Filmjitsu!

Here we find ourselves as movie fans in the middle of another sub-par summer movie season. Summer is the time of year when we expect big action movies full of explosions, chase scenes and heroes with swagger and bravado. Yet again Hollywood lets us down with a crop of water downed super hero movies and another Michael Bay travesty. This got me to thinking, is the summer movie season as we know it dead? Sadly I think that is the case.

Now I haven’t seen every movie that would typically fall into the nebulous category of Summer Blockbuster but I have seen a good number of them. Thor was weak and disappointing. Green Lantern was better than expected but only because of my basement level expectations. Transformers was an unmitigated disaster as you’ll hear all about in next week’s episode. Only X-Men: First Class was worth seeing. I skipped the 15th Pirates of the Caribbean movie and feel safe assuming it was a big pile of meh. Lastly we have Super 8 which I will reserve judgment on but remain skeptical as Abrams is very hit or miss. These are all a long way from being Jurassic Park.

The sad fact is that it is unlikely to get any better. The latest Harry Potter will deliver for those into that which I certainly am. Captain America is going to a skid mark. I am also reserving judgment on both Cowboys & Aliens and the Conan remake but am skeptical of both especially the latter.

This trend is not new. Last summer we had to suffer through Prince of Persia, The A-Team and Jonah Hex before finally getting Inception and The Expendables. In 2009 we got Star Trek but we also got Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Racists and that CG fart, G.I. Joe.

What ever happened to summers like 1984? I’m sure many of us spent a good chunk of that summer in a movie theater seat, popcorn in hand. That summer we were warmed up in May with Firestarter and Temple of Doom. June kicked us into high gear with Ghostbusters, Gremlins, The Karate Kid and Conan the Destroyer. July was a bit quiet but still gave us The Last Starfighter and August wrapped it all up with Cloak & Dagger and Red Dawn.

Now before you start branding me an old man or defending movies like The Expendables, I do believe a great summer blockbuster does still get made on occasion. The problem is it now is always surrounded by these turds that Hollywood thinks are summer fun and despite the horrible quality we, myself included, keep pumping money into the machine. As this trend does not seem to be slowing we here at Filmjitsu are ready to officially call it. The Summer Movie Season as we knew it is dead.

This discussion will continue in next week’s episode of Filmjitsu so be sure to check it out as Mike and I put our own creative spin on memorializing a time in the Hollywood calendar that used to bring us so much joy.

John

Episode 23 – G.I. Joe

John’s childhood flashback turns into a nightmare as he watches and reviews the 2009 summer blockbuster G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra . Mike and John then rattle off their Bottom Five Joes during which Mike invents The Doubtfire Syndrome. They also play Matinee Deathmatch and wrap it all up with some Staff Picks.