Your Summer Movie Preview

[GaryMrMets]

Summer Movie Preview
http://www.nydailynews.com/04-27-2003/entertainment/movies/story/79126p-72805c.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/78406p-72236c.html

Something for everyone

Your guide to the season's highest-profile films

X2: X-MEN UNITED
Opens May 2
The Deal: That ensemble of social misfits from Marvel Comics returns after three years, still fully loaded with oddball powers (like controlling the weather) or attributes (eyes that shoot laser beams). In this installment, they’re still shunned by society, but they’re the only ones who can save the President from a mutant assassin and ensure the future of their maligned Mutant Academy. Chief among them once again is Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Also back on board are Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin and director Bryan Singer.

The Feel: Cannily aimed at an age group plagued with feelings of social ineptitude and alarmed by changes and eruptions in their own growing bodies, “X2” is a natural to get the summer blockbuster bus rolling. The series also has something that worked like a charm the first time around to bring in an unusually ardent female audience — Jackman’s Wolverine charisma. Count me in. - Jami Bernard

THE MATRIX RELOADED
Opens May 15
The Deal: The coolest computer hacker ever returns for more reality-warping showdowns. Neo (Keanu Reeves) and a crew that includes Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) have exactly two days to save Zion from annihilation by the Machines. Naturally, Neo will do what he can while wearing a full-length, black-leather trenchcoat that even Shaft would envy. And, if the trailers are accurate, he’ll have anti-gravity skills that put him in a league with Superman. The writer-director team of brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski is once again in charge, not just of this episode but of the second sequel, “The Matrix Revolutions,” which opens in November.

The Feel: Next to “The Lord of the Rings” once-a-year triptych, this back-to-back-sequels gambit is one of the most ambitious moves ever made by a major studio. The difference is that this puppy, and “Revolutions,” are guaranteed blockbusters. Personally, I hated the overplotted, quasi-religious gobbledygook story of the first “Matrix,” but was still able to groove on the look and the layers of reality. - Jami Bernard

DOWN WITH LOVE
Opens May 16
The Deal: Peyton Reed directs Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger in a color-saturated homage to the three Rock Hudson/Doris Day pillow-talk sex comedies of the late ’50s and early ’60s. Zellweger plays a proto-feminist advice columnist who, in 1963, writes a threatening best seller arguing that women should make sex not love. McGregor is a randy playboy who rises to the defense of male vanity by trying to make her fall for him. It co-stars Tony Randall, who appeared in all three Hudson/Day movies, and David Hyde Pierce.

The Feel: As Todd Haynes learned with last year’s “Far From Heaven,” an homage to the Douglas Sirk “women’s movies” of the ’50s, replicating a period’s look, psychology and style may appeal more to critics than paying customers. But romantic comedy has always had a commercial leg up on melodrama, and the star pairing augurs well. McGregor proved his leading-man chops with Nicole Kidman in “Moulin Rouge,” while Zellweger, the girl-next-Doris of her day, has cornered the market on big-screen adorability. The trailer makes it look as corny and fun as its models. - Jack Mathews

BRUCE ALMIGHTY
Opens May 23
The Deal: Jim Carrey reteams with director Tom Shadyac (“Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “Liar, Liar”) for this comedy about a self-pitying TV weatherman in Buffalo who blames his and the world’s miseries on God and ends up with the Big Guy’s job. Morgan Freeman is the white-clad Almighty who turns over the reins of the cosmos to Carrey’s Bruce Nolan. Jennifer Aniston is the girlfriend whose breasts – through the grace of Bruce’s first miracle – undergo an overnight growth spurt. But after a week of such self-serving tricks as making his dog use the toilet and parting traffic like the Red Sea, Bruce is reminded by the original God that he has a kingdom to run.

The Feel: This looks like a made-in-heaven marriage of star and high concept. Carrey may wish audiences would accept him in dramatic parts, like those he played in such box-office disappointments as “The Cable Guy,” “Man on the Moon” and “The Majestic,” but we’d all rather watch him stretch his plastic body than his acting talent. I’m hoping the trailer doesn’t give all the good jokes away because it’s the funniest promo in a year. J.M.

