As I mentioned in a previous post, my first attempt at this article got destroyed by WordPress’ auto-save feature. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna rewrite the whole article again, but I’m going ahead and doing so, if for no other reason that to be defiant against WordPress’ attempt to screw things up. However, I will stop short of how far I had gotten last time and only include the May & June releases. I’ll work up a list of July & August in the near future and perhaps try to combine them into a master list. So anyway, here’s the list of the May & June releases for Summer 2007, listed in order of my level of anticipation with some comments and a link to the IMDB page for the film.

1. Live Free Or Die Hard (6/27)
   Who knows, perhaps this fourth entry to the father of the modern action movie franchise will fall on its face, but I’m totally looking forward to it all the same. Taking point as the director this time is Len Wiseman, who directed the Underworld films. The first Underworld was quite lame. The second one I actually quite liked. The cast for this entry in the franchise gets some nide additions, including the funny Justin Long (we’ll try to not hold the Apple commercials against him). And we’ve got the vastly underrated Timothy Olyphant as the main baddie, too. And hey, Len Wiseman has carried over composer Marco Beltrami from working on Underworld Evolution to do the score to this high profile project. I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with. Surely it’ll be an improvement on the late (not-so-great) Michael Kamen’s efforts for the previous films.
2. Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End (5/25)
   While I didn’t like the second film as much as the first, it was still quite entertaining. My anticipation for this third film is very high, if for no other reason than the fact that this is being produced as a final entry in a trilogy and they will be going for broke. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the most defining acting performances of the decade, and getting to see him put the finishing touches on it will be great.
3. 28 Weeks Later (5/11)
   Despite the fact that this is one of those horror sequels to feature none of the original cast, and only partial original crew, I have very high hopes. The original is one of the horror genre’s greats. The Brits have been making better horror films this decade than anyone, and this sequel has the original classic to live up to. But, no pressure…
4. Ratatouille (6/29)
   Sure, the trailers do very little to make me want to see this film, but that’s actually been true of most previous PIXAR productions. Yet they all still manage to be fantastic. At this point, even the typical nay-sayers are saying that they’ve been wrong enough times in the past stating, “this’ll surely be PIXAR’s big downfall,” to finally just accept the fact that it’ll likely be a great film. I’m hoping that the mere fact that it’s a PIXAR film will make it great. They’ve certainly earned enough trust over the years to have that faith in them.
5. Spider-Man 3 (5/4)
   This film gets to be the official kick-off to the summer movie season, and the pressure for it will be intense. After the massive success of the previous two films, and the record setting number of screens it will launch in, all the pundits are expecting the Spider-Man franchise to reclaim that biggest opening record it once had, which was stolen by Dead Man’s Chest. The first film was quite good, but the second was actually better. Can this third film deliver on expectations? It’ll be hard. At least Thomas Haden Church will be an added benefit.
6. Shrek The Third (5/18)
   Here’s another third franchise film to be released in May. And it is yet another that has massive expectations to live up to. Like the Spider-Man films, I liked the second Shrek better than the first and have high hopes for the third. They can’t go too wrong, since Antonio Banderas is back as Puss-In-Boots.
7. Waitress (5/2)
   One of those rarest of cute films: those tainted by controversy - the fact that writer/director Adrienne Shelly was murdered. The film has a fantastic cast (Nathan Fillion, Keri Russel, Jeremy Sisto, Andy Griffith, etc) and looks to be a great little charmer. I definitely look forward to seeing it.
8. Away From Her (5/4)
   The directorial debut of Sarah Polley. ‘nough said. I’m there.
9. Fido (6/15)
   Excellent cast members Carrie-Anne Moss and Billy Connolly star in the wonderfully dark but goofy looking zombie comedy (otherwise known as a “zomcom”).
10. Evan Almighty (6/22)
    One of the most expensive comedies ever made (THE most expensive?) at something like $175 million, the pressure is on for this one. The trailer has been mildly funny, but it’s ultimately the cast that will probably save this one. The great Steve Carrell is joined by the returning Morgan Freeman (who is always great - ALWAYS). And to add icing to the cake, the wonderful Lauren Graham joins the fun. The first film was amusing enough, but not a classic or anything. That’ll at least give this film an easier job at trying to live up to and/or beat the creative expectations.
11. Lucky You (5/4)
    Ignoring the exception of 8 Mile, Curtis Hanson is a very talented director. He has an excellent cast at his disposal for this film, not to mention an excellent crew. Part of said crew is composer Christopher Young, who also did the score to my all-time favorite poker movie, Rounders.
12. Knocked Up (6/1)
    The newest film from talented writer/director Judd Apatow features a fantastic cast (many of whom are regulars in his movie and TV projects). The trailer is quite funny, and Katherine Heigl will make a nice addition to the rest of his usual cast members.
13. Ocean’s 13 (6/8)
    I have high hopes for this third entry film, despite the fact that the second entry wasn’t all that great. It’s impressive that they can manage to coordinate the schedules of the massive returning cast to make these films. Only Julia Roberts isn’t returning for this entry. And hey, they added new cast members as unexpected as Ellen Barkin.
14. Day Watch (6/1)
    The sequel to the slick and cool Russian horror/action film Night Watch should be equally cool, if not more so.
15. Captivity (5/18)
    This looks like it might be a pretty cool horror flick. The trailers have been pretty nifty, and there’s been a moderate amount of controvery over the print advertising campaign. Director Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields, Fat Man & Little Boy) hasn’t made a great film in more than 15 years, so he’s due. And hey, Marco Beltrami has the scoring duties, so at least that part of the film will be great.
16. Mr. Brooks (6/1)
    Can this Kevin Costner thriller deliver? Perhaps. It has many talented cast members, that’s for sure. From Marg Helgenberger to Danielle Panabaker, it also features some entertaining enough actors like Dane Cook and Demi Moore. However, I have a feeling that if anything will make this movie great, it will be William Hurt. His “devil on the shoulder” role in the film will surely give him some great material to work with.
17. You Kill Me (6/29)
    Ben Kingsley, Tea Leoni, Bill Pullman, Luke Wilson  - reasons enough for me. Director John Dahl has shown some talent in the past, too.
18. The Wendell Baker Story (5/18)
    Luke Wilson’s directorial debut? Count me in. He stars as well.
    
