Summer Movie Edition. With Trailers!

Brodie Fanns!

Aloha everybody. April is coming to an end next week, and you know what that means. I think you do. You should. It's the start of the Summer Movie Season. Calenders be damned, Hollywood starts the summer in May. And holy shit do they start it in May. I'm going to give you the full Summer movie forecast of the flicks you should definitely check out, starting with the finest month of releases I have seen in a looooooooong time.

MAY

2nd: Iron Man Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrance Howard and Jeff Bridges. Directed by Jon Favreau. I'm going to let the trailer do the talking on this one.


9th: Speed Racer Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon. Directed by The Wachowski Brothers. A lot of people have prematurely dismissed this film, and I think it's because of an intense misunderstanding. The Wachowskis (The Matrix) are two on the forefront of the digital revolution in cinema, and they're taking filmmaking in a very interesting direction. This film is not intended to be a realistic portrayal of super car racing. It's meant to be campy and wild and bizarre and resemble a strong acid trip. It's meant to be like the cartoon. I think it'll surprise and delight.



16th: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Starring William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skander Keynes, Georgie Henley and Ben Barnes. Directed by Andrew Adamson. The first one was fantastic. And I honestly can't wait to see how they handle this and future Chronicles.


23rd: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Starring Harrison Ford, Shia Labeouf and Cate Blanchett. Directed by Steven Spielberg. When watching the trailer, you can't help but get giddy when you see the hat while the opening bars of the theme slowly rise in the background. And come on... the addition of Cate Blanchett? Awesome!


JUNE

13th: The Incredible Hulk. Starring Edward Norton, Tim Roth and Liv Tyler. Directed by Louis Leterrier. This is a "do-over" for the Hulk franchise, with Marvel crying mulligan over the last one. This time, it's an all new cast, all new crew, all new Hulk. I'm a little nervous after hearing about the row between Leterrier/Norton and the producers, debating on whether the film should be plot/character driven (former) or action scene driven (latter). But I have confidence Norton wouldn't attach his name to complete piece of shit... like Ang Lee's Hulk was.


20th: Get Smart. Starring Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway and Alan Arkin. Directed by Peter Segal. As with any feature version of a beloved TV show, I enter with caution. However I'm enamoured with the casting of Carrell as Maxwell Smart. And though she is young, Hathaway has been impressing me lately. So time will tell.


27th: Wall-E. Starring Jeff Garlin and Fred Willard. Directed by Andrew Stanton. As a general rule, I don't see animated films in theatres. Animated films are attended by kids. I don't like kids. I especially don't like kids in theatres. But with Pixar movies... I make exceptions. And this looks to be their best. I simply can't wait for this one.


JULY

4th: Hancock. Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman. Directed by Peter Berg. I like this because it's an alternate take on the superhero genre. It's like the "Behind the Music," so to speak, of Superman. And Will Smith's return to his comfortable throne of 4th of July Box Office King is a welcome return.


11th: Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Starring Ron Pearlman and Doug Jones. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Hellboy is the hidden gem of the comic book genre. It's smaller, but it's unique. Which is why it's smaller, I suppose. It's a fun little-big flick, that by all accounts shouldn't exist, but for some reason does. And I like it that way. Check it out. You won't see it gross $200 million. But you probably won't have as much fun at the theatres if you miss it.


17th: The Dark Knight Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Aaron Eckhart. Easily the most anticipated movie of the year, partly due to Ledger's untimely death. I for one am eager to see his next to final performance. If the trailer is any indication, it very well could be one of the finest, most demented performances ever put on film.


25th: The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Billy Connolly. Directed by Chris Carter. Alls I knows is, this takes place outside of the main thrust of the series, so it's like one of the off shoot episodes (which were always fun). And that we've been waiting too damn long for this one. But it's finally here. I just wish there was a trailer.

AUGUST

8th: Pineapple Express. Starring Seth Rogan, James Franco and Gary Cole. Directed by David Gordon Green. If the movie is even half as funny as the trailer, it'll be worth it's proverbial weight in gold.


15th: Tropic Thunder. Starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., Jack Black and Steve Coogan. Directed by Ben Stiller. If Platoon proved that war is hell, then Tropic Thunder proves that war is hilarious!


That's it for now. Look out in August for the fall preview.

- Brodie Mann