FINDING NEMO
Opens May 30
The Deal: In the latest Disney/Pixar collaboration, a rebellious little clownfish (voiced by Alexander Gould) is plucked from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and sent to a place worse than hell: a dentist’s office (okay, he winds up in a tank, not the drill chair, but still). As he tries to get back home on his own, his neurotic dad Marlin (Albert Brooks) and flaky friend Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) make all kinds of waves while scouring the ocean looking for him. Andrew Stanton (“Toy Story,” “Toy Story 2,” “A Bug’s Life” and “Monsters, Inc.”) directs.

The Feel: Did you read Stanton’s credits? Have you seen that dazzling trailer? Enough said. - Elizabeth Weitzman

DUMB AND DUMBERER: WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD
Opens June 13
The Deal: Starting from scratch in every way but concept, the ’80s-set prequel to the Farrelly Brothers’ high-grossing gross-out comedy stars Eric Christian Olsen and Derek Richardson as younger versions of the morons Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels made famous all the way back in 1994. This time, Lloyd and Harry meet cute in high school, where their principal (Eugene Levy) sticks them in a special-ed class. How do the boys feel about this? Are you kidding? They get to ride the short bus!

The Feel: So does the movie show any more promise than its dim heroes? New Line did have the good sense to hire “South Park’s” Trey Parker and Matt Stone as screenwriters — but they promptly dropped out. And unless you work in soaps, it’s usually a disaster to lose your original cast and crew. Still, the first promo spot hilariously acknowledged the insanity of the project, and the director, Troy Miller, has worked on top-quality TV comedies like “Mr. Show.” As for the leads, Olsen is a teen movie regular, and you may recognize Richardson from his work in ... the “Dumb and Dumberer” trailer. That’s right, Richardson is making his professional debut, which is either a stroke of genius (he costs, what, $24 million less than Carrey would have?) or extreme stupididity (his name will bring the movie, what, $240 million less than Carrey’s would have?) - E.W.

[GaryMrMets]

HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE
Opens June 13
The Deal: Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett are detective partners in the L.A.P.D. investigating a quadruple murder at a rap club. At the same time, each is pursuing a moonlighting career. Ford’s financially strapped Joe Gavilan is selling real estate; in fact, he has a deal cooking with a club owner. Hartnett’s womanizing K.C. is studying to become an actor and teaching a yoga class, which keeps him in a steady supply of fresh bedmates. Elsewhere in director Ron Shelton’s top-drawer cast are Martin Landau, Lena Olin, Lolita Davidovich, Eric Idle and rapper Master P.

The Feel: The trailer emphasizes the comedic relationship between Ford and Hartnett and it looks promising. It’s good to see Ford filling an age-appropriate role. My skepticism about this project is twofold: I’ve seen enough buddy-cop movies to last me through my next six lives, and Shelton’s last cop movie, “Dark Blue,” irked me no end with its twisted moral logic. On the other hand, this one is played as much for laughs as thrills, and Shelton’s strength — demonstrated in a career-building trio of sports movies (“Bull Durham,” “White Men Can’t Jump,” “Tin Cup”) — is his boys-will-be-boys humor. - J.M.

THE HULK
Opens June 20
The Deal: Six-foot-four Eric Bana plays Dr. Bruce Banner, the scientist of Marvel Comics and 1970s TV fame who suffers a gamma-ray overdose that turns into him into a mean, green machine whenever he gets riled up, which is fairly often. Nick Nolte plays his dad, a hulking figure in his own right, and recent Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly is Banner’s loving colleague. Unlike the TV series, in which Bill Bixby played Banner and Lou Ferrigno played the Hulk, Banner’s Mr. Hyde personality is portrayed by a computer-generated monster.

The Feel: This one is absolutely first on my otherwise short list of must-see summer movies. Forget the goofy TV series; you just know director Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) will explore the Hulk’s tender, misunderstood heart, instead of simply playing up the jolly-green-giant elements. From the trailers playing in theaters, this Hulk lives up to his name, and the film could be the big crossover hit that unites both action and art-house fans. - J.B.

CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE
Opens June 27
The Deal: Those heavenly angels Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu return to solve a series of murders involving a theft of the database at the Federal Witness Protection Program. Joseph McGinty Nichol, who goes by the affectation “McG,” directs the tongue-in-cheek thriller (as he did 2000’s “Charlie’s Angels”), which co-stars John Cleese, as Liu’s father, and Demi Moore (a fallen angel, to be sure) and Crispin Glover as the prime suspects.

The Feel: With its jaunty humor and babelicious cast, this is one of the few action movies that females are looking forward to just as much as their dates. Moore, who has been missing in action for a very long time, could either help or hinder. To earn her wings among these unusually good-natured angels, she’ll need to show she’s got more of a sense of humor about herself than she’s previously indicated. - J.B.

LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE, AND BLONDE
Opens July 2
The Deal: Perkily perfect Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is back in this sequel to 2001’s surprise smash, “Legally Blonde.” And once again, she finds herself in quite a bind: She’s just been fired from her law firm for defending the rights of her beloved — I refer, of course, to her Chihuahua, Bruiser. What’s a girl to do? Put on her best Jackie O suit, find a pair of comfortable stilettos, and march right up the steps of our nation’s capitol to secure freedom and fairness for animals everywhere.

The Feel: Reese’s $15 million paycheck nearly matches the entire $18 million budget of the original, so MGM is counting on her to earn back every penny with this encore to one of their biggest hits in years. Director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld is a new addition, but judging by the trailer, he’s sticking close to the formula that worked so well before: a solid cast (including Bob Newhart, Sally Field and Luke Wilson) and a script more bubbly than a bottle of Perrier-Jouet. Add that to a perfectly timed July 4 weekend opening, and this golden girl is very likely to find herself right back in the pink. - E.W.

SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS
Opens July 2
The Deal: Fans of “Arabian Nights” won’t recognize much in DreamWorks’ new animated offering, since only Sinbad himself is taken from the classic book. (Fans of “A Different World” also need not apply; the title in no way refers to the MIA ’80s comedian and TV star.) In John Logan’s original story, roguish sailor Sinbad (voiced by Brad Pitt) has to find the priceless Book of Peace to save his best friend (Joseph Fiennes). He’s helped in his search by the beautiful Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and hindered by the furious Eris, goddess of chaos (Michelle Pfeiffer).

The Feel: DreamWorks has been steadily encroaching on Disney’s territory, so it’s always possible that their “Sinbad” will become the stuff of legend. But as you may have noticed from the cast list, this project is hardly brimming with Middle Eastern authenticity. And there’s usually only one really big fish in summer’s sea of animated family films. This year his name is likely to be Nemo. To make matters worse, the traditionally animated adventure genre may, in fact, be in an official slump. Raise your hand if you saw “Atlantis: the Lost Empire” or “Treasure Planet.” Anyone? - E.W.

TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES
Opens July 2
The Deal: Arnold Schwarzenegger returns for the third film in the seminal high-tech action-thriller series begun in 1984 and revisited in 1991. In this episode, Schwarzenegger is a brand-new robot sent from the future to an Earth 10 years older than it was in “T-2: Judgment Day.” His assignment: Help John Connor, now 18, survive attempts by an incredible shape-shifting machine known as the Terminatrix to finish him off. “T-3” is directed by Jonathan Mostow (“Breakdown,” “U-571”) and co-stars Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken.

The Feel: The first “Terminator” is a classic I still hold dear, but a lot of its charm was in its ragged simplicity. At this point, it’s hard to tell one noisy, overproduced Schwarzenegger movie from another. Mostow is a good action director, but can he work at the same level as James Cameron, who directed the first two? Hmmm. The producers bet $170 million that he could. - J.B.


PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
Opens July 9
The Deal: This is a sort of supernatural costume drama inspired by the tunnel attraction at Disneyland and starring Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom as swashbucklers who team up to rescue the daughter of a British aristocrat from the dastardly pirate Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). The pirates are cursed creatures, not quite dead and not quite alive, who intend to use the blood of their captor to restore themselves. Of course, there’s treasure involved as well. The Disney saga is directed by Gore Verbinski, hot off last year’s very successful horror film “The Ring.”

The Feel: It’s hard to believe after “The Country Bears” that Disney would attempt to transform another park attraction into a feature film. But this one does hold promise where the other didn’t, and it’s well-cast. Depp is simply one of the most interesting actors of his generation, in whatever role. Bloom has acquitted himself well as Legolas the Elf in “The Lord of the Rings” movies, and Rush figures to make a fine sadistic villain. - J.M.

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRA-ORDINARY GENTLEMEN
Opens July 11
The Deal: Based on Alan Moore’s complex graphic novels, “LXG” (as 20th Century Fox is calling it) frees some of literature’s most famous protagonists from the confines of the page, and turns them into a motley collective of superheroes (think “X-Men” in period costumes). Directed by Stephen Norrington (“Blade”) and set in Victorian England, the film finds Allan Quartermain (Sean Connery) leading characters like Tom Sawyer (Shane West), Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend) and “Dracula’s” Mina Harker (Peta Wilson) in a quest to stop an enigmatic villain called the Fantom.

