Summer can mean rest and relaxation from the stresses of school, a chance to lounge by the pool with a cool beverage of choice, or a time to earn a few extra dollars with your free time. But more than anything, summer plays host to the biggest blockbusters of the year. From sequels to series revamps; from lighthearted children's fare to ultra-violent action flicks; summer provides something for everyone. Here are some of the best films that didn't make it to print during the summer months at The Daily Cardinal.
1. ""The Hangover""
Insiders within the film industry were buzzing about this Todd Philips film before it hit theaters, with stories of legendary audience screenings with people rolling in the aisles laughing. Yet few could predict how big of a smash ""The Hangover"" would end up being. Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and the incomparable Zach Galifinakis, ""The Hangover"" told the story of an epic bachelor's party gone wrong, as the groomsmen's Vegas shenanigans leave the groom-to-be missing. ""The Hangover"" became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time, and once again raised the bar on the burgeoning ""bromance"" film genre that has taken the comedy world by storm this past decade. Plus, it has Mike Tyson and a tiger.
2. ""The Hurt Locker""
One of the rare summer films to be mentioned as an early Oscar contender, ""The Hurt Locker"" told a jarring, unsettling war story set in modern-day Iraq. Critics everywhere lauded its gritty realism, and Cardinal critic Dan Sullivan, who admitted to being averse to war films, called it ""one of 2009's truly remarkable works."" Even with a cast of relative unknowns (Anthony Mackie and Evangeline Lilly being the most recognizable), the film was a triumph. In the tradition of films like ""The Thin Red Line"" and ""Full Metal Jacket,"" ""The Hurt Locker"" should be in the discussion for Best Picture when the Academy Awards roll around, and represent director Kathryn Bigelow's greatest triumph.
3. ""Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince""
At this point, critics and audiences alike expected quality from the Harry Potter series. The sixth installment didn't disappoint, playing up the romance aspect at Hogwarts while still invoking a feeling of terror due to the rise to power by Lord Voldermort. Director David Yates made the same wise decision that director Alfonso Cuarón made in ""Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"" by dressing the wizards in Muggle clothing, seeing as asexual black cloaks don't exactly inspire romance and sexuality. Although the film did miss on a few key points—especially the truncated ending—""Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"" still left audiences with a sense of fulfillment, all while whetting their appetites for the final two-part installment, set to be released in 2010 and 2011.
4. ""(500) Days of Summer""
Critics were generally receptive to Madison native Mark Webb's ""(500) Days of Summer,"" though the true tale of this films popularity lies in the web, where this postmodern romantic comedy has already achieved cult status, pushing it into the top 150 movies of all time on imdb.com. The film's simple tagline, ""Boy meets girl, boy falls in love, girl doesn't,"" accurately describes the woeful tale of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Leavitt), and his lovelorn obsession with the beautiful Summer (Zooey Deschanel). Both Gordon-Leavitt and Deschanel were indie darlings as it is, but ""(500) Days of Summer"" pushed them both to unparalleled heights, as audiences watched their pedestrian awkwardness lead to brief romance, and ultimately to unending heartbreak.
5. ""District 9""
With the contentious elections in South Africa still in people's minds, Peter Jackson produced and presented a sci-fi version of the Apartheid, pitting empathetic aliens stuck in a ghetto against their sadistic human captors. ""District 9"" played with conventions, making the aliens ugly and violent, yet ultimately peaceful and relenting, while their human captors conjure up images of Iraqi soldiers at Abu Ghraib. ""District 9"" overcame a limited budget, no big-name stars, and an R rating to still top the box office, a testament to the fact that audiences don't always need a cookie-cutter movie to drive them to the theater.
