The current issue of Rolling Stone features Peter Travers' Summer Movie Preview, a look at the "money season" where studios dredge up stale sequels and prequels for desperate moviegoers trying to beat the heat. His prediction: despite the recession, this will be the biggest summer ever in box office receipts. Pick up the magazine for his full reports, and click above to watch his special edition of At the Movies, where he breaks down the five must-sees, and five flicks with a bad vibe.
Plus, get a look at his quick take on 24 of the season's biggest flicks — from Harry Potter to Taking Woodstock — plus shots from the films in our Summer Movie Preview 2009 gallery.
The Good:
Public Enemies: Michael Mann's July 1st film in which Johnny Depp portrays 1930s gangster John Dillinger. One of Travers' favorite directors teams with the red-hot Depp and Christian Bale.
Brüno: How could Sacha Baron Cohen top Borat? Who's crazy enough to not watch him play a gay Austrian designer?
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3: Denzel Washington plays a NYC subway worker; John Travolta is a subway hijacker. It sounds like a B movie plot, but it really works.
Funny People: Judd Apatow's directorial follow-up to Knocked Up, where Adam Sandler plays an asshole comic and Seth Rogen is his up-and-coming writer.
Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino casts Brad Pitt as a hillbilly sergeant who wants to kill Nazis. That's pretty much the whole plot right there.
The Bad:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: What more can Michael Bay do with robots that target other robots? Its $200 million price tag in a bad economy doesn't help.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: Ben Stiller should have made Tropic Thunder 2.
Imagine That: Eddie Murphy's annual summer stinker — this time he plays the father of a little girl who gets stock tips from the netherworld.
G-Force: A flick that combines live action and 3D animation ... about a guinea pig who becomes a secret agent.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the villain in the big-screen story about the military doll. Two words: bad vibe.
For more on these films and the rest of the summer's buzz, visit our Summer Movie Preview 2009 gallery.
And check out all of Peter Travers' movie reviews.
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ryry | May 23, 2009 12:22 PM
I know it's a movie that is just expected to open big but.....What about "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince"? It looks awesome and I think it could definitely be one of the best "Harry Potters" out there.
George | May 19, 2009 2:03 AM
Breillat's Blue Beard.
Not OK Computer | May 16, 2009 11:47 PM
Is it just my shit computer, or is this video not working for some reason?? I downloaded Adobe Flash Player, and I still can't friggin' watch this video. HELP PLZ!
Ernie | May 15, 2009 2:14 PM
Peter, I believe you mentioned in your video podcast that you weren't sure why Tarantino's new film is spelled with an e in Basterds. I just read, it seems there was an Italian movie called "Inglorious Bastards" that released '81 and Tarantino didn't want people to think this was a remake. Just thought you'd like to know. Cheers!
Travers is Delusional | May 13, 2009 10:32 AM
$200 million in a bad economy doesn't help?
Actually, since it likely created tons of jobs for people to make that movie, it likely did help.
Don't let your hatered for Bay cloud FACTS
George | May 13, 2009 12:22 AM
Revanche
Tetro
$9.99
Distric 9
Public Enemies
Up!
Anonymous | May 12, 2009 11:55 PM
Missing in the list:
Revanche
The Girlfriend Experience
Ed | May 12, 2009 11:55 PM
Michael Mann is a superior filmmaker to tarantino. He was making new kinds of films before tarantino even ripped others off with his first.
Adam | May 12, 2009 10:30 PM
Hey, judrichards, how did everyone "prove Peter Travers wrong" with Transformers? Because it did well at the box office? Newsflash, retard: it DID suck. Big time. It's entirely possible for Michael Bay to make a good film someday, but Transformers sure as shit wasn't it.
judrichards | May 12, 2009 9:54 PM
Hey Travers...you told us the first Transformers movie sucked too and everyone proved you wrong. You must still be mad at Bay for Pearl Harbour
MB | May 12, 2009 12:22 PM
I think District 9 will be the suprise movie of the year. It looks soooo good!
elessar | May 12, 2009 11:02 AM
To other posters: Travers' list was not meant to be exhaustive, he mentions nearly everything else in the preview gallery.
Mr. Travers: there was one film that you neglected to mention--Moon, the new sci-fi film with Sam Rockwell. I was really surprised not to see it mentioned as it (along with Up, Public Enemies, Inglourious Basterds, and Star Trek) looks like one of this summer's better films.
Tom H 94' | May 12, 2009 3:11 AM
Maybe, people mis-interpreted. I don't think Mann is a bad director, I just think his style feels like coppola, tarantino and scorsese mixed together and used to make movies. Also, I think his movies are overlong and far too dark in places. Sorry. Personal taste.
John D | May 11, 2009 11:42 PM
tom h 94 how the fuck is Michael Mann overrated?
ME | May 11, 2009 11:08 PM
Where's Coppola's Tetro?
Sally | May 11, 2009 5:45 PM
What about "The Hangover"? That mofo looks hillarrious!
Tom H 94' | May 11, 2009 12:39 PM
Another few people have done this so, here goes:
The Good-
1. Terminator Salvation: It looks like this one actually has some emotion in it unlike the 3rd film which was vary bad. Also, Bale is one of my favourite actors so this should be a great summer movie. Oh, and the trailer looks fantastic!
2. Funny People: Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow are comic Gods. I have enjoyed every film they have made, from this years 'Observe and Report' (one of the darkest yet funny and original movies I have seen in ages), to apatow's directorial efoorst, 'the 40-year old virgin' and 'knocked up.' I think when apatow directs the films always turn out being my favourite of the bunch so this is definitaly up there. Oh, and it has Jonah Hill in it who hasn't really done much since his 'one-two' of Superbad and forgetting sarah marshall. See it!
