The summer movie season is upon us, bringing the latest batch of sequels, remakes of TV shows, and star-driven action and comedy vehicles, all with hefty budgets. Money buys spectacle, but it represses creativity–originality is too risky when so much is at stake. Hollywood, much more than Washington, is in serious need of finance reform.
Will any significant trends come out of the summer of 2003? Probably not, but there is one troubling theme. This could be the year of scary screen pairings. The long threatened combination of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees is finally here. If that isn’t frightening enough, we also have the Rugrats and the Wild Thornberrys, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and, perhaps the scariest of all, Kelly and Justin from American Idol. It makes the real world seem safer.
Here are the summer releases, for what they’re worth. All release dates are
tentative:
JUST
RELEASED
FINDING NEMO The latest Disney Pixar animated release is an undersea adventure in which a clownfish (voice of Albert Brooks) searches for his son who was stolen from his coral reef home. Eric Bana, Willem Defoe, and Ellen DeGeneres, whose presence has angered conservatives, also provide voices.
THE ITALIAN JOB Mark Wahlberg and Edward Norton star in this caper complicated by double crosses. This is a remake of a 1969 Michael Caine film that is memorable only for an extended car chase. There is much room for improvement here.
TOGETHER A Chinese film about a young boy who moves with his father from their rural home to Beijing in order to attend a prestigious music school. Directed by Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine).
WRONG TURN Eliza Dushka stars in this slasher film about a group of youths trapped in the backwoods of West Virginia. Supposedly it was inspired by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes.
JUNE
ALEX AND EMMA A novelist (Luke Wilson) uses his book advance to pay off a gambling debt. He hires a stenographer (Kate Hudson) to help him finish the book, and his growing feelings for her transform the book into a love story. This romantic comedy, with sleeper potential, is directed by Rob Reiner.
CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE The first film owed more to Hong Kong cinema than to the awful television series it was based upon. Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu are back, with Bernie Mack replacing Bill Murray in the role of Bosley in a sequel that promises to be more spectacular than the original.
DUMB AND DUMBERER: WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD The morons of Dumb and Dumber are back, sort of. This is a prequel showing how the two mentally challenged buddies met in high school. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are a bit too old for these roles.
THE EYE Chinese horror film about a young blind girl who has visions of ghosts after receiving a cornea transplant. Audiences here are likely to wait for the American remake, while the original will become a cult film.
FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY What studio head gave the green light to this ridiculous idea? Kelly Clarkson (last year’s American Idol winner) teams up with Justin Guarini (last year’s top loser) as two college students who fall in love during spring break.
THE HARD WORD Guy Pearce stars as one of three bank-robbing brothers who find profits in incarceration. Rachel Griffiths also appears as Pearce’s wife.
THE HEART OF ME Period drama about a 1930s Londoner (Paul Bettany) who has a long-term affair with his wife’s sister. Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Williams co-star as the sisters.
HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE Harrison Ford, in a rare comedic role, and Josh Hartnett star as two cops investigating the murder of a rap group. Lou Diamond Phillips also appears as an undercover cop disguised as a female prostitute. Directed by Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump).
THE HULK Comic book heroes continue to be all the rage, which in a sense is the theme of The Hulk. A lab experiment goes awry, giving Dr. Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) a split personality. Whenever he becomes angry, he’s transformed into the large green title creature.
With director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm) at the helm we may expect something more serious, though the creature will still look cartoonish.
PROZAC NATION Chritina Ricci stars as a music critic who suffers from depression. Norwegian director Erik Skjoldjaerg (Insomnia) makes his American debut with this adaptation of Elizabeth Wurtzel’s true-life memoirs.
RUGRATS GO WILD The two Nickelodeon animated series are combined in one adventure, in which the world traveling Thornberrys come to the aid of the Rugrats, who are stranded on a desert island.
28 DAYS LATER A virus is unleashed on the world, turning humans into murderous savages. Twenty-eight days later a small group of uninfected people become trapped in a Night of the Living Dead-style nightmare in which they fight for survival against the infected. Directed by Danny Boyle, who made the druggy classic Trainspotting.
2 FAST 2 FURIOUS Paul Walker, the central character from The Fast and The Furious, returns, but the “star” Vin Diesel does not. Brian O’Connor (Walker) loses his badge for violations committed in the first film, but he’s given a second chance for infiltrating the world of Miami street racing.
JULY
BAD BOYS II Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return, along with techno hack director Michael Bay, in a sequel to the cop buddy hit that promises to be bigger and louder. This time the unorthodox pair is on an assignment in London.
BUFFALO SOLDIERS Joaquin Phoenix stars in this military satire about a soldier involved in the drug culture. The film and the poster, showing Phoenix holding up his fingers in a peace sign, have already caused controversy.
