By: Martin Rand, III
Date: August 23, 2011
The children are back in school, trying to drive at eight in the morning and five in the evening is like watching the turtle race against the hare and all your favorite t.v. shows are about to begin showing new episodes. This can only mean one thing: summer is coming to an end.
And with the end of summer comes the end of summer blockbuster movies. You know, the "3D, special effects, big budget, holy crap did you see that" types of movies. These movies are released at other times during the year but never in such abundance like during the summer.
So, I have put together a list of the top five blockbuster summer movies. These are movies you have to see; and if you didn't see it, you have to go buy it on DVD when it's released later this year. Of course, not everyone is going to agree with this list (Harry Potter fans in particular) but I think most people all agree that these are the greatest movies from the summer of 2011.
- 5. Thor
Only Marvel could make this relatively unknown in the superhero universe into a blockbuster movie that everyone wanted to see. While the special effects and action were great, the acting really brought "Thor" to life. Of course, having the reigning best actress academy award winner helped a lot.
Usually, sequels aren't as good as its predecessors, exactly like its predecessors (see "The Hangover Part II") or just plain bad; but neither of these are the case with "Kung Fu Panda 2". The great story provided comedy, action, which even a Bruce Lee fanatic would love, and an explanation as to why pandas are an endangered species. This is a great entry into the series and the ending hinted at a possible third movie.
Yes, Marvel has another entry on this list. That's no coincident. Marvel has the formula to making quality superhero movies; and they used their oldest superhero to test it out, and it proved to be successful once again. "Captain America: The First Avenger" linked a lot of the Marvel movies together and proved to be a great catalyst for Marvel's "The Avenger" movie set to be released next year.
I know it may seem like I'm being biased toward Marvel superheros right now but I'm not. "X-Men: First Class" is a truly great movie and definitely the best in the series. The back story of these characters was emotional and heartfelt. Even though we all know how the story ends, this movie made you wish that the Eric and Charles would stay best friends and not become arch enemies.
And here is the number one movie of the summer. The movie that had everyone gasping in amazement when they saw an ape yell "NO!" for the first time. "Rise Of the Planet Of the Apes" is a great reboot for the series that was in dire need for it. The scary thing about this movie is that, with all the animal testing scientist do, you wonder if something like this could ever really happen. Hmm... Might be something to think about.
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A lot of people probably had these movies on their list too, especially the kiddos. Spend time with your kids while they are on vacation. One of the things they love to do, aside from going to the beach, is watching cool movies.
Ok. I'll make note of that.