It’s that time of year again. The summer box office season is right around the corner. So what can we expect from this year’s summer movies? This summer does have its fair share of sequels. Heavy hitters like “Iron Man,” the “Shrek” franchise, and “Sex in the City” are guaranteed to bring in big box office dollars.
Remakes and adaptations – TV shows, video games, and even a comic strip – take center stage as the “A-Team” finally comes to the big screen. Also, keep a lookout for a few Sundance 2010 movies getting released.
May 7th
Iron Man 2 – We’re starting the summer off with a bang. “Iron Man 2” is the first big blockbuster film to hit theaters this summer season. Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the armor-clad avenger. This time he’s up against a whole slew of baddies, with the biggest and baddest baddie, Whiplash, being played by Mickey Rourke. Superhero films usually end up suffering from the Overload Disease, as the franchise wears on. While I have faith in Jon Favreau, sometimes these superhero movies can get bogged down with way too many comic book characters on the same screen.
May 14th
Robin Hood – Ridley Scott, director of “Gladiator” pairs up with Russell Crowe yet again, but this time they’re headed to Nottingham. Crowe takes up the Robin Hood mantel. Scott’s hyper-kinetic directing style may lend itself well to the material, but with that in mind this version of “Robin Hood” can easily slip into the dangerous realm of 90% action, 10% plot.
Letters to Juliet – What would the summer be without a good old fashioned chick flick to take a date to? “Letters of Juliet” stars suddenly widely popular Amanda Seyfried. It’s one of those movies where one look at the trailer and you’ll feel like you’ve already watched it.
May 21st
Shrek Forever After – It’s been three years since the lackluster “Shrek the Third” hit theaters. We’re not expecting much from this “Shrek” film, but it may pleasantly surprise. It’s just so hard to forget how bad the third one was, to really get excited about a fourth.
MacGruber – Straight from an SNL skit “MacGruber,” starring Will Forte, is one of the worst ideas for a movie this summer. The reason why the SNL skit is funny is because it’s literally only 15 seconds long, and always ends up the same way, MacGruber being blown up. How in the world they are going to turn that into a 90 minute comedy is beyond me.
May 28th
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – Disney is adapting the popular “Prince of Persia” video game series into an action movie fit for the family. Think like a “National Treasure” type movie. This film might be fun for the family and kids to go to at the same time. Jake Gyllenhaal headlines the cast. The trailers make him look like an awkward action hero, but we’ll see.
Sex and the City 2 – Since the first “Sex in the City” movie made an obscene amount of money this movie was foreordained to happen. I really don’t see an end in sight frankly. As long as they keep making money, I’m sure they’ll keep making them. This is likely going to be the night when the husbands stay home and watch the kids while the women have a girls night out.
June 4th
Marmaduke – What I said about “MacGruber” being the worst idea for a movie this summer, I take back. Basing a movie off of the comic strip “Marmaduke” takes the cake. The Great Dane is voiced by Owen Wilson. This is going to be one of those movies parents will dread taking their kids to.
Splice (Sundance Alert) – “Splice” was one of the most talked about movies at this year’s Sundance. It’s a marvelous little horror/thriller staring Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley as a couple of genetic scientists who create a new species that begins mutating. It never turns overly gory, and hinges on the acting of Brody and Polley. Keep an eye out for this one.
June 11th
The A-Team – Yes, that “A-Team.” They’re back, with Liam Neeson as Hannibal, Bradley Cooper as Faceman, and sadly not a recasting of Mr. T as B.A. Baracus. What else is there to say here, other than you pretty much know what to expect going into the “A-Team” movie. Explosions, one-liners, and more explosions.
The Karate Kid – What do your parents buy for you if they’re both big time movie stars? Buy you a movie, and let you star in it. Will and Jada Pinkett Smith basically bought the rights to “The Karate Kid” so their son Jaden could play the star. Enough said.
June 18th
Toy Story 3 – The most exciting sequel this summer is Pixar’s third installment in the “Toy Story” franchise. Pixar has yet to really disappoint, especially when we’re talking about the “Toy Story” movies. The only fear here is that “Toy Story 2” remains one of the best animated films of all time, and it will be hard for “Toy Story 3” to come close to reaching the bar it set.
June 25th
Knight and Day – Tom Cruise is a super spy, Cameron Diaz is the helpless bystander caught in the middle. On the fence about this movie. It could either be “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” fun, or “Mission Impossible 2” terrible.
July 2nd
Twilight: Eclipse – No description needed here. Probably the most anticipated movie of the summer for each and every teenage girl and their moms.
