“Star Trek” – Director J.J. Abrams (“Lost”) attempts to reboot the “Star Trek” franchise with a fresh take on the U.S.S. Enterprise and its crew. The film, which is the 11th entry in the “Star Trek” movie series, is a prequel that follows the first meeting between James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock, the half-human, half-Vulcan.
The film opens this Friday, and personally I am absolutely stoked for it. I was never a huge fan of the series and its subsequent incarnations (“Deep Space Nine” anyone? Yuck), but after seeing the teaser trailer some time last year, I was hooked.
The film appears to be cast rather well, including Zachary Quinto (“Heroes”) as Dr. Spock. The film is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action, violence and brief sexual content. “Star Trek” also stars John Cho, Simon Pegg, Ben Cross, Tyler Perry and Leonard Nimoy.
“Terminator Salvation” – As the summer of franchise reboots and sequels continues, Christian Bale stars in the first Swartzenegger-less “Terminator” film. The fourth installment, directed by McG (“Charlie’s Angels”), follows a grown-up John Conner as we wages war against Skynet and the Terminators.
Unfortunately, the box office will not get $9 out of me for this one. I refuse see a “Terminator” movie with no Arnold, and worse yet, Christian Bale. I don’t care if everyone hails the film as the greatest entry in the franchise – I’m skipping out.
“Terminator Salvation” opens May 21 and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and language. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard, Helena Bonham Carter and Common.
“Up” – Pixar’s latest computer-animated release follows the story of a Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year-old man who embarks on a journey in a hot air balloon-esque house. Fredricksen and a Junior Wilderness Explorer named Russell explore the globe and find themselves in sticky situations.
Pixar hasn’t really made a bad flick (save “WALL-E,” which I think I may be the only person on the planet who absolutely hated it), and looks to continue its run with “Up.”
Based on the trailer, the film looks to be a wild, funny ride, and I’m looking forward to it. Like I said, you can’t really go wrong with a Pixar film, and “Up” will hopefully not be an exception. The film opens on May 29, and is rated PG for some peril and action.
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” – Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox return in director Michael Bay’s follow up to 2007’s “Transformers.” There’s sure to be a lot of robot-on-robot fight sequences as the Autobots and Decepticons go at it for second time.
I don’t care what the actual plot of this time is – I’ll pre-order my ticket as soon as I can. Everyone gave the first film a hard time, but as a childhood fan of the “Transformers” cartoon, I believe Michael Bay succeeded in adapting the transforming robots to live action. The first film had a ton of great action sequences, funny moments and awesome looking giant robots.
I’m sure the second film will be a lot like the first, which is fine by me. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” also stars Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro and Rainn Wilson. The film opens on June 24th and is not yet rated (but expect PG-13).
“Bruno” – Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat” took the world by storm. Everyone was doing stupid impressions of “I like!” and “Very nice!” for two years too long. Now they’ve got something else to quote, and it comes in the form of a gay, Austrian TV reporter.
The film looks to be in the same vein as “Borat,” but looks a little too “set up” for my taste.
It’s hard to say whether or not “Bruno” will earn the same kind of reception as “Borat” – we’ve seen Cohen do this before. Still, it’s sure to make a lot of money in the box office “Bruno” is rated R for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language.
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” – In one of the most anticipated releases of the summer, the sixth installment in the “Harry Potter” franchise follows Harry’s continued preparation for his final battle with the evil Voldemort.With Dumbledore at his side, Harry knows the end is near. Meanwhile, teenage hormones take over at Hogwarts, which look to undermine friendships. Hands down, this is the film I am looking forward to the most this summer.
Each “Harry Potter” movie has gotten better and better, as well as darker and darker. I’ve never read the books, but the movies are some of my favorites of all time. I’m positive the film will live up to previous installments, and cannot wait for July.
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman and Michael Gambon. The film is rated PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality. The sixth “Harry Potter” opens July 15.
