The Summer of Woe -- 2001

As another summer movie season is just getting underway, there's a moment to reflect on a still-recent low-water mark. Quite probably the worst summer movie season of my adult lifetime occurred in 2001. I bailed out early after being burned by Jurassic Park III, but my good friends stuck it out through some memorably awful fare. The rest is history: The 9/11 terrorist attacks, stock markets foundering, the recession deepens, friends lose jobs and capital. (While it's tempting to blame Bush or Clinton, the INS, or federal law enforcement, the truly savvy understand that Hollywood was to blame!)

Big disappointments of The Summer of Woe:

• Jurassic Park III
  
• Planet of the Apes
  
• Pearl Harbor
  
• A.I.
  
• Rollerball
  

Some other movies that summer:

• The Mummy Returns
  
• Rush Hour 2
  
• Shrek
  
• American Pie 2
  
• Tomb Raider