The Last Airbender – Originally called “Avatar: The Last Airbender” M. Night Shamalyan had to change the name so it didn’t get confused with James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Departing from his norm M. Night is taking on making a live-action adaption of the famous Japanese cartoon of the same name. The trailers look amazingly cool, but it is M. Night, whose last film was “The Happening.” That’s not saying much.
Twelve (Sundance Alert) – Another Sundance film. This one is directed by Joel Schumacher and follows a bunch of rich kids around New York looking at their lives and how hard they have it being rich. It got raked over the coals at Sundance by the critics, and for good reason. This movie is a downer of epic proportions, and it’s hard to relate to a bunch of kids who have everything, but act like they have nothing. Poor them.
July 9th
Predators – Yet another entry in the long list of “Predator” movies. They’re fun, sure, but when will we say enough is enough?
The Kids Are All Right (Sundance Alert) – One of the big surprises at this year’s festival. Julianne Moore and Annette Bening play a lesbian couple who have two teenagers that were the products of artificial insemination. When the two teenagers become interested in finding out who their birth father was the story takes an interesting twist. Definitely not a movie for the prudish, but a great movie nonetheless.
Cyrus (Sundance Alert) – I predict people will be singing the praises of “Cyrus” come July. This is a very funny movie starring Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly. It came out of Sundance with a buzz that has carried it to a July release date. One of the best comedies of the year.
July 16th
Inception – Can’t wait for the third installment in the “Batman” series to get your next Christopher Nolan fix? Well, “Inception” is the cure. The trailers make it look like a mix of an espionage thriller and an acid mind trip. I have no idea what to expect, all I know is that I want to see it.
July 23rd
Salt – Angelina Jolie is a sexy spy who has to go on the run after she is labeled a traitor. It seems pretty generic, but with Jolie on the screen anything could happen. I’m not sure whether to be excited for this, or indifferent.
July 30th
Get Low (Sundance Alert) – “Get Low” played opening night of the Sundance Festival this year, and for good reason. A near masterpiece crafted by Aaron Schneider, stars Robert Duvall and Bill Murray. A period piece about a hermit in the woods (Duvall) and his idea for having a funeral party for himself before he actually dies. Downright hilarious at times, and deeply touching at other times, this is certainly a film to keep an eye out for.
Remakes and adaptations – TV shows, video games, and even a comic strip – take center stage as the “A-Team” finally comes to the big screen. Also, keep a lookout for a few Sundance 2010 movies getting released.
May 7th
May 14th
Letters to Juliet – What would the summer be without a good old fashioned chick flick to take a date to? “Letters of Juliet” stars suddenly widely popular Amanda Seyfried. It’s one of those movies where one look at the trailer and you’ll feel like you’ve already watched it.
May 21st
MacGruber – Straight from an SNL skit “MacGruber,” starring Will Forte, is one of the worst ideas for a movie this summer. The reason why the SNL skit is funny is because it’s literally only 15 seconds long, and always ends up the same way, MacGruber being blown up. How in the world they are going to turn that into a 90 minute comedy is beyond me.
May 28th
June 4th
Marmaduke – What I said about “MacGruber” being the worst idea for a movie this summer, I take back. Basing a movie off of the comic strip “Marmaduke” takes the cake. The Great Dane is voiced by Owen Wilson. This is going to be one of those movies parents will dread taking their kids to.
June 11th
June 18th
June 25th
July 2nd
Twelve (Sundance Alert) – Another Sundance film. This one is directed by Joel Schumacher and follows a bunch of rich kids around New York looking at their lives and how hard they have it being rich. It got raked over the coals at Sundance by the critics, and for good reason. This movie is a downer of epic proportions, and it’s hard to relate to a bunch of kids who have everything, but act like they have nothing. Poor them.
July 9th
The Kids Are All Right (Sundance Alert) – One of the big surprises at this year’s festival. Julianne Moore and Annette Bening play a lesbian couple who have two teenagers that were the products of artificial insemination. When the two teenagers become interested in finding out who their birth father was the story takes an interesting twist. Definitely not a movie for the prudish, but a great movie nonetheless.
Cyrus (Sundance Alert) – I predict people will be singing the praises of “Cyrus” come July. This is a very funny movie starring Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly. It came out of Sundance with a buzz that has carried it to a July release date. One of the best comedies of the year.
July 16th
July 23rd
July 30th
Get Low (Sundance Alert) – “Get Low” played opening night of the Sundance Festival this year, and for good reason. A near masterpiece crafted by Aaron Schneider, stars Robert Duvall and Bill Murray. A period piece about a hermit in the woods (Duvall) and his idea for having a funeral party for himself before he actually dies. Downright hilarious at times, and deeply touching at other times, this is certainly a film to keep an eye out for.
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