Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW

Magic, monsters and Manolos! Grab some popcorn and find a seat - we've got the dish on the dozen blockbusters you just can't miss.

By Cary Darling

Star-Telegram staff writer

1

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Who's in it: Ben Barnes, Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, Eddie Izzard

What it's about: The sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, this tale picks up 1,300 years after the original story. The adventurous Pevensie kids, who stumbled into the charmed netherworld of Narnia last time through a closet, are back to help defeat an evil king and restore good Prince Caspian (Barnes, last seen in the film Stardust) to the throne.

Why you need to see it: Uh, because your kids are going to make you. And, if you are a kid, then you should be able to count on that same mix of whimsy and wallop that made the first one such a pleasure. Andrew Adamson, who directed the initial film, is at the helm of this one, so there should be a continuity of care in terms of characters, story and special effects. It doesn't hurt that he's also got the Shrek franchise under his belt, so he knows a few things about developing a quality blockbuster.

MAY 16

2

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Who's in it: Harrison Ford, Shia LeBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen

What it's about: Indiana Jones comes out of retirement to help find out the secrets behind strange artifacts known as the crystal skulls. Whatever. It's just an excuse for lots of whip-cracking action ... not that there's anything wrong with that.

Why you need to see it: It's been nearly 20 years since the last Indy adventure, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, so it will be intriguing to see if the magic is still there for all involved. Can Ford, who turns 66 in July, still play the part of a stubbled, chiseled action hero? Can director Steven Spielberg, whose recent movies have either been dystopian fantasies (War of the Worlds, Minority Report), dramas (Munich, Catch Me If You Can) or comedy-dramas (The Terminal), still pull off the old-fashioned, matinee action-adventure? Stay tuned.

MAY 22

3

Sex and the City: The Movie

Who's in it: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Chris Noth

What it's about: Set four years after Sex and the City, the TV series, left off, the film finds the BFF gal-pals living rather separate lives. Carrie (Parker) is set to tie the knot with Mr. Big (Noth), Samantha (Cattrall) is in Hollywood, Charlotte (Davis) is about to have a kid and Miranda (Nixon) is unhappily married. But some big event brings them back together -- Cosmos, no doubt, in hand.

Why you need to see it: At its best, the HBO series captured the giddy cosmopolitanism of modern life in New York. Though women bonded the most with the show, men too could appreciate its wise-gal humor, skewering the inanities of dating and trying to find Mr./Ms. Right. With show creator Michael Patrick King and the main players of the original cast on board for the movie, it should rise to the same high standard.

MAY 30

4

The Incredible Hulk

Who's in it: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth

What it's about: David Banner (Norton) is on the trail of a cure for the condition that turns him into the Incredible Hulk, while having to fight off a creature called the Abomination who's nine shades of nasty.

Why you need to see it: First, you need to compare it to the last Hulk movie -- Ang Lee's poorly regarded Hulk in 2003. Then you need to take sides in the Edward-Norton-vs.-the-World contest. Norton, along with director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter), has been battling the studio over the final cut. They wanted a lengthier, denser version while the studio wanted a lean, mean superhero franchise machine. The studio got its way.

JUNE 13

5

The Love Guru

Who's in it: Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake

What it's about: A wannabe leader of spiritual enlightenment named Guru Pitka (Myers) tries to become more successful than Deepak Chopra. But if there were such a thing as New Age Idol, Chopra would be Daughtry and Pitka would be Sanjaya.

Why you need to see it: Myers has been so busy on the "Shrek" treadmill for the last few years that he hasn't had time to develop new characters who seep their way into pop culture the way Austin Powers did back in the day. Now he's come up with one, but it remains to be seen if it will take on the same kind of media-saturated relevance. The film might kick up some controversy, as some people who practice Hinduism have expressed concerns that the film might mock their religion. But Myers told Entertainment Weekly that Pitka's beliefs are "nondenominational, fictional" and that "part of enlightenment is to lighten up."

JUNE 20

6

Get Smart

Who's in it: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway

What it's about: The '60s TV show comes to the big screen as a big-budget, spy-movie spoof with agent Maxwell Smart (Carell), working for the CONTROL agency and fighting off the evil minions at KAOS, with the sexy Agent 99 (Hathaway) by his side.

