The Summer of Suck: Why I hate 2010 Movies

I make no hyperbole when I say that this summer has been one of the worst summers in recent memories for movies. I've been seeing movies for years and while the summer never matched up the serious more Oscar bait movies of the fall, I always had a good time in the theater during the hot summer months. I don't expect much from the summer popcorn flicks but to be throughly entertained and to have a quality movie presented to me in exchange for my $10. This summer has brought none of that. Instead giving me creatively bankrupt movies with all flash and little substance. I like the "turn you brain off" flick as much as the next person but when even Iron Man 2 turns out to be a boring, plodding movie you know somethings wrong. You know something's wrong when in my desperation for a good summer movie, I've retreated to re-watching older summer flicks and still enjoy myself more than seeing new material which in may cases feels like old material. Even the video games which usually are boring, cliche, and just plain bad are more entertaining and exciting than even the most exciting summer movie. The amount of movies I enjoyed this summer are nearly non existent and the number of movies I found decent at best can be counted on one hand.

As far back as the summers of 2007 and 2008 seem to accomplish this, in fact they almost seemed too good especially compared to now. 2007 had big titles such as Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest and Mission Impossible III with Transformers later on in the summer. While some people did not enjoy these as much as I did, they were still arguably more fun and exciting to watch then this summer's tepid selection. 2008 was even better. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Hellboy II, Tropic Thunder, and Speed Racer made it the best summer in a long while. Again, while the opinion on some of these movies varied, overall I had a blast watching them and in some cases re-watching them.

2009 was a let down compared to the explosive summer 2008 was and at first I was disappointed, but in retrospect the summer really wasn't all that bad. Whether it's because this summer is just so blatantly bad or I was expecting too much after the 2008 summer I'm not sure. Looking back there were a lot of movies which came out during the summer I enjoyed. Star Trek, District 9, Up, Public Enemies, Inglorious Basterds, Moon and The Hurt Locker were all movies I enjoyed very much and many of which were either nominated or rewarded for a variety of rewards at the end of the year. If anything could be taken away it's the amount of sci fi movies which came out, including Avatar later on in the year. For a sci fi fan such as myself it was great to see so many new movies pop up, especially since the last entertaining sci fi movie before 2009 was probably Sunshine. I think Transformers 2 didn't help matters and overshadowed the solid releases and destroyed my perception. Something similar almost happened with Indiana Jones 4 a year earlier. It's amazing how one monumentally bad movie can screw up your whole summer.

I've already cut my loses so far for the summer and after reading the future plans of many big film franchises ie: no more Bond films until further notice, a new Conan (did we really need one?), and Spider Man going back to high school doesn't exactly fill me with much hope either. Maybe I'm expecting too much, and maybe I'm being a little unfair to the movie industry, but I can't help but get more and more disappointed with the current state of movies as I get older. I don't want to hate them either. Movies are one of my main hobbies and I love watching them, dearly. Their power to move you, compel emotions, and entertain is one of greatest joys I had as a younger child and I still manage to maintain this feeling as and older adult. I don't want to hate Hollywood and I don't want to be so cynical on my favorite hobby but Hollywood is really pushing my buttons lately, and I don't mean it in a good way either.

Wait, they're splitting the last Twilight movie into two parts? Goodbye Hollywood. It's been nice knowing you. Maybe I'll see you again one day, when you're cleaned up. When you're a better person.

For now I have books and video games to keep me happy.