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Iron Man - Currently playing in theaters as of May 2nd. Iron Man is the latest Marvel comic book creation. Based on the popular comic, Iron Man is a story about a billionaire inventor named Tony Stark who is forced to invent a weapon of destruction. Instead of doing so, he builds a suit of armor and escapes - and then, you guessed it, decides to continue wearing the suit in order to save the world as hero Iron Man. This one promises to be action-filled, with great special effects - if you like to catch every comic book movie that comes out, like myself, this one is probably going to be one of the best.
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark (who will be a really good choice for this role, I think) and Gwyneth Paltrow.
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Speed Racer - Currently playing in theaters and IMAX, as of May 9th. Speed Racer is one that has been pretty well publicized, so everyone should at least be aware of it, even if they're not planning on seeing it. This one is based off of the 60's anime series Speed Racer; since it's shot in a real format instead of anime, they've gone all-out to make it as unreal and anime-looking as possible. Whether the movie content is all that great or not, it's going to be a visual feast of color, motion and amazing special effects, brought to us by the same guys that created the Matrix. Speed Racer is a talented driver in his family's racing business; his brother's death in a legendary cross-country race, the Crucible, has left him driven to fulfill his brother's legacy. When his refusal to take a deal from an unethical racing mogul results in a threat to his racing future, Speed teams up with his formal rival, Racer X to run and beat the Crucible himself.
This one is also hitting IMAX at release; if all possible I would highly recommend you see it there - this kind of visual roller coaster is going to be phenomenal on a big screen.
Starring Emile Hirsch (previously in "The Girl Next Door"), Cristina Ricci as his girlfriend Trixi, and Matthew Fox of LOST fame, as Racer X.
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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - Opens May 16th. Narnia is back with a second in the series The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. In this second book, the Pevensie's find themselves summoned back to Narnia, to discover that while only a year has passed for them, a thousand years have gone by in Narnia. During this time, much has changed, and the land is now under the rule of the evil king Miraz. As the ancient kings and queens of Narnia, the childrens' help is now enlisted to find and restore to power, the true heir, Prince Caspian. In this one we'll meet the loyal mouse, Reepicheep, who I am personally looking forward to seeing on the screen. This will probably be best just at the overall visual presentation - the special effects in the first one with the animal characters were pretty well done.
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Opens May 22nd. Don't tell me you haven't been dying for this one for years!! The long-awaited continuation of the Indiana Jones saga!!! I don't know about you but I have been waiting for another one of these for years. I have always really enjoyed these movies, just straight-up fun adventure movies, with fabulous treasure hunts and a few corny one-liners. After much rumor and anticipation, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has arrived. In this latest advendure flick, Indiana Jones is on the lookout for the Crystal Skull of Akator, a mystical and mysterious archeological artifact being sought after by the Soviets. The Soviets' goal? - world domination, of course. I'm really looking forward to this one, the story line at least looks like classic Indy - I am hoping they're true to the previous movies in everything else and that this long-awaited followup is the same rollicking good time as all the rest. Starring (of course) Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Cate Blanchett as Irina Spalko, his competitor in the search for the Skull.
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Kung Fu Panda - Opens June 6th. This one looks absolutely hilarious and is going to be one of those summer movies with lots of offer all ages. Dreamworks' latest hit is the story of Po the panda, a chubby and lazy bear whose only dream is to become a martial arts expert - despite the fact that his abilities for quick action and fast thinking might be more than a little lacking. When he becomes the only answer to an ancient prophecy, he must find a way to save his valley from an evil snow leopard. Besides being just an overall funny movie, this one is also about the triumph of an underdog who must learn to use his own unique qualities to find his place in the world. Starring Jack Black as Po, Jackie Chan as Master Monkey, Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, Lucy Liu as Master Viper, and Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress, among others.
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The Happening (M. Night Shayamalan) - Opens June 13th. I continue to be intrigued by this guys movies - but as if that's not enough, this one also features Markie Mark!! If you have seen the trailers for this one that are now starting to show up on TV, it looks pretty creepy. I am a fan of M. Night Shayamalan, whose affinity for blurring and twisting the line between paranormal, mythical and real has generally produced pretty interesting and unpredictable story lines. This looks like it may be as good as the rest; this time it's more of a thriller than previous films. It tells the story of a family fleeing an unknown killer, hoping to find safe refuge in rural areas. With no warning, people begin dying bizarre, sometimes horrific deaths with no apparant explanation. Nobody knows if it is a virus, a biological weapon, some natural phenomenon, or any other equally insidious threat. When it becomes clear that there is no escape, Mark Wahlberg (playing main character Elliott Moore) tries to find out what the true nature of this apocalyptic horror really is, in the hopes of saving his family, and perhaps mankind as well. I am definately interested to see what Shayamalan does with a movie that is not just slightly creepy and paranoid, but full-out thriller. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel (of Failure to Launch and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, for any of you who have seen those), and John Leguizamo.
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The Incredible Hulk - Opens June 13th
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Wall-E - Opens June 27th
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The Dark Knight (the latest installation in what now appears to be the Batman series) - Opens June 18th
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And for one that is not a summertime release but is not to be missed later on this year: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Opens November 21, 2008. The 6th movie of the book series, leaving only one remaining to be released in 2010.
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Honorary Mention - I have to go ahead and include a movie which was released in January of this year and has just finally hit the DVD market - "27 Dresses" with Katherine Heigl. If you have not seen this movie, which I strongly suspect none of you have but Ellen and myself, go rent it and check it out. It is well worth it, very funny.
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I'd also like to mention another older movie, mainly because this one is so under the radar that probably none of you have ever heard of it. I never had - "It's All Gone Pete Tong" is a biopic on rave DJ Frankie Wilde. I honestly did not think I would like this one; I expected it to be depressing, like "Blow". The story of Frankie Wilde's rise and fall from fame is definately a tragedy, but the way in which he was able to turn his life around is completely uplifting. I really enjoyed this one. In addition, if you like Rave/Dance tracks it definately has a great soundtrack and interviews with some other notable DJ's.
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