The Weekend Report: Controlled Demolition

As optimistic as I often attempt to be, I just don't have much faith in such franchises that keep blowing up the balloon to no end. In many ways, that's an overarching theme for this particular Summer, with the release of the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, the fifth X-Men film, and the eighth Harry Potter film. On the one hand, I don't like to think of Fast Five as the official start of this Summer. The series has gone on longer than it deserves to without offering us anything of value. The fact that this latest film is getting moderately positive reviews proves about as encouraging as the positive reviews for Unstoppable. Both are mindless action films that are heralded as embracing the insanity of it. It just never really worked for me. Then again, I submit that this will rake in a ton of cash at the box office this weekend, so in that sense many will assume that it's the start of the season.

The rest of the new releases are irrelevant, yet they'll probably draw in their undeserved winnings in ignorant viewers. Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs. Evil might do well from the younger demographic, but I'd sooner expect Rio to hold on to that audience. Prom also seems to be drilling from that well, as much as it is from the teen audiences. I'm not talking about people in high school as much as I'm talking about people headed for high school. In other words, people who don't have any sense of what the experience will actually be like. That's the optimist in me talking, but realistically both of these films will die on arrival. So my suggestion for you this weekend, if you are to head out to the theaters, is that you go out and see Scre4m. It has been taking an undeserved bashing at the box office, and it's an amazingly fun time. Plus, I'd like to see Wes Craven go on to make 5cream and Wes Craven's Final Scream.