The Inside Scoop on all of this Summer's Most Anticipated Movies
By Greg Dean Schmitz |
Signs (Opens August 2)
Finding a new A-list male star in Mel Gibson after two movies (The Sixth
Sense and Unbreakable) with Bruce Willis, director M. Night Shyamalan brings
to UFO's and crop circles the same sort of reinventing eye that he cast on
ghosts and superheroes. Or that, at least, is what you're supposed to think
this is about. Given Shyamalan's knack for "twists", this could just as
easily actually be the long-awaited movie version of that 1970's protest
song by the Canadian rock group, Five Man Electrical Band.
Read Greg's Preview
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Full Frontal (Opens August 2)
The box-office phemenon that is Julia Roberts reunites with her "Erin
Brockovich" director Steven Soderbergh in a movie that harks back to his
independent filmmaker roots, reportedly "Sex, Lies and Videotape"
specifically, in this tale of Hollywood actors at varying stages in their
careers. Watch out for celebrity cameos that include Brad Pitt and his
"Fight Club" director and fan favorite, David Fincher.
Read Greg's Preview
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Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (Opens August 7)
Robert Rodriguez, whose films are usually R-rated action thrillers like
"Desperado" and "From Dusk Till Dawn", went in a completely different
direction in 2001, with the Willy-Wonka-ish kids spy movie, Spy Kids, and
the audience (of both kids and adults alike) ate it up. So, it's not
surprising that he quickly got the team back together (especially as the
kids grow so fast) for this sequel, this time without Alan Cumming as the
Pee-Wee Herman-ish villain. If you miss Cumming, however, you might
appreciate one of the new cast members, Mr. Roarke himself, Ricardo
Montalban, as the grandfather of the kids.
Read Greg's Preview
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XXX (Opens August 9)
No, it's not porn. Vin Diesel, well-muscled, clean-pated action star of "The
Fast and the Furious" and "Pitch Black" (both of which are getting sequels
in 2003, though Vin won't be in TF&TF2), takes on the role of a hard-living,
rock-and-roll "extreme sports" star with three X's tattooed on the back of
his neck (hence the title), who is blackmailed/recruited by a government
agent (Samuel L. Jackson) to take down some Russian bad guys. The trailers
have been effective in selling Diesel as a 21st century spy, quick with both
wise cracks, (just guessing) the ladies, and the many action sequences. If
you're not sold already, did I mention that this is also directed by Rob
Cohen, the guy behind "The Fast and the Furious" (he won't be doing the
sequel either)? Underrated by many pundits who probably don't think a new
franchise can be built without a pre-existing audience (ala "Spider-Man"), I
suspect this is going to surprise many and be a big hit. Of course, if I can
predict that... is it really a surprise? Read Greg's Preview
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Blue
Crush (Opens August 16)
There was a time in the 1960's
when teen beach movies were a major trend, with Annette Funicello
("Beach Blanket Bingo") and Sandra Dee ("Gidget")
becoming major (at the time) movie stars, riding the waves
of the whims of their young audience. These movies were overly
sweet and quickly seemed uncool as the youth culture made
a drastic 180 degree turn a few years later. In the 30 years
that followed, the beach and the surf became an infrequent
setting, and even though those cutesy-cute 1960's movies are
alien to today's kids, their existence was probably a major
barrier to there being new beach movies for quite some time
(since Hollywood is run mostly by older folks who *do* remember
the early 1960's). Well, everything that's old is new again,
and the success of "The Fast and the Furious" is
giving producers a reminder that "extreme" action
sells. TF&TF star Michelle Rodriguez even returns for
Universal here as one of three female surfers trying to catch
great waves despite pressure from boy surfers (including one
of the girl's boyfriend). Read
Greg's Preview
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| All August Movies |
| Opening August 2, 2002 |
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| Opening August 7, 2002 |
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| Opening August 9, 2002 |
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| Opening August 16, 2002 |
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August 21, 2002 |
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| Opening August 23, 2002 |
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| Opening August 30, 2002 |
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