CAMP A Broadway songwriter on the skids takes a job teaching at a musical summer camp for young singers, dancers, actors, and musicians. Here’s an original idea: the teacher seizes the opportunity with the kids to put on a big show.
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS Stephen Frears (The Grifters, My Beautiful Laundrette) directed this quirky murder thriller set in a London hotel. Evidence is discovered by a night porter, who is an illegal immigrant, and he enlists the aid of a Turkish chambermaid and a Chinese prostitute to solve the murder.
GARAGE DAYS Alex Proyas, the brilliant director of The Crow and Dark City, changes direction with this comedic tale of a struggling Australian rock band. Proyas and co-writer Dave Warner both have experience in the music business.
HOTEL Director Mike Figgis offers another experimental feature that is reminiscent of his Time Code. In this one he uses a split screen to tell four simultaneous stories set in the same hotel, all of which converge at the Venice Film Festival.
HOW TO DEAL Pop teen idol Mandy Moore stars as a teenager who believes true love doesn’t exist. Predictably a guy enters her life to change her view. The story is based upon two popular youth romance novels written by Sarah Dessen.
I’LL BE THERE Craig Ferguson (The Drew Carey Show) directed, co-wrote, and stars in this comedy about a has-been rock star who discovers he has a teenage daughter. Opera singer Charlotte Church plays the daughter. The story is loosely based on the lives of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and his daughter Liv Tyler.
JOHNNY ENGLISH Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) is perfectly cast as a bumbling secret agent in this spoof of James Bond films. The British crown jewels are stolen by a French mastermind (John Malkovich) and it is up to English to find them. This is already a big hit overseas, and Atkinson is funnier than Mike Myers, isn’t he?
LARA CROFT, TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie), the female version of Indiana Jones, returns in an adventure that takes her to an underwater temple that houses Pandora’s Box. Director Jan de Bont (Speed, Twister) takes over the reigns, and hopefully he has given this sequel the energy that was missing from the first flick.
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN Another comic book adaptation, but this one is a bit different. It features characters from older literary works, including Allan Quatermain, Dr. Jekyll, Captain Nemo, and others. Set during the Victorian Era, the royal government brings together the group to foil a plot for world domination. Sean Connery stars.
LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE & BLONDE This is the sequel to the surprise hit starring Reese Witherspoon as a dumb blonde who attends Harvard Law School. Now a lawyer, she goes to Washington, D.C., to get a bill banning animal testing passed through Congress. Our own state capitol stars as a stand-in for the nation’s capitol.
THE MAGDALENE SISTERS Historical drama about four women who endure mistreatment by nuns at the Magdalene Sisterhood Convent in 1964 Ireland. The Catholic Church has been protesting this film.
MASKED & ANONYMOUS Bob Dylan portrays a troubadour who puts on a show to reunite his war-torn country and revive his own career. Jeff Bridges and John Goodman co-star.
MISSION WITHOUT PERMISSION A 12-year-old mountain-climbing girl needs money to help her injured father, so with the aid of two friends she plots to rob a bank.
NORTHFORK Quirky tale of a dying nine-year-old orphan and the priest who watches over him. This is the latest film from the twin brothers Michael and Mark Polish, though they do not star here as they did in their debut Twin Falls Idaho.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL Johnny Depp stars in this fantasy adventure as a pirate who battles a group of undead pirates led by Geoffrey Rush. No pirate film has been profitable since the 1950s, but Disney expects this one to launch a series.
SEABISCUIT This is the true story of the legendary race horse that captivated America during the 1930s. The cast includes Jeff Bridges as the owner, Tobey Maguire as the jockey, and Chris Cooper as the trainer. Gary Ross (Pleasantville) directed. Of all the summer releases, this one appears to have the greatest Oscar potential.
SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS Animated adventure of the famed Arabian sailor (voice of Brad Pitt) who is framed for a crime by Eris, the Goddess of Chaos (voice of Michelle Pfeiffer). He must battle various monsters to prove his innocence.
SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER Robert Rodriguez completes his planned trilogy about the brother and sister spies. Portions of the movie will be shown in 3-D.
TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES Arnold Schwarzenegger returns; he needs a hit very badly, or he’ll have to run for governor of California. In his most successful screen role, Arnold takes on the evil terminator, who this time is a female. Unfortunately James Cameron did not direct.
AUGUST
AMERICAN SPLENDOR This award-winning film at Sundance tells the story of Harvey Pekar, a comic book writer who works as a file clerk at a Cleveland Veterans hospital. It mixes documentary footage of Pekar with a dramatization starring Paul Giamatti. Pekar was a regular on David Letterman’s show in its early days.
AMERICAN WEDDING Many of the cast members return for the second sequel to American Pie. The gang reunites for the wedding of Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), and, predictably, a bachelor party will figure prominently.
AND NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN Jeremy Irons stars as a jewel thief who sails around the world in a yacht. He meets and falls in love with a French jazz singer (Patricia Kaas). Claude Lelouche directed.
THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS A coming-of-age tale of a war re-enactor who challenges the school bully and seduces the sister of his best friend. This is the second film from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Project Greenlight.
DIRT Two moronic Texas brothers need a woman around the house after their mother dies, so they hire a hooker. Eventually they become kidnappers and bank robbers.
LE DIVORCE The producer-director team of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory are back with a comedy based on the novel by Diane Johnson. Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts star as two American sisters living in Paris who become involved with a wealthy French family.
DON’T TEMPT ME A boxer with a serious brain injury is visited by two supernatural agents to win his soul. One is from heaven (Victoria Abril) and the other is from hell (Penelope Cruz).
ENVY Tim (Ben Stiller) becomes extremely jealous of his best friend Nick (Jack Black) after he makes a fortune from selling an invention. Directed by Barry Levinson.
FREAKY FRIDAY Remake of the 1977 Disney fantasy comedy in which a frustrated mother and daughter wish they could be someone else and they magically switch personalities. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan star.
FREDDY vs. JASON The legendary modern-day monsters Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street) and Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th) meet for the first time and become locked in battle. Several teenagers are caught in the middle in order to up the body count.
GIGLI Ben Affleck stars as Gigli, a hitman who kidnaps the brother of a district attorney. He becomes involved with a woman (Jennifer Lopez), whom he believes is also a hired killer. Al Pacino and Christopher Walken co-star.
GRIND Four skateboard punks follow their idol on a summer tour across the country. They hope to get noticed and achieve their own stardom.
HIGHWAYMEN Robert Harmon, the director of the vastly underrated psychothriller The Hitcher, is back in familiar territory. James Caviezel searches the highways for the serial killer who murdered his wife.
JEEPERS CREEPERS II Sequel to the minor horror hit from 2001 about a winged man-eating monster known as the Creeper. This time it attacks a busload of high school basketball players and cheerleaders. Not exactly brain food.
MADISON James Caviezel (again) in the true story of an air conditioner repairman who enters his hydroplane, known as Miss Madison, in the APBA Gold Cup Championship race on the Ohio River.
MARCI X A Jewish American Princess (Lisa Kudrow) takes over a rap music label owned by her father (Richard Benjamin, who also directed). Damon Wayans co-stars as Dr. Snatchcatcher, the label’s most controversial recording artist.
MATCHSTICK MEN Nicolas Cage’s life as a con artist is disrupted when he discovers he has a daughter (Alison Lohman). The obvious comparison is to Paper Moon, but there appear to be major differences. Sam Rockwell co-stars as Cage’s partner in crime. Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Thelma and Louise).
THE MEDALLION Jackie Chan stars in this supernatural action thriller as a dead cop who battles immigrant smugglers while learning how to use his newly gained powers.
MY BOSS’S DAUGHTER Ashton Kuchar (That 70’s Show) is asked to watch his boss’s house, providing him with the opportunity to pursue his boss’s daughter. His plan is complicated by numerous visitors, including the girl’s brother (Andy Richter), who is hiding out from drug dealers.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS The spaghetti western formula is transplanted to present-day England. Robert Carlyle stars as a small-time crook who returns to his hometown in the Midlands to win back his old girlfriend.
OPEN RANGE Kevin Costner’s greatest career success came as the star and director of Dances With Wolves. He returns to the western genre (again taking on both duties) as a cattle rustler who battles an evil cattle baron (Michael Gambon). Annette Bening and Robert Duvall co-star.
PASSIONADA A Portuguese woman, living in the coastal town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, is encouraged by her daughter to date a fishing industry businessman, but he’s not exactly what he appears to be.
PREY FOR ROCK AND ROLL An aging all-girl rock back named Clamdandy struggles with the usual problems of failure and drugs. Gina Gershon (who wrote her own songs) stars.
THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS Campbell Scott and Hope Davis star as married dentists with marital problems. He thinks she is having an affair. Denis Leary also appears as an angry patient. Directed by Alan Rudolph (Afterglow, Trouble in Mind).
SHAOLIN SOCCER This winner of several Hong Kong film awards is the story of a losing team that resorts to using the kung fu arts of the Shaolin monks to beat their opponents.
S.W.A.T. Another bad television series makes the leap to the big screen. The acronym stands for Special Weapons and Tactics. Samuel L. Jackson leads a Los Angeles S.W.A.T. team on a mission to protect a dangerous criminal. Colin Farrell co-stars.
THIRTEEN Nikki Reed co-stars in, and co-wrote (with director Catherine Hardwicke), this story of young troubled teens dealing with sex, drugs, and other problems. Reed says she based it on her own experiences.
UPTOWN GIRLS Brittany Murphy is a snobby New York socialite who loses
all her money to an embezzling manager and takes a job as the nanny to a spoiled
brat.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2003.
