New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Jim Van Nest: Once again, in June there were a couple large stories and a couple interesting subplots. The biggest story of June had to be Kung Fu Panda. Seriously, who would have thought the goofy martial arts panda movie would not only take on Disney/Pixar, but win? Sure, domestics are interchangeable, but look at the worldwide! That's crazy! The other big story from June is the apparent end of Mike Myers above-the-title movie career. Sure, he'll do Shrek films until he dies now, but will he ever be a viable movie star again? My bet is that after Love Guru, the answer is no.

The reboot of the Hulk is a smaller subplot. Looking at budget versus gross, it really just looks like Hulk is not that popular. Maybe they should skip the CGI and just get some huge freak of nature and paint him green. The surprise success of Wanted provided one of the other subplots for June. Sure, I wanted to see it, but I want to see ALL Angie Jolie flicks. The fact that this found as large of an audience as it did was one of the bigger surprises of the summer.

One last personal comment here...I still say WALL-E was the best movie I saw this summer. Hands down.

Kim Hollis: Kung Fu Panda - This is best case scenario territory for DreamWorks. Even better, it's a wonderful film that is completely deserving of the audience it received. I'm hoping the studio doesn't muck up the sequel by trying to make it too much like their other product.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan - I think this is a pretty solid result for a movie that looked pretty awful. I'm also kind of fascinated by the divide in opinion on it. Some people I really respect love the movie, but there is also plenty of hate to go around. Either way, I think Sandler is one of the true good guys in the business and I'm always happy for his successes.

The Incredible Hulk - I think Marvel just needs to stay away from the Hulk for awhile - Avengers not withstanding. I think it's too hard to find the right tone in a live action film that will suit audiences as far as what they expect from the big green guy.

The Happening - I'd completely forgotten about this, which speaks volumes. M. Night Shyamalan has become more of a punchline than he ever was. People aren't going to see his movies simply because his name is attached.

The Love Guru - Mike Myers is kind of the anti-Sandler for me. I'm glad this failed.

Get Smart - I thought this was a fun flick and am happy for everyone involved in the project that it succeeded as it did.

Kit Kittredge - Given the built-in fanbase (my niece has one of these dolls), I thought it would perform a little bit better than it did. I suspect it will be a DVD hit, though.

WALL-E - This is my favorite movie of 2008, and I wish more people had gotten out to see it, but you can't say that a result over $200 million is bad. I can't wait for it to hit DVD.

Wanted - This is one of my most disliked movies of 2008, and I'm not comprehending any of the love that it received. It was nihilistic and overly violent and, frankly, predictable.

Continued:       1       2       3       4       5