Summer 2011 Movie Musings Shorts - Part 1

Since we have actually managed to stay current (so far) on summer movies, I thought I'd give a quick recap of the movies we have seen to date.

Thor: Okay. A bit silly in places, but still had some good moments. Go expecting super-cheesy, and you should be okay. The worst part, to me, was switching from at least semi-serious on Earth to way far beyond cheesy in Asgard. Would have been less eye rolling if whole movie had been same cheese level. Still, it had some fun stuff. If only seeing a few films in the theater this summer, don't put this at the top of your list.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: I liked it, more than DH did. Better than 3, equal to or better than 2 (depending on which of us you ask). Nothing will ever come close to 1. In terms of a "reboot" or a redirect of the series, I think they did a very good job. Good blend of old and new characters. There were small nods to the previous films, which were nice, but this film stands by itself. No need to see any others to fully get this one.

Kung Fu Panda 2: Not as funny as the first, but still good. DreamWorks has upped their game in terms of visuals; it was *beautiful* to watch. Story is darker and more serious, definitely fewer laughs, but still worth seeing.

Super 8: Pretty good. Some nice tension without being too scary (for me; you know I'm a scary movie wimp). Definitely a love note from J.J. Abrams to Steven Spielberg films of the 70s and 80s, in a good way. Put Close Encounters, Jaws, E.T., and Goonies in a blender (note Spielberg directed 3 of those and wrote the 4th!), and you get Super 8. Not a kids' movie, IMO.

X-Men: First Class: By far the best movie we have seen this summer, and one of the bests in the last few years. I had high hopes for it, but I genuinely had no idea what to actually expect from it, and it was excellent. At least on par with the original X-Men film, and even better in some respects. A wonderfully pleasant surprise! Would definitely put this at the top of the "to see" pile so far this summer.

Currently feeling: cinematic