Recommendations: June 15

Rock of Ages – From director Adam Shankman Rock of Ages is a movie adaptation of a hit Broadway musical, about two young would-be singers trying to make it big.  Set in an LA nightclub in the late 80s, featuring 80s pop metal music, and composed of an ensemble cast, this musical looks awesome.  Really, even if the story didn’t hold up, or the acting was bad you could still expect to have fun watching Rock of Ages because of the music alone.  But given as it’s already a success on Broadway, the story is already known to be good, and the cast is well tested.  I’ve been excited about seeing this movie since I first saw a trailer for it, a few months ago.

That’s My Boy – In Adam Sandler’s latest comedy he plays a goofball father who resurfaces in time for his son’s wedding.  While I appreciate the fact that Sandler appears to be acting to his age instead of as a goofball guy pursuing a much younger woman, I’m rather bored by his movies.  I think I’ll be passing on this one.

Chicago­ – It’s being predicted that Rock of Ages will kick off a musical renaissance that will surpass the musical renaissance experienced early in the millennium.  While it’s far too early to tell if that prediction is true, I think it’s fitting to recommend that you watch Chicago, the movie credited with having kicked off the last musical renaissance – pay no attention to the fact that Moulin Rouge came out a year earlier...

Moulin Rouge – Actually, let’s not ignore this earlier musical.  While it may not have won as many awards as Chicago did, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge is just as great of a movie (some might even say better).  This is one of my favourite movies of all time.

Reign Over Me – In honour of Adam Sandler’s new movie, I’m going to recommend that you see one of Sandler’s best movies to date – although, I should warn you, it’s not a comedy.  In Reign Over Me Sandler is Charlie Fineman, a man who lost his entire family on September 11^th.  Since then he’s been struggling with a very crippling depression; this movie is about the way in which his former college roommate (Don Cheadle) tries to help him come to terms with his loss.

I recently came across my copy of William Goldman's The Princess Bride, which I think is a total must-read book (as is the film).  I’ve also stumbled across JR.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.  As TheHobbit: An Unexpected Journey is set to come out this December, I recommend reading the book that it’s based on.  If you start now, you might just finish it in time for the movie’s release.  On a not-made-into-a-movie(-yet) note, there’s also the clever, insightful, and humourous Hokkaido Highway Blues (also known as Hitching a Ride with Buddah) by Will Ferguson, describing the time that he decided to hitchhike across Japan following the Cherry Blossom Front.  It’s a really interesting read.