As we move towards summer, it seems summer moves closer to us — in terms of Hollywood anyway.
In anticipation of the blockbuster season, Hollywood is increasingly front-loading the summer with its bulkiest movies. This year, studios are particularly pushing sequels, adaptations and remakes banking on recognized brands to bring bucks to the box office. Here are some of summer’s most massive movies:
Iron Man 2 (May 7): The superhero blockbuster that kicked off the 2008 summer season returns and even the least comic book-savvy are getting excited to see the real man of steel.
Robin Hood (May 14): Ridley Scott re-teams with his Gladiator star Russell Crowe to re-imagine the classic story of one medieval man’s quest to steal from the rich and give to the poor.
Shrek Forever After (May 21): Everyone’s favourite lime-green ogre is back for a fourth flick, ensuring Mike Myers will be able to make his mortgage payments for another year.
Sex and the City 2 (May 27): Carrie Bradshaw and the ladies reunite, but move the glamorous party from Manhattan to Abu Dhabi. Presumably, Detroit wasn’t sexy enough.
The A-Team (June 11): There are no in-betweens: Either you are giddy as a schoolgirl or gagging at the thought of this remake of the campy ‘80s TV show that starred master thespian, Mr. T.
Karate Kid (June 11): Move over Ralph Macchio, Jaden Smith has come to town! In this remake of the 1984 classic, Will Smith’s son stars as a martial arts prodigy to Jackie Chan.
Toy Story 3 (June 18): Buzz Lightyear, Woody and the rest of the toys find themselves in a daycare centre in this long-awaited third instalment to Pixar’s hugely successful franchise.
Eclipse (June 30): The third chapter in the beloved Twilight saga, this series has turned both vampires and Robert Pattinson into teen obsessions. Coincidence? I wonder.
The Last Airbender (July 2): After 2008’s disappointing The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan has his work cut out for him. Perhaps this adaptation of Nickelodeon’s Asian-influenced TV series is just the remedy for salvation.
Predators (July 9): A return to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 thriller, this spooky sci-fi franchise gets a face-lift thanks to producer Robert Rodriguez (Sin City).
