Summer Season Wrap-Up

Image by skinnypig via Flickr

Labor Day marks the end of the summer movie season and I’d like to take a minute and recap the season. Overall, I was really disappointed but it did have some highlights. Here are some of the highs, and some of the lows:

Shrek Forever After: C+
All your favorite characters were there but it lacked the laughs and the heart of the first two. (I’m ignoring the third one.) See my full review here.

Iron Man 2: A
Robert Downey Jr. will always equal a win in my book. “Iron Man 2” gave me hope when it was released back in May that the summer blockbuster season ahead was going to be good. Oh well, see my full review here.

Get Him to the Greek: B-
It wasn’t horrible, just not as good as I wanted it to me after falling in love with Aldous Snow (and Russell Brand) in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”

The A-Team: A-
I really, REALLY liked this movie. The storyline wasn’t that strong but the cast made up for it (except Jessica Biel). I never watched the show but it made me go home and look up clips on hulu so that’s saying something.

Toy Story 3: A+
The greatest film of the summer, by far. It was exactly what I wanted it to be and a great continuation of the story and characters from the first two films. And if you didn’t cry at the end … well … you’re dead inside.

Knight and Day: B
Solid action flick from Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. It was better than I expected it to be, better then it should have been with such a tired plot. See my full review here.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: B-
It wasn’t a great film but it was a lot better then the first two. And I was entertained which was all I was looking for in it. See my full review here.

Despicable Me: B
Cute, but not great. Good animation and story but failed to engage the audience. See my full review here.

Inception: A
Incredibly good all around. Acting, story, effects, everything was top notch. See my full review here.

Kids are All Right: B
Good idea for a movie but fell into cliches. The cast did a wonderful job with the script. See my full review here.

The Other Guys: D
I wanted it to be so much better than it was. It just comes across as tired and unfunny. See my full review here.

Eat Pray Love: C-
BORING. That’s really all there is to say. See my full reviews here or here.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: A+
I LOVED this movie. It was fun, different, and quirky. It was a sweet story with great effects that gamers and non-gamers (like myself) could appreciate.

Piranha 3-D: A-
I had a lot more fun at this movie than I probably should have. It was a horrible movie but had a high entertainment value. See my full reviews here and here.

So that was the summer season in a nutshell. All in all it was unimpressive and lackluster. But now comes the fall season and we swap “blockbusters” for the Oscar hopefuls. To get a glimpse at some of the films coming our way click here.

Related Articles

• Lessons of the Summer Box Office (nytimes.com)
• Summer 2010: The Winners and Losers (hollywood.com)
• Summer Movie Wrap-Up: The Biggest Winners And Losers Of A Weird Season (cinemablend.com)
• Toy Story 3 is the hottest movie of the U.S. summer (hollywood.com)
• Hats Off 4 Toy Story 3 & Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (kirapermunian.co.cc)