5/02/2004

It's May which means the summer movies are about to be released. And while in this preview, it seems like I'll be watching every one of these, trust me, I won't. Maybe half.

May 7

New York Minute – 12 years ago, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen made a trip to grandmother’s house in their first film. Now, they return to their roots with the two making a trip to New York City and have to deal with various obstacles along the way.

Van Helsing – Hugh Jackman gets to face off against the most popular vampire of them all, Dracula.

Super Size Me – Watch as one man dares to eat McDonalds for an entire month, supersizing whenever he can and suffering the consequences. (Limited)

May 14

Breakin’ All The Rules – Jamie Foxx of all people gives advice on how to break it off with someone.

Troy – “Immortality! Take it! It’s yours!” Okay, Brad Pitt’s line is a bit tacky, but at $200 million, this film will be one of the grandest ever to document the Trojan War. Also starring are Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom.

Coffee and Cigarettes – A collection of short films on a variety of topics starring Bill Murray, Steven Wright, Roberto Benigni and others. (Limited)

May 21

Shrek 2 – The sequel to the wildly successful cartoon brings back original voices Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy.

The Clearing – Robert Redford and Helen Mirren reassess their lives separately when Redford is kidnapped. (Limited)

Stateside – A troubled rich kid on leave from Val Kilmer’s military school, falls for the popular singer/actress played by Rachael Leigh Cook. (Limited)

May 26

Raising Helen – The beautiful Kate Hudson suddenly gains custody of her sister’s three kids and must balance them with her wild and happy single life.

May 28

The Day After Tomorrow – Roland Emmerich makes another disaster flick as global warming finally causes some catastrophic damage.

Soul Plane – This airline filled with short skirts, hip music, and Snoop Dogg in the cockpit makes even Hooters Air jealous.

Baadasssss! – Mario Van Peebles’ tribute to his father, also a filmmaker. (Limited)

Saved – Jena Malone’s Mary gets pregnant by her newly gay boyfriend. Her best friend is Mandy Moore’s Hilary, a devout Christian who later outs her. Soon, Mary navigates her way to graduation with a band of outsiders, pariahs if you will. (Limited)

June 4

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Alfonso Cuaron’s prior film “Y Tu Mama Tambien” dealt with two guys and a girl learning about life through sex. So what better person to deal with the third film of the Harry Potter series? Here, Harry, Hermoine, and Ron must contend with a prisoner (Gary Oldman) making his way toward Hogwarts.

Mindhunters – A group of FBI agents are stuck together to try to figure out which one of them is the murderer. Stars Val Kilmer and is directed by Renny Harlin.

June 11

The Chronicles of Riddick – Vin Diesel reprises his role to battle an army of warriors known as the Necromongers.

Garfield – In this live action/animated combo, Odie has gone missing and it’s up to Garfield to find him.

The Stepford Wives – In this world, everything including the women seem a bit too perfect. This remake features a powerhouse cast including Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close and Christopher Walken.

June 16

Around the World in 80 Days – Steve Coogan and Jim Broadbent attempt to settle a bet on whether Coogan’s new invention can travel around the globe in 80 days. Going along for the ride is Jackie Chan.

June 18

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story – What more can be said about dodgeball? Stars Ben Stiller.

The Terminal – Tom Hanks is stuck at the airport. And it’s not just a simple delay. He’ll be there for weeks.

June 23

Door in the Floor – Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger lead an unhappy marriage and it’s not until the arrival of a young man until needed change is undertaken. (Limited)

June 25

The Notebook – As an old man, he reads from his notebook the story of his love, their separation due to World War II, and their reunion 14 years after that.

Two Brothers – The heartwarming story of two twin tiger cubs who lead vastly different lives only to be reunited years later.

White Chicks – The Wayans Bros. as white chicks. The horror.

Before Sunset – Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reunite after nine years of separation to see if the love is still there, even though Hawke is married now with kids. Sequel to Before Sunrise. (Limited)

De-Lovely – American composer Cole Porter has his life written for the screen as the film explores his songs and his personal life. Stars Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd. (Limited)

June 30

Spider-Man 2 – Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) struggles with his new identity, his evolving relationship with M.J. (Kirsten Dunst) and a new villain in Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina).

