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Summer Film Preview Guide

April 23rd, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Cinematographer Oliver Bokelberg and Richard Jenkins on the set of THE VISITOR

Read ‘em and weep, folks. You thought last summer was bad? This is how we’re going to be spending the next four months at the movies.

APRIL 25, 2008
HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY
If Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle was such a terrible film why do I own a copy? Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who penned the original raunch fest, wrote and directed the sequel. This time the hemp heads are mistaken for chronic terrorists.
DECEPTION
Ewan McGregor visits a mysterious sex club and quickly becomes the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a million dollar heist. Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Bruce Altman, Natasha Henstridge, Charlotte Rampling and cinematographer Dante Spinotti co-star in first time director Marcel Langenegger’s action thriller. You had better bring a shovel to help fill in all the plot holes.
BABY MAMA
Another SNL-produced comedy. Next…
THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES
One of the only films on the list I’ve seen and it’s a morbid stinker thoroughly taken by it own brilliance. Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood climb Jacob’s ladder and wind up on Owl Creek Bridge. How’s that for a spoiler? The very important Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) directed.
THE VISITOR
Thomas McCarthy (The Station Agent) directs this dramedy about a widowed professor who finds a young couple squatting in his apartment. The superb Richard Jenkins stars.

MAY 2, 2008
MADE OF HONOR
Brought to us by the same man who directed Leonard Part 6. We know what this is made of.
IRON MAN
Did Elf make so much money that Paramount was willing to hand Jon Favreau $186 million to direct this? Guess so. Let’s hope that Robert Downey can work his magic on yet another comic book adaptation.
MIO FRATELLO E FIGLIO UNICO (MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD)
How did a film with subtitles make it on this list? Daniele “Never heard of him” Luchetti directs this Italian coming of age film.

MAY 9, 2008
SPEED RACER
It still hurts when I think about The Matrix, but on the strength of Bound and their script for V for Vendetta I’m willing to give the Wachowski Bros. another shot. Let’s see if Emile Hirsch can put a stop to his smug posing long enough to play the title role. Christina Ricci also stars, but the most interesting casting is Susan Sarandon and John Goodman as Mom and Pop Speed. I didn’t know they were Asian.
THEN SHE FOUND ME
Helen Hunt stars in and directs this romantic comedy about a New York school teacher having a midlife crisis. Colin Firth, Bette Midler and Matthew Broderick co-star.
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
A TV commercial tagline intended to promote tourism becomes the basis for a feature film. Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz play two strangers that awaken together to discover they’ve gotten married following a night of debauchery in Sin City. Laughter ensues when they discover that one of them has won a huge jackpot after playing the other’s quarter. Tom Vaughan directs.

MAY 16, 2008
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
Part 2 of the Narnia franchise. Have fun!
SON OF RAMBOW
Two little boys make a home movie in this coming of age comedy set in the 80s. Much of it is based on writer/director Garth Jenning’s (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) childhood experiments with a camcorder. The tagline reads: “Make Believe. Not War.” Better bring insulin.

MAY 22, 2008
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
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