Summer 2002: A Look Ahead

June 7, 2002

The June-to-August period is usually the busiest of the year at the local multiplex, but long lines and sold-out showings began popping up in during the first weeks of May as studios decided to jump-start the season of movie blockbusters by unleashing their endeavors before anyone else had a chance to. This year, that theory expanded to include the last weeks of April as well—Universal's "The Scorpion King" triggered a new wave of enthusiasm at theaters that has only strengthened turnouts since. In fact, this last May was the biggest record-breaker on history; in addition to groundbreaking profits racked up by major blockbusters like "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones," the month also saw the biggest overall turnout in history, in which the top ten films at the box office ranked in over $200 million a Friday-to-Sunday period, the most ever for one weekend.

Fall 2001: Things to Come

Stepping out of the summer for most vacationers is like leaving behind an endless party, but for many of the moviegoers of the 2001 summer releases, walking away from a train wreck would be a more appropriate comparison. Not that the last three months were a total waste, mind you: the variety of things to see at the local multiplex was extremely diverse, ranging from big special effects extravaganzas (“Pearl Harbor”) to hilarious comedies (“American Pie 2”) to ambitious sequels (“Jurassic Park III”) and even to digitally-rendered epics (“Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within”). Unfortunately, the many selections did not always produce glowing results, and at some points even the most avid moviegoers couldn’t help but scratch their heads in disbelief at what big studios had to offer during the busiest time of the year at the movies. Is this a normal reaction? Sometimes. But even just plain badness can exceed the limits, and unlike recent years, summer 2001 saw its fair share of cinematic garbage.

Summer 2001: An In-Depth Preview of Things to Come

Though the summer movie season is widely considered to be a three-month excursion into blockbuster territory starting in June, it actually just recently began kicking off in early May, when Hollywood studios began to see how major motion picture releases during the month were quickly becoming major hits. For the past decade, major revenue began generating off of the Memorial Holiday weekend, and just two years ago, both “The Mummy” and “Star Wars Episode 1—The Phantom Menace” proved beyond a shadow of a doubt just how eager moviegoers were starting to get for their favorite movie season. Now it seems everyone wants a piece of the action; last year, Academy Award winner “Gladiator” was May’s hot ticket, and just these past two weeks, the highly anticipated “Pearl Harbor” ate up a good percentage of weekly box office receipts.

Summer 2001: Where Have All The Ideas Gone?

It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many of today’s filmmakers are losing their inspiration.

Those who share a similar opinion about Hollywood’s latest offerings need not to look any further then the schedule of summer movie releases that have been laid before us. Of the more than two dozen major releases being planned for the June-to-August calendar, around half of them are either sequels, remakes, or adaptations of existing source material. While familiarity isn’t necessarily a bad thing, too much of it can easily lead to a feeling of repetition that can quickly turn off many viewers. Now, with so many releases on the horizon devoted to revisiting far-too-familiar territory, many can’t help but wonder: where have all the fresh ideas gone, and are moviegoers even interested in all the retreads being offered at the movie house this year?

Fall 2000: A Preview of Things to Come

As the fall season begins to swing into gear at the cinema, moviegoers who reflect on the seasons that have already passed will undoubtedly be left in complete dismay. In the early months of the year, the theater screen was bombarded with a seemingly endless supply of half-baked material (unfunny comedies, pretentious thrillers, etc.), unleashed at a steady pace and laying the foundation for what could be the single worst year for movies in well over a decade. As those pictures subsided, we began seeing a touch of inspiration sprout out from the motion picture crop by early April (with pictures like “American Psycho”), and for a brief period of time, felt that the industry was heading in the right direction. But hopes were painfully dashed, alas, with the arrival of summer: a disappointing three-month journey through loud, obnoxious and even ridiculous blockbusters that trashed much hope for a worthwhile experience at the local multiplex. The period had its share of great successes, yes, but in all fairness, could not live up to most of its hype both critically and commercially. In fact, the highest grossing picture of the season—“Mission: Impossible 2”—made just a little over $200 million at the domestic box office, down from the $400+ million earned by last year's biggest summer flick, “Star Wars Episode 1—The Phantom Menace.”

Summer 2000: A Preview Of Things To Come

A typical year at the cinema can easily be divided by the seasons, because there is a sense of repetition in the nature of the motion picture releases of those time frames. Whereas spring is a dumping ground for efforts that studios have no faith in, and autumn sees the release of most potential Oscar contenders, the summer film season is the time of year when only one thing is kept in mind by studios: pure entertainment. Such movies come in many flavors (comedy, animation, action adventure etc.), but all seem to be solely in the spirit of giving the audience thrills galore. As such, these pictures are driven by massive budgets and big ensemble casts, in hopes of attracting an audience the size of a small island. Most tend to lack intricate plots and multi-dimensional characters, but who cares? Is that not what the autumn schedule is for?

Supernatural summer follows up with "Stigmata," "Stir Of Echoes"

Seemingly embraced by countless avid moviegoers, the supernatural force found in this summer’s most successful movies is gearing up within two post-summer flicks to be released this Friday--the Kevin Bacon vehicle "Stir Of Echoes," and the religiously-based thriller "Stigmata." They follow on the heels of three or more mega-popular horror-based films that arrived sometime this summer, including the recent box-office survivor "The Sixth Sense" starring Bruce Willis. One has difficulty finding the words to describe the sudden success of this genre, especially when the years preceding it were filled with no more than dumb slasher movies and poor commercial business. Nonetheless, the financial and (sometimes) critical figures speak for themselves: horror movies are hip again. It is no question as to whether these two upcoming movies might experience the same kind of commercial success as the others have.

Audience's "Eyes" shut for 65 seconds

When Stanley Kubrick’s final film "Eyes Wide Shut" is released on Friday, July 16 to North America, chances are some viewers are going to feel betrayed.

In a recent, dreadful development from last Saturday’s press screening in Burbank, California, producer Jan Harlan revealed that the distribution of the film to the US and Canada will feature 65 seconds of "digitally tampered" footage, in order for the film to safely secure an "R" rating. The MPAA apparently considers these excruciatingly revealing moments some of the most sexually charged footage ever captured in filmmaking, and told Warner Bros. that, if it had not been edited, they would have to enforce the notorious NC-17. Since the studio is not about to put extra limitations on Kubrick’s highly anticipated final film, they made the edits without much objection, although Harlan admits that Warner Bros. wasn’t too happy about them.