Summer Movie Preview: With 'Iron Man,' 'Indy' and 'Sex and the City,' this season will sizzle
Posted on Fri, May. 02, 2008
BY RENE RODRIGUEZ
Indiana Jones?Check. Batman?Yep. Will Smith? Him too.
There will be no shortage of box-office draws during the 2008 summer movie season, which is so loaded with potential blockbusters that it may surpass last year's record-setting summer grosses of $4.15 billion, the highest in Hollywood history.
That is no guarantee the movies themselves will be good, of course: Just because they've made another Hulk picture doesn't mean it will be any better. But at least on paper, the 2008 summer movie lineup certainly looks formidable enough.
hours. Here is a list of the 50-plus movies heading our way between now and Labor Day. Release dates are subject to change:
MAY 2
Iron Man: See review, page 14
Made of Honor: See review, page 15
MAY 9
Speed Racer: In their first film since The Matrix Revolutions, directors Larry and Andy Wachowski turn the TV cartoon staple into the first live-action anime film. Emile Hirsch is Speed, Christina Ricci is Trixie, John Goodman is Pops and Matthew Fox is Racer X.
The Fall: Tarsem Singh (The Cell) directs this visually striking fantasy about the tall tales a bedridden man tells a little girl during her stay at a hospital.
What Happens in Vegas: The morning after a night of drunken partying in Vegas, two strangers (Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher) wake up to discover they're married to each other and they share a $3 million jackpot. So each tries to make the other file for divorce so they can keep the loot.
MAY 16
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: The next installment in author C.S. Lewis' fantasy series about the magical realm of Narnia is set a year after the events of the first film, which translates into 1,300 years in Narnia-time. Once again, the four Pevensie siblings play a key role in helping the denizens of the land fight off evil forces, etc. You know the drill.
Son of Rambow: In the 1980s, two British boys direct a homemade homage to their favorite movie of all time -- First Blood -- and become local celebrities in the process.
MAY 22
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Almost 20 years after the last Indy film, Harrison Ford picks up his whip and leather jacket for more old-school, serial-matinee adventure. Director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas took their sweet time coming up with a script everyone liked, setting aside the Nazi villains of the first and third films for Cold War-era Russkies, led by a raven-haired Cate Blanchett. Karen Allen and Shia LaBeouf co-star. Start lining up now.
MAY 30
Sex and the City: The plot of this big-screen spin-off of the hit HBO series has been kept top-secret, so no one really knows what to expect. All we can confirm is that Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis are all back, and so is Chris Noth (Mr. Big). Oh, and it's rated R, so it'll be just as raunchy as the show was.
JUNE 6
Kung-Fu Panda: Just as the title promises, a lazy panda bear (voiced by Jack Black) studies the martial arts to battle an evil leopard (Ian McShane).
Standard Operating Procedure: Director Errol Morris (The Fog of War, The Thin Blue Line) reexamines the infamous Abu Ghraib photographs depicting the torture and abuse of suspected terrorists at the hands of the U.S. military and talks to many of the people who appeared in the pictures.
You Don't Mess with the Zohan: Adam Sandler returns to his low-brow roots with this comedy about a former Mossad agent who reinvents himself as a New York City hairstylist.
JUNE 13
The Happening: Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan tries to rebound from the debacle of Lady in the Water with this eerie thriller about a high school science teacher (Mark Wahlberg) trying to elude a mysterious force that leaves entire cities of dead people in its wake.
The Incredible Hulk: After the box-office failure of Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk, executives at Marvel Comics give the big green guy another shot at movie stardom with this new version of the story of Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) and his hard-to-control temper. Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt co-star for director Louis Leterrier (Unleashed, Transporter 2).
JUNE 20
Get Smart: Steve Carrell takes over for Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, the bumbling super-spy battling the forces of KAOS. Anne Hathaway, Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson and Bill Murray co-star.
The Love Guru: In his first live-action film since 2003's The Cat in the Hat, Mike Myers unveils his latest character-creation, a spiritual leader who wants to become the world's leading authority in relationship advice.
JUNE 27
Wall-E: The wizards at Pixar Animation Studios (Ratatouille, The Incredibles) take a gamble with this largely dialogue-free (but not silent) story of a garbage-compacting robot who discovers his true purpose 700 years after he was made.
Wanted: Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Nightwatch) makes his Hollywood debut with this adaptation of the graphic novel about an ordinary guy (James McAvoy) recruited by the appropriately-named Fox (Angelina Jolie) to join an elite squad of assassins.
JULY 2
Hancock: A cranky, alcoholic superhero (Will Smith) hires a publicist (Jason Bateman) to help him repair his public persona. Charlize Theron co-stars for director Peter Berg (The Kingdom).
