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OK, returning to my entry about the Summer Films coming out, I haven’t updated it past the first week of July.

Men In Black 2 got bad reviews from critics and friends alike, with the most common phrase being “It’s almost exactly like the first movie, only not as funny”.

The season started off with a bang, with Spider-man and Episode II opening a week apart. Follow that up with the Spielberg/Cruise flick “Minority Report”, and the long-awaited MIB sequel, and this looked like a great summer. Well, to give you an idea of how excited I’ve been about the wide choices this summer, I’ve beaten my old record of “most movies seen twice in one year”. So far, I’ve seen Spider-man, Episode II and even Minority Report twice. Right now, the only films in theatres that peak my interest are “Lilo & Stitch” and “Crocodile Hunter” - both of which I’ve already seen once.

John’s in Japan and missed the opening weeks of Episode II, but other than that he hasn’t missed much. If there was ever a year to live in another country and miss the Summer blockbusters, this is it.

Last year, we had sequels, remakes, re-releases and video game conversions. We had Jurassic Park III and American Pie 2, Planet of the Apes and Oceans Eleven, Apocalypse Now Redux, Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy. It was also the first year we were pelted with multiple Computer Generated movies, including Shrek, Monsters Inc., that kids movie Jimmy Neutron, and the aforementioned Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within. There were enough CG movies to generate an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film… although Final Fantasy wasn’t included in the list - possibly due to the large percentage of production in Japan.

This year, I’m tempted to find a theatre that’s still showing Jason X.

This week’s releases didn’t even make a dent in the box-office. Stuart Little 2 only brought in $15 Million over the weekend - slow returns considering that all the kids are out of school right now. K-19 (which Harrison Ford called “a stupid title”) only brought in $13 million in it’s first weekend placing it fourth behind MIB2, Stuart Little 2 and Road to Perdition.

…and how about Road to Perdition? Proof that Tom Hanks is a drawing power. No one actually knows what the film is about, but it’s already brought in $50 million in ten days - making it number 1. I’m sure it’s a good movie, but how devoid are the theatres of raw entertainment when this sits in the number one spot for two weeks?

This Friday, Austin Powers 3 is coming out. With the lack of anything decent (we’re supposed to still be basking in the fallout of MIB2) AP3 is going to clean up. We’re definately going to see a fourth movie after this weekend. Personally, I don’t get the Austin Powers movies. However, it certainly appeals to the mass audience. Again, they wouldn’t have to spend a dime on advertising, and people’s preconceived notions of what’s good in movies would draw them to this one.

On the opposite end of the scale, those same preconceived notions keep people away from Crocodile Hunter. Every review was the same - “It’s just him and Terry doing their show, with some basic plot thrown in to keep things moving - but I give it 3/5 stars, 4/5 stars, two thumbs up, whatever”. This movie got better reviews than Men In Black 2, Mr. Deeds and even Spider-man, but it hasn’t even brought in $20 million yet. It’s already been passed by Halloween: Resurrection - which gives me more ammo on the popularity of “preconceived notions”…

…H:R is part satire on reality-TV. However, the fact that it’s doing ten times better than Jason X is yet more proof that the masses are drawn to anything Reality-TV, Reality-TV based, Reality-TV-like or Reality-TV farce.

I implore anyone reading this, to go see Crocodile Hunter instead of Mr. Deeds. Adam Sandler already has his $100 million from this movie, and the proceeds from Crocodile Hunter goes to wildlife conservatories. If you’re in the mood to sink with K-19 or burn with Reign of Fire, then go see those. If you’re in the mood to see something a little more humourous go see Crocodile Hunter. I’ll pay you back your ten bucks if you didn’t like it*.

*Cheques will not be honoured.