July 7

King Arthur – Sure, Keira Knightley is one of the hottest ladies out there. But will it convince me to see yet another story about King Arthur? That remains to be seen. Directed by Antoine Fuqua of “Training Day” and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

July 9

Anchorman – Will Ferrell makes another promising comedy as he is the popular news anchor who is threatened by a female co-anchor in Christina Applegate.

July 16

The Cinderella Story – In yet another update to Cinderella, Hilary Duff is the lonely girl who becomes the talk of the ball after a makeover.

I, Robot – In the year 2035, Will Smith believes a robot committed a crime. With robots as indispensable as running water, kinda crazy, no? Based upon the short story of Isaac Asimov.

July 23

The Bourne Supremacy – If there’s a third one, I just wanna know what they’re going to name it, since supremacy is kind of a stretch.

Catwoman – You know, Catwoman? Eartha Kitt. Michelle Pfeiffer. And now, Halle Berry. Also stars Sharon Stone.

Cheer Up – I know, it sounds ridiculous but…okay, it is. Tommy Lee Jones is a FBI agent charged with protecting a group of cheerleaders.

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle – In the footsteps of “Dude, Where’s My Car?” comes this comedy about the adventures two guys have on their way to some hamburgers at White Castle.

A Home at the End of the World – Two boyhood friends move into the home of an older woman and wouldn’t you know it, they both fall for her.

She Hate Me – Spike Lee’s latest joint involves a businessman who’s unemployable because he became a whistleblower. Now without work, he soon turns to impregnating lesbians for cash. Now even that’s becoming complicated. (Limited)

July 30

The Manchurian Candidate – A remake of the 1962 classic is updated with Denzel Washington in the lead role as the commanding officer whose group begins to have the same recurring nightmares.

The Village – Another supernatural thriller in the hands of M. Night Shyamalan, this time set in the woods of rural Pennsylvania. Let’s see, last time they were afraid of water. Is it sunlight this time?

Garden State – Zach Braff (of Scrubs, also the director of the film) attends his mother’s funeral after 10 years of being away. Natalie Portman helps him re-adjust back to family life. (Limited)

August 6

Collateral – An eagerly anticipated drama from director Michael Mann stars Jamie Foxx as a cab driver who figures out the man he’s been driving around all day (Tom Cruise) is indeed a contract killer and must try to stop him before he gets killed himself.

Shall We Dance? – A workaholic (Richard Gere) soon finds himself with a passion for dancing. It doesn’t hurt to have Jennifer Lopez dancing at your side.

Thunderbirds – It’s directed by Commander Riker himself! It has to be good! Okay, well, I took a shot. The top-secret headquarters of the Thunderbirds isn’t so secret anymore and it’s up to the sons of Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton) to keep out The Hood (Sir Ben Kingsley).

Code 46 – Starring Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton, this is a love story set in the future with Robbins playing an insurance investigator following up on a case involving fake papelles. Following up meaning having an affair with the creator of these fake papers (Morton). (Limited)

August 11

The Princess Diaries 2 – Now that Mia (Anne Hathaway) is now a princess, she has to turn to more pressing matters like getting married and becoming the queen.

August 13

Alien vs. Predator – I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going on here and hopefully it’ll be light-years better than that atrocious Freddy vs. Jason flick.

Blade: Trinity – Honestly, I didn’t even know they were making a third Blade film but here it is with Wesley Snipes in the lead role again. Here, he joins up with a couple of Nightstalkers to battle a modern Dracula.

We Don’t Live Here Anymore – An affair between friends threatens to bring down both of their marriages.

August 20

Cellular – Kim Basinger is kidnapped and only has a cell phone in the trunk of a car to save herself and her family.

Exorcist: The Beginning – Just when you thought it couldn’t end, they go back to the beginning, now looking at events in post-WWII Africa.

Hero – It’s been in Chinese theatres since 2002 and it’s been on the Internet and my computer for quite a while too. Now, catch this great movie in theatres starring Jet Li and Zhang Ziyi. (Limited)

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead – Former gangster Clive Owen comes out of hiding to investigate his brother’s death. (Limited)

August 27

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid – Wow, they made a sequel to this??? Scientists must evade super anacondas and blah, blah, blah.

Benji Returns: Rags to Riches – Did the dog ever leave?