May - Magnificent Movie Month

My friend Alex J. Cavanaugh has a great blog about Movies today for his M word in Arlee Bird's A to Z blog challenge. It's a fun read and Alex goes over some of his favorite movies (which are some of mine as well, though that didn't surprise me at all!). I wanted to talk about movies today too, specifically the movies which are releasing in the next few weeks.

For many years now, the movie industry has been pinpointing May as the "blockbuster" month, and this year is no exception. You can usually count on at least one big-budget film from each of the mainstream movie genres to hit the theaters during the month. This year we've got some really cool stuff coming down the pike:

Starting out on May 7th is Iron Man 2 with Robert Downey Jr. I saw the first of this series when it came out in the theaters a couple of years ago (in May, of course). I instantly fell in love with the setting, the story, and especially the supercool character of Tony Stark. I was so impressed with Robert Downey Jr.'s interpretation of Stark, and I don't think they could've found a better person to cast. The new movie promises to be even more exciting, with Scarlett Johansson as the notorious Black Widow and Mickey Rourke as the terrible Whiplash. This is sure to be a lot of fun, and this is my number one pick for the movies in May.

Next is Robin Hood on May 14th, starring Russell Crowe as Robin Hood and Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian. This was also directed by Ridley Scott, and I love his epic style of film direction. I'm not a huge Russell Crowe fan per se, but my favorite movie of his is Gladiator, which is also directed by Scott. The movie is supposed to be the "the true story" of the legendary hero, and my interest has been piqued by the few trailers I've seen. Robin Hood has been one of my favorite anti-heroes since I watched the Errol Flynn version on a rainy Saturday afternoon with my mom back in the eighties, and it'll be interesting to see what Scott has in mind for the legend.

May 21st is the release date for Shrek Forever After, which is the fourth (and supposedly final) installment in the uber-successful series. In this movie, Shrek is transported to an alternate universe where Fiona is a barbarian, Puss in Boots has become a lazy kitty who cares nothing for his usual romancing antics, and Donkey is just... well, he's Donkey. I enjoyed the first two films in this series, and hope this release can make up for the disappointment that the third Shrek movie was. My niece will probably clamor to go see this, so I might get dragged along... and I'll probably secretly enjoy it when I do. ;)

The last weekend of May holds two new releases, and they couldn't be more opposite: Sex and the City 2 and Survival of the Dead. You know what would be awesome? If somehow these two movies could be combined. I'd love to see zombies spilling over into the flashy, slightly crazed world of Carrie and her gal-pals, chomping New York socialites and fashion designers with abandon. At the same time, I'd love to see Samantha defend herself against a horde of slavering zombies, armed to the teeth with adult novelties and high-heeled shoes. Which of the girls would take over and lead the group out of the city and into New Jersey, and, hopefully, freedom from the undead? Now that's a movie I would gladly pay to see.

So. Anyway. This May... Wanna go to a movie?