Summer Movies - July 09

June is winding down already. Have you seen any of the new releases this month? I like to think that my opinions on the June 2009 movies have been fairly accurate thus far, so I figured it was about time to preview what's in store for next month*...

What to see:

- Public Enemies (Release: July 1) - Johnny Depp is in it...he plays the legendary bank robber John Dillinger from the 1930's...and it's directed by Michael Mann, who wrote, produced and directed The Last of the Mohicans and Heat. That's all that you need to know. I didn't even need to see a trailer to get excited about this one.

- Bruno (Release: July 10) - Vatsup? or Isch don't think so? You'd probably pick up on that reference if you've seen this "Bruno" character in Da Ali G Show, which showcased Ali G, Borat and Bruno played by Sacha Baron Cohen. Most of the world knows and most of the country of Kazakhstan hates the character Borat, which is definitely a testament to how well Cohen can shock people. Bruno was always my least favorite character of the three on the show, but he was definitely still funny at times. I'll definitely go to see this one purely for the shock value; it was originally rated NC-17 by the MPAA, but Cohen re-edited it to receive an "R" rating.

- 500 Days of Summer (Release: July 17) - I'll admit right off the bat that about 30...ok, maybe 45% of my interest in this film is due to my celebrity crush on Zooey Deschanel. And yes, it's a pseudo-indie-romantic-drama-comedy with a no-name director, but I can honestly say that it looks good based off of the trailer. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who I believe will become a big(ger) name in the coming years) is the male role and the story structure looks creative.

- Funny People (Release: July 31) - Judd Apatow established his name before everyone could identify by name the large group of actors that he's basically made famous or atleast brought onto the scene. Two of the guys that are included in that group are in this movie: Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. Apatow's real-life wife stars in this film as well, Leslie Mann, as do their two daughters (who also appeared in Knocked Up). A few other superstars are included though: Adam Sandler, Eric Bana and Jason Schwartzman. And this is only the main cast, because I've heard that a large number of cameos are made in this movie.

In Apatow's two other big directorial hits, Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin, there were some serious tones thrown in among the comedy. Funny People keeps that same formula, with death being the serious undertone. And Adam Sandler is the perfect actor to do that with because although he's considered largely to be a comedic actor, he's done a pretty good deal of serious acting too. Also, Apatow must know Sandler pretty well, considering the two shared an apartment back in the late 80s.

"On the Bubble":

- Shrink (Release: July 24) - If Kevin Spacey wasn't the lead role, I'd probably toss this one aside. Even so, however, I can't form a solid opinion on the quality of this film. The director, Jonas Pate, has mostly worked on TV and the writer is pretty new to the scene it seems. Spacey plays a Hollywood shrink who develops some problems of his own, which obviously start to affect his work. If it's good, it's because of Kevin Spacey, but he hasn't had an impeccable track record, especially in recent years, so we'll see...

- The Ugly Truth (Release: July 24) - Gerard Butler playing anything other than a jacked-up warrior with a yell that rumbles the Earth is something worth seeing, even if it's just for a scene or two. A romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl though? Wow...didn't see that coming. It could be worth taking a date to see, though it's a predictable story mold that will probably fall short on laughs.

Probably a disappointment:

- I Love You Beth Cooper (Release: July 10) - I'm confused about this one. It's based on a novel by Larry Doyle, who has written for The Simpsons, Beavis and Butthead and Daria. And the director, Chris Columbus, wrote movies such as Gremlins and The Goonies, and directed movies such as Home Alone (1 & 2) and Mrs. Doubtfire. Based on that, it should be awesome. Based on the trailer, however, it's not even really worthy of a giggle. I also don't feel right "wooing" over Hayden Panettiere (who plays the "hot girl" in this film) considering she was the little girl in Remember the Titans.

*I didn't include the new Harry Potter film in this selection because I haven't kept up with those movies...anyone who has can feel free to express their views for the new one coming out this month (or any other release that I missed)...