3. Public Enemies: It's the one that everyone's talking about. Depp, Bale, Guns and in my opinion an overrated, yet mighty fine director, Michael Mann. The trailer looks awesome and I'm sure that Depp's performance will be award worthy.
4. Drag me to hell: I'm a huge Sam Ramai fan and I love the way he makes fun of the cliched genre by making a cliched film and doing a great job out of it. The Evil Dead is a very inspirational film to me and I will be sure to check this one out. I was slightly unsure at first but, the first reviews have been superb, it's playing at cannes and the trailer looks as scary as hell!
5. Synecdoche, New York: A weird choice now, but one I choose to stand by. I love Charlie Kaufman screenplays and films. I love Phillip Seymour Hoffman's incredible acting ability. And I lurve the idea! By the way, Empire magazine gave this fucker 5 and I usually agree with their 5 star choices (Slumdog millionaire, Coraline, etc...)!
The Bad-
Night at the museum 2: I really liked the first one because it didn't aim just for people of a certain age. It managed to delight audiences of any age and awaken the inner kids in us. Unfortunatley, this new film seems like and excuse to make more money, sell more action figures and looks to stupid and child-like. The sad thing is, i know i'll end up seeing it.
Angels & Demons: I liked the first one, but this has had a few bad reviews and after reading the book, I fear that it'll end up shoving too much into it's running time and never develop the characters or story enough for anyone to actually care.
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the dinosaurs: I thoguht the first Ice Age film was an average attempt and I hated the second. But this looks even worse. The only trailer they are releasing is only a very brief scene in the movie and it doesn't hit any real funny bones. Also, it introduces a new love interest for scrat. Good God!
The Taking Of Pelham 123: The only Tony Scott film that I like is True Romance (which I will add is one of my favourite films ever!), but of recent years his films haven't been a patch on what he started. Not just that but the movie looks incredibly corny and how can John Travolta as a hardcore villain be menacing?
G-Force: Obnoxious 3-D hamsters? Not for me.
HelloJackToad | May 11, 2009 4:48 AM
Public Enemies - yes.
Terminator Salvation - yes.
Everything else - maybe.
You never know whether a movie is any good until you actually see it for yourself. I don't regard films as product, so if I see something that's disappointing I don't act like a consumer that has the right to complain. You get what you pay for and it's all part of a learning experience. Imagine you only saw the films recommended by Peter 'Is that the latest bandwagon coming down the track?' Travers, you wouldn't have much diversity or variety. Life would be pretty boring if we all just went to see the films critics told us to.
rpriley01@gmail.com | May 11, 2009 1:48 AM
I am really looking foward to public enemies, but it seems as if thats the only real highlight and i feel kinda of like this summer aint going to be the greatest
Bubba Bo Bo, Age Eleventy Billion | May 10, 2009 4:17 PM
My five-star lock for sleeper movie of the summer is, without question, District 9. Based off the teaser trailer and what I've read, it looks like a candidate for an all-time sci-fi classic.
Kathleen | May 10, 2009 3:34 PM
Jewish boys behind enemy lines wrecking havoc on the nazis and driving Adolph mad? What's not to love? I'm on board.
Nothing wrong with a great B movie.
Ether | May 9, 2009 6:38 PM
Public Enemies is going to be good
iLly | May 9, 2009 3:47 PM
Peter, how can you not mention Disney/Pixar's UP?
Levi | May 9, 2009 2:08 PM
Inglourious Bastards will put Tarantino even further into the actual B-movie sceen, and closer to the B-list. Its a shame because this movie is gonna ROCK.
Horny Toad | May 9, 2009 1:29 PM
G-Force looks like it's gonna be huge! Will Arnett - come on!
White Elephant | May 9, 2009 9:38 AM
Peter, have you actually watched the movies you are prematurely trashing? Shouldn't a critic try to be open-minded?
what about T4 | May 8, 2009 8:20 PM
whats your vibe on Terminator:Salvation??? the trailer with the NIN music kicks ass!!! and Transformes 2 bad!!??? come on.. you know its going to be fun.. its got to have like a 1000 explosions on it hahaha
Khan Kharma | May 8, 2009 6:38 PM
Hey! Where's the ugly?
DAK | May 8, 2009 2:35 PM
Regarding 'Pelham 1-2-3': Not that I needed extra incentive to stay away (the original is a major favorite in my family), but it just takes two words to make absolutely certain that I will not be going near this in a theatre: Tony Scott. A talented director who has shown zero regard for restraint, subtlety or coherence for almost a decade now. I don't begrudge the idea of remaking the movie- to paraphrase Michael Corleone, if time has taught us anything, it's that you can remake any movie.
This does not mean I have to waste my time or cash on it, however. I've already got the version that works for me.
I.B Banging | May 8, 2009 12:53 AM
Peter, you forgot to mention about "Adam," "Drag Me to Hell," "Tetro," "Land of the Lost," "My Sister's Keeper," "Whatever Works," "Year One," and "Up." Anyway, here's my list: GREAT TRAILERS: "Funny People" "Public Enemies" "Tetro" "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" "Up" UNDECIDED: "Adam" "Drag Me To Hell" "Inglourious Basterds" "Terminator Salvation" "Transformers 2" HYPED UP, BUT LOOKING BAD: "Angels and Demons" "G.I Joe" "Imagine That" "Land of the Lost" "My Sister's Keeper" "Year One"