ON-SCREEN
Encores aweigh
This summer's film fare is heavy on sequels
By NANCY CHURNIN / Staff Writer
They're back.
Those who avidly followed the Pevensie siblings into The Chronicles
of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe can catch the
children's next magical adventure as Prince Caspian hits theaters
this summer. Look for other return visits, too, with titles including
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, Indiana Jones and
the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon
Emperor and The Dark Knight (a Batman movie that should play
primarily to teens and up).
Despite name recognition from these sequels and some television shows (
Speed Racer and Get Smart) making the leap to the big screen, this
summer season lacks the surefire kid hits of the Shrek,
Pirates of the Caribbean and Spider-Man mega-franchises from
last year.
But that makes a little room for new ideas, and young moviegoers might
get one worth exploring in Pixar's WALL-E, the story of a robot
who makes an important discovery on a faraway planet.
Because Hollywood is always filled with "coincidences," there's actually
another animated movie with a similar setting: Space Chimps, a
comedy about astronaut chimps that fly to an inhabited planet, where
they must save the day and then figure out how to get home.
Here's a look at the new releases. Remember, some do not have official
MPAA ratings yet, and all dates are subject to change. To find ratings
as they become available, go to www.mpaa.org.
Iron Man (May 2): A new superhero emerges from the files
of Stan Lee. A man (Robert Downey Jr.) decides to fight crime with the
suit that keeps him alive (kind of like a "good" Darth Vader). It
doesn't sound funny, but with Jon Favreau (Elf) directing,
there's hope.
Speed Racer (May 9): This live-screen adaptation of the
1960s Japanese animated series about a race car driver determined to
bring honor to his family stars Emile Hirsch as Speed, Christina Ricci
as his girlfriend Trixie and Matthew Fox of Lost as the
mysterious (naturally) Racer X.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (May 16):
Director Andrew Adamson and the original cast are back, from the kids to
Oscar winner Tilda Swinton as the White Witch, so we're jazzed about
this sequel, in which the kids return to Narnia to try to save Prince
Caspian and put him on the throne.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22):
Harrison Ford is back as our intrepid adventurer, this time with the appealing
Shia LaBeouf as Mutt Williams. Hmm, we met Indiana's dad in actor Sean
Connery in the last film. Could Mutt be Indiana's son in this one? Might
be worth a ticket to find out.
Kung Fu Panda (June 6): Jack Black is a slacker and Jackie
Chan a kung fu master in this animated film about a panda who must
believe in himself (and make a little effort) if he hopes to save the
Valley of Peace. Additional star voice turns by Dustin Hoffman, Angelina
Jolie and Seth Rogen. Also in Imax.
The Incredible Hulk (June 13): Will the switch of Edward
Norton and Liv Tyler as the brooding scientist turned part-time monster
and his girlfriend make this adaptation more incredible than the 2003
Hulk with Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly? Stay tuned.
Get Smart (June 20): Will this Mel Brooks-Buck Henry Cold
War comedy – one of the funniest – get smart or dumbed down for the big
screen? The casting looks promising with Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway,
Alan Arkin and Bill Murray on board.
WALL-E (June 27): A robot named WALL-E (short for Waste
Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) not only discovers something very
special on the planet he's cleaning, he meets a robot named Eve, whom he
chases across the galaxy in this animated film. It's from Pixar, so
we're ready for takeoff, Captain.
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (July 2): The
popular, historically inspired American Girl line of books gives the
big-screen treatment to Kit, a character who grows up in the early years
of the Great Depression with dreams of becoming a writer.
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (July 11): Jules
Verne's classic science fiction tale gets the 3-D treatment with Brendan
Fraser finding a few surprises under the Earth's surface.
Meet Dave (July 11): And it's back to outer space,
this time with Eddie Murphy trying to resuscitate his comic career
(again) in the story of aliens in a spaceship that looks like a human
being. Their vessel inconveniently falls in love with an Earth woman
played by Elizabeth Banks.
Space Chimps (July 18): The other animated space movie of
the summer stars Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg as Ham
III, a slacker chimp who finds himself on a mission to help the
inhabitants of a faraway planet. Then he has to figure out how to get
home.
The Dark Knight (July 18): Probably too dark for any but
the older teens, it features the late Heath Ledger as the psychotic
Joker fighting Batman (Christian Bale, reprising his role from the 2005
Batman Begins). Also in Imax.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Aug. 1): It's been
a while since The Mummy(1999) and The Mummy Returns
(2001). But Brendan Fraser tackles the mystery of yet another mummy,
this time with help from Luke Ford as his son.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (Aug. 8): Much has
changed for the four friends from the 2005 adaptation of Ann Brashares'
popular series. And much has changed for the actresses who play them,
especially the film's breakout star America Ferrera, who plays the title
character in the hit series Ugly Betty.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Aug. 15): This animated film,
which will be followed by a new animated television show in the fall on
Cartoon Network and TNT, tells the story between Star Wars: Episode
II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III –
Revenge of the Sith. Or as we like to call it, Episode II and 1/2.
Published in The Dallas Morning News: 04.04.08
