Hey there moviegoers of St. John’s (and others beyond, if you just so happen to be reading this), how did everyone’s movie summer go? We hope for your money’s sake that it went well. For us, the summer was not so bad for the box offi ce, despite an initial “slow” start.

That quoted slow start was the result of sub-par threequels released in May. “Spider-Man 3” looked to be May’s heavy hitter, rich with story and action, but turned out to be a jumbled mess of a movie that lacked most of what made the previous two so great. Sure, it did well in the box office, but it did not sit well with most viewers (aside from fan boys, who say nothing is wrong with this film). “Shrek the Third” failed to generate as much hype as its predecessors, and didn’t do too much in the box office except take a lot of kids and their parents off the streets for a while. The last of the three was “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” Its dark theme generated some very high hopes (especially after the second film was just ok). Unfortunately, the lengthy run time made this one way too painful to sit through, full of corny humor and overall mediocrity.

But thankfully, the comedy of Judd Apatow saved us from all of that with his latest, “Knocked Up.” Starring Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl, its everyday person humor adapted well to its audience and was rightfully praised by critics (and if you have not yet, read our June 23 review online). “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” followed as one of June’s biggest releases, but even though it was much better than its predecessor and did not ruin the Surfer character, it phased out relatively quickly. The fantasy trend continued a few weeks later with “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” Like the others, it performed well in the box office and fared generally well amongst critics and fans. Still, many cited its overuse of special effects and twisted story telling as the film’s downfall.

“Hairspray” made its mark in July, gaining the highest gross for a musical in its opening. Not only
that, but it overshadowed the miserable comedy “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.” Not much needs to be said about that disaster, but at least “Hairspray” was more than worth the price of admission. Oh, and then there was a small independent animated film, “The Simpsons Movie.” Well, “small” and “independent” may be a bit of a lie, but it did do better than expected in the box office and provided big laughs that the series has lately been lacking (though it is still going strong
into its nineteenth season, though). And everyone’s favorite CIA assassin Jason Bourne rocked the box offices and became the only threequel completely worth seeing. Unlikely action hero Matt
Damon turned in yet another solid performance, but unfortunately, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan hit the big screen not long after and showed why threequels are not necessary. You owe a lot of people money, Brett Ratner.

“Superbad” ended our summer in a good way, and you can read our review on that. There were some lesser movies we did not mention, but there is only so much room in here. Overall, it was a pretty decent summer, but certainly not great. Here’s to hoping the fall will give good results!