35 Reasons Were Psyched for Summer
Summer Preview: 35 Reasons We're Psyched for Summer
What do a mutant with muttonchops, a teenage wizard, a gay Austrian fashionista and giant freaking robots have in common? They're all part of this year's ginormous summer movie lineup, with stars and stories so big we can barely catch our breath.
Johnny Depp and Christian Bale as co-stars! A brand-new 'Star Trek' cast! Denzel Washington chasing down baddies, a heaven-bound Pixar creation, new movies from Judd Apatow and Quentin Tarantino ... We don't know about you, but we sure are psyched. Click through for 35 reasons why.
Summer Movies Genre Guides:
Fox / Disney / Universal / Warner Bros.
1. Harry Potter Apparates -- at Last
The world's very favorite wizard, Harry Potter, has been absent from screens for so long that Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who portrays him, has had time to act in an indie drama ('December Boys'), star in a British made-for-TV historical pic ('My Boy Jack') ... and go full-frontal on stage -- in London and Broadway. In other words, our little boy hero is growing up, and don't think Potter-philes haven't noticed. His fans are maturing too, but they're not too big to shriek like little girls at the sight of him in the hotly anticipated (and pushed from fall '08) 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.' (July 15)
More on 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince':
'Harry Potter' Movies:
Warner Bros.
2. Hugh Jackman Reminds Us He's a Badass
Sure, he was a great Oscars host, but while we can appreciate a dancing, singing Hugh Jackman in a tux, we really love him when he's got his claws out ... as Wolverine, the tortured mutant with the fantastic muttonchops. That's why we're excited for 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine,' which promises not only to breathe life back into the 'X-Men' franchise but also to make us forget the three hours we wasted on 'Australia.' (May 1)
More on 'Wolverine':
'X-Men' Movies:
20th Century Fox
3. Christian Bale to Terminators: "I'm Gonna F***ing Kick Your F***ing A**"
'T4' (is it a sequel? a prequel? both?), i.e. 'Terminator: Salvation,' is shaping up to be even more explosive than star Christian Bale's much-publicized on-set freak out. Even with the tamed PG-13 rating, thanks to a Pizza Hut tie-in, the 'Terminator' franchise appears to have a hit on its hands the size of those giant Terminators grabbing people up for human experimentation. After hearing Bale's rant, we just worry that up against his awesome vengeance, the cyborgs are gonna turn metal tail and run -- we know we would. (May 21)
More on 'Terminator Salvation':
'Terminator' Movies:
Warner Bros.
4. 'Star Trek' Cast: The Next NEXT Generation
A major emphasis in J.J. Abrams' master plan to reboot the 'Star Trek' franchise was to up the cool quotient in casting (not that Leonard Nimoy, who cameos, isn't one cool cat). The new crew is an eclectic mix of emerging Hollywood talent, starting with It boys Chris Pine (as Kirk) and Anton Yelchin (Chekov), 'Heroes' villain Zachary Quinto (Spock), hilarious Brit Simon Pegg (Scotty), 'Harold' stoner John Cho (Sulu), 'LOTR' vet Karl Urban (Bones) and the super-sexy Zoe Saldana (Uhura), plus turns by Eric Bana, Tyler Perry and Winona Ryder. (May 7)
More on 'Star Trek':
Original 'Star Trek' Series:
