Movies for Summer

I have been complaining of late that I need more things to look forward to, and I’ve been counting movies as big events.  I’m relying on summer blockbusters, full of explosions, cheesy jokes, chase scenes, and otherwise bubble-gummy wonders to make up for the “no summer break” portion of the work year.

To this end, when I saw Alyssa Rosenberg’s “When the Gun Goes Bang, Bang, Bang” post today about a movie due in August, “The Other Guys,” I was reminded of an old habit that I was once in: listing the movies I want to see, getting lists from others, and then trying to check that list off as they’re seen.

So, here’s my plans for the summer. I know I won’t see all of them, and there will be others that aren’t on this list that I do see, but here’s what caught my eye today:

April 16: Kick-Ass. I am most amused by the girl hero, though the entire premise — regular people trying to behave like superheroes, in a world that doesn’t have movie rules — entertains me. This sounds like a perfect  popcorn combo movie (shared among equally fun-loving movie folks).

Death at a Funeral. It’s unlikely that I’ll see this in the theater, though I admit to a certain curiosity, having recently watched the British movie it based on/ripped from. I’m not sure I believe that Chris Rock can step into the quietly outraged (emphasis on quietly) role played by Matthew McFadden, but I might enjoy watching that attempt.

April 23: The Losers. This looks like pure, high-summer fun, a film full of misfits, explosions, and conspiracies. Bonus: Idris Elba. And The Comedian.

May 7: Iron Man 2. I don’t know the comics well enough (OK, at all) to be able to cheer for the inclusion of specific characters or villains, but I so, so enjoyed the first one that I’m incredibly happy to have the second one here already.  Robert Downey Jr. wise-cracking and saving the world alongside Don Cheadle? Sign me up.

May 14: OK, this might be cheesy, but I kind of want to see Just Wright. I understand I’ll be seeing it alone.  And probably at the dollar theater.

May 28: Prince of Persia. I had no idea Jake Gyllenhaal was trying to prove he would’ve made a better Spider-Man, still, but I’ll be happy to watch his belated audition tape.

Sex and the City 2. I saw the first one, and it was kind of mindlessly fun, so the second seems within the realm of summer viewing possibilities.

June 11: The A-Team.  Just to wash SATC2 out of my hair, I guess,and also because I can think of three guys who will be deeply worried/offended if I don’t attend with great enthusiasm.

June 18: Toy Story 3. Hooray!

July 2: The Last Airbender. I don’t know anything about this film except that every time there’s a new trailer, or a new whisper of a trailer, C watches it like it might reveal the secret of the universe, and has pinned his hopes on M. Night Shyamalan loving his children too much to screw up the film. I have no doubt I’ll be going to see this, possibly the first night it opens.

July 9: The Kids are All Right.  Well, this breaks the happy-summer-movie mold, but it looks enticing (and also like it might not hit my town’s theaters until fall). Julianne Moore and Annette Bening star as partners who each conceived a child through a sperm donor; now, their daughters are grown, and one sister convinces the other they should look for their father. I love Moore and have usually loved Bening’s work, so I think this could be quite good.

July 16: I am iffy on both of these, but The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Inception both come out that weekend.  Inception should be right up my normal summer alley — it has Christopher Nolan directing and Leonardo DiCaprio acting. But I just don’t know enough about it, even after seeing the trailer, to know whether I’m interested.

SA — I think one Nic Cage movie a summer might be enough for me, but I have a feeling C is interested.

July 23: Salt?  Probably not, but I might still be convinced.

July 30: The Adjustment Bureau. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in a world-twisting Philip K. Dick story? Sure, why not.

Get Low. This looks depressing as all hell, but Robert DuVall’s character throwing a funeral for himself at Bill Murray’s character’s funeral home, with Sissy Spacek in there somewhere, makes me want to see this.

