Meryl cooks! Spock beams up! Brad sports a really bad mustache! That can only mean one thing: It’s summer at the multiplex again. Time to turn off your cerebral cortex and pony up for the popcorn because — in keeping with the custom of this season and the public’s need to escape the reality of recession — Hollywood is offering a plethora of mostly frivolous fodder to entice us into the air conditioning. Bon appetit! (Opening dates are subject to change.)
Star Trek
Expect a Vulcan death grip to seize the box office
They’ve boldly been there before — many times. But after innumerable TV installments and feature films, the franchise reintroduces the original characters with younger, lesser-known actors. A Leonard Nimoy appearance will help thrill throngs of Trekkies.
Rated PG-13. Opens today.
Angels & Demons
Forget the pope’s blessing — what about the critics?
The “Da Vinci Code” movie made a fortune but disappointed many devotees of the Dan Brown bestseller. This over-hyped sequel, based on “Code’s” prequel novel, re-teams director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks for a semiotic thriller at the Vatican.
Rated PG-13. Opens May 15.
Terminator Salvation
Ah-nold won’t be back, but fans probably will
The series’ fourth big-screen outing inaugurates Christian Bale as John Connor, the man fated to lead the resistance against an army of Terminators in the apocalyptic near-future. “Charlie’s Angels” director McG helms a grim reboot also starring Sam Worthington.
Rated PG-13. Opens May 21.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
History repeats itself for families
This sequel to Ben Stiller’s escapade into historical revisionism unfolds at the famed D.C. institution, pillaging its famous artifacts for fantasy farce. Robin Williams’ Teddy Roosevelt comes back, this time with Amy Adams’ Amelia Earhart, among others.
Rated PG-13. Opens May 22.
Up
A grumpy old man for all ages
Pixar’s latest has so much buzz, it’s set to be the first animated film ever to open the prestigious Cannes festival in May. Pixar continues to create original stories, here featuring an independent-minded septuagenarian who escapes assisted living
and travels the world by way of his balloon-buoyed house. Magically colorful
visuals and the voices of Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer punctuate a high-flying voyage.
Rated PG. Opens May 29.
Easy Virtue
Biel has a cool boyfriend, but drawing room finesse?
Jessica Biel attempts to hone her chops through this English costume drama, based on Noel Coward’s comedic play. Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas offer local authenticity as her snooty in-laws.
Rated PG-13. Opens May 29.
Land of the Lost
Jurassic high jinks ensue
Will Ferrell rejiggers the old Sid & Marty Krofft television series with his trademark silliness. Anna Friel and Danny McBride tag along for time traveling and dinosaur encounters for your viewing pleasure.
Not yet rated. Opens June 5.
The Taking of Pelham 123
Commuters, whip out your tokens
In one of the more intriguing star mergers of summer, Denzel Washington, John Travolta and James Gandolfini join forces for a remake of the 1974 crime thriller about the hijacking of a NYC subway train. Action master Tony Scott helms.
Rated R. Opens June 12.
Year One
It’s the battle of the buffoons
Taking on Ferrell’s prehistoric territory just two weeks after him, Jack Black and Michael Cera are zany cavemen under the guidance of old-school comedy hand Harold Ramis.
Rated PG-13. Opens June 19.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Special FX junkies will likely get their fix
Autobots! Decepticons! Shia LaBeouf! Megan Fox! They are all back in this product-placement ad turned gigantic blockbuster, a sequel to the successful sci-fi spectacle directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg.
Not yet rated. Opens June 24.
Cheri
Oo la la – a chick flick with class!
Colette’s beautiful classic novel makes it to the silver screen with this coming-of-age tale set in 1900s Paris. Michelle Pfeiffer is the cougar, Rupert Friend her protégé, under “The Queen” director Stephen Frears and “Atonement” screenwriter Christopher Hampton.
Rated R. Opens June 26.
My Sister’s Keeper
Thought-provoking summer drama? Maybe.
Thirteen-year-old Abigail Breslin sues for emancipation from her parents Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin after they conceive her as a genetic match for her terminally ill sister.
Rated PG-13. Opens June 26.
Public Enemies
Depp-defying shoot-’em-up aims at grown-up audience
Jack Sparrow battles Batman in this biopic about the charismatic bank robber John Dillinger. This Depression-era gangster picture pits Johnny Depp’s outlaw antihero against Christian Bale’s archnemesis FBI agent. With impressive credentials, including a cast with Billy Crudup as Herbert Hoover and Academy Award-winner Marion Cotillard, the epic gets a modern edge through the lens of the daring Michael Mann.
Rated R. Opens July 1.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
More Mesozoic mayhem
This third in the popular animated franchise brings back the critter voices of Ray Romano, Queen Latifah and Denis Leary as the prehistorics mate to survive.
Not yet rated. Opens July 1.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Impatient Muggles can’t wait to welcome back Potter
Warner Bros. yanked this sixth film in the series from last year’s holiday release schedule to open it during the more lucrative summer season. With only one J.K. Rowling novel left after this for adaptation to the big screen, Harry’s adventures at Hogwarts turn even darker. The wizard’s hormones continue to rage as Lord Voldemort looms ever more dangerously and a most beloved character is killed.
Rated PG. Opens July 15.
The Ugly Truth
Gorgeous stars — enough said
Katherine Heigl of “Grey’s Anatomy” meets “300’s” swarthy hunk Gerard Butler for an romantic comedy set at a morning TV show. It’s a battle of the sexes as directed by “Legally Blonde’s” Robert Luketic.
Rated R. Opens July 24.
Funny People
Taking the grim out of the grim reaper?
Don’t let the title or the notable ensemble fool you. Even though it is being billed as a Judd Apatow comedy with jokesters Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, the story concerns a comedian pondering existential questions of life and death.
Not yet rated. Opens July 31.
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
Say it ain’t so, Joe
Barbie’s inanimate beau gets the live-action movie treatment in what sounds like a fantasy war story that exploits the Hasbro toy’s brand name just to sell it. The dubious commercial venture includes Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum and Sienna Miller.
Not yet rated. Opens Aug. 7.
Julie & Julia
May be filling fare for foodies and film fans
Meryl Streep re-teams with her “Doubt” co-star Amy Adams for this adaptation of the best-selling memoir about a young woman’s encounter with the culinary genius of famed cook Julia Child. Long-absent Nora Ephron writes and directs.
Rated PG-13. Opens Aug. 7.
Taking Woodstock
Old age of Aquarius on its 40th anniversary
The musical festival that defined an era is the backdrop for this fact-based ensemble picture from the award-winning Ang Lee. Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, Eugene Levy and Demetri Martin illuminate hippie history.
Not yet rated. Opens Aug. 14.
Inglourious Basterds
It’s a specialized attack on the box office
A hirsute Brad Pitt, eccentric filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, and Jewish soldiers killing Nazis — how much more of a surreal combination could you ask for? Look for a World War II picture that upends the genre.
Not yet rated. Opens Aug. 21.
