.""
The ridiculously talented Christopher Nolan lends gravity to the film, distinguishing it from Schumacher's two gauche ""Batman"" movies-and Christian Bale is easily the best Caped Crusader to date. In Nolan's hands, ""Batman Begins"" is the story of a tormented man with the financial capability to become a successful vigilante, choosing to focus on the dark complexities of the Batman myth instead of lingering on some new cheesy villains. Did I mention it kicks ass?
[b]Undeserving Financial Failures[/b]
Michael Bay and Ron Howard's latest projects fizzled at the box office, but not deservedly. Bay's ""The Island"" was the big loser of the summer, but ironically, it's much better than his more successful offerings. However, it is too predictable, uneven and derivative for me to truly bemoan its failure.
""Cinderella Man"" is also a derivative film, but it is an undeniably skillful and absorbing, if not historically accurate, underdog drama. Zellweger can be annoying, but Crowe's brilliant, multifaceted portrayal of Jim Braddock, coupled with Howard's restraint and many frenzied boxing scenes make the film a resounding success.
[b]Some Veteran Directors Fizzle; Some Make Minor Comebacks[/b]
For my money, Tim Burton's remake of ""Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"" was on par with his abominable remake of ""Planet of the Apes,"" despite the current critical and commercial consensus. Production design and faithfulness to Roald Dahl's original novel can't overcome the sketchy special effects and what is arguably the first bad Johnny Depp performance. In direct contrast, everyone seems to agree that Terry Gilliam's first finished movie since ""Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,"" ""Brothers Grimm,"" is a hokey and obnoxious fantasy saddled with a dimwitted script by Ehren Kruger.
Once-celebrated ""Boyz in the Hood"" director John Singleton and ""Scream"" director Wes Craven helmed some satisfying projects this summer as well. Singleton's ""Four Brothers"" is a fun, macho revenge flick that erases some of the bad taste left by his ""2 Fast 2 Furious,"" just as Craven's minor but riveting claustrophobic thriller ""Red Eye"" made some amends for last year's ""Cursed.""
[b]The Worst Movies of the Summer[/b]
The runner-up is ""Dukes of Hazzard,"" a lame, putrid waste of time. Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville can't enliven material this dated and moronic. But its failure is nothing compared to ""Fantastic Four,"" which may be the ""Worst Comic Book Movie Ever Made."" Everything hated about the genre-chintzy special effects, disjointed and muddled storytelling, a villain lacking any personality or color whatsoever-is amplified here. Avoid it at all costs.
[b]A Trio of Wonderful Documentaries[/b]
Yes, ""March of the Penguins"" is the one everyone is talking about, but ""Grizzly Man"" and ""Murderball"" are the ones you should see first. ""March of the Penguins"" is heartfelt and beautiful but slight, whereas ""Grizzly Man"" and ""Murderball"" better demonstrate how fascinating documentaries can be. Seek them out as soon as possible, as they are not only two of the best movies of the summer, but two of the best documentaries of the decade.
[i]Joe Pudas is a junior majoring in communication arts and journalism. His column runs every Monday.[/i]
