Summer movie preview

It’s back to school for us here in the Philippines. But in the US, summer is just beginning, and that means this year’s Spider-Man and Attack of the Clones will be breaking box-office records every weekend. Summer is when art films and good writing step back to let special effects and blockbusters take center stage. And though it may not be the time when highbrow, Oscar-winning films like The Hours (which everyone should see) or The Pianist are released (that’s during December), it can still be equally fun. This year’s summer is also full of sequels: from The Matrix Reloaded, Legally Blonde 2, Charlie’s Angels 2 and Terminator 3, this season will be full of digits – in the movies’ titles and in the movie studio’s profits. So let me give you all the buzz and my prognosis of 2003’s summer winners and losers.

May

• X2: X-Men United (May 2) – This is the year’s first summer smash, and it has achieved what many summer action films have failed to do: actually be good. This time around, the X-Men have to team up with former nemesis Magneto and Mystique to destroy the mutant-hating General William Stryker.

• The Matrix Reloaded (May 15) – In this year’s most anticipated film (if you don’t count Revolutions), Neo (Keanu Reeves) attempts to once again free humanity (in bullet time, no doubt) with a cliffhanger in the end that’ll make us wait until November for the final installment of the saga.

• Down with Love (May 16) – Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor star in this too-cute-to-miss romantic comedy that pays homage to the Doris Day-Rock Hudson sex sitcoms of the ’50s and ’60s. Set in that era, Barbara (Zellweger) goes to New York with her new book Down with Love, a pre-feminist manifesto that says "no" to love and "yes" to career and women empowerment. And as her new book shoots up the bestseller list, ace journalist Catch (McGregor) is determined to make her ignore her credo and fall in love. Renee’s outfits and costumes may be even enough to go see this movie.

• Bruce Almighty (May 23) – Jim Carrey plays a regular guy whom, after blaming God for his miserable life, receives God-like powers for a week. Jennifer Aniston co-stars as his girlfriend and Morgan Freeman plays the real God.

• Finding Nemo (May 30) – Pixar and Disney are back with their follow-up to the hugely successful Monsters, Inc. This time, they bring us under the sea, as a father named Marlin (Albert Brooks) tries to rescue his son Nemo (Alexander Gould) from a family fish tank. It looks like I’m going to miss Mike and Sulley.

June

• 2 Fast 2 Furious (June 6) – Can the sequel to The Fast and The Furious succeed at the box office without its star player, Vin Diesel? Well, with the paltry gross of A Man Apart, Hollywood is starting to doubt if Vin Diesel’s success in XXX was just a fluke. Nevertheless, it’s up to Paul Walker to take on the streets of Miami, driving fast cars and fighting crime.

• From Justin to Kelly (June 13) – The first American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini reunite in what is being advertised as "Grease on the beach". But even though we all know this is going to be a disaster, I am such a big American Idol fan that just seeing Kelly on screen will make me want to watch.

• Hollywood Homicide (June 13) – Harrison Ford plays a bitter, old cop and Josh Hartnett plays a young, stubborn protégé in this police comedy. Sounds like a Spy Game that tries to be funny.

• Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (June 13) – This prequel to Jim Carrey’s Dumb and Dumber has me hating it already. It could be this year’s stupidest, most inane film or it could be some good, dumb fun. I’d put my money on the first possibility. (Duh!)

• The Hulk (June 20) – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon mastermind Ang Lee directs Eric Bana and Academy Award-winner Jennifer Connelly in another promising box office winner. Bana plays Bruce Banner, a good-natured scientist who transforms into a big, green giant when angry.

• Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (June 27) – The angels (Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu) are back, this time to stop villain Demi Moore with help from comedian Bernie Mac, who fills in the "Bosley" role for Bill Murray.

July

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde (July 2) – Definitely the movie I’m most excited to see this year. Being such a huge fan of the first Legally Blonde and Reese Witherspoon, I can’t wait to see what Elle is up to next. This time around, now a Harvard Law grad, Elle takes on Washington, DC, as she fights for animal rights. While planning her wedding with fiancé Emmet (Luke Wilson), Elle finds out that her beloved dog’s (Bruiser, her adorable Chihuahua) parents will not be able to attend the ceremony because they are being used in a cosmetics testing lab. She then decides to go to Washington and Congress to attempt to pass a bill banning animal testing. Sally Field also stars as Senator Rudd.

• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (July 2) – Twelve years after he said he would be, Ah-nuld is back, now with a female robot as the villain.

• Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (July 2) – This animated film has an all-star cast of Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michelle Pfeiffer. Let’s just hope it’s not as bad as Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (July 9) – Director Gore Verbinski, helmer of the ultra-freaky blockbuster smash The Ring, brings the famed Disneyland ride to life. This stars Johnny Depp as a seaman out to thwart the plans of evil pirate Geoffrey Rush of ruling the Caribbean. Also stars Lord of the Ring’s "Legolas", Orlando Bloom.

• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (July 11) – In probably the weirdest comic book movie ever, Sean Connery heads a group of Victorian heroes, characters pulled out from literary classics on a mission to save the world. Team members include Tom Sawyer, Mr. Hyde and the Invisible Man.

• Bad Boys II (July 18) – Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles as Miami cops, with director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer at the helm.

• Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (July 25) – In the sequel to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, the movie that made lots of money and lots of people bored at the same time, archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft, while exploring a sunken temple, stumbles upon a map that cites the location of Pandora’s box. She has to find it before it gets into the wrong hands.

• Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (July 25) – The third installment of the very kid-friendly Spy Kids series has something special: We get to wear 3-D glasses, just like that Honey I Shrunk The Audience ride at Disneyland! But then again, that might not be a good thing, since we have to watch big tough guy Sylvester Stallone as a villain called The Toymaker.

• Seabiscuit (July 25) – Spider-Man Tobey Maguire and recent Academy Award-winner Chris Cooper star in this film adaptation of the best-selling book about a race horse that wants to be the 1938 Horse of the Year. A promising Oscar contender, it was an odd choice for an artsy film like this to be released during summer. And just like Road to Perdition and Unfaithful, which were also released summertime a year ago, voters might forget about Seabiscuit come Oscar season.

August

• American Wedding (Aug. 1) – The third and final chapter of the raunchy, outrageously funny American Pie series has Jason Biggs’ Jim and Alyson Hanigan’s Michelle finally say "I do." And though the whole cast didn’t sign on, Stifler (Sean William Scott) and Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy) are back for another slice of Pie. I predict this slice will be the best of the series.

• Gigli/Tough Love (Aug. 1) – This movie has a serious identity problem. Re-named and re-titled for zillions of times, its studio can’t decide whether to call it Gigli (pronounced "Jeely," though everyone pronounces it "Gigly") or Tough Love. This film is also when it all started, when Ben Affleck met J.Lo. Affleck plays Larry Gigli, a hit man who is hired to kidnap a mentally challenged man. J.Lo plays Ricki, a lesbian (yes, believe it or not!) assassin who falls in love with Gigli. (Is this the weirdest love story or what?!) Test audiences hated the original cut (I can tell why), so they re-shot and re-edited a lot of scenes, and audiences hated that, too. But even though it’s going to be bad, why would anyone pass up a chance to see them together.

• Matchstick Men (Aug. 8) – Academy Award-winning director of Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, Ridley Scott settles for something a bit lighter this time with Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman. Cage and Rockwell, straight from their brilliant performances in Adaptation and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, respectively, play con artists who are trying to pull off the perfect caper. But when newcomer Lohman, direct from her equally dazzling performance in White Oleander shows up, things get wacky.

• S.W.A.T. (Aug. 8) – Based on the short-lived TV series of the same name, S.W.A.T. stars Colin Farrell and Samuel L. Jackson as two S.W.A.T. police officers. And with three straight hits in a row (The Recruit, Daredevil, Phone Booth), Farrell should bring this film to box-office victory.

• Freddy vs. Jason (Aug. 15) – The fantasies of millions of horror fans have finally come to life. A group to teenagers find themselves caught in the middle of a deadly battle between two of Hollywood’s most infamous classic horror villains. Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger, who torments you with nightmares, and Jason Voorhees, the hockey mask-donning killer from Friday the 13th clash at Elm Street and then make their way to a climactic ending at Camp Crystal Lake.

• Uptown Girls (Aug. 15) – 8 Mile’s Brittany Murphy plays Molly Gunn, a spoiled, rich, young girl who is the toast of Manhattan’s social scene. But, when her inheritance is stolen, she encounters a financial problem. Molly is then required to get a job, something she’s never done before. She is hired as the nanny of an infamous, intolerable eight-year-old girl named Ray. And when Molly and Ray grow closer together, they realize they’ve found a real friend in each other.

So, that’s it. Those are the movies that you should be looking forward to this cinema season. Have fun at the theater! (These release dates are for the US only. It would probably take a few weeks for many of the movies to get here.)

To Do List

MOVIES

• Watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. This cute romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey is such a sweet treat for any romanticist who wants to have a laugh.

TV

• Watch Six Feet Under on HBO. One of my favorite TV shows is back! The second season of this beautiful, elegantly crafted, well-written series has even more surprises from Nate, David, Brenda and the rest of the Fisher funeral home. It is shown every Tuesday at 10 p.m.