Lord of the swings
Okay, so Tomb Raider, Planet of the Apes and Jurassic Park 3 were all crap, but this summer Film can guarantee that blockbusters such as Spiderman, Minority Report and The Road to Perdition are bound to be good. After the events of September 11th rumbled Hollywood’s jungle and forced release dates to be constantly reassessed, don’t rely too heavily on the opening times listed. So when the barbeque gets rained off, drop your soggy burgers and pop down your local multiplex for a gander at this summers blockbusters. Neil Blain looks at what’s in store in this weeks SUMMER PREVIEW
MINORITY REPORT
RESIDENT EVIL
Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Kathryn Morris Dir.: Steven Spielberg Out: 5th July
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez Dir.: Paul W.S. Anderson Out: 21st June
FORGET JANGO Fett in Attack of the Clones. This years best rocket pack action will be provided by Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg’s summer event movie, Minority Report. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the inspiration behind Bladerunner and Total Recall, described by Spielberg as “The Maltese Falcon meets Raiders of the Lost Ark”, and summarised by Walter Parkes (producer) as a “futuristic Chinatown,” Minority Report is bound to impress. Set in 2080, the film follows John Anderton (Cruise), head of Washington’s Precrime Unit which arrests offenders before they have committed a crime. Anderton is forced to turn against this totalitarian system when he becomes accused of murder, setting out to prove his innocence, and no doubt committing the murder he has originally been accused of. With 477 ILM created CG shots this is Spielberg’s most effects heavy film since Close Encounters.
SIGNS
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin Dir.: M. Night Shyamalan Out: 13th Sept
THE ROAD TO PERDITION
Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law Dir.: Sam Mendes Out: 30th Aug SAM MENDES follows up his critically acclaimed American Beauty, with a stylised prohibition era gangster flick. Tom Hanks plays Al Capone’s top hitman, Michael O’Sullivan, known as ‘The Angel of Death’ who sets out on a Point Blank style revenge crusade when his wife and youngest son are brutally murdered by a rival.
THIS COMPUTER adaptation forms a prequel to the host of popular survival horror Resident Evil games and details the events of a zombie breakout at Umbrella’s HQ. The Fast and the Furious’ Michelle Rodriguez joins super sexy Milla Jovovich who fights off the living dead in a skimpy little dress. Although Resident Evil is directed by Paul Anderson (not the Magnolia guy), helmer of Mortal Kombat, which before Tomb Raider hit our screens last summer was the most successful computer game adaptation, and tense horror Event Horizon, reviews for the zombie horror have criticised it as being dull, sterile and too laid back, with surprisingly shoddy effects.
M. NIGHT Shyamalan mixes A Field of Dreams with Close Encounters in his spooky scifi follow up to The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Mel Gibson plays a Pennsylvanian farmer investigating whether strange crop circles in his fields are a message from God, alien visitations, or simply pissed up rednecks having a laugh.
ALSO. . . In Reign of Fire dragons awake from The Jubilee Line (of all places) and inflict terror and destruction on a futuristic London, with only Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale and a script fired up by the post apocalyptic creator of Mad Max in their paths. Joel Schumacher’s Phone Booth, his follow up to the surprise indie-hit Tigerland, maintains the powerful acting talent of lead man Colin Farrell playing a New York Publicist who answers a public phone and is threatened with being shot if he hangs up. The idea of having an entire movie set in the confines of a phone booth is a genius premise, but will the man who inflicted Batman and Robin upon the world be able to pull it off? David Arquette vehicle 8 Legged Freaks (formerly titled Arac Attack (which stupid-ass Americans confused with Iraq Attack), a 50’s B movie parody, features a small community under attack from a bunch of giant mutated spiders. Sounds like good popcorn fun.
