Summer movie preview
By Taylor Gibbons
Skiff Staff

The summer movie season is probably the time of year most anticipated by both audiences and movie studio financiers. It’s a time when Hollywood breaks out its biggest and most expensive pictures, and lines of hardcore devotees form around the block to see movies they’ve been anticipating for months.

This summer should be no different, as Hollywood is offering up a slew of blockbuster films replete with big names, big budgets and big hype.

First out of the gate is “X2: X-Men United,” which will be kicking off summer a month early with a May 2 release date. This sequel to “X-Men,” released in 2000, will feature familiar mutants, as well as a few new faces including Alan Cumming as the agile Nightcrawler and Brian Cox as the nefarious Gen. William Stryker. Having reportedly been made on a budget and timetable significantly more generous than the original, and based on an original story (unlike many sequels), X2 stands a good chance of besting its predecessor, both critically and commercially.

Opening May 9 is “Daddy Day Care,” in which Eddie Murphy plays a hapless dad at odds with a gang of rowdy children. After losing his job, Murphy’s character decides to open a daycare service along with his friends, played by Steve Zahn and Jeff Garlin. Hijinks ensue. Like most people, I’m a fan of Eddie Murphy’s early comedy, and although I try not to judge him too harshly, I simply lack the imagination required to envision a world in which I could enjoy “Daddy Day Care.” But that doesn’t matter, since it’s a kid’s movie and they’ll likely eat it up.

“The Matrix: Reloaded,” perhaps this summer’s most hotly anticipated movie, opens May 15. Fans of the original can expect more of the sort of high-kicking, high-tech action that made the first film such a success. In this, the second “Matrix” installment, the surviving freedom fighters from the first movie are forced to take the fight beyond the virtual world in order to protect Earth’s last human city. “The Matrix: Reloaded” promises to be a solid sequel, and a safe bet for movie watchers this summer.

Jim Carrey returns to comedy this summer with “Bruce Almighty,” opening May 23. Carrey plays Bruce, a well-liked guy with a beautiful girlfriend (played by Jennifer Aniston), who is nonetheless discontented. After the worst day of his life, Bruce verbally lashes out at God, and God (played by Morgan Freeman) responds, endowing Bruce with all of his powers and challenging him to do a better job. Lighthearted and fun at best, limp and innocuous at worst, “Bruce Almighty” will probably be successful, then permanently forgotten.

On May 30, movie fans will be treated to “The Italian Job.” A heist movie starring Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton and Charlize Theron, “The Italian Job” centers around a scam to steal back a car full of stolen gold by causing Los Angeles’ biggest traffic jam.

Featuring a slick premise and some top notch talents, there’s no reason why “The Italian Job” shouldn’t be a perfectly enjoyable piece of popcorn cinema.

Car theft enthusiasts who enjoyed 2001’s “The Fast and the Furious” may be disappointed with this summer’s “2 Fast 2 Furious,” set to be released June 6. Vin Diesel, one of the key elements of the success of the original, is gone, along with the rest of the original cast (with the exception of the underwhelming Paul Walker) as well as the original director. So what’s left? From the looks of it, not much. “2 Fast 2 Furious” promises to be little more than a lame warming over of all the elements made the original such a fun movie. This is just the sort of sequel nobody wants to see.

Next up with a June 13 release date is “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd.” Although ostensibly a prequel to 1994’s goofball comedy “Dumb and Dumber,” “Dumb and Dumberer” has little more than a name in common with its predecessor. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, the original Harry and Lloyd, are gone, replaced by a duo of younger actors who bear a passable resemblance to them. The movie takes viewers back to the high school days of the dull-witted duo as they bumble their way through their education and fight to stay out of “special” classes. Despite suffering from an uninspired premise, this summer spinoff has the potential to be a fun goofball comedy.

“The Hulk” smashes into theaters June 20, bringing yet another one of Marvel Comics’ flagship titles to the big screen. “The Hulk” centers around Bruce Banner (played by Aussie funnyman Eric Bana), an emotionally repressed scientist who, thanks to a freak accident, transforms into rampaging beast whenever his ire is raised. Also along for the ride are Bruce’s girlfriend Betsy Ross (Jennifer Connelly) and her disapproving father General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Nick Nolte). This is going to be another “must see” for fans of the original comic. Here’s hoping it doesn’t disappoint.

June wraps up with “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” opening June 27. Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore are all back for another round of irreverent humor, comic book martial arts and gratuitous cheesecake. If you liked the first, then you’ll probably like this one, since it’s roughly the same movie (although Bill Murray has vanished, replaced by Bernie Mac). Probably not the best movie of the summer, but not the worst either.

July can boast its share of eagerly anticipated movies; Unfortunately, information on them was somewhat limited. After an absence of a decade, Arnold Schwarzenegger is finally back as the Terminator in “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.” Get ready for a heaping helping of blood and silicon as Ah-nuld attempts to re-establish himself as the king of the summer box office. For some reason, Paramount Pictures has decided to release “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.” The original was panned by critics and fizzled at the box office, and this sequel is based on a video game franchise which is no longer very popular, so where the heck did this movie come from? “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” starring Sean Connery, holds the distinction of being the only movie based on a comic based on several books. In this unique action-adventure, some of the most popular figures of 19th century literature team up to fight crime. No, I’m not kidding. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have rejoined for “Bad Boys II,” a sequel that follows a duo of wisecracking cops as they attempt to bust up an Ecstasy-trafficking operation and prevent a bloody criminal turf war. Also entering the fray this July are another pair of sequels, “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” and “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde,” and “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” the only movie I know of based on a theme park ride.

This summer is promising to be one full of thrills, chills and copious amounts of star power. What better way to enjoy the break from school than with a little break from reality?

t.e.gibbons@tcu.edu