Summer at the Movies, The Hits, Misses, and Toss Ups Thus Far

Hit: Viewers and critics alike already know that Iron Man is a bonafied hit. Reviewers have praised Downey's performance, and the cast (which also includes Terrance Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jeff Bridges) has already signed on for two sequels, the first scheduled for an April 2010 release. The movie raked in $98 million on opening weekend (the tenth biggest movie opening weekend of all time) and $51 million the second week.

Misses: With Patrick Dempsey as its star, you would think Made of Honor would be a hit, but many critics called the movie a predictable chick flick. The $100 million budget meant that Speed Racer, a film based on Japanese anime needed to be a hit, but instead it was a big bust, or rather, as some critics declared, a "cinematic pile up". It's really too bad because the cast made up of Emile Hirsch, John Goodman, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, and Matthew Fox is a stellar group of actors.

Toss Ups: Baby Mama (starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler) made a profit, but was it clever funny or stupid funny? I think the latter. What Happens in Vegas received generally bad reviews, but stars two charming and comedic actors: Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz.

n.b. Both images shown in this posting are the promotional posters for the movie.