If Don Quixote were around, he might find a new sidekick in the film critic.
Come summer, aspiring blockbusters stand like windmills that one can’t assail without looking, well, quixotic. So why not pack up notebook and pen, take a hiatus?
I’m tempted. Not out of surrender, but it would be great fun to sit in a darkened movie house without my spiral-bound shield, gel-ink lance, and watch — just watch. Looking at this year’s slate, I had a kernel of a fantasy, even before being wowed by “Iron Man” and perfectly content with “Made of Honor”: What if summer 2008 were as good in its way as fall 2007 had been?
Forget that “Speed Racer” and “What Happens in Vegas” dampened the dream.
What if the action-comic flicks were visually thrilling and wryly smart? (“Indiana Jones,” “Hancock,” “Hellboy” and “The Dark Knight” all tease this possibility.) What if the rare chick flick tweaked romantic notions enough to make us think while making us smile? (We entrust this humble hope to Sarah Jessica Parker and her gal pals, and to Meryl Streep.)
Here’s a truth: If two more movies satisfy like “Iron Man,” this summer’s lineup will top 2007’s, which, like a windmill, blew.
Of course, summer comes with films that invite a gentle push toward smaller venues.
In the mood to escape a certain kind of escapism? Seek out “Encounters at the End of the World,” Werner Herzog’s film about the characters drawn to the cold-bitten life in Antarctica (July 11). Face our national demons (Abu Ghraib) with a national treasure, Errol Morris, whose documentary, “Standard Operating Procedure,” opens this month.
Not to put too fine a point on it, the list of indies opening is also better than last year’s: “Brideshead Revisited,” with Emma Thompson (July 25); “American Teen,” Nanette Burstein’s Sundance documentary hit about seniors at an Indiana high school (July); “Savage Grace,” Tom Kalin’s drama about fortunes and tragic misfortune, starring Julianne Moore as the Bakelite heiress (June); Penelope Cruz as the jealous lover of Javier Bardem’s painter in “Vicky Christina Barcelona” (Aug. 29); “Hamlet 2,” in which Steve Coogan is a teacher who encourages his drama class to stage Shake- speare’s play as a tart musical.
“Fantastic!” says Brit director Garth Jennings when told the “Narnia” sequel opens the same day as his “Son of Rambow.” He adds with a laugh, “just a little movie.”
But his charmer about boy filmmakers directing a very homemade action movie is hardly counterprogramming.
Instead, it’s a celebration of film’s ability to capture our imaginations. An ambition for all seasons — even this one.
