Gary Dretzka
Leonard Klady
David Poland
Douglas Pratt
Ray Pride

WEEK ONE
The Summer Preview

17 Weeks… 50 Movies.

Where do you start? Well, the way I got to 50 movies is by leaving off the limited release films. They will wait for another column on another day.

I've decided, for the sake of this exercise, to split the films into five groups. And then, a chart. (How novel!)

THE GEEK PARADE

See No Evil - May 19 - The WWE's Kane stars in this killer thriller from former porn director Gregory Dark.

Harsh Times - June 2 - This Christian Bale starrer hastens back to American Psycho - though here, the psycho isn't played for laughs - in a kind of combination with Falling Down. Bale is the Angry White Man and if the MPAA allows first-time distributor, via MGM, Bauer-Martinez, to sell the violence honestly enough, it could develop a cult following.

A Prairie Home Companion - June 9 - The latest Altman is a superstar fest, though word from Austin, where the film premiered at SXSW, is mixed at best.

Waist Deep - June 23 - Veteran director Vondie Curtis-Hall puts Tyrese through the motions, though Rogue is still figuring out how to sell their movies to black audiences.

A Scanner Darkly - July 7 - Richard Linklater & Keanu Reeves do Dick… Phillip K. Dick. Will audiences go for the rotoscoping look, which is also currently making the rounds in the commercial world? We'll see.

Pulse - July 14 - Veronica Mars' Kristen Bell stars in this remake of the Japanese thriller, Kairo, for the returning Weinstein-owned Dimension Films.

Fearless - August 4 - Rogue delivers Jet Li's follow-up to Danny The Dog (aka Unleashed), which was the young division's biggest grosser so far.

Fragile - August 4 - Another Bauer-Martinez dart at the big board, this time with a horror film starring Calista "I Couldn't Eat Another Bit" Flockhart¸ directed by Spanish horror director, Jaume Balagueró.

Clerks II: The Passion Of The Clerks - August 18 - Kevin Smith is going back to his roots, this time, moving from the convenience store to the fast food restaurant. Woo Hoo! Expect lots of hilarious scatology and Rosario Dawson's boobs!

Snakes On A Plane - August 18 - New Line's working title of the decade finally arrives as an actual movie. The studio seems pretty happy with how the movie is coming, but if it's not the most fun you ever had while not thinking, the backlash could be tough. Fortunately, it will mean as little as the recent hype has. Watch for a trailer and ads to tell the story.

DOA: Dead or Alive - August 25 - Transporter director Corey Yuen brings the