The Feel: “LXG”? That’s the kind of slick Hollywood marketing that builds dread in the hearts of comic-book fans. And loyalists do have reason to worry, since the movie is likely to be far from faithful. In Moore’s books, for example, Quartermain is a heroin addict, while the vampiress Harker is the group’s leader (you didn’t think Connery was going to take orders from a girl, did you?). But the multiplex masses don’t care about literary purity. Even with the recent glut of men in tights, there’s still room for another superhero hit, and you won’t find a more original — or intriguing — premise than this one. - E.W.

LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE
Opens July 25
The Deal: When the first Lara Croft movie was released two summers ago, it set an opening weekend box-office record for a female-driven movie. (You think baseball keeps a lot of records?) The movie went on to gross $131 million in the U.S., making this sequel mandatory and upping Angelina Jolie’s salary to an orbit near that of Julia Roberts. In this episode of the video game-cum-movie franchise, Lara discovers a sphere containing Pandora’s Box, which is then stolen by a Chinese gang with the intention of using it as a doomsday weapon. Jan De Bont (who directed the two “Speed” movies) takes over here from the first film’s Simon West.

The Feel: I don’t mean to be patronizing, but if I want to see an archeologist look for antiquities while kicking the butts of international thugs, I’ll rent “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Angelina Jolie talks the talk, although her British accent occasionally slips into parody, and looks the look – she and the video game Lara are equally well-endowed. She and her doubles also do fine in the action sequences, which tend to involve a little more rope than I’d like to see. I gave the original two stars and complained that it lacked humor and barely enough context to qualify as a feature. But sometimes, No. 2 tries harder. - J.M.

SEABISCUIT
Opens July 25
The Deal: The title character is one of the most famous race horses in history, a runty, knobby-kneed underdog who came along in the midst of the Great Depression and became not just the horse but the story of 1938. He got more press than Hitler and FDR. Gary Ross’ followup to his hit period fantasy, “Pleasantville,” stars Jeff Bridges as the auto man who bought Seabiscuit, Oscar-winner Chris Cooper (“Adaptation”) as his trainer, and Tobey Maguire (“Spider-Man”) as his jockey and apparent soulmate. The movie is adapted by Ross and Charlie Mitchell from Laura Hillenbrand’s 2001 best seller “Seabiscuit: An American Legend.”

The Feel: So much depends on how sentimental Ross gets. Almost every movie ever made about a sports legend, animal or manimal, oversells the emotion and robs us of our own participation. But at least the story seems to be about Seabiscuit. The 1949 Warner Bros. movie “The Story of Seabiscuit” was turned into a vehicle for 21-year-old Shirley Temple and showed little concern for the horse’s actual career. Throw in William H. Macy as horse-racing journalist Tick Tock McGlaughlin and you’ve got one of the summer’s most promising casts. - J.M.

[GaryMrMets]

SPY KIDS 3D: GAME OVER
Opens July 25
The Deal: Secret agent siblings Carmen (Alex Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) Cortez join forces with Mom (Carla Gugino) and Dad (Antonio Banderas) in the third installment of Robert Rodriguez’ junior spy series. When Carmen gets stuck inside a virtual reality game created by an evil Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone), Juni has to rescue her so they can save the world yet again. This time, though, they do it in 3-D!

The Feel: You could search from dusk till dawn and still not find another director who respects his young audience like Rodriguez does. His “Spy Kids” flicks have heart and smarts, and you can always count on him to push things to the next level (or, in this case, dimension). Since every kid in America will want to wear the movie’s specially made 3-D glasses, maybe Rodriguez will reconsider his dismaying decision to make this the final adventure for the ever-cool Cortez clan. - E.W.

GIGLI
Opens Aug. 1
The Deal: Ben Affleck and prenuptial squeeze Jennifer Lopez met and co-starred in writer-director Martin Brest’s offbeat romantic comedy about rival contract killers thrown together as captors and caretakers of the mentally challenged brother (Justin Bartha) of a federal prosecutor (Christopher Walken). If the prosecutor doesn’t lay off their mob boss (Al Pacino), they’ll have to whack the boy. Enter humanity, as the kidnappers overcome their differences (he’s horny, she’s a lesbian) and begin to take a paternal interest in their hostage.

