The months leading up to summer’s barrage of blockbusters are a lot like the season of spring itself — blooming with potential. Perhaps that’s what makes springtime so exciting: It’s a chance for audiences to experience Hollywood’s most unheeded hidden gems.
Featuring Greek gods, money-mad investors, lost cowpokes and a classic horror icon, this year’s crop of cinematic seedlings should share no less enthusiasm than their summer companions. Here are a few highlights of 2010’s Spring Movie Preview:
Chloe (Mar. 26): This thriller will turn heads with its tale about a sexually charged love triangle between Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried (Dear John).
The Last Song (Mar. 31): Pop superstar Miley Cyrus takes on novelist Nicolas Sparks (The Notebook) in “a story of family, friendship, secrets and salvation.” Although that also sounds like a description of Hannah Montana, it’s not that. Trust me.
Clash of the Titans (April 2): In this highly anticipated remake of the 1981 hit, the son of Zeus must save Earth from the god of the underworld and a giant scorpion. And you thought the earwigs were a problem in your apartment.
Date Night (April 9): Tina Fey and Steve Carell bring the funny to the big-screen in this mistaken-identity comedy about a bored couple running from the Mafia. Watch for appearances by Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg.
Piranha 3-D (April 16): Based loosely on a 1978 horror hit, this three-dimensional shocker explores everybody’s favorite flesh-eating freshwater fish.
Kick-Ass (April 16): Perhaps the sleeper hit of the spring, this unlikely superhero comedy has been gaining plenty of excitement on the Internet. Then again, that kind of buzz backfired for Snakes on a Plane.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (April 23): Director Oliver Stone breaks finance wizard Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) from prison in this sequel to the captivating 1987 drama that previously won Douglas an Academy Award.
Gunless (April 30): Paul Gross (Passchendaele) plays a belligerent American outlaw lost in a sleepy Canadian hamlet in this western comedy.
Nightmare on Elm Street (April 30): Finally, yes, creepy Freddy Krueger returns to haunt your dreams. Let’s hope he doesn’t stink up the theatre while he’s at it.
