Summer Preview

Ealasaid/ May 15, 2006/ Movie Reviews and Features

Aaah, summer. The time of big action movies and brainless comedy. As usual, summer is starting early at the multiplexes this year; it’s only may and we’ve already had “Mission: Impossible III” and “Poseidon.”. Here’s a look at the movies your humble reviewer is particularly interested in amid the many being released.

“The Da Vinci Code” is based on the bestselling novel of the same name, and stars Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou. Although I have an irrational dislike of Tom Hanks, this may be worth a look, if only to see what all the fuss is about. Page-turner pulp thrillers often make decent films and with Ron Howard at the helm this has potential. Opens May 19.
“X-Men: The Last Stand” is the third film in the franchise, and it looks like everyone is back. There are also a bunch of new characters – Kelsey Grammer as Beast and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, to name two. A “cure” for mutation is found, offering mutants the opportunity to get rid of their mutations. Magneto (Sir Ian McKellan) and Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and their respective followers have widely differing opinions about what this means for the future, and pretty soon we’ve got more mutant-on-mutant battling. This looks like it’s going to be a great time, assuming that director Brett Ratner (“Rush Hour,” “Rush Hour 2,” and “After the Sunset”) can fill Bryan Singer’s shoes. Opens May 26.
Jack Black has starred in great movies (“School of Rock”) and ones I wasn’t brave enough to see because they looked awful (“Shallow Hal”). Now he’s come out with one that could go either way: “Nacho Libre,” the tale of a Mexican priest (Black) who moonlights as a lucha libre wrestler to make money for an orphanage. The clips in the trailers alternate between groan-inducing and pretty snappy, so this one might be worth a shot. It opens June 16.
“The Devil Wears Prada” is an utterly hilarious book. The story of a young woman attempting to survive a year working for a horrific high-powered fashion magazine editor, it had me in stitches. Now they’re making it into a movie, with Meryl Streep as the editor and Anne Hathaway as the young woman. Director David Frankel has directed episodes of “Sex and the City” and “Entourage,” which should provide a decent preparation for the biting comedy of the book, and Streep is perfect for the part. Opens June 30.
Then there’s “Superman Returns,” which brings the hero back to Earth after a long, mysterious absence. He has to contend with having apparently lost the affections of Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) and with the continued villainy of Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey). Casting virtual unknown Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel was a good move that bodes well; this isn’t likely to be a star vehicle, so with some luck the script will be solid. Bryan Singer of “X-Men” and “X-Men 2” was a wise choice; he did a great job with those films and hopefully has done a great job here as well. Opens June 30 as well.
Anybody who enjoyed “Pirates of the Caribbean” can probably tell you that the first of two sequels, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” is coming. The same team is back aboard, from director Gore Verbinsky to the main cast. This time Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) must find a way to keep the monstrous Davy Jones from claiming his soul; his friends Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) wind up along for the ride. The previews are short on plot but what they do show looks like a lot of fun. Opens July 7.
No summer preview would be complete without mentioning the film “Snakes on a Plane.” It’s already become an internet fan phenomenon, largely due to the unashamed cheesiness of the title and story. Samuel L. Jackson, who stars in it, has insisted that the production company keep the title (they were going to change it to “Pacific Air Flight 121” or something equally tepid) because it was a big part of why he signed on. Apparently Jackson was a fan of big, mindless action/thrillers like this when he was a kid. The story revolves around (surprise!) a bunch of venomous snakes being turned loose on a plane. The excuse for this is that an assassin couldn’t think of a better way to kill a witness in protective custody. This promises to be good, cheesy fun in the vein of “Con Air” and “National Treasure.” Opens August 18.
This should be a fun summer. See you at the movies!