35 years of Summer Blockbusters - May 9th

May 9, 2008 - Two years ago Speed racer crashed and burned at the box office. Warner Brothers had this film in development since 1992 and they spent millions of dollars trying to put together the right star, director and writers. In 2006 Andy and Larry Wachowski took over the project and spent $120 million to bring this visually dazzling film to the screen. The film failed to reach audiences or critics and only made $43 million during it U.S. run.

I saw the movie about 8 weeks after it came out and had extremely low expectations based on reviews and box office so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I am not sure what audience they were reaching for but the Wachowski brothers created an eye popping world of color and motion that had not been done before. It is definitely a good family film with no violence, sex or bad language and it's fun, which is what a summer movie should be. At The Movie House is in the minority but we rate it *** stars

Also released on this day was the Cameron Diaz/Ashton Kutcher comedy What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas. A movie based on an advertising slogan. It was universally panned and made some money simply because it's production cost were so low. At The Movie House has no rating for this film.

May 8, 2003 - Seven years ago 20th Century Fox Pictures released the homage to 50's and 60's sex comedies Down With Love. This smart and snappy film featuring Renee Zelleweger and Ewan McGregor was a delightful send-up of the Rock Hudson and Doris day romantic comedies. Critical reviews were mixed and the film did not meet expectations. This was a case of a film being released at the wrong time. This movie should have been held back for November/Holiday release where it would not have been lost in the summer noise aimed at teenage males. At the Movie House rating ***1/2 stars

Also released on this day was Eddie Murphy's Daddy Day Care. Murphy continued exploring family and kid friendly roles that were reviving his career and making him extremely profitable for the studios. The film made $104 million dollars. At The Movie House rating **stars

May 8, 1997 - Thirteen years ago Bruce Willis became a blond for the sci-fi hit The Fifth Element. the film was a hit in the U.S., but even more popular overseas where it made 76% of it's total box office gross of $263 million. At The Movie House rating **1/2 stars

Also released was the star powered comedy Father's Day with Billy Crystal and Robin Williams. Their star power tanked when this film made a total of $35 million on an $85 million production budget. They forgot to make it funny. Not screened by At the Movie House critics.

May 8, 1986 - twenty four years ago the phrase "Johhny Five is alive" became popular with the opening of the sci-fi film Short Circuit. The film was a moderate hit and spawned a sequel in 1988. At The Movie House rating **1/2 stars

May 8, 1980 - Thirty years ago we were introduced to the film franchise that would not die when Friday The 13th opened in over a thousand theatres. The film made $39 million in U.S. ticket sales on a budget of $550,000. The film spawned a multi-million dollar franchise with 9 sequels, a Nightmare on Elm Street crossover and a remake/reboot in 2009. Not screened by At the Movie House critics.

Also Thirty years ago The Nude Bomb opened. The film was based on the popular TV series Get Smart and was one of the first attempts to turn a TV series into a summer blockbuster. Like the title, it was a bomb. At The Movie House rating *star