Siskel and Ebert and the Dregs of Summer

May has interesting movies. There are some worthwhile films in July. In June? Not so much. There are some decent choices. More children's fare. I'm Gene Siskel from the Chicago Tribune.

"And I'm Roger Ebert from The Chicago Sun-Times. Movies seem to fall off a cliff after Memorial Day.

GS: If Hollywood wants fifty-two tentpole movies per year why can't they be better paced?

RE: I cannot recall what the next major release was after Top Gun: Maverick.

GS: Nothing that had the urgency of that film. We do have some movies to review. Our first film is A Quiet Place: Day One. I was nicely surprised they had something different to say.

RE: The first movie was better than expected. The second sent many back to theaters--

GS: That's right- it was scheduled for release the week the country shut down.

RE: Early 2020 did not have many urgent movies. Another Bad Boys and Birds of Prey. It was almost a relief to have everything postponed.

GS: The Invisible Man is the only film I recall fondly from the period. Do you think the Covid 19 pandemic was unleashed with the movie adaptation of Cats?

RE: That and Justin Bieber singing Yummy. More believable than wet markets in China or creating it in a lab.

GS: We made it back to the movies. I should mention the cat in A Quiet Place: Day One interested me. I did not want the cat to be taken away by the monsters.

RE: The cat gave an emotional investment along with Lupita Nyongo. (to the camera) Our next film is The Bikeriders. It was a little more adult than standard summer fare.

GS: I could see correlation to Goodfellas. The woman who married into it noticed everyone in their life rode motorcycles. It was nice to see Illinois in the sixties.

RE: They told the story without making references to Ernie Banks or Gale Sayers. You can live in Chicago and not think about sports.

GS: Why would you want to?

RE: I wouldn't. My point was in period pieces there are temporal references. It was distracting in Lisa Frankenstein. I get it, the movie takes place in 1989. It was a distraction. Would you like to introduce the next movie?

GS: Do I need your permission?

RE: Not really. We alternate.

GS: That's fair. I was not a fan of Twister. All I recall is a cow in the tornado. The characters were not interesting and there did not seem to be the right kind of drama. That being said, I was not anticipating Twisters. It is not a sequel. This movie stands on its own.

RE: Glen Powell makes all the difference. We need movie stars.

GS: Little by little there is a new generation of actors who are rising up. Jenna Ortega has made an impression. Glen Powell has the leading man quality. Some compare him to Matthew McConaughey.

RE: Both have worked with Richard Linklater. He also occupies the same space as Paul Newman.

GS: That is high praise. I share a birthday with Paul Newman and hope Glen Powell has an interesting career. Did you like the movie?

RE: Thumbs up. The science and subtle romance made a difference. The ones who thought he was simply a YouTube star had no idea that he prepared and studied tornadoes. It means more than selling T Shirts. (To the camera) Our final film is the last tentpole of the summer.

GS: There might be good films next month.

RE: I wish there were entertaining movies every month. August is usually a dumping ground.

GS: The Fugitive was released in August.

RE: There are exceptions. That Zoe Kravitz movie looks interesting.

GS: More women need the opportunity to direct. Deadpool and Wolverine is the only Marvel movie scheduled for release this year. There is a lot of breaking the fourth wall and many surprises I would rather let the viewer experience.

RE: Sometimes the less known about a film, the better. I can say it maintains the quality of the first two.

GS: That's more than can be said about Ant Man. They forgot to have fun in the third film.

RE: Guardians of the Galaxy also lost momentum in the third film. What do you think about the next Avengers movies?

GS: They are in the future. As for Robert Downey, Jr playing Doctor Doom- as long as they don't say Tony Stark became Doctor Doom- The Fantastic Four movies strayed from their source material and did not create something better.

RE: Richard Donner did different things with Superman and it was effective. There is supposed to be another Superman next year.

GS: I have been disappointed by certain reboots so I'll believe it when I see it. This has been a good week. It's nice when certain movies exceed expectations. Too bad every movie cannot be better than expected.

RE: It is nice when it happens. For Gene Siskel I am Roger Ebert, looking forward to the more adult movies of fall and for now, the balcony is closed.