Posts Tagged ‘Ali’

One of the greatest times of the year for top notch movies is the summer! Movie execs even change the dates their movies debut in order to take part in this sweltering time of year. Here are six films we can’t wait to see during the Summer 2009 movie season…

June

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Summer is an infamous time of year for sequels and 2009 is no exception.  The trailer alone for “Transformers 2” promises amazing action, explosive destruction, CG-palooza and there’s even a plot thrown in there too. Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) discovers the back story of the giant robots that are causing demolition worldwide – Egypt, Paris and the US. The cherry on this sundae – IMAX footage, which is sure to enhance the already exciting special effects. June 24th.

Away We Go – “Go’s” trailer caught my eye when I saw “Adventureland.” The odd couple of John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph (two hugely funny actors not frequently seen on the large screen) had me scribbling down the release date in the dark theater so I wouldn’t forget. “Go” is a “road trip” film for adults as Krasinski and Rudolph travel to see family and friends to find a place that feels like home before they become parents for the first time. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Jeff Daniels, and Catherine O’Hara are just a couple of the odd ball friends and family members visited by the pregnant couple. June 5th.

July

Public Enemies – Johnny Depp and Christian Bale – that’s all you need to be sold on this summer semi bio-pic. Directed by the successful Michael Mann (“Collateral,” “Ali,” “The Insider,” “Heat,” and “The Last of the Mohicans”) this film is already being talked about as the only summer film that will be remembered at Oscar time.  “Enemies” is a depression era crime drama about infamous bank robber John Dillinger (Depp) and the clean cut FBI agent determined to bring him in, Melvin Purvis (Bale).  Two stories from behind the scenes recount that Bale was in character 24/7 and that Depp was actually giddy at the opportunity to handle Dillinger’s actual brief case. This is going to be a real box office melter. July 1st.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – “Prince” should have been on the Fall ’08 list, but the higher ups who made the movie moved it to summer ’09 for financial reasons. The 2nd to last book in the JK Rowling series has a darker story that revolves around the origins of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Through multiple memory type flashback sequences the audience and Harry will learn a lot more about Voldemort’s history. There’s also the prospect of love for some of our favorite Hogwarts’ students (but I won’t tell you who in case you haven’t read the book). July 15th.

August

The Boat That Rocked – Haven’t heard of this movie yet? That’s ok – you’ll be dying to see it because of the cast alone: Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Doubt”), Emma Thompson (“Stranger Than Fiction’), Gemma Arterton (“Quantum of Solace”), Bill Nighy (“Love Actually”), Kenneth Branagh (“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”), January Jones (“Mad Men”), Rhys Darby (“Yes Man”), Jack Davenport (the “Pirates” movies), Nick Frost (“Hot Fuzz”), Rhys Ifans (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Kirsty Mather (“Mamma Mia”), and Tom Wisdom (“300”). What a line up! And it’s directed by Richard Curtis who did “Love Actually.” August 28th.

Inglourious Basterds – Yes, the movie title is spelled correctly. Leave it director Quentin Tarantino to find the craziest spelling for his latest film starring Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, B.J. Novak, Samuel L. Jackson and Cloris Leachman. “Inglourious” is two stories in one – the first is about a Jewish girl whose family is killed by Nazis, she leaves and ends up working at a movie theatre, and infatuated with a German war hero and plotting revenge for her family’s deaths. The second story – a group of Jewish-American soldiers who are working behind enemy lines plot their own scheme against the Nazis. How do the two stories relate? The movie theater is the key (how ironic). August 21st.

The Office star Rainn Wilson leaves his cubicle to play a has-been rocker in the aptly titled The Rocker opening Wednesday. It’s too soon to see how the movie career of Wilson, best known for dorky Dwight will fare, but in the meantime let’s take a look back at the best TV to movie crossovers.

George Clooney The Emmy-nominated ER doc hung up his scrubs for a successful movie career that spans box-office commercial fare (the Ocean’s Eleven franchise) to the critically acclaimed (winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Syriana). He’s also established himself as a bona fide writer and director with Good Night, and Good Luck.

Tom Hanks Before going on to win two Best Actor Oscars, he starred as a cross dresser in the 80s sitcom Bosom Buddies. Since then he’s starred in dozens of classic films like Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan, as well as writing, directing and producing.

Johnny Depp Now known for his chameleon-like ability to immerse himself into eccentric characters like Captain Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd and Willy Wonka, Depp got his start playing a baby-faced undercover cop in 21 Jump Street. 

Leonardo DiCaprio Before he sailed on the Titanic, DiCaprio played a scrawny teen in Growing Pains. Now he’s grown up and starring in critically acclaimed films like The Departed and Blood Diamond while scoring three Oscar noms.  

Will Smith The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star now rules Fourth of July weekends in explosive movies like Independence Day, Men in Black and Hancock. He doesn’t just fight aliens though; he also was Oscar nominated for The Pursuit of Happyness and Ali.

Denzel Washington The St. Elsewhere star is another sexy TV doc who rocketed to the A-List with a number of classic films like Malcolm X and Training Day, for which he won an Oscar.

Jennifer Aniston The Friends star has starred in numerous films such as Office Space, The Good Girl, Derailed and The Break-Up; yet, she’s still best known as Rachel. But several upcoming films like Marley and Me may make us forget about that New York waitress with cute hair.

Steve Carell He’s just as good at getting laughs in films like The 40-Year Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine and Get Smart as he does in The Office, but he also kept it real with low key film Dan in Real Life.  

Bruce Willis With classic films like the Die Hard franchise and The Sixth Sense, one almost forgets he won a Golden Globe for his TV show, Moonlighting.

Helen Hunt The Mad About You star went on to win an Oscar for As Good As It Gets and to star in Twister, but then she disappeared until this year’s underwhelming Then She Found Me, in which she starred, directed and co-wrote.