SPIDERMAN Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe Dir.: Sam Raimi Out: 15th June
UNFORTUNATELY THERE were no press screenings of Spiderman before gair rhydd went to print, but film can almost guarantee its excellence. The film has gone down a storm in the States, spinning to the top of the box office and making $225 million in its first ten days. Spiderman has been a long time in the making. Stan Lee’s comic book hero
survived a decade of being caught in a legal flytrap throughout the 90’s. In the late 80’s a deal which had Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s Tobe Hooper on to direct fell through, but interest in the famous webslinger was raised after the financial success of the Batman franchise in the early 90’s. James Cameron failed to pull the project from development hell and went on to direct Titanic, and so the reigns were passed into the hands of the unlikely Sam Raimi, famed for indie zombie horrors The Evil Dead trilogy, and small time quirky pictures such as The Quick and the Dead and A Simple Plan. Raimi convinced studio heads to cast
the talented Tobey Maguire (Ride with The Devil) as Peter Parker, the high school geek who develops strange powers after being bitten by a genetically altered spider. Maguire is joined by Kirsten Dunst who forms his love interest Mary Jane, and the silky smooth Willem Dafoe, as Norman Osborn AKA The Green Goblin. The shoot was similarly troubled. A construction worker died when a crane collapsed. Maguire’s stunt double shattered an ankle when he swung into a brick wall. Four of the spider costumes were stolen from the set. But these hindrances were little compared to the disastrous events of September 11th which infamously forced Raimi to pull a
teaser trailer, showing a helicopter being snared in a web between the twin towers, from cinemas. On top of this Raimi has been constantly hounded by cyber geeks, concerned that the wild director will poorly represent their beloved hero, causing Raimi to remind himself that “not many people like the movies I make”. Despite Raimi’s negativity, Spiderman has become one of the most successful films of all time, even before it hits British screens. With Raimi’s stylish cartoon direction, Maguire’s skill at presenting character depths, and the general excitement Spiderman’s character creates, its not hard to see why. I can’t wait.
In K-19: The Widowmaker Harrison Ford plays a Captain of a Russian Submarine who is battling to save the reactor from meltdown, in this tense drama based on true events. Angelina Jolie plays Lanie Kerrigan in Life or Something Like It , a shallow and arrogant television presenter forced to question her existence when a homeless psychic tells her she has only one week left to live, in this much hyped romantic comedy with Ed Burns. In Scooby Doo , Hanna Barbera’s 70’s hit cartoon gets the noughties treatment, as the Mystery Inc. gang, with infamous pooch pal Scooby Doo, camp it up on a theme park conveniently named Spooky Island. With the likes of Buffy’s Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Freddie Prinze Jnr. as Fred, and Scott Innes providing the voice of the CG Scooby, we can only hope that the film does not aim to take itself too seriously – “Those pesky kids!”
MEN IN BLACK II
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville Dir.: Barry Sonenfeld Out: 2nd Aug SCUM OF the Universe beware. The Men in Black are back. Tommy Lee Jones rejoins Will Smith in his fight against the sexy but villainous Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle), a body morphing psycho. With Barry Sonenfeld eager for the public to forget the disastrous Wild Wild West, Smith and Jones on finer form than ever, Rick Baker and CG created effects, and appearances from Jackass’ Johnny Knoxville and Michael Jackson, MIB II is sure to go down a bomb.
DEATH TO SMOOCHY
Starring: Robin Williams, Ed Norton, Danny De Vito Dir.: Danny De Vito Out: Summer OUSTED CHILDREN’S entertainer (Robin Williams) hunts down his replacement, a big pink Rhino called Smoochy, played by Ed Norton. This dark black satire of the world of television is sure to provide an excellent alternative to this summers all out actioners.
AUSTIN POWERS: GOLDMEMBER Starring: Mike Myers, Beyoncé Knowles, Michael Caine, Seth Green, Verne Troyer Dir.: Jay Roache Out: 26th July
DESPITE LEGAL harassment from fussy Bond producers MGM, Austin Powers, The International Man of Mystery, is back. Powers chases Dr. Evil and Mini Me back through time (again) to 1975 to rescue his kidnapped father, Nigel Powers (played by Michael Caine in a role originally turned down by Sean Connery). Mike Myers is joined by Destiny’s Child Beyoncé Knowles, and there are also rumours of a cameo appearance from Britney Spears. Groovy Baby Yeah!