Summer Movie Watch

Summer is fast approaching and I could not be more excited because that means the drag season for movies will be over and we'll finally get some watch worthy movies.

This past winter and early spring, movies weren't really giving us its best to offer. I don't know if its just a winter thing or if lately movies have just been really bad. I saw The Roommate, which was a hot mess featuring one cast member from almost every CW show out there right now (Leighton Meester, Aly Michalka, Nina Dobrev, and the list goes on). I was then put through some misery courtesy of Vanessa Hudgens through Beastly and Sucker Punch. The first, I was actually excited to see as some of these modern day fairy tales, though not amazing, are super cute (A Cinderella Story, Sydney White) latter wasn't horrible but it was also a bit of a hot mess that was lost in translation...not in a good way. The misery doesn't end there; Just Go With It starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston wasn't easy on the eyes either. Granted, it was probably the best of the list so far, but with its strong cast, it could've been so much better.

The only movies that offered some redemption at the box office were Scream 4 and Lincoln Lawyer. The former wasn't a great movie, but being a Scream sequel almost 10 years after the last release, it wasn't horrible either and was actually entertaining. That being said, I probably wouldn't have liked it as much if the original cast didn't reprise their role. The latter was an amazing movie with a great balance of mystery, suspense, and thrills. It probably makes up for all the horrible movies I sat through this winter... almost. For anyone who hasn't seen it, I would definitely recommend watching it when you get a chance.

Its funny how it works right? In the summer, when you should be out enjoying the good weather is when all the good movies are out in theatres. The next few weeks have me quite excited for what's to open up at the box office. Here's my list of movies I'm looking forward to see this summer:

The Hangover 2

As a sequel, I doubt it will be nearly as good as the first but I'm still itching to watch it.

Release Date: May 26, 2011

X-Men: First Class

Probably one of the movies I'm most looking forward to this summer. As a huge fan of X-Men, this movie seems to be very promising. Did you know the actor who plays young Charles Xavier in the movie played the faun Tumnus in Disney's The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe? Useless information? I know.

Release Date: June 3, 2011

Super 8

Steven Speilberg...J.J. Abrams. Those are two reasons alone as to why I'd see this movie. This trailer gets my heart going every time I see it and it looks like its going to be amazing. Definitely cannot wait to see it.

Release Date: June 10, 2011

The Green Lantern

I'm divided on whether this movie will be cheesy, very good, or somewhere in between. I do have some hopes and the fact that Blake Lively in it makes everything better... so much better.

Release Date: June 17, 2011

Mr. Popper's Penguins

When I first saw the poster for this up at a local movie theatre, i thought to myself, "Where have I heard of this before?" Two seconds later it all came back to me... I read the book when I was in grade school and absolutely loved it! It will definitely be cool seeing a big screen adaption, especially with Jim Carrey playing the lead as Mr. Popper.

Release Date: June 17, 2011

Bad Teacher

The trailer for this movie looks hilarious and with a cast featuring Cameron Diaz (There's Something About Mary) , Justin Timberlake (SNL) , and Jason Segal (I Love You, Man) I'm sure it will provide a good set of laughs.

Release Date: June 24, 2011

Monte Carlo

I'm not going to lie, the only reason I'm excited to see this movie is for Leighton Meester, Selena Gomez, Katie Cassidy, and Cory Monteith. Its like a Glee meets Gossip Girl goes to Waverly Place combination. Granted, I doubt its going to be anything good, but it does seem like it could be a fun watch...even if its just for the faces.

Release Date: July 1, 2011

Winnie The Pooh

A blast from the past, Winnie The Pooh is a classic, and it was in definite need of a revitalization with a new movie. Definitely stoked to see Eeyore, Rabbit, Tigger, Piglet and of course Pooh, back on the big screen.

Release Date: July 15, 2011

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Being pushed back several times is never really a good sign for a movie and with its multiple delays its finally set to release at the end of August. I love watching horror movies, even when they are ridiculously bad (minus The Roommate because it wasn't even horror), so even if this isn't amazing, I'm a little bit of a sucker when it comes to watching horrors.

Release Date: August 26, 2011

And then there's...

Transformers: Dark of The Moon

Am I the only one that has never been a fan of Transformers? Neiher when I was a kid, nor when I watched the first two in attempts to get into it. And now the third one just seems...eh. I might go check it out when its out but not extremely excited for it...actually, not excited at all.

Release Date: July 1, 2011

Cowboys and Aliens

Could be really good, or could be really bad. I don't see this being anywhere in the middle. Not holding any expectations from the movie. If I'm really bored and there's nothing else playing, I might go check it out.

Release Date: July 29, 2011

Final Destination 5

After the 3rd Final Destination, which was probably my favourite, the franchise started becoming redundant and pointless. Same story, different movie, predictable ending. All that being said, I still might sucker out and go see it.

Release Date: August 12, 2011

So those are my picks for movies of the summer. What's on your list of movies to watch?

What Went Wrong in the Glee Season Two Finale?

Season two of Glee just finished last night and I have to say, I wasn't really too pleased. There was so much hype leading up to the finale, New York, through the last few episodes, and I feel like it was just lacklustre. To start with, one of the things that bugged me the most was that in the episode before the finale Quinn told Finn she had a really big plan for nationals that would come in the way of them winning. I was excited to see what she would do, only to be disappointed when all it consisted of was getting Rachel and Kurt sent home so that the school loses. Although somewhat of a good plan, the disappointment came in when the plan was easily diminished through Santana and Brittany encouraging Quinn against it and taking her for a haircut.... yes, I know, I'm appalled as well.

Another disappointing moment in the episode was when the New Directions didn't win or yet, even place in the top 10 at nationals. I feel like the Glee creators followed the same formula that they did in the finale of season one, and this time it just didn't work. It irritates me because when Glee started it promised to be such an amazing and well scripted show and it did start off as such. However, as its popularity grew, its quality didn't. There were so many repeated and redundant plots with some being started and finished too quickly, some being started and not finished at all (Quinn and Beth), and some that were started and were dragged on for too long throughout the season. One critic reviewed the finale of the show and wrote a statement that I really like and agreed with:

Part of me would have liked tonight better if it had just stuck to its guns. You want to tease us? Fine. Let Will go to Broadway. Let Rachel disown her love for Finn, and keep it that way. Let Quinn actually try to destroy the Glee club because of her anger towards her sudden ex-boyfriend. But the fact that none of this happened - and the fact that we know none of it would ever happen - is just another issue I have with the show. I hope that next season, it actually grows a pair.

-Terron R. Moore, Ology.com

As much as I'm ragging on the episode, there were still some positive moments to the finale. Being shot in New York, the show had a really epic and big screen feel, which makes me ponder whether or not the producers of Glee would ever create a movie to either end the show, or the first chapter of it with the current members of New Directions. Additionally, the musical numbers of the show were well done as well. Following the original song trend they used in regionals, the original songs performed in the finale were refreshing and quite good. Brittany's My Cup was no exception.

I'm looking forward to season three, but I hope the creators make some changes in the show. More character and plot development would be a big start. Episodes in season two could easily stand alone without depending on others for continuity. Another interesting about season three will really be how the execute and terminate it. Many of the members of the New Directions will be graduating so I'm looking forward to see how they play all of that out. Depending on what materializes, season three might just be the last one I watch.

Look out for a post on my top 30 songs featured in the second season Glee coming up very soon.