Why you need to see it: Coming off his lackluster performances of Dan in Real Life and Evan Almighty, Carell needs to get back in the game, and his resurrection of the clueless Maxwell Smart might be just the ticket to restore some of his 40-Year-Old-Virgin mojo. Bill Murray also stars, as Agent 13.

JUNE 20

7

WALL-E

Who's in it: The voices of Sigourney Weaver, Fred Willard, Kathy Najimy, John Ratzenberger

What it's about: It's the year 2805 and humans have abandoned a ruined Earth. What survives are machines, especially a Waste Allocation Load Lifter, Earth Class (WALL-E), who falls head over wheels in love with a probe android by the name of Eve.

Why you need to see it: This could turn out to be the real water-cooler film of the summer. This Pixar movie, animated in what's termed a photorealistic style, used virtually no dialogue in telling the story of our hapless robotic hero's pursuit of love. It may prove too experimental for both kids and their parents, or it could be just different enough to succeed.

JUNE 27

8

Hancock

Who's in it: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman

What it's about: Like Jay-Z, Hancock (Smith) has 99 problems, but being a superhero ain't one. While the guy can lift cars, he has trouble lifting himself out of an alcoholic malaise. So he seeks out a PR guy (Bateman) to help him repair his battered image.

Why you need to see it: The Founding Fathers didn't have Smith in mind when they banged out the Declaration of Independence, but maybe they should have. It's not a July 4 weekend without a Will Smith cinematic adventure, which has become as expected as fireworks and hot dogs. Also, director Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights) has a solid sense of kinetic camera movement, so this should be a popcorn-munching good time.

JULY 2

9

The Wackness

Who's in it: Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby

What it's about: Psychiatrist Dr. Squires (Kingsley) does lots of things a good shrink should not, including scoring marijuana from his teenage patient (Peck). Meanwhile, Peck has a crush on Squires' stepdaughter (Thirlby). Set in the summer of 1994 in New York City, this comedic drama is a coming-of-age story where no one has thought to say "just say no."

Why you need to see it: Much like Once was the indie hit of last summer, The Wackness could prove to be the art house anti-Hancock over the holiday weekend. It was the Audience Award winner at Sundance and could push Peck -- best known as a star of the Nickelodeon hit Drake & Josh -- out of the kids-TV category and into more adult-themed feature films.

JULY 3

10

The Dark Knight

Who's in it: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart

What it's about: Batman (Bale) and Gotham City crime lord the Joker (Ledger) go toe-to-toe in this latest installment of the franchise that picks up where Batman Begins (2005) left off.

Why you need to see it: Normally, it would've been enough to just say that the team involved in the acclaimed and thoughtful Batman Begins -- director Christopher Nolan, actors Bale, Caine, Freeman and Oldman -- are back. But a tragic curiosity looms over The Dark Knight because of the death of Ledger earlier this year. There's even talk of a possible posthumous Oscar.

JULY 18

11

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Who's in it: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Billy Connolly, Xzibit, Amanda Peet

What it's about: The FBI's taciturn twosome of Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) from the otherworldly hit TV series return to investigate more strange events.

Why you need to see it: Those too young to have really gotten into the TV series in the '90s could use this as a steppingstone to explore these characters. Old-schoolers can revel in enjoying Muller and Scully's cool vibe again. Reportedly, the plot doesn't depend on knowing who did what to whom way back when -- creator Chris Carter promises it's a stand-alone story -- so this one may avoid the problems that plagued the first "X-Files" movie.

JULY 25

12

Pineapple Express

Who's in it: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, Rosie Perez

What it's about: Two guys -- one a drug dealer, the other his customer -- are forced to go on the run after seeing a cop commit a murder.

Why you need to see it: This comedy-action-thriller promises lots of laughs and thrills. It's co-written and co-produced by Judd Apatow (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up) and stars a couple of Apatow veterans such as Franco (from Freaks and Geeks, but he was also in Spider-Man) and Rogen (Superbad, Knocked Up). In other words, this thing has "hit" written all over it.

AUG. 8

Sources: imdb.com and Entertainment Weekly