The Feel: Brest took a beating for his last movie, the mega-budgeted flop “Meet Joe Black,” and the advance buzz on this one promises another critical lashing. The ending was apparently dropped and reshot after preview audiences turned thumbs-down on the first cut, and it’s been playing “Now you see me, now you don’t” on the release schedule. Nonetheless, the off-screen romance that blossomed between Affleck and Lopez during production has provided a billion dollars worth of free publicity and fans of the handsome couple are likely to give it quick box-office liftoff. - J.M.

MATCHSTICK MEN
Opens Aug. 8
The Deal: Ridley Scott directs Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell in this adaptation of Eric Garcia’s hot-off-the-press novel about a pair of eccentric con men whose tight partnership is tested by the arrival of the teenage daughter one of them didn’t know he had. Alison Lohman, Michelle Pfeiffer’s rebellious daughter in “White Oleander,” is the girl and she’s demanding more than a doting father — she wants to learn the ropes. But Dad (Cage) has his own problems; he’s obsessive-compulsive and he’s out of meds. Can the trio get their act together and pull off the ultimate con? Reviews of the book promise a deliciously unexpected ending.

The Feel: Anticipating Ridley Scott movies is a bit of a crapshoot. He’s a great visual stylist, so your eyes will always be pleased. But his story selection often fails his craftsmanship. I thank him for “Alien,” “Blade Runner” and “Black Hawk Down,” but am having trouble forgiving him for “G.I. Jane” and “Gladiator.” Nonetheless, my expectations are high here because I (a) love good confidence-game stories, (b) like the pairing of Cage and the underappreciated Rockwell, and (c) am curious to see if Lohman fulfills the promise of “White Oleander. - J.M.

Originally published on April 25, 2003

[GaryMrMets]

Genuine upheavals

This summer's indies and foreign films offer different kinds of rollercoaster rides
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/78396p-72231c.html

And for the kids...

Here's what's for tots, tykes and teens at the cineplex this summer
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/78398p-72232c.html

Marquee busters: The colon craze

Why title a film once when you can title it twice?
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/78394p-72230c.html

What women want

More and more films are being made with female tastes and interests in mind
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/78392p-72229c.html

Keeping the roof up

The studios are counting on these potential blockbusters
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/78389p-72227c.html

That ol' green magic

'The Hulk' tops my list of must-see films in the season's promising lineup
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/78387p-72226c.html

[uj4l]

what about 2 Fast 2 Furious? That is gonna be a hit. Dumb and Dumberer isnt with the same characters as before. Jim Carrey isnt in it:eek:

[Baseball Guru]

2 Fast and 2 Furious is one I want to see but it doesnt have Diesel in it....:(

Other movies that are a must for me:

X-Men 2

Hulk

LXG-Totally geeked about seeing that one:thumbsup:

Tomb Raider 2

Pirates of the Caribbean

And another, I think it is a Disney movie-Finding Nemo...It looks cute and Austin wants to see it;)

[Special_K19]

I'm looking forward to the sequel to Boondock Saints. And I have my tickets for a midnight showing of X2 already on Thursday.

[Jade Sabre]

no diesel? why watch it then? :umm

i'm lookin' fwd to bad boys 2 and x-men, which i'll be seein' this friday at midnight :clap2:

the pirates thing i might see cause it's got legolas in it :lust:

[uj4l]

Vin Diesel wanted to much money. I still think it will be better than the first. Other movies I want to see.

- Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life
- X-Men 2
- Hulk(First thought it was stupid, but now it seems tight!)
- Bruce Almighty
- Charlie's Angel's: Full Throttle
- Spy Kids 3 :|
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
- Dumb and Dumberer
- Matrix Reloaded(No one likes the Matrix?)
- Johnny English(Mr.Beans)
- American Wedding(American Pie 3)

Too bad i prob wont see them all. Thats a big list

[Jade Sabre]

oooh, i wanna see american wedding too!

[Baseball Guru]

Damn, forgot anout Bad Boys 2....That movie looks great and I loved the 1st one:thumbsup:

I didnt care at all for the Matrix and have no desire to see 2 and 3.....

[uj4l]

when i saw american wedding on imdb i thought it was like a ladies movie, then my bro goes that is american pie 3, i am like tight! MAtrix is awesome

[imgreat95]

I saw Anger Management tonight.. Very very funny movie. Especially if you like Nicholson and Sandler.