The summer of 2007 was the season of sequels and established icons with movies such as Spider-Man 3, The Simpsons, Transformers and Live Free or Die Hard drawing from already-successful franchises. This summer looks fairly similar with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull starring Harrison Ford and the big-budget wonderkid Shia LaBeouf (Transformers). Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild, The Girl Next Door) stars in the cartoon-turned-live action movie, Speed Racer, directed by the Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix).
Continuing on the nostalgia trail, Get Smart, starring Steve Carrell ("The Office") and Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries), is a remake of the 1965 spy comedy TV series. Carrell plays a dim-witted secret agent that needs the help of the more intelligent Hathaway to stop the evil force known as KAOS. If that is not enough to satisfy your crime-fighting needs, four hotly-anticipated superhero movies with big-name stars are smashing, jumping and flying into the multiplexes this summer.
Iron Man stars Robert Downey Jr. (Good Night and Good Luck) as the rich, arrogant weapons manufacturer Tony Stark who creates a suit of armor as a means of escape out of prison. Edward Norton (Fight Club) takes on the title role in The Incredible Hulk, directed by Louis Letterier (The Transporter). This movie follows on the heels of the critically panned 2003 film, The Hulk, spearheaded by Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee.
The most hyped of the superhero movies, The Dark Knight finds Christian Bale (American Psycho, The Prestige) reprising his role as Batman. Extra attention has been paid to the movie due to the death of Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), who plays the Joker, a role made infamous by Jack Nicholson in the first Batman movie. Warner Bros. has claimed that the marketing campaign for the movie will not capitalize on Ledger's death. We will see in the months to come.
Hancock, starring Will Smith (Men In Black) as a homeless superhero, looks cringe-inducing from the trailer, where Smith exchanges pointed words with a kid no older than 11 or 12. The kid walks away and calls him a jackass. This is edgy, people: take notice.
2008 Woodie Awards
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