If you know me at all, you know that I’m a huge movie fan. Consequently, the summer movie season is something I get quite excited about. This year, there are a ton of potentially amazing films debuting. The following is a list of some of the ones that I’m most psyched for, or that readers may be anticipating, and a brief plot description and a summary of my thoughts on the film.
May 1st
Battle for Terra: 3D is back, but the annoying red and blue glasses have been replaced by somewhat less annoying sunglass-like ones. Who knows whether it’s around to stay this time, but the tri-dimensional movie season begins with this animated tale chronicling a space explorer’s experiences after crash landing on an alien world. It could be interesting, or it could be mediocre. This one’s hard to gauge.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Despite having an early version of the film leaked online, this superhero epic is already outselling last year’s Iron Man in advance ticket sales. Personally, I think it will be disappointing, as all of the X-Men movies have been; but I’d be happy to be proven wrong.
May 8th
Star Trek: You can be sure that on Friday night theaters will be filled to the brim with Captain Kirk wannabe’s and Spock look-alikes. I don’t think there is any other TV series with as faithful a following as Star Trek. A flop by J.J. Abrams’ origin story of the USS Enterprise could lead to nationwide panic, but early reviews seem to indicate that fanatics and newcomers alike won’t be disappointed.
May 15th
Angels & Demons: For obvious reasons, I chose not to see this film’s prequel, The Da Vinci Code. However, this new installment looks less controversial and pretty dang awesome. While the plot may be a bit corny, it seems like a solid action adventure story. I’ll wait until it gets to the dollar theater, though, so that they don’t make any money off of me.
May 22nd
Terminator Salvation: THIS MOVIE IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!! In my opinion, it looks like the best blockbuster of the season. With Christian Bale playing the rebel leader John Connor, how could they go wrong?
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: It’s predecessor was a decent film, but these types of sequels rarely amount to anything, besides raking in the dough. The trailer was surprisingly amusing, but it probably includes most of the movie’s humorous moments.
May 29th
Up: Pixar hasn’t gone wrong yet, so there’s no reason to doubt that Up will be good. The only question is whether it will bridge the gap to great.
June 5th
Land of the Lost: What’s the summer movie season without another stupid Will Ferrell flick? His films are either completely idiotic or just alright (with the possible exception of Elf). It will probably have its funny moments, but these will most likely be overshadowed by a vacuous lack of intelligence. Sounds like the sort of movie my dad would like.
June 12th
The Taking of Pelham 123: This remake of a remake starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta looks like a solid thriller. Travolta plays a terrorist who hijacks a New York City subway train, and Washington plays the dispatcher who gets entangled in the conflict (sounds similar to Inside Man).
Moon: This looks like one of the better indie movies coming out this summer. Sam Rockwell plays a man who has been stationed alone on the moon for the past three years, harvesting an energy source that he sends back to earth. His only encounters are with his sentient computer, GERTY, and in video conference calls with his family back home. He has only two weeks left in isolation, when...something happens. It looks interesting.
Imagine That: Once again, Eddie Murphy has to get in one of his own stupid movies. The premise looks amusing enough, but I’m sure it will be disappointing.
June 19th
Year One: While I’m sure its filled with crude humor, this comedy flick starring Jack Black looks amusing. The IMDB plot summary reads, “When a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers (Black and Cera) are banished from their primitive village, they set off on an epic journey through their ancient world.” It sounds promising.
June 26th
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: While the first Transformers was one of the most fun movies of two summers ago, that’s all it really was...fun. Hopefully, they take the plot better places in the second installment. Regardless, I’m sure the special effects and action sequences will be breathtaking.
July 3rd
Public Enemies: Once again, THIS MOVIE IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!! Johnny Depp stars as John Dillinger, a depression-era Robin Hood, and Christian Bale is the investigator tracking him down. Not only are those two amazing actors in it, though, but last year’s Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard also stars. Plus, Michael Mann (Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat) is directing. I repeat, THIS MOVIE IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: I didn’t even bother seeing the sequel to the first of these movies, so I have small expectations for this one. Who knows, though? It could be one of those surprising animated movies that ends up being quite good (similar to Meet the Robinsons).
July 17th
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Alright, I’ll admit it; I’ve recently become a bit of a Harry Potter fan. I’m only on the third book, but hopefully I’ll get them all finished before this one comes out. It looks like the best of the movies so far.
July 24th
G-Force: I think the plot description is all that’s needed to describe this Disney movie: “A specially trained squad of guinea pigs is dispatched to stop a diabolical billionaire from taking over the world.”
July 31st
Funny People: This easily looks like one of Adam Sandler’s best movies in long, long time. He plays a comedian who is diagnosed with a terminal condition, and takes a new performer (played by Seth Rogen) in as his opening act.
August 7th
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: I originally thought this would turn out completely stupid. However, all of the trailers look pretty promising. It should be a fun movie, and it’s the only real blockbuster left.
August 14th
Final Destination: Death Trip 3D: The title says it all. This is a case of sequels gone wrong.
The Time Traveler’s Wife: Based on the acclaimed novel, this films tarring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams looks interesting and could be quite good. The plot summary on IMDB reads, “A romantic drama about a Chicago librarian (Bana) with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, and the complications it creates for his marriage.”
August 24th
Inglorious Basterds: Leave it to Quentin Tarantino for a title like that. Starring Brad Pitt, it tells the story of a small group of American Jews who are dropped behind enemy lines in World War II and proceed to terrorize the Nazi soldiers through raids and guerrilla tactics. The violence looks intense, but the plot sounds interesting.
August 28th
H2: Halloween 2: Lots of blood and gore...unfortunately, that’s about all you can expect from this one.
September looks like it may hold some goodies for moviegoers (Pandorum, The Informant, Cloudy with a Chance of Meat Balls, Astro Boy), but the primary hits of the summer will probably be in its first 3 months (May, June, and July). Get ready for some awesome films.
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