Summer 2011 a disappointment?

This is pretty much the last week of the blockbuster season of this Summer that kicked off with Thor, an unassuming and seemingly silly superhero film that many wrote off within the first trailer. Admittedly, I did to. I realize how wrong I was, and in fact Thor is still the most competent blockbuster of this year. Since then things have been hardly keeping themselves afloat, at least in this viewer's opinion. I know many who were more than pleased with Super 8, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and X-Men: First Class, even if I wasn't. Hell, I even found Captain America of all things to be a somewhat welcome and campy reprieve from all the disappointment.

And that's just scraping the surface of what the viewing public critically approved of. How can we forget about all the warranted cynicism surrounding Priest, the blatant distaste of On Stranger Tides, and the unimaginable stupidity of The Hangover: Part II. And I almost forgot to mention Green Lantern, but it managed to disgust even the most hardcore of fanboys. And (dis)honorable mentions are needed for Zookeeper, Cars 2, Bad Teacher, Horrible Bosses, and others I'm too tired to list. All this hatred makes me forget the few real successes of the year.

Remember Kung Fu Panda 2, and how it brought us the greatest supporting actor performance of the year out of the mouth of a peacock? If Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy bottoms out, unlikely as it is, I'd suggest Gary Oldman just be nominated for that. How about Bridesmaids? Absolutely hilarious for almost two straight hours, and surprising depth from Kristen Wiig of all nutty characters. And I know this isn't a common opinion, but Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the most guiltily enjoyable romp of the summer. I feel no shame in admitting my enjoyment of Bay's loud stupidity.

So the season effectively ends this weekend with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which is about as unassuming as film as Thor was at the start of the year. Fittingly enough, both films look to feature fantastically strong leading performances from unlikely actors. Having seen just seen it now, I can say that it keeps up this summer's streak of being adequate but not at all outstanding. I'll get to that later, but I didn't hate everything about the film. In particular, one thing is truly amazing.

Box Office Update: At World's End? Not So Much.

The weekend box office estimates would surely look a tad bit different if the world had ended at 6:00 on May 21. Thankfully, that silliness is now past us, and we can worry about real problems in the world. The summer box office marathon continued with great, yet somehow middling success, as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides took the top spot with about $90 million. It's not as high as the openings of the last two films, but there was bound to be some fourth flick backlash, not to mention negative word of mouth. Yet audiences still took to this film rather positively, as I kind of knew they would. Flash and pretension are two of the most powerful hooks for the gullible audience.

Ruling the holdovers with pink gloved fist was Bridesmaids, which fell only 20% from last weekend's more than modest debut. It has been proving to be something of what The Hangover was two years ago. I fear it will drop when The Hangover: Part II arrives next weekend, but probably not by much. Thor took a more substantial fall of 55%, which is understandable as the big blockbuster slot has now been filled by another. Fast Five fell another 48% as it moves ever so slightly closer to $200 million. All in all, this weekend was an 11% increase from the same weekend last year, when Shrek Forever After opened in first.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (First Weekend; $90.1 million)

2. Bridesmaids (Second Weekend; $21.1 million)

3. Thor (Third Weekend; $15.5 million)

4. Fast Five (Fourth Weekend; $10.6 million)

5. Rio (Sixth Weekend; $4.6 million)

6. Priest (Second Weekend; $4.6 million)

7. Jumping the Broom (Third Weekend; $3.7 million)

8. Something Borrowed (Third Weekend; $3.4 million)

9. Water for Elephants (Fifth Weekend; $2.2 million)

10. Soul Surfer (Seventh Weekend; $1 million)

Box Office Update: Always a "Bridesmaids"

This weekend looked to be another substantial drop-off from the success we've been having for the past two weeks, as there weren't any major blockbusters opening. In some ways, that played to the advantage of this particular weekend, with Thor holding on to the top spot impressively with only a 47.5% decrease from last weekend. That's less of a drop than Fast Five had after its massive opening. It also proves to be the smallest drop of any film in Marvel's Avengers lineup thus far. The film looks to be headed past the $200 million mark sometime within the next three weeks.

Meanwhile, in the land of the new releases, Bridesmaids proved to play a lot better than expectations believed it would. Coming in at just $10 less than Thor, the film could turn out to be a big player in the coming weeks, assuming it maintains its audience well enough. Priest didn't even break $15 million this weekend, but still earned more than it deserved. Fast Five landed in third, leveling out at a steady decrease of 39.8%. Rio rounded out the top five, dropping a minuscule 6% from last weekend. The film should do fine for the next two weeks until Kung Fu Panda 2 takes up its target audience. The weekend was still  4.6% lower than the same last year, but that's still impressive given last year's debut of Robin Hood and the holdover of Iron Man 2.

1. Thor (Second Weekend; $34.5 million)

2. Bridesmaids (First Weekend; $24.4 million)

3. Fast Five (Third Weekend; $19.5 million)

4. Priest (First Weekend; $14.5 million)

5. Rio (Fifth Weekend; $8 million)

6. Jumping the Broom (Second Weekend; $7.3 million)

7. Something Borrowed (Second Weekend; $7 million)

8. Water for Elephants (Fourth Weekend; $4.1 million)

9. Madea's Big Happy Family (Fourth Weekend; $2.2 million)

10. Soul Surfer (Sixth Weekend; $1.8 million)

The Weekend Report: An Unreasonable Alternative

if you're not over in Cannes, cheery expectations aren't the most advisable. Last weekend was a step in the right direction, given the depressing circumstances in both the box office and the general material of films this year. The last thing we needed was further cynicism, and Thor was gleefully able to bring us out of that. This weekend takes a substantial drop, and Thor looks to nail the top spot again this weekend. It's not exactly that there's nothing worth seeing, but there aren't any massive blockbuster ventures releasing. The closest thing we have to that is Priest, and I hope it doesn't do as well as some think it will.

