The summer movie season is upon us once again! It seems like only yesterday we were lining up for crap like The Hangover II, Super 8, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but the recent rise in temperatures means multiplexes everywhere will be heating up very soon, as well.
As down as I was before, during, and after last summer, this one has me teeming with excitement. And it's not just the prospect of Christopher Nolan's final Batman film. The schedule from May to August is chock full of really promising potential blockbusters, and the release schedule for the indie circuit doesn't look too shabby either.
Things kick off with a bang on May 4 and The Avengers. I have to admit feeling skeptical about this film for quite some time. Of the five Marvel films that have led up to this one, I only recommend two (Iron Man and Captain America). Marvel fatigue has definitely set in for me, and the potential for this to be an overstuffed bore seemed, for the longest time, quite possible. The one constant, however, that's always kept me from dismissing this entirely is Joss Whedon's direction. His presence is incredibly reassuring, and—along with the very positive early word—has helped move this one way up my most-anticipated list.
Would if I could get excited for the following weekend's big new release—Dark Shadows. I've given up on Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaborations some time ago. They're all the same, and this one looks no different. Sasha Baron Cohen's The Dictator was also supposed to be released this weekend, but got bumped back to the following Wednesday. Paramount can continue to bump it back, as far as I'm concerned.
May 18 is my birthday, and what an incredible present I'm getting this year: Battleship. I'm actually not being facetious; I can't wait for this movie. I know a lot of people outside the U.S. have seen it and called it an epic suckfest, but I'm jazzed nonetheless. The trailers totally roped me in, and though I'm not deluding myself into thinking it'll actually be good, I'm really jonesing to catch a glimpse of it on the big screen.
Memorial Day brings us the season's first official sequel—Men in Black 3. It doesn't seem like one viewers were clamoring for, nor does it look like one people put much thought or effort into. But Josh Brolin's Tommy Lee Jones impersonation is killer, so all hope is not yet lost.
The first weekend in June brings us Snow White and the Huntsman, which looks decent enough, albeit pretty unnecessary. Charlize Theron just owns the extended trailer that came out earlier this year. I just hope it's not because Kristin Stewart is so terrible that they needed to hide her awfulness from us.
That brings us to June 8 and what has to be among my top five most-anticipated films of the entire year—Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted! Just kidding. It's Prometheus weekend, ladies and gentlemen. I absolutely adore the Alien franchise, and the thought of Ridley Scott going back there was almost too much to handle. Then he said it wasn't an Alien prequel. Then it was. Then it wasn't. Then I totally stopped caring because the footage we were seeing was just incredible. The trailer that hit last month is one of my favorites in a long time. And now, we're only about a month and a half away from seeing the film, and words can't really describe how pumped I am.
Assuming I'm not back in theaters for a third or four viewing of Prometheus the following weekend, I might be checking out Rock of Ages, which looks pleasant enough and could surprise a la Hairspray a few years ago. That's My Boy, on the other hand, is something I'd rather eat shit than go see.
The month's final two weeks are both pretty busy. On the 22nd, Pixar looks to bounce back from the massive disappointment that was Cars 2 with its newest film, Brave. Looks really good. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, on the other hand, doesn't, and that's coming from a huge Wanted fan. Finally, Focus Features tries its hand at some counter-programming with Seeking a Friend at the End of the World. The trailer wasn't all that great, but it sounds like an interesting enough project, and I'm a big Steve Carrell fan. So we'll see.
Finally, on the 29th, we get a double dose of Channing Tatum. Now, a male stripper movie isn't something I'd normally be excited to see, but c'mon, Magic Mike is a Steven Soderbergh flick. I'm there. G.I. Joe: Retaliation, on the other hand, is something I normally would never waste my time on, but they cut a really cool-looking trailer, and if the film itself lives up to that, I'll have to check it out.
This is the first of three posts previewing the 2012 summer movie season. Next time, I'll discuss July and August's big movies, as well as share my top 10 most-anticipated wide releases. I'll wrap up later in the week with my top 10 most-anticipated indie films of the summer.
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