Summer Movie Glut

Just finished going through the Summer Movies section from this Sunday’s New York Times and my head is still spinning.

Lots of interesting films coming out which I would consider seeing. Whether I would ever actually get around to seeing them is an entirely different story. My movie watching these days is pretty much relegated to films I pick up in the discount bin at Hollywood Video, and even then it takes awhile before I find the time to actually sit down and watch them. The last film I saw in a theater was National Treasure only because we happened to have grandparents available for babysitting duty that weekend. My little boy is 20 months old and not ready for prime-time movie watching yet.

Nevertheless, we still make special exceptions for some movies and the latest Star Wars installment will most likely fall into that category. And while I may not see them anytime soon here are some other movies that have caught my interest on first glance:

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Read this series by Douglas Adams when I was in high school. Not expecting anything big here. If it as at least as good as the Star Trek spook Galaxy Quest I will be happy.

Kingdom of Heaven: I still haven’t seen Troy or Alexander so this one will just have to get in line. The fact that Ridley (Gladiator) Scott is directing is a good sign and Ebert and Roeper gave it thumbs up.

Madagascar: The latest computer-animated cartoon (the only kind there is now) from Dreamworks. I wasn’t all that impressed with Ice Age but I’m always a sucker for these films so I’ll probably see it eventually.

Cinderella Man: Russell Crowe and Renee Zellwegger star in the latest movie from the talented Ron Howard. How can it miss?

Batman Begins: Trying to resurrect the Batman franchise by going back to its roots (The same tack they will eventually take with Star Trek). Directed by Christopher Nolan who did the weird thriller Memento should add some needed darkness to the franchise.

Bewitched: Starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell (who seems to be everywhere these days). I’ll probably get around to seeing this one after I finally see the Flintstones movie and the Beverly Hillbillies movie (i.e. never).

Dukes of Hazzard: This one will be hard to resist with Burt Reynolds and Willie Nelson in key supporting roles. The TV series was a big hit when I was in high school. Then again, I still haven’t seen the Starsky and Hutch movie either so it might be awhile before I see this one.

Herbie: Fully Loaded: My wife loves the old Herbie movies so we will be sure to catch this Lindsey Lohan remake eventually. Besides that they did a pretty good job remaking Freaky Friday so there is hope that it will be decent.

War of the Worlds: The last time Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise teamed up we got the excellent Minority Report. So I am expecting good things here as well.

Fantastic Four: It could be very good like Spiderman, very bad like the Incredible Hulk or just mediocre like Daredevil.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: I like Tim Burton movies and I’m a big fan of Johnny Depp so I have high anticipation for this project.

The Brothers Grimm: Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame is always coming up with interesting films like Brazil and Twelve Monkeys so this one has potential. Plus Matt Damon is pretty good about picking his films.

The Pink Panther: I’ve loved Steve Martin since his Wild and Crazy Guy days although he hasn’t always picked good films to star in. I also love the Pink Panther series and own the collection on DVD so this could be a big disappointment.