If you're going to head out to see something new of value this weekend, the best suggestion I can give you is Bridesmaids. Something about the raunchy female comedy rubbed me the wrong way in the marketing of the film, but it does look genuinely hilarious and somewhat heartfelt. Kristen Wiig is one of the best comedic actresses in the business, and to see her taking the lead on a film like this brings nothing but joy to me. If I head out to the theaters this weekend, it will be to see her film. On the other hand, I also have a reluctant obligation to see Priest so I'd best just get that out of the way.

For Your Anticipation: Maggie Q vs. Biker Dudes

I can't say I have many optimistic ideas heading into this weekend, whose only "major blockbuster" happens to be Priest, directed by the guys who brought us Legion. There comes a point in which I honestly don't care about this film, and we sufficiently passed that a long time ago. At this point, the best I can do is try to ignore it. Unfortunately, that's not really an option. I'll try to get a review up as best I can, but don't expect me to rush into this. There are plenty of other films I'd rather see than this, which doesn't even give the characters proper names. It simply dubs Maggie Q as "Priestess", as if she's the only female priest in this post-apocalyptic earth. You know, where priests kill people.

Digital 3D in Summer 2011

I feel like the film industry has learned some valuable lessons in terms of using Digital 3D in film. I am, personally, an affable fan of the technique just so long as it is done correctly. It's like really good chocolate, but you can still overdo it. This Summer has found a certain measure of moderation, with X-Men: First Class, Super 8, and Cowboys & Aliens all opting out of Digital 3D. I think it's a worthy rule that if your film isn't just standard popcorn fare that you shouldn't go for 3D. In the meantime, there are some films that you could easily see in 2D without complaint. I'll try to give you a decent idea of which films would be worth the extra three bucks.

May

Thor - Post-conversion, but deals with epic celestial realms. Probably still majestic and preferable in 2D.

Priest - Not in 3D. Not in 2D. Not on DVD. NOT EVER!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Promising visuals from Rob Marshall in service of a less than spectacular screenplay. If you see it at all, go for 3D.

Kung Fu Panda 2 - Heartfelt animation from Dreamworks, so definitely worth 3D.

June

Green Lantern - It's practically an animated film, and the superhero was made for 3D. Should attract the same fans as Avatar, so you'll see it in 3D either way.

Cars 2 - If it's not in the sky, it's not worth your time. If you see Pixar's latest, see it in 2D.

July

Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Sparks, explosions, clanging metal, and more explosions. Shut your brain off and see it in frantic 3D glory!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - I'm completing the journey in 2D. You should too.

Captain America: The First Avenger - Seems to evoke the film I would have died to see in 3D, Star Trek, so go for the glasses.

The Smurfs - Seriously? Don't even bother.

Dread Locks: May 2011

I don't have to go looking in order to eventually find bad movies, because one way or another, they find their way to me. Your Highness turned out to be far less than I had hoped it would be, not even providing minimal goods. I fear that Water for Elephants may be on the same route in terms of this weekend. I can hope I'm wrong, but I probably won't be. May is a particularly unpredictable bunch, because there are films that I'll see anyways, even if I know there's a great chance of failure. The Hangover: Part II and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides are two such features. With the way things are going, I may not even end up seeing the former. Too familiar and predictable for its own good.

Then we get down to the real crap, which there's a pretty certifiable chance that each of the films I've selected will be. Two of these films, both opening along the same weekend as Thor, have to do with people getting together for a wedding. Isn't that the cardinal cliche amongst romantic comedies? Handling the white end of it is Something Borrowed, a "she's sleeping with the guy marrying her best friend" feature set amongst a quaintly painted cityscape. Said feature features likable everyman John Krasinski as... actually, I don't know what he's meant to be doing in this film. Is he a friend of the protagonist, or does he like the best friend character? I don't know, I don't care, but I'll have to wait to figure out if I'll end up watching it.

Handling the black end of the marriage type comedy is Jumping the Broom. It's a bridging of an uptown family and a downtown family for a wedding between two people. I'm just going to break down the black comedy cliches that you can expect to be exposed to during this film, assuming that you decide to waste your time with it. We'll probably see an overweight mama bear sort of figure get into a fight a "skinny ass ho" from the rival family, or else two of the aforementioned "skinny ass hos" fighting amongst each other. You can expect guys chasing after girls from the family they're about to unify into their own. You can see white people trying to be black, trying not to break the mold of blackness. Ultimately, nothing I'd like to have to subject myself to. I already have to deal with a black comedy this month. I'm not going through that twice in a row.

And then there's Priest, the unholy vampire blockbuster spawn of the directors of last year's atrocity, Legion. I don't know how actors like Paul Bettany and Christopher Plummer get involved in crap like this, but the way things are going right now, I may have to end up seeing this film anyway. I don't need fake and predictable scares from obviously fake CG "vampires" fighting fake CG priests doing martial arts. I'm not the biggest fan of religion, but I can't even try admiring a film like this that twists religion to serve it's bone-headed needs. My view is that if the Bible is just a story, it's still a very good story. I've gotten to the point in which I don't want to see any of the films I've selected, so now it's up to you. Vote in the sidebar on which film you'd like me to see and review. The poll expires at the end of the month, at which point I will announce the winner via Twitter and start up the poll for next month.