I Love You Philip Morris. I may have already seen enough Jim Carrey movies this year (0), but this story — Carrey tries to win back the love of his prison cell mate, Philip Morris, played by Ewan McGregor — sounds bizarre enough to get me to the theater. I’m sure I’ll want air conditioning by then.

August 6: The above-mentioned The Other Guys. It’s like Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals, where Animals=Will Ferrell.

August 13: Scott Pilgrim v. The World. Michael Cera battling supervillains to win his girlfriend’s love? OK.  More popcorn, please!

Think Progress » Limbaugh vows to flee the country if health care passes.

Poor Costa Rica.

Think Progress » Limbaugh vows to flee the country if health care passes..

One More from the Oscars: Gabourey Sidibe

This is what I’m talking about when I say “Looks gorgeous” and “Looks like she feels gorgeous”:

2010 Red Carpet: Arrivals photos – The 82nd Annual Academy Awards® on Yahoo! Movies.

More Oscars awesomeness: Winslet, Streep

Hell, there’s only like three of us reading this, right?  So sorry, you other two, I’m just going to keep putting up new posts.  Because there’s so much fun to point out. For instance: Kate Winslett. When was the last time Kate Winslet showed up dressed badly to something? The answer seems like never, because she keeps wearing things like this:

It’s simple, it’s elegant, and she looks gorgeous in it. My two big criteria for judgment on Oscars clothing are, “Does it make the person look gorgeous?” and “Does it make them look like they <i>feel</i> gorgeous?” This dress accomplishes both with what looks like no effort at all.  (I’m sure there’s great effort involved. Huge, painful effort. But it doesn’t look like she’s holding her breath or hasn’t snacked all day. Kudos).

Let’s talk, also, about how to wear white. I think there’s a terrible danger involved for women in wearing white to any formal event. You can end up looking like you’ve lost your way en route to stand on someone’s wedding cake, like poor J-Lo:

Or, you could wear white when the rest of your age class is wearing red, and end up looking elegant and sophisticated:

Then again, Meryl Streep can make anything seem filled with gravitas, I guess (except for Mamma Mia).

Finally, remind me, what film was Kristen Stewart in?

Let me ask you a question: DO YOU WANT TO BE IN VAMPIRE FILMS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE? This dress says yes.

2010 Red Carpet: Arrivals photos – The 82nd Annual Academy Awards® on Yahoo! Movies.

So this is what you wear to win an Oscar

It’s sparkly, sure, and that lipstick is… something, but I actually think Sandra Bullock is quite effectively pulling off a look that not enough Academy Awards attendees try for: Looking Like a Grown-Up.

It’s classy, with that woven not-revealing-but-oh-you-think-it’s-revealing top half that adds a little sass, a little awareness that it’s a big night and she’s beautiful. She’s got small but certainly expensive accessories.  She’s probably hiding enormous expensive shoes under there (and with a dress that length — why?), but overall, I give this two thumbs up.

She wasn’t playing a subtle character in “The Blind Side,” so this outfit is perfect.  It’s not so far divorced from her performance that we forget it; it’s not so far divorced from what we expect to see her in that we forget her, either.

2010 Red Carpet: Arrivals photos – The 82nd Annual Academy Awards® on Yahoo! Movies.

People I like on the Red Carpet.

Well, here are some people I like:

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, who could show up in paper bags (but never would) and still win my heart:

And Jeremy Renner, who is still the quirky diner-owning cop from “The Unusuals” to me, even if he’s still a little boy to his mom and rocking this suit:

Homina.

via People I like on the Red Carpet..

Oscar dresses, 2.

Here’s the caption: Detail of actress Deborah Ann Woll’s dress is seen as she poses on the red carpet at the 82nd Academy Awards in Hollywood March 7, 2010. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson.

Uh-huh.� That’s exactly what Lucas Jackson was focused on when he took this shot, and I’m sure interest in dress design got it posted to Yahoo.

The full dress:

Apparently she’s on “True Blood.”

via Yahoo!.