35 years of Summer Blockbusters - May 22

May 22, 2009 - Just one year ago Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian opened. It was the sequel to the surprise hit Night At The Museum from 2006. The film received very mixed reviews. It was basically a rehash of the original without the charm. It was all special effects and no story. And Dick Van Dyke was missing!! The film cost $150 million plus another $45 million for marketing, but only made $177 million in U.S. ticket sales. The original cost $144 million (including marketing) and made $255 million. This film clearly represents the law of diminishing returns for sequels.

At the Movie House rating * 1/2 stars

May 22, 2008 - Two years ago Indiana Jones returned in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Written by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg this was the 4th installment in the Indy/Raiders series after an absence of nineteen years. Harrison Ford returned as Indiana Jones who looked older, but none the worse for wear. The same can't be said for this installment. With a story that was convoluted and a little far-fetched, our hero does battle with commies in a race to find an alien artifact. The film is an homage to the "B" movies of the 50's, the same way the original had the flavor of the 1940's serials. Karen Allen returned, but Sean Connery did not. Denholm Elliott passed away so Ray Winstone appeared as Indy's friend. Also joining the fun were Cate Blanchett as a Soviet agent and Shia LaBeouf as Indy Jr. The film received mixed reviews but sold plenty of ticket. With $786 million worldwide gross it was the second highest grossing film of 2008. The Dark Knight was first.
At the Movie House rating *** stars

May 22, 1998 - Twelve years ago in a counter programming move against Tri-Stars Godzilla, Universal Pictures released the film version of Hunter Thompson's novel Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. Directed by Terry Gilliame and starring Johhny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, the movie was either loved or loathed. Some criticsraved about Depp's performance and Gilliam's direction and felt they had captured the essence of the book. Others thought it was a mess. The audiences did to because the film did not do well at the box office. At the Movie House rating *** stars

May 22, 1996 - Fourteen years ago paramount Pictures launched big new summer franchise with Mission:Impossible. The big screen adaptation of the popular TV series starred Tom Cruise and was directed by Brian De Palma. The film was a hit, but was roundly criticized for it's incoherent story, lack of a truly menacing bad guy, and for turning the character of Jim Phelps (played by Peter Graves on the TV show) into a traitor. But it made boat loads of money and there have been two sequels, with a third coming next year. At the Movie House rating ** 1/2 stars

May 22, 1992 - Eighteen years ago Ron Howard's tale of immigrants from Ireland, Far and Away, opened. Starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman the film featured a lush score and beautiful cinematography. The film received mixed reviews, but had a successful box office run, especially overseas. At the Movie House rating *** stars

Also released was Alien 3. the third and (at the time) final part of the Alien story. This one was a hug departure from the first two films. First time director David Fincher was chosen to helm the project. he had made a name for himself in music videos. But there were huge clashes with fox over budget and script. Since it's release Fincher has disassociated himself from it. The film was considered a flop at the time of its release. At the Movie House rating ** 1/2 stars

May 22, 1985 - twenty five years ago Richard Pryor starred in the film Brewster's Millions, based on a book written in 1902. The book has been made into a movie 6 other times and none of them have been big hits. At the Movie House rating ** stars

Also released was Rambo: First Blood Part II. This film was a huge departure from the original where Rambo was the underdog being chased by a corrupt police force in the pacific northwest. This film has all the action picture excess of the 80's. And movie audiences loved it.
At the Movie House rating ** stars

May 22, 1981 - Twenty nine years ago this was a big day for movies. Four films were scheduled for release. That would never happen today.

First up was the big screen adaptation of The Legend Of The Lone Ranger. The studios had been searching for the next big adventure hero after Christopher Reeve starred in Superman. They thought they found him in new-comer film Klinton Spilsbury. This was his acting debut and it was so bad his entire part had to be redubbed by actor  James Keach. the film cost $18 million to make and opened with a massive marketing campaign. It only made $13 million during its run and was a huge flop. Spilsbury never appeared in another picture. At the Movie House rating  * stars

Next was Warner Bros with Outland. Directed by Peter Hymas and starring Sean Connery this sci-fi pic was essentially High Noon in space. It opened to mixed reviews and a strong first weekend, but then ticket sales dropped dramatically. It ended up making $20 million dollars.
At the Movie House rating ** 1/2 stars

Universal Pictures released a Richard Pryor comedy Bustin' Loose also starring Cicely Tyson. It was during the filming that Pryor lit himself on fire, freebasing. Production was halted for many months. The film was a good natured comedy and made $31 million in U.S. ticket sales.
At the Movie House rating ** stars

Universal also released the adult themed romantic comedy The Four Seasons. The film starred Alan Alda and Carol Burnett and was written and directed by Alda. This was his debut as a film director. Following in the path of other adult comedies such as The Goodbye Girl and Same Time, Next Year the film found an audience and made $40 million in sales.