Summer Movies Preview

It's been months since my last post, so please forgive me for my uninspired-ness. But now I'm back and ready to count down the top 5 most anticipated summer movies for 2011! For the most part it looks like any other summer: explosions, 3D-induced headaches, super heroes...But there are some real gems expected to bliss this summer, some potentially great comedies, and some real good dramas.  Excited? Yes, I am!

#5. The Hangover Part II (May 26)

A lot of really great movies have been followed by sequels and failed miserably (The Hannibal franchise? the Disney sequels in which the princesses start having babies? what the what? and many other better examples) Hopefully The Hangover Part II won't be the case. It looks like it's gonna be packed with the same kind of ridiculous situations the wolfpack went through in the first movie, except this time the debauchery takes place in Thailand. Go safe, or go broke, director Todd Phillips (probably) said. In any case, it looks like it's gonna be a blast.

#4. X-Men First Class (June 3) 

OK, this one looks crazyyyy good! And it has a cast that can do no wrong: James McAvoy? January Jones? Michael Fassbender? Kevin Bacon? Hollywood may just be starting to get the hang of the super hero genre, and making it as much about human drama as it is about mind-blowing special effects. 

#3. Bridesmaids (May 13)

I've posted this before, but this is probably the chick-flick/smart film about women genre's chance to redeem itself from the sloppy, boring mess that was Eat, Pray, Love last year. Women need a good laugh. And who said women can't be funny?! In fact, today's best comedians are for the most part women: Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig (who wrote Bridesmaids), Maya Rudolph.... Fueled with Judd Apatow as producer, this is one little dynamite package bound to become a new comedy classic. 

#2. Hesher (May 6)

The Oscar kind of movie in the midst of the Summer movie season. Ouch. It's sunny out and people want some mindless fun.  But for those cinephiles out there who breathe and drink and eat movies (*cough*), this one is an absolute must. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman have been getting rave reviews for their performances and it will not be a huge surprise to see this indie movie turn up at the Academy Awards next February, for Gordon-Levitt alone if not for anything else.  

#1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (July 15)

I love the Harry Potter movies and the last one looks like it's gonna be the best of the entire franchise. The kids have grown and are all going to become very fine actors. With their last effort for the Harry Potter movies, they're bringing a whole new arsenal of human drama.  There is more character development, more real-ness to it than the first couple of movies, which were lighter.  Dark times. 

+ 2 movies I personally look forward to:

Midnight in Paris (USA - May 20, Canada - who knows?)

Woody Allen takes us to Paris this time and it looks like it's going to be almost as charming as Vicky Cristina Barcelona was in 2008.  With a killer casting, as usual, Allen once again brings in a city as the most evocative character of all.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (July 29)

I always watch anything with Steve Carell. Yes, I saw Dinner for Schmucks, and yes it was horrible, buttt Steve is better than that.  He's back with another heartfelt comedy in the spirit of Dan in Real Life, and this time he's backed up by the wonderful Ryan Gosling, who's taking on a completely different role than his usual repertoire here.  With Julianne Moore and Emma Stone in the mix, this looks like a perfect light summer fix.