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Summer movie preview(Copley News Service Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Hollywood awaits its crucial summer season with the usual eagerness, tinged with more than usual anxiety. Last summer's results were disappointing, and another such season will give further support to the radicals who believe that the dominant formula for "putting butts in seats" - flashy special effects, expensive promotion - needs to be rethought and revamped. But if all goes well, the stand-patters will say, "See, we told you that there's nothing wrong that better movies won't cure." (By "better" they mean "more popular" - not quite the same thing.) Studio execs are said to have high expectations for the season. After all, it follows the Hollywood summer formula right down the line: We'll have the familiar mix of comic-book derivatives ("X-Men," "Superman"), sequels ("Mission: Impossible," "Pirates of the Caribbean") and remakes ("Poseidon," "The Omen"). Some budgets cross the $200-million line if you count promotion, and maybe even if you don't. A lot - reputations as well as dollars - is riding on the outcome. We begin with what look like the major releases plus a couple of smaller films of exceptional interest, then we go on to other wide releases. Release dates are those supplied by distributors or other authoritative sources. All are subject to change. Colossal! Stupendous! "Mission: Impossible III": Tom Cruise's franchise holds the coveted pole position for summer '06. This time it looks as though the Cruise character has got into a grudge match with the villain (Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman). With Ving Rhames, Keri Russell, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and a lot of international locations. May 5 - if you choose to accept it. "Poseidon": Action expert Wolfgang Petersen is at the helm for this big-budget remake of the 1972 movie about an ocean liner overturned by a giant wave. Perhaps a bigger wave: NBC offered its own remake as recently as November, and it wasn't a big hit. For the movie, a large cast includes Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell and Emmy Rossum. May 12. "The Da Vinci Code": Dan Brown's runaway best-selling fiction says that standard Christianity is a fraud, supported by "the biggest conspiracy in history." So, of course, it's now a major motion picture. The basic idea is that Jesus Christ had children by Mary Magdalene, the line continuing to this very day. This results in all sorts of hugger-mugger and international adventure by an intrepid scholar, on the trail of the truth. With Tom Hanks, French star Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen and Jean Reno. Ron Howard directs. May 19. "Over the Hedge": Studios are bullish on computer animation because such films usually prosper at the box office as well as on DVD and as a source of merchandise items. The result: The summer has six such major entries, with more to come later in the year. DreamWorks Animation offers the first of the season. An ensemble cast of creatures is losing its forest to a housing development. They decide to retaliate. Voices include Bruce Willis, Steve Carell, Garry Shandling and Wanda Sykes. May 19. "X-Men: the Last Stand": No. 3 in the "X-Men" trilogy poses the characters with a choice: take an antidote for the mutancy and become just like everyone else or retain their powers and their isolation. Naturally, opinions differ. With Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Ian McKellen. Kelsey Grammer supplies the villainy. Fox plans to spin off some characters into their own movies. May 26 and the Memorial Day weekend. "The Omen": According to press materials, "The prophecy is clear, the signs unmistakable." Yes! They've remade the 1976 thriller about a boy who is the Antichrist. The producers promise that they have taken the material to "an even more thrilling and visceral level." We wouldn't be a bit surprised. With Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, Michael Gambon and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick as the dear little tyke. Opens - when else? - 6/6/06. "Cars": This Pixar film was practically finished when Disney took over the computer-animation whiz for a cool $7.4 billion, so the new owners will be hoping that Pixar's amazing run of hits continues. Here we have a story of a hot-shot race car that finds itself in a sleepy town off Route 66 and learns that winning isn't necessarily everything. With the voices of Paul Newman (an auto racer himself), Owen Wilson, Cheech Marin and others. June 9. "A Prairie Home Companion": Robert Altman brings his trademark ensemble works to a story about the last program of Garrison Keillor's popular radio show. (To his many fans: Don't worry. It's just a movie. The program continues.) Altman has a cast that only he can assemble: seemingly everyone from Kevin Kline to Lindsay Lohan to Meryl Streep. And Lily Tomlin, too. The apparent parallels to "Nashville" are, we hope, merited. June 