Shaun Corley | Staff Writer

4/19/02

Ah, summer, my favorite time of year. It’s a time to kick back and relax, soak up the sun and waste the days away sitting by the poolside sipping margaritas. It’s also the movie studios' favorite time of the year, in which they unleash all their mega, super duper deluxe blockbusters. Let’s gaze into the crystal ball and see what the summer movie season has in store for us.

After many years of legal woes, the Spider-man movie, starring Tobey Maguire, Kristen Dunst and Daniel DeFoe, swings into theatres on May 3rd. Visually, this film looks excellent, yet I can’t help but to approach it with a bit of trepidation—mainly because I fear it will not live up to the hype surrounding it.

A week later on May 10th, Unfaithful, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, opens, brought to you by the same folks that brought you the wholesome family classic Fatal Attraction. The New Guy, featuring Eliza Dukshu, opens the same day.

On May 16th, Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones opens. I seriously doubt anyone will see it, seeing as how About A Boy, starring Hugh Grant, opens the next day. For our slow readers, that was a joke. I’ll be seeing both (after all About A Boy is from the same guy who wrote High Fidelity, so you know it’s going to be good). If you can skip seeing Episode II for the tenth time, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, featuring the voice talents of Bryan Adams and James Cromwell, opens a week later.

Two films of note open June 14th. The first is John Woo’s latest, Windtalkers, starring Nicholas Cage. The second is the live action Scooby Doo movie, starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar and Matthew Lillard as Shaggy. Ten bucks says I would make a better Shaggy than he would. Hey, come on, I have the hair, the build, the goatee, the walk, everything! It just makes sense. Oh well…

Disney’s latest animated feature, Lilo and Stitch opens a week later, and boasts the voice talents of Ving Rhames. A week later, Tom Cruise’s latest Minority Report debuts. I’ll be seeing it, mainly because it’s based on a Philip K. Dick story. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are on hand to help you celebrate the July 4th weekend with Men in Black 2.

Crikey! That’s what moviegoers will be yelling on July 12th, as The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course makes its debut. After he gets done getting bit by snakes and crocodiles, he can hop over to Eight Legged Freaks, a sci-fi comedy about giant spiders, opening the same day. And when Irwin finishes with the spiders, he can chase after Stuart Little, whose second film opens on July 19th.

Yeah, baby! The third installment in the Austin Powers series, Austin Powers in Goldmember, starring Mike Meyers, Michael Caine and Beyonce Knowles, opens on July 26th. Three films of note open on August 2nd. First is the follow-up to the surprisingly good Spy Kids, titled Spy Kids: Island of Lost Dreams. The second is XXX. Get your minds out of the gutter people, it’s about an assassin, and stars two of the baddest mofos on Earth-Sameul L. Jackson and Vin Diesel. Finally, M. Night Shaymalyan’s Signs, starring Mel Gibson, opens the same day.

That’s but a sampler of the cinematic goodness that awaits you this summer. Use the feedback forum below to talk about any movies I may have missed, and discuss those mentioned above. So grab your eight bucks, head out there, and keep those bourgeois movie studios in business!