19. Bug (5/25)
    Here’s one of the crazy films that’s opening against At World’s End, but it might do OK anyway. Trailer for it is fairly effective, and it has a respectable pedigree.
20. Martian Child (6/29)
    John & Joan Cusack star along with the likes of Amanda Peet in this parental looking version of K-PAX. Should be at least fairly good.
    
21. Angel-A (5/25)
    The extremely stylish and rather enigmatic looking black & white film from writer/director Luc Besson get its US debut. I’ll admit that most anything in recent years with his name on it has been total crap (with the exception of the fantastic Danny The Dog, aka Unleashed). Hopefully this will return him to his earlier levels of style and greatness from Nikita to The Messenger (yes, I’m actually a fan of that film).
22. Evening (6/15)
    Claire Danes. I’m there. The rest of the highly notable cast surely won’t hurt, either.
23. A Mighty Heart (6/22)
    This Angelina Jolie-in-a-foreign-land film looks to be different than her previous genre outings, and looks interesting enough to work well.
24. Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (6/8)
    So, can they improve upon the considerably lame first Fantastic Four film with this sequel. All early indicators look as though they have, but it’ll take a considerable efforts to get rid of the bad after taste from the first film. Hey, if nothing else, at least there’ll be another great John Ottman score to enjoy.
25. Home Of The Brave (5/11)
    Not entirely sure what to make of this movie, but it could turn out good. It does have a couple good cast members (Christina Ricci, Sam Jackson, Jessica Biel), and the trailers have made it look pretty decent.
26. Rise: Blood Hunter (6/1)
    While the “undead” premise of this revenge thriller may backfire completely, and the fact that there’s little material out there about this film yet to make any judgments at all, this Lucy Liu film may be a dark horse in the running.
27. I Could Never Be Your Woman (6/15)
    Amy Heckerling returns with this romantic comedy that looks like it might work well enough if Tracey Ullman’s part in the film didn’t sound like one of those retarded elements that could destroy the entire film. We’ll see about that. Cool to see Heckerling bring a few of the Clueless cast to this film (Paul Rudd, Stacey Dash, Twink Caplan).
28. The Ex (5/18)
    After the awful The Last Kiss, it’ll take a bit of motivation on my part to see another romantic Zach Braff film. But hey, Amanda Peet and Jason Bateman will surely be enough to get me there. And…… Charles Grodin???
29. Surf’s Up (6/8)
    After the mildly amusing but ultimately disappointing Happy Feet, this follow-up computer animated penguin movie doesn’t show too much promise. Who knows, perhaps it’ll be a pleasant surprise. It has tons of awesome voice talent, featuring no less than Jeff Bridges channeling Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski. Other excellent voice performers include Zooey Deschanel, James Woods, Jon Heder, Shia LaBeouf, Mike McKean, Jane Krakowski and the underappreciated Brian Benben.
30. Eagle vs. Shark (6/29)
    Easily the most Napoleon Dynamite rip-off feeling of any movie since, this one has a small chance of working. It has a big danger of being exactly what it looks like - a wannabe.
31. Mama’s Boy (6/29)
    The only reason I have for wanting to see this is for a few of the cast members (Jeff Daniels, Anna Faris, Eli Wallach).
    
32. Nancy Drew (6/15)
    Yeah, OK, I’m hardly the target demographic for this one. Still, it has a solid director in Andrew Fleming (who’s movie, Dick, is one of the single most undervalued comedies ever made, imo) and a descent enough cast. The trailer seems a bit too juvenile, but it might work well enough.

And here are ones that I may or may not see, depending. I’ll have to talk myself into catching ‘em.

1. Georgia Rule (5/11)
   Here’s one of those films that looks like it’s way too stereotypical of the genre, and it features a couple great cast members and a couple sucky ones. If I’m caught up on enough of the other May releases, I might talk myself into catching this one.
2. Blind Dating (5/11)
   A romantic comedy that I have no idea of what to think features a couple good cast members. Might catch it.
3. DOA: Dead or Alive (6/22)
   A stupid looking action parody (I hope) brought to you by the Corey “The Transporter” Yuen. Yes, it’s based on the video game - which is surely another strike against. The ONLY reason I’d wanna see this is Jaime Pressly.
4. Delta Farce (5/11)
   The trailer for this film makes it look considerably stupid, and not in a funny way. My only reason for wanting to see it is for DJ Qualls. Might just wait to catch it on video or something. Perhaps I’ll be able to talk myself into catching it.
5. Hostel: Part II (6/8)
   Yeah, I’m one of the only people who kinda liked Cabin Fever but hated Hostel (though I don’t consider Cabin Fever to be a great movie or anything). I have very little interest in seeing Hostel Part II, as it looks like much of the same, just in a different setting. Somehow, I don’t think a simple change of venue will make much of a difference. I do think Eli Roth is a highly overrated director.
   
6. The Flock (5/11)
   Could Claire Danes actually be enough to make me break my Richard Gere boycott?

I’m sure there’s a handful more that I’m missing here, but this are the ones I’m aware of at this point.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at 8:12 pm and is filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.