The Review's Summer Movie Preview!

I cannot believe it is finally that time of year again. Summer movie season is finally upon us! As is usual, I feel like it is my job to give a rundown of all of the big Summer releases that are coming up, detailing the ones I think a good Summer moviegoer should look out for, the ones that they should probably avoid, and the ones that could surprise. There's a lot going on here, so let's keep the excitement moving with my first looking at the movies you should be lining up to see opening day!

This Summer has many big, banner movies coming out, and there are many that I have great enthusiasm for. First, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2, the final installment in the wonderful Harry Potter franchise, and I mean, come on, this is the last time you'll get to see Harry on the big screen, so why not see it in theaters? This finale is shaping up to be an epic, action-packed, two hour thrill ride with non-stop action from start to finish, not to mention the movie has played the best for test audiences out of any of the eight Harry Potter movies.

Next, is Super 8, director J.J. Abrams' latest original work, about kids in small town America who while making a home movie witness a train wreck, and see some sort of alien, escape from the train. There are hints of the great Spielberg blockbusters of yesteryear, but also the undeniable charm of Abrams' previous work seems to be at play here, plus it is an original film in a Summer of so many remakes and sequels. All of this is followed by the superheroes, Thor, First Avenger: Captain America, and Green Lantern. All have shaped up nicely, with Thor getting good reviews, indicating that it may successfully kick off the summer movie season next week. And what more can I say about Green Lantern, the space policeman, so to speak. He has always been one of my favorite superheros, and I will be lining up to see it. Now on to those movies that I think a Summer moviegoer should wait till DVD.

As it is with each Summer, there are those movies that it seems they have everything going for it, then there are those others that just seem as if the studios threw away hundreds of millions of dollars. I can probably go ahead and say most chick flicks will probably fall into this category (Something Borrowed, anyone), as is per usual when the Summer is driven by movies targeted more so to little boys. With that said, I don't even feel like spending forever here. Cars 2 (a sequel to the weakest Pixar film, no thanks), The Hangover: Part 2 (cause a sequel was necessary here, right?), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (a sequel to an unwatchable sequel), Conan the Barbarian (no one can replace Arnold), and Zookeeper (cause, does anyone still find Kevin James funny? Unfortunately, probably). There are always so many more, but those are the ones that I am getting the worst vibes on right now. Now time to do the fun part. Time to try and predict the films that have the potential to surprise and be the gems of a hot Summer!

There are so many movies with question marks over them, as with any Summer, but this Summer seems to have so many movies that have the potential and the talent behind them to succeed, but they are all wait and see films for me. The first is the other superhero movie not mentioned above, X-Men: First Class. Personally, as long as the movie fulfills its promise of showing how the two friends, Professor X and Magneto, become enemies, then this one may be worth seeing. Then, there is Cowboys & Aliens. I don't know what to think of this Wild West, Sci-Fi mash-up, but it is a unique take on these two genres that has never been seen before, and having a cast that features Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, and my favorite actor of all-time, Harrison Ford, never hurts.

As for Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides, the first Pirates is still a worthy swashbuckler that is a lot of fun to revisit, but the two sequels left a lot to be desired. With a completely new crew, new cast (save for Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush), and a somewhat simpler direction for the story, perhaps this fourth installment could recapture the magic that made the first one so special. Then there is Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which I personally was blown away by the first trailer. The Planet of the Apes franchise is still one of the greatest in movie history, but let's be honest, we've all wanted to know how those darn apes came to take over the world and overthrow humanity. I just hope it will allow room for real human characters and not just ape carnage.

Moving on into kid's movies, Winnie the Pooh is Disney's attempts at trying to rekindle the old magic, by going back to the beginning and making a more "faithful" adaptation of A.A. Milne's original stories. It doesn't hurt that in a Summer of CG-animations, it's a joy to see a traditional hand drawn flick hitting theaters. Then, there is Mr. Popper's Penguins, a movie based on one of my favorite children's books of all-time. It tells the story of Mr. Popper, who keeps penguins for pets in his New York penthouse, as he tries to teach them how to dance. The trailer promises to offer up a modernized take on the story, while keeping its core in tact, with a potentially funny role for Jim Carrey. As long as the filmmakers can keep this from being a cheesy Garfield-like movie that forsakes genuine comedy for stupid bathroom humor, we may be in store for a good time at the movies.

So that's my Summer Movie Preview! Enjoy!