Summer movie preview
By Wendy Fox Weber Entertainment Editor May 5, 2011 10:20AM
Actor Justin Timberlake is shown filming a scene for the movie "Friends With Benefits" in New York's Times Square on Thursday, July 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Darla Khazei)
Let’s say you aren’t a 12-year-old boy, and you want to go to the movies this summer? Is there anything for you? Actually, yes.
MAY 20: The Beaver: Mel Gibson stars in this drama about a man who deals with a major life crisis by talking through a scruffy beaver hand puppet, and no, I am not making that description up.
JUNE 3: Beginners: A father and son reconnect, and boy, do they have some catching up to do. Bonus: Ewan McGregor plays the son, and Christopher Plummer plays the father.
JULY 1: Larry Crowne: Tom Hanks co-wrote, directs and stars in this drama about a middle-age big-box employee who decides to go back to college after he’s fired for not having a degree. Julia Roberts co-stars as his teacher. Showoffs.
AUG. 5: Rise of the Planet of the Apes: We’re doing this again, apparently.
The Whistleblower: Now, this is serious. A Nebraska ex-cop goes to Bosnia and reveals a U.N. cover-up of a human trafficking scandal.
AUG. 12: The Help: The film adaptation of an Oprah book about growing up in the 1950s. This summer’s “Eat Pray Love.”
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark: They don’t have to all be so serious. This remake of a 1973 horror film is about a family who finds something more terrifying than black mold in the basement of the home they are restoring.
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Updated: May 9, 2011 1:27PM
Once upon a time, summer movies didn’t have to be about heroes in capes and masks. Back in those days, a few summer movies were actually for grown ups and didn’t come with special glasses. We call those days … the 90s. And they seem like a long time ago now.
Before Spidey, and Wolverine, and the Batman with the really gravelly voice, there were still blockbusters and sequels. But it was also possible to go a whole summer without seeing anyone wearing tights. Heck, there were even dramas in the summer.
My, how things have changed.
An alarming majority of 2011’s summer films fall into four basic categories – tentpole, comic book, comedy and family. In other words, if you are an adult, or heaven forbid, a lady, this may be time to catch up on your DVDs or your gardening. Unless you are a geek girl.
Note: release dates can change; this is correct according to imdb.com and comingsoon.net as of press time.
THE TENTPOLES
The 800-pound gorillas in the room that won’t be denied.
MAY 20: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2D/3D): You may say you won’t go now, but this franchise didn’t make $2 billion from you not going.
JUNE 10: Super 8 (conventional and IMAX): Steven Spielberg + JJ Abrams + aliens + flawless buildup = the best hope for summer 2011.
JULY 1: Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2D/3D): Please, let the moon win.
JULY 15: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2D/3D and IMAX 3D): Everyone knows that melancholy “Part 1” was leading up to a big finish.
COMIC BOOK
I remember reading in late 2010 that there were 73 comic book movies in development. It only seems like all of them are coming out this summer.
MAY 6: Thor (2D/3D): The God of Thunder? Comes to Earth? With his giant hammer? Starring Anthony Hopkins? Directed by Kenneth Branagh? Sounds … hilarious?
MAY 13: Priest (2D/3D): A priest disobeys church law to track down the vampires who kidnapped his niece. That is what IMDB says, anyway.
JUNE 3: X-Men: First Class: Dr. Charles Xavier is young, hot and can walk and starts his school for mutants. If you know what that last sentence means, well, then you don’t need an article like this to know about it.
JUNE 17: Green Lantern (2D/3D): Ryan Reynolds uses a powerful ring in an attempt to prove this is not a boring movie.
JULY 22: Captain America: The First Avenger (2D/3D): Chris Evans goes from a really small guy to a really big guy, and fights a really red guy.
JULY 29: Cowboys & Aliens: Jon Favreau directs Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig in a movie set in the Old West called “Cowboys & Aliens.” Is there anything more to say?
COMEDY
Here’s where you’ll see most variety offered in any category this summer.
MAY 6: Jumping the Broom: Two African-American families – one affluent, the other blue-collar – squabble when they are forced to join for a family wedding.
Something Borrowed: Naperville’s Emily Giffin’s first book comes to the screen – a tale about a bossy best friend and the mousy wallflower who comes out of her shell at the worst possible time.
MAY 13: Bridesmaids: Proving guys don’t hold the patent on gross-out – “SNL” alums Kristin Wiig and Maya Rudolph give the boys a run for their money in this Judd Apatow-produced raunchy riot. Early buzz is deafening.
MAY 26: The Hangover Part II: Some are jeering at the similar premise, but many are just glad the Wolfpack is back.
JUNE 24: Bad Teacher: Ex-couple Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz reunite in another foul-mouthed laughfest.
JULY 1: Monte Carlo: Three girls in Paris are taken to Monte Carlo after one of the girls is mistaken for a British heiress. Oh, I hate when that happens.
JULY 8: Horrible Bosses: Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston play horrible bosses and I have just seen a couple of still photos but I am *so* in already.
JULY 8: Zookeeper: The animals at a zoo decide they must speak to help the sweet zookeeper find love. Guess who plays the zookeeper. C’mon. Guess.
JULY 15: Friends with Benefits: Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis make the exact same movie Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman made in January, and manage to make it look like it’s better.
JULY 29: Crazy. Stupid Love.: Now, we see if Steve Carell should have left “The Office.” Signs to point to “yes.”
AUG. 5: The Change-Up: A body-switching comedy with Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. No, I’m serious.
AUG. 12: 30 Minutes or Less: Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari do something. Who cares what? They are funny.
AUG. 19: Fright Night: Another remake of an apparently beloved horror comedy that I completely missed out on.
AUG. 26: Our Idiot Brother: Oh sure, it’s cute in the movies, but if you had to deal with this guy in real life, no one would be laughing.
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy: Remember when you could be in the same room with your kids when they said the name of a movie without cringing?
Did you guess who was in “Zookeeper”? It was Kevin James.
FAMILY
Buried among the usual fare is one true-blue G-rated classic and one you will want to pawn off on the grandparents.
MAY 20: The Lion of Judah (2D/3D): A bible story gets in on the 3D trend.
MAY 26: Kung Fu Panda 2 (2D/3D and IMAX): Wrapping up all the unanswered questions in “Kung Fu Panda 1.”
JUNE 10: Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer: It’s a good thing the word “NOT” is in there.
JUNE 17: Mr. Popper’s Penguins: Based on a beloved children’s book, this tells the story of a man who inherits six penguins and how the birds change his lifestyle. It looks pretty adorable. What? I’m not made of stone.
JUNE 24: Cars 2 (2D/3D): Good luck, other family movies.
JULY 15: Winnie the Pooh: Just “Winnie the Pooh.” Good old, 2D-animated “Winnie the Pooh.” No “Winnie the Pooh” and Zombies, no “Winnie the Pooh” in IMAX. It’s even rated G!
JULY 29: The (shudder) Smurfs (shudder) (2D/3D): Neil Patrick Harris, you’re on notice.
AUG. 19: Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (2D/3D): You too, Joel McHale.
BECAUSE IT DOESN’T FIT IN ANYWHERE ELSE
AUG. 19: Conan the Barbarian: He lives on the continent of Hyboria. Enough said.
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