9. "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift": The third in the series of souped-up flicks takes us to "the sexy and colorful underground world of Japanese drift racing," where "some of the newest and fastest customized rides go head-to-head" on perilous courses. As for drift racing, the drivers put their cars into skids as much as possible, with the vehicles sliding along crossways to the direction of travel. With Lucas Black, Bow Wow and Brian Tee. June 16. "Garfield: a Tail of Two Kitties": "America's favorite feline" is off to England so that he can be mistaken for the inheritor of a castle. Of course, others have designs on the property. With Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt; Bill Murray supplies Garfield's voice. June 16. "Click": This year's Adam Sandler entry has him as a workaholic who obtains a universal remote control that allows him to fast-forward, pause or rewind his life. It's great until the thing gets a mind of its own. With Christopher Walken and Kate Beckinsale. June 23. "Superman Returns": Warner Bros. had good luck reviving its Batman franchise last year; now it tries the same with the Man of Steel in the most expensive movie of the summer. The studio says it cost $187 million, and we're inclined to believe that anyone who admits to so large a budget probably spent more. Newcomer Brandon Routh fills out the blue tights (exceptionally well, if you believe some reports). This time Superperson returns to Earth to find an old enemy still plotting (well, it's part of his job description) and Lois Lane moving on with her life. The cast includes Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and James Marsden. And commercial tie-ins include Pepsi, PerfectMatch.com, Burger King, Duracell and Quaker State. Bryan Singer directs. June 30 and the Independence Day weekend. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest": Disney execs laughed, "Yo, ho, ho," after the 2003 movie became a huge hit. So why not a sequel? Why not two sequels? This film was shot simultaneously with the third in the series, to be released next year. So much cheaper that way. This time Capt. Jack Sparrow owes a debt to Davy Jones - namely, his soul. Unless he can figure a way out, it's eternal damnation for him. Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom (who could use a hit about now) and Keira Knightley reprise their roles. So do director Gore Verbinski and the special-effects crew. July 7. "Lady in the Water": Paul Giamatti, a wonderful actor but an unlikely leading man, plays an apartment house manager who rescues a mysterious young woman. She turns out to be a "narf," a character in a children's story, trying to make it back to her own world. And she's not the only one. With Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of Ron Howard) and Jeffrey Wright. M. Night Shyamalan writes and directs. July 21. "Monster House": Sony's animated entry is about a spooky house that, they say, eats people. Can't be true, right? Three neighborhood kids decide to confront the menace. Voices include Steve Buscemi, Jason Lee and Kathleen Turner. July 21. "Barnyard": When the farmer's away in Paramount's computer animation entry, his animals play, displaying usually hidden humanlike characteristics. Nobody plays more than party-animal Otis, a young bull who likes to spring tricks on people. Then suddenly he has to assume leadership of the barnyard. With voices of Kevin James, Sam Elliott, Wanda Sykes and Steve Oedekerk, who also writes and directs. July 28. "Little Miss Sunshine": Fox Searchlight grabbed this comedy when it got an enthusiastic reception at the 2006 Sundance festival. It's about the dysfunctional Hoovers, en route from Albuquerque, N.M., in their battered VW bus to a child beauty pageant in Redondo Beach, Calif. With Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell and Toni Collette. July 28. "Miami Vice": The long-running TV show is the basis for a big-screen blowup, starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell. This time agents Crockett and Tubbs go undercover to solve some murders. Asian star Gong Li plays the Chinese-Cuban wife of an arms and drugs dealer. Michael Mann, who made his name with the original series, directs. July 28. "The Ant Bully": In this animated feature from Warners, an ant colony retaliates against a kid who's been stomping on their hill, using a magic potion to shrink him down to their size. Thus he learns some big life lessons. A lot of that going around these days, particularly in animated films. Voices include Jake T. Austin, Nicolas Cage and Julia Roberts. Aug. 4. "Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby": A new vehicle for Will Farrell (pun intended) has him as the hard-driving (another pun) NASCAR ace who habitually comes in first, with his partner (John C. Reilly) coming in second. But what's this - a French challenger for the NASCAR crown? Sacre bleu! With Sacha Baron Cohen. Aug. 4. "World Trade Center": Oliver Stone's take on 9/11 tells the true story of the heroic rescue of two Port Authority policemen, the 18th and 19th of 20 found alive in the rubble. With Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena and Maria Bello. Aug. 11. "Snakes on a Plane": Hollywood's tea-leaf readers say this scary entry has provoked more interest among potential audiences than any other summer movie. Sensing a winner, the producers recently sent the project back for additional shooting in Vancouver. As reported by the Canadian magazine Maclean's, the new scenes add "profanity and gore, bringing the final product closer to the kind of garish B movie its name suggests." The title pretty well says it all: A crimelord releases a lot of poisonous snakes on a Hawaii-to-Los Angeles flight. Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent is aboard with a witness who's the target of the plot. Aug. 18. EXTRA ADDED ATTRACTIONS "An American Haunting": An event in 1818 is supposed to be the only "documented" case in U.S. history of a spirit causing a person's death. The film tells that story and a counterpart in the present day. With Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek and Rachel Hurd-Wood. May 5. "Hoot": Three middle-schoolers take on "greedy land developers, corrupt politicians and clueless cops" to protect endangered owls. The movie is based on Carl Hiaasen's novel. "Fun for all ages" is the promise. With Luke Wilson and Logan Lerman. May 5. "Goal! The Dream Begins": A young Mexican-American man from the Los Angeles barrio gives up everything he knows to journey to England for a tryout with the premier soccer club Newcastle United. With Kuno Becker, Stephen Dillane and Anna Friel. May 12. "Just My Luck": A young woman, recently out of college, has always been fortunate. A meeting with a handsome stranger changes all that. With Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine. May 12. "See No Evil": Lionsgate has become a specialist in grisly horrorfests. Its latest entry is about a fellow called Jacob Goodnight who is 7 feet tall, weighs 400 pounds and has razor-sharp fingernails with which to - well, it has something to do with the title. Fortunately, he's a recluse, but some people insist on bothering him, and one of them is the cop who once put a bullet in his head, an addition that failed to improve his disposition. With Kane (that's all, just Kane), Christina Vidal and Samantha Noble. May 19. "The Break-Up": A couple seems meant for each other, except that they drive each other crazy. When neither is willing to move out of their condo, it's a war of attrition. With Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston - together again for the first time, at last! June 2. "The Lake House": The former owner of an unusual house begins corresponding with the current occupant. Love blossoms, but there's a glitch: The two are living a couple of years apart, a mystery they must solve before "it's too late." With Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. June 16. "Nacho Libre": Jack Black plays Ignacio (Nacho to his friends), a Catholic priest who moonlights as a lucha-libre wrestler in order to raise money for his orphanage. With Ana de la Reguera and Hector Jimenez. June 16. "Waist Deep": An ex-con is trying to go straight but is dragged outside the law when his son falls into the hands of a vicious criminal boss. With Tyrese Gibson and Meagan Good. June 23. "The Devil Wears Prada": A small-town girl gets a job as the assistant to a high-powered, demanding fashion editor in the big city. Based on Lauren Weisberger's novel. With Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Simon Baker. June 30. "Little Man": Special effects shrink 6-foot 2-inch Marlon Wayans into diminutive size. He's a thief who, through comic complications, has to pretend to be a baby for a suburban couple. It's Wayans all the way with brother Shawn co-starring and brother Keenan Ivory behind the camera. With Kerry Washington. July 5. "Pathfinder": When Vikings abandon a North American settlement, a boy is left behind and is raised by Indians. Once grown up, he defends his adopted people against his kith and kin. With Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood and Russell Means. July 14. "Pulse": A remake of a Japanese horror film that played on a limited basis last year, the story has a group of college students whose hacker friend unleashes unmitigated evil via computer. Steps have to be taken. With Ian Somerhalder and Kristen Bell. July 14. "You, Me and Dupree": A newlywed couple invite the husband's old buddy, now out of work, to camp out on the couch. A temporary arrangement looks increasingly permanent as the guest becomes a companion to the wife. With Matt Dillon, Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson. Time marches on: Michael Douglas plays her dad. July 14. "Fragile": A new nurse in a rundown, soon-to-be-vacated childrens hospital tries to keep her patients safe from mysterious random attacks. Something the children call "the mechanical girl" exerts a powerful hold. With Calista Flockhart and Richard Roxburgh. July 21. "My Super Ex-Girlfriend": Breaking