It’s been a mediocre film summer in my opinion, with only a handful of “Must See” films hitting theaters so far. But in the next two weeks, I am hit with my first set of tough decisions. Ultimately, I think I’ll just go see all of these films. Here are my top films:
The most anticipated movie of the summer is hands-down, The Dark Knight Rises: the final film of the Batman series, and Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film. CMF had the chance to connect with cinematographer Wally Pfister to discuss this film, along with some of his other masterpieces (Dark Knight, Inception, Memento, The Prestige, and Moneyball) We highlighted these conversations here:
Beasts of the Southern Wild
This Sundance Film Festival and Camera d’Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival is “a big film on small shoulders”. Director Benh Zeitlin’s first premiere does not disappoint, as I got a chance to see this film in South France and haven’t stopped talking about it since. Beyond great cinematography and story, featuring many first-time actors and actresses, lies one of the most beautiful soundtrack collections that I’ve ever heard, thanks to Dan Romer. The score alone may leave you with goosebumps evolving to tears.
In this film, 6-year old Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis) lives with her father in “the Bathtub”, the sinking edge of Louisiana and goes through the daily battles of survival and a search for her mother. Wallis has already received my early prediction as a Best Actress Academy Awards nominee. The film is showing at select theaters.
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift
Many readers may be rolling their eyes over this pick, but if you haven’t seen an animated film on a weekend afternoon of its release, you certainly need to do so. Ice Age will provide an incredibly entertaining audience, filled with young children cracking up hysterically at their favorite characters. It’s perhaps the most fun audience to be around, and something you should certainly embrace. Continental Drift coems with the voices and personalities of many big names, including Aziz Ansari, Ray Romano, Jennifer Lopez, and even Nicki Minaj. After a somewhat disappointing premiere of Madagascar 3D, I can only hope that Ice Age continues to pull through with its slapstick humor led by Sid the sloth.