A summer at the movies

Stephen Exarhos

Disclaimer: All opinions in this article come from my angry cynical little mind, so no hard feelings if you disagree with me.
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
Even with all the hype before and while this movie was in theaters, and even though I saw it in an IMAX theater, I was left utterly disappointed by this film. There were far too many plot holes in the script and I was left with a headache after seeing an explosion or a nearly naked, super-enlarged girl every few minutes. This was obviously aimed at the teenage male demographic, and I guess I fail to meet the specifications of said demographic.
“Inglourious Basterds”
One of my favorite movies of the summer for sure. Somehow Quentin Tarantino made a gory, gruesome story into a sadistically comedic masterpiece. The story did dwell on introducing unimportant characters, though I feel this dwelling only saved the audience from more Nazi-bashing, which might be a good thing.
“Star Trek”
This was hands down the best movie of the summer, even though it came out in May. Director J.J. Abrams successfully combined the nerd-tastic glory of the “Star Trek” of old with the brilliant special effects of today. Thanks to modern technology, “Star Trek” is no longer a hot suvject for physics majors locked in their basements, but is actually cool.
“Funny People”
An epic idea on paper, this movie combination of some of the nation’s biggest music, television and Hollywood stars tended to be either side-bustlingly funny or gut-wrenchingly sad. The film was also too long to keep me entertained. Seth Rogan, as always, stole the show, and Adam Sandler did not impress. In my mind, Sandler would not be the ideal actor to play someone faced with oncoming demise. He would not be ideal to play the hopeless romantic, either; nevertheless, this is how his character was described.
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
This movie broke records, yet it managed to break my heart. I am a huge fan of the “Harry Potter” book-series, and the movies simply aren’t up to par. This episode especially let me down. It seemed as if its sole purpose was to set up the next movie. That might be acceptable in a book series, but I do not go to a movie just to follow along with the series; I want the movie to be truly entertaining in itself, and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” just was not.
“The Hangover”
The Hangover has been added to my list of the funniest movies I have ever seen. The pure absurdity of the movie brought me to my knees. I will say no more. If you have not seen this, go see it, and if you have, you know what I am talking about.
There are two new movies just coming into theaters now: the adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are,” and Tim Burton’s latest animated creation, “9.” I hope to not be let down by either.
So, new freshmen, find someone who owns a car and get to the cinema to check these out.