up is never easy - especially when your ex-girlfriend is actually the superhero G-Girl who unleashes her powers to humiliate you. With Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson and Eddie Izzard as G-Girl's archrival. July 21. "I Could Never Be Your Woman": Time marches on. Michelle Pfeiffer plays a woman with a teenage daughter. She falls for a younger man just when the daughter is tasting romance for the first time - not with the same guy, we gather. A meddlesome Mother Nature gets involved. With Paul Rudd and Tracey Ullman. July 28. "John Tucker Must Die": Three girls from different school cliques conspire to break the heart of a campus stud after they discover they've all been dating him. With Jesse Metcalfe ("Desperate Housewives"), Brittany Snow and Ashanti Douglas. July 28. "Accepted": A high-school senior, tired of receiving college rejection letters and eager to impress his dream girl, decides to start his own university. The studio has high hopes for this one. With Justin Long, Blake Lively and Lewis Black. Aug.11. "The Reaping": After her family is tragically killed, a Christian missionary loses her faith and becomes an anti-religion crusader. Then she investigates a small Louisiana town seemingly suffering from biblical plagues. With Hilary Swank, David Morrissey and Idris Elba. Aug. 11. "Step Up": A rebellious teen vandalizes a performing-arts high school. Sentenced to community service there, he first disdains the students until he meets a beautiful dancer, and then ... With Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan and Rachel Griffiths. Aug. 11. "Zoom": An out-of-shape former superhero is drafted to turn a motley bunch of kids into a new generation of caped crusaders to save the world. With Tim Allen, Courtney Cox and Chevy Chase. Nov. 11. "Flyboys": We haven't been able to find out much about this release, except that it's a wartime adventure about, obviously, pilots. It appears to be different from a film with the same title, slated for the fall, which concerns the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I. The August "Flyboys" stars Tom Sizemore and Stephen Baldwin. Aug. 18. "Swap Meet": When a retail chain threatens to build on a site used by a South Central Los Angeles swap meet, a couple of guys in the 'hood take action and find love. With DeRay Davis and Nelly (just Nelly). Aug. 18. "Beerfest": Two brothers from America discover an underground competition in Germany, the secret Olympics of beer drinking. After being tossed out of the event, they return the following year with a team determined to win. With Jay Chandrasekhar (also co-writer and director), Erik Stolhanske and Kevin Heffernan. Aug. 25. "Crossover": Two young hopefuls in this urban drama have to unset the reigning champions in streetball, a variant of basketball where fancy moves make all the difference. With Anthony Mackie and Wesley Jonathan. Aug. 25. "DOA: Dead or Alive": Fans of film noir will remember "DOA" as a movie from the mid-'40s, when it meant "Dead on Arrival." Times change. The new film is based on a video game and has an ensemble cast including Devon Aoki, Matthew Marsden, Jaime Pressly and "hot newcomer and Aussie pop star" Holly Valance. Aug. 25. "How to Eat Fried Worms": At a new school, an 11-year-old boy shows his bravado by betting that he can eat 10 worms in a day. But should the sauce be bordelaise or meuniere? With Luke Benwald and Tom Cavanaugh. Aug. 25. "Idlewild": Multi-platinum and multi-Grammy winning OutKast members Andre Benjamin (Andre 3000) and Antwan Andre Patton (Big Boi) offer a new take on the movie musical, with a story set in a '30s Southern speakeasy. A big cast includes Ving Rhames, Terrence Howard ("Hustle and Flow") and Cicely Tyson. Aug. 25. "Invincible": From Disney's bottomless barrel of win-through-sports movies comes a script about a down-on-his-luck 30-year-old who never played college football. Nevertheless, he tries out for a team, and every man's fantasy beckons. With Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear and Kevin Conway. Aug. 25. "Material Girls": Two sisters, heirs to a cosmetics fortune, have to learn new ways when a scandal strips them of their money. With Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff and Anjelica Huston. Aug. 25. "The Descent": This is the kind of minor action-adventure movie that get dropped into the August doldrums. Six young women go for their annual cave exploration trip. They're trapped underground. And no one knows where they are. And they're not alone. With Shauna Macdonald and Natalie Mendoza. August undated. "The Amateurs": In this "riotous comedy," six guys in a small town try to make "the world's most innocent adult film," whatever that may be. With Jeff Bridges, Tim Blake Nelson and Ted Danson. Summer undated. "Confetti": A British comedy pits three couples in a magazine competition for "most original wedding." With Martin Freeman, Jessica Stevenson and Jimmy Carr. Summer undated. Copyright 2006 Copley News Service Visit Copley News Service at www.copleynews.com. |