2008 Woodie Awards
Summer Movie Review
Deanna Cioppa '07
Issue date: 9/15/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Welcome back, my enthusiastic little fledglings! The start of a new fall semester conjures up images of freshness-sharp pencils, clean paper, a slate as yet un-besmirched by the unseemly muck of yet another academic year. It is important to remember on this the eve of a shiny, new adventure in higher education where we have come from as a cinematic people. What can we learn from past victories and defeats? Where do we go from here? In short, my quivering adorers, I bring you my summer movie review.
Summer 2006 witnessed an influx of "blockbuster" type films, and most were of the franchise variety. One such film was the much-anticipated Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. All the old favorites were back and they were older than ever. Pirates 2 had such potential to build on its predecessor's success. Instead, in an all too obvious attempt to reel in fans of the first film, it rehashed every old joke and every character quirk. The filmmakers then tried to smother their painful lack of originality in a series of contrived, confusing action sequences which somehow propelled itself rather haphazardly to an end that simply left more open for a third installment. All Depp, no brain.
In the same vein, X-Men: The Last Stand opened this summer, and comic book geeks across the country participated in a collective spasm of joy. Unlike Pirates, X-Men 3 combined a cohesive storyline and well-drawn characters for an installment worthy, if not better, than its predecessors. A central character conflict lay in mutants' choice to be "cured" of mutation with a new treatment. Of course fight scenes with Kelsey Grammer, who played Beast, are a complete bonus! Frasier Away!
Crockett and Tubbs hit the big screen this summer in Miami Vice. The crime-fighting duo (Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, respectively) go undercover as boat-racing drug smugglers in order to bring the members of a mysterious drug ring to justice. Typical of writer/director Michael Mann's other works (Heat, Collateral, etc), Miami Vice is a fast-paced film with gorgeous (often digitally produced) scenery and a throbbing intensity. A much sleeker version of the 1980s series, though lacking the heart of some of the other blockbusters this summer, Miami Vice proved that wicker shoes and coral blazers cannot bring a good Mann down.
Summer 2006 witnessed an influx of "blockbuster" type films, and most were of the franchise variety. One such film was the much-anticipated Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. All the old favorites were back and they were older than ever. Pirates 2 had such potential to build on its predecessor's success. Instead, in an all too obvious attempt to reel in fans of the first film, it rehashed every old joke and every character quirk. The filmmakers then tried to smother their painful lack of originality in a series of contrived, confusing action sequences which somehow propelled itself rather haphazardly to an end that simply left more open for a third installment. All Depp, no brain.
In the same vein, X-Men: The Last Stand opened this summer, and comic book geeks across the country participated in a collective spasm of joy. Unlike Pirates, X-Men 3 combined a cohesive storyline and well-drawn characters for an installment worthy, if not better, than its predecessors. A central character conflict lay in mutants' choice to be "cured" of mutation with a new treatment. Of course fight scenes with Kelsey Grammer, who played Beast, are a complete bonus! Frasier Away!
Crockett and Tubbs hit the big screen this summer in Miami Vice. The crime-fighting duo (Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, respectively) go undercover as boat-racing drug smugglers in order to bring the members of a mysterious drug ring to justice. Typical of writer/director Michael Mann's other works (Heat, Collateral, etc), Miami Vice is a fast-paced film with gorgeous (often digitally produced) scenery and a throbbing intensity. A much sleeker version of the 1980s series, though lacking the heart of some of the other blockbusters this summer, Miami Vice proved that wicker shoes and coral blazers cannot bring a good Mann down.