Summer Movie Preview

Summer 2009 appears likely to be the season of the unexpected blockbuster sequel, remake and movies that will bring movie-going nerds to tears. Here is just a taste of what movies will be coming out this summer:

 

MAY

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

May 1

In a movie series that seemed to be dead and buried after 2000’s less-than-stellar X-Men and the uncomfortably boring sequels that followed it, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, seems to be a promising action comic book movie. What looks so good about this movie is that it is restarting the movie franchise rather than trudging on with the over-complicated mess of X-Men that has been around since 2000. Viewers will get to see the enigmatic Wolverine grow into the aggressive badass whom fans of the series love so much. This movie is not a full departure from the other X-Men movies though, as People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” Hugh Jackman, one of the few bright spots of the X-Men movies made at this point, will still be donning the sideburns of Wolverine for this X-Men recharge. Aside from the Jackman reprise of the role of Wolverine, a few characters cemented in X-Men lore that didn’t make it into the first movies, like the card-carrying Gambit, will be featured. It seems as though 20th Century Fox has remedied the problems of this beleaguered series and, if you haven’t already seen it via an unforeseen leak on the Internet, X-Men Origins will be worth a watch.  

 

Star Trek

May 7

In a summer of great movies for nerds, Star Trek is the veritable holy grail of the movie season. J.J. Abrams (Cloverfield, “Lost”) has brought the movie to the big screen, which it seems most moviemakers have been nervous to make ever since William Shatner hung up his yellow suit back in the ‘70s. Star Trek will follow the story of James Tiberius Kirk and the rest of the crew of the Starship Enterprise on their trek towards boldly going where no man has gone before. Much like X-Men, Star Trek will try to restart the series from scratch. To achieve freshness in a series that seems to have tried everything once before, Abrams is using a young cast of good-looking no-names like Chris Pine, who will be playing Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto, who, coupled with his role as Sylar on “Heroes,” is poised to be the hero of the nerds for this generation with his portrayal of Spock. Fans of the series will also be able to see the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, who will be playing Spock’s father, but don’t expect to see the Priceline.com negotiator skulking around this fresh, sexy new Star Trek; Abrams declined to invite him to the party.

 

Terminator: Salvation

May 21

Another revamping of a series, Terminator: Salvation will look at the world after the Terminators have taken over the earth. Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) looks to have turned in a powerhouse performance as Marcus Wright, a leader of the fight against the Terminators (he was just practicing on the lighting guy). With no traces of a naked Governator, Terminator: Salvation looks to be an exciting reinterpretation of the series, which seemed dead and buried with 2003’s embarrassing Terminator 3.

 

JUNE

Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 24

While 2007’s Transformers wasn’t the greatest movie in the world, its grandiose subject matter, explosions and overall mindless plotline fit the bill as a summer blockbuster, and this new sequel seems to be no different. Revenge of the Fallen will show the bad machines fighting back after being defeated by the good machines like Optimus Prime in the original Transformers. Retaining the spastic Shia Labeouf of Eagle Eye (sporting an injured wrist) and the sexy Megan Fox (Jennifer’s Body), Revenge of the Fallen seems to be poised to follow in the footsteps of its successful predecessor.

 

JULY

Public Enemies

July 1

In a season of comic book movies, Public Enemies is a refreshingly different movie about America’s public enemy number one, John Dillinger. The movie will focus on the cat and mouse game between Dillinger, who will be played by Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), and the man hunting him down, FBI agent Melvin Purvis, who will be played by Bale. With a stellar cast and a beautiful recreation of Depression-era America, Public Enemies promises to be a lot of fun at the movies and may just reinvent the crime drama enough to bring it back into the consciousness of moviegoers.

 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

July 15

The movie which would have been the biggest blockbuster of the winter season had it not been postponed, is now ready to be the biggest hit of the summer. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will bring to life the sixth installment of J.K. Rowling’s beloved series about the young wizard and all of his friends at Hogwarts. The best part of the movie looks to be what has made the series so popular – the cast, which is the same as it has been since the series was first brought to life in 2001. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson will all be back to cause mischief in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which looks to be the most popular movie of the summer.

 

This summer’s slate of movies is explosive and will definitely keep those with over-active imaginations glued to the theaters.