JULY 11
Hellboy II: The Golden Army: Although the first Hellboy movie didn't set the box-office on fire in 2004, director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) proves he genuinely loves the character with this sequel in which the red-skinned hero (Ron Perlman) must defend the planet from a rebellion by the denizens of the mythical world.
Journey to the Center of the Earth: A scientist (Brendan Fraser) discovers Jules Verne's classic sci-fi novel actually doubles as a map to the Earth's core, where monsters and dinosaurs await. Shot with 3-D cameras designed by James Cameron.
Meet Dave: Eddie Murphy moves past the Norbit fiasco with this high-concept comedy. He plays a tiny alien from outer space who travels to Earth inside a spaceship that looks like a human-sized version of himself.
JULY 18
The Dark Knight: The early buzz is that the late Heath Ledger's turn as the villainous Joker in this sequel to 2005's Batman Begins is genuinely, profoundly creepy -- just the way the Joker should be. Christian Bale returns as the cowled one, as do Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman for director Christopher Nolan.
Mamma Mia! The idea of sitting through a film adaptation of the junky Broadway smash is made more palatable by the casting of Meryl Streep as the mother of a young bride-to-be (Amanda Seyfried) trying to figure out who her real father is. Meryl does ABBA!
JULY 25
American Teen: Documentary following one year in the lives of a quartet of Indiana high schoolers. Like The Breakfast Club, only for real.
The Longshots: Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst makes his directorial debut with this fact-based story about a girl (Keke Palmer) who joins a boys' football team.
Step Brothers: The Talladega Nights trio of Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and director Adam McKay reunite for this comedy about two grown men still living with their parents (Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins) who become stepbrothers.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe: Just because Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are no longer FBI agents investigating cases involving paranormal activity doesn't mean the paranormal is going to leave them alone. X-Files creator Chris Carter finds out if his audience is still out there.
AUG. 1
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: If the latest Indiana Jones movie leaves you hungry for more adventure, Brendan Fraser will be happy to oblige, once again playing the intrepid explorer from the first two Mummy pictures, this time battling a shape-shifting emperor (Jet Li).
The Rocker: Rainn Wilson (Dwight from TV's The Office) gets a chance to overcome the trauma of being kicked out of a metal rock group 20 years earlier when he becomes the drummer for his teenage nephew's band.
Swing Vote: Through a series of unlikely events, the results of a presidential election come to rest in the hands of one man (Kevin Costner). Who says a single vote can't make a difference?
AUG. 8
Pineapple Express: Director David Gordon Green (Snow Angels, Undertow) takes a stab at knockabout comedy with this story about a pot dealer (James Franco) and his No. 1 customer (Seth Rogen) on the run for their lives after witnessing a murder. The trailer is sensational.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: The bond between four high school friends (Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn and America Ferrera) who share a magical pair of jeans carries on through their college years.
Transsiberian: While riding aboard a train from Beijing to Moscow, an American couple (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) befriend a pair of strangers (Eduardo Noriega and Kate Mara) who may not be who they say they are.
AUG. 15
Tropic Thunder: The early buzz is strong on this comedy about a group of pampered actors (Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Brandon T. Jackson) who find themselves dodging real bullets during the filming of a Vietnam War drama.
Mirrors: Alexandre Aja (Haute Tension, The Hills Have Eyes) wrote and directed this thriller about a shopping mall security guard (Kiefer Sutherland) who notices something is not quite right with the mirrors at a particular store.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: When George Lucas swore there wouldn't be any more Star Wars movies, he wasn't lying. This animated spin-off, set between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, is actually a prologue to the upcoming Cartoon Network series.
AUG. 22
Bangkok Dangerous: While on assignment in Thailand, a professional hit man (Nicolas Cage) falls in love with a local woman, endangering his mission.
Crossing Over: Writer-director Wayne Kramer (Running Scared, The Cooler) rounded up a starry cast (including Harrison Ford, Sean Penn, Ray Liotta and Alice Braga) for this multi-character drama about illegal immigrants in Los Angeles.
Hamlet 2: A high school drama teacher (Steve Coogan) incurs the wrath of literature majors everywhere when he stages a song-and-dance sequel to the Shakespeare play.
The House Bunny: A Playboy bunny (Anna Faris) gets kicked out of the mansion and lands at a sorority whose members are even more clueless than she is.
Wild Child: A spoiled Malibu teen (Emma Roberts) is shipped off to a British boarding school by her exasperated parents.
AUG. 29
Traitor: Funnyman Steve Martin conceived the original idea for this dead-serious thriller about a CIA operative (Don Cheadle) who gets a little too close to the terrorist group he's investigating.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Woody Allen leaves England for Spain in this story about a famous painter (Javier Bardem) whose ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) threatens his affair with a college student (Scarlett Johansson).
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