The Summer movie season, that is. With the release of Mission: Impossible III today, the summer movie season has officially begun. While this season isn't offering anything in the way of Star Wars: Episode III, Batman Begins, or Lord of the Rings, there are some interesting things coming up that I'm looking forward to..

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Poseidon (May 12th)
It might end up being just like the original, but who cares? Kurt Russell rules. And he hasn't shown his action star capability in years. Speaking of Kurt, did you know that he was the voice of Elvis in Forrest Gump? My prediction: fun flick, but won't have as big of an impact as the tidal wave shown in the preview.

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The Da Vinci Code (May 19th)
There's a lot of buzz going around about this. The plot is full of a bunch of bunk, but hey, so was National Treasure, and that movie was cool. (Speaking of which, yes, National Treasure 2 is in pre-production.) My prediction: a lot of people will see this movie, and even more will misunderstand it. It's fiction, folks, not religion.

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X-Men: The Last Stand (May 26th)
So what if Brian Singer didn't stay on as director of the X-Men series? He had more important things to do (see "Superman" below). Brett Ratner has done a couple of respectable movies, including Rush Hour and The Family Man. But as long as Hugh Jackman is still Wolverine, it can't be all that bad. My prediction: this will feel much different than the first two X-Men movies, but will still rock.

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Superman Returns (June 30th)
Brian Singer certainly did have better things to do. For all of us who won't admit that Superman 3 and up were even made, this movie is right up our alley. Singer decided to start telling the story right after Superman 2, which is fine with me because that movie is awesome. My prediction: this will be as good as Batman Begins, if not better.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (July 7th)
Shiver me timbers, it's a sequel! And since they filmed two sequels back to back, we'll be seeing another next year. I had very low expectations for the first Pirates, and I ended up thinking it was one of the best action movies of 2003. This one appears to have all of the same elements. My prediction: probably about as good as the first one, and definitely better than the ride at Disney World.

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World Trade Center (August 11th)
If you haven't heard about this one yet, you most definitely will. Oliver Stone takes on 9/11. Nicolas Cage plays a Port Authority police officer that gets trapped in the rubble. If you thought the buzz surrounding Flight 93 was polarized... wait until you see what happens as this gets closer to release. Actually, it might start very soon, since the trailer is rumored to appear this weekend. My prediction: a million times more interesting (and accurate) than Fahrenheit 9/11... of course, that's not saying much.

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I'll warn you now, some of these movies might end up not being any good. So if you go and see one, and it stinks, don't blame it on me. It's all part of the season. But sometimes you gotta go through a couple stinkers to get surprised by one that's really good.

Of course, I'm sure you noticed that most of these movies are sequels. The others include a remake, a book adaptation, and one that is historical fiction. Even the sequels this year are sequels of movies that were based on TV shows, comic books, or Disney World rides. Gotta love Hollywood. The biggest movies have to be "sure things."

Did I miss anything? What movies are you looking forward to this summer season?

Labels: movies