Paramount
5. Is America Ready for 'Bruno'?
As proudly offensive and divisive as was 'Borat,' Sacha Baron Cohen's first foray into brilliant sociological satire disguised as shock humor, the movie's $128 million haul proved there was an audience. But will Americans in a split Prop 8-climate be as welcoming to his latest big-screen caricature, the flamboyantly gay Austrian fashionista Bruno, who drags an S&M slave through a mall and attacks a self-defense instructor with two dildos? The side-splitting first trailer tells us "Hell, yes." (July 10)
More on 'Bruno':
'Borat':
Universal
6. It's Not About the Robots
Sure, the sequel to 2007's 'Transformers' has a lot going for it: Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, a bunch of giant talking robots and, of course, 789 explosions courtesy of director Michael Bay. But if we're honest with ourselves, the real draw of 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' is Megan Fox. Had Megatron been around to see the sexy starlet leaning over the hood of a car in the first flick, he might have just scrapped his whole "I want to destroy mankind" plan. But, hey, then there wouldn't be a sequel. (June 24)
More on 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen':
More on Megan Fox:
'Transformers' (2007):
Paramount
7. Depp and Bale, the Action/Acting Dream Team
Director Michael Mann's career highlights often involve setting up powerhouse actors in adversarial roles, such as De Niro and Pacino ('Heat'), Cruise and Foxx ('Collateral') ... and now there's Johnny Depp, as Depression-era bad boy John Dillinger, and Christian Bale, as dogged FBI agent Melvin Purvis, in 'Public Enemies.' We can't wait to see these two sink their teeth into a good, old-fashioned action drama without any pirate garb or superhero capes. Good job, Mann. (July 1)
More on 'Public Enemies':
Universal
8. Welcome Back Tarantino, You Inglourious Basterd
Aside from the occasional (and highly strange) cameo on 'American Idol,' Quentin Tarantino hasn't been heard from much since his brilliant two-part revenge fantasy 'Kill Bill' ('Death Proof' was showy and fun, but hardly counts). He returns with a vengeance with 'Inglourious Basterds' (sic), a remake of a 'Dirty Dozen' remake that finds Brad Pitt and pals in the "killing Nazi business … and business is booming." Expect enormous amounts of gloriously violent Nazi bloodshed. (August 21)
More on 'Inglourious Basterds'
Weinstein Company
9. We Like It When Denzel Beats Up Bad Guys
He can pull off any role: the inspirational teacher-coach, the caring husband-dad, even the cutthroat bad guy. But it's action movies that made Denzel Washington a star, and he'll be kicking plenty of bad-guy butt in the 'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' -- a remake of the 1974 original -- in which he plays an NYC subway dispatcher trying to thwart a John Travolta-led gang of hijackers. Ah, if only Denzel worked for the subway in real life. You can bet no one would jump the turnstile then. (June 12)
More on 'Taking of Pelham 1 2 3':
'Taking of Pelham One Two Three' (1974):
Sony
My Theaters
Theaters Near Me
| Roxy Theatre - Northampton (2.2 mi) |
| Franklin Theatre (3.3 mi) |
| Civic Theatre 514 (3.9 mi) |
| 19th Street Theatre (3.9 mi) |
| Carmike Cinemas Allentown - 16 (4.8 mi) |
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User comments
Add a commentMaria Queen, The Prisoner of Azcaban was the 4th HP movie. Wolverine was awesome too, I highly recommend it. The one I am waiting to own is Star Trek, it was most excellent.
07/10/2009, 6:28 pm
its the goblet of fire i think, that was the last one i read http://www.heelsunion.com/dior-c-10.html
06/22/2009, 2:27 am
Why isn't " I Love You Beth Cooper" listed. Directed by Chris Columbus, and starring Hayden Panetierre and Jack Carpenter, it promises to be a great comedy.
05/16/2009, 7:59 pm
Some of the summer movies are ok, but I'm counting down for "New Moon" (Nov. 20th). I'm excited for that one and "Eclipse". I hope they continue to Breaking Dawn as well.
05/05/2009, 12:55 pm
to maria queen, its the goblet of fire i think, that was the last one i read
05/04/2009, 10:40 pm
mithster magic muttonchops
04/29/2009, 9:04 pm
You know it's gonna be a lame summer when the last movie on the List is a Jennifer Aniston Indie movie and they repeat the same points over and over again.
04/28/2009, 8:01 pm
I BET THEY ALL STINK!!!! All Hollywood is about these days is redoing the same idea over and over again.
04/28/2009, 7:55 pm
yo i already saw the wolverine movie, it was pretty sweet.
04/28/2009, 7:39 pm
it's almost may so far only couple good movies out and i'm not excited at all from the list of 35 movies i bet two- three movies will be worth watching ,last year they had a big list of exciting movies but how many worth watching anybody remember last year hit indiana jones what a joke this people trying to brainwashed us .in my opinion movies getting really bad halh of this people can't act .unknown actors from apocalytpo can act better than those famous hollywood stars are they really stars only by hollywood and media not by movie lovers who can tell the difference who can act and who can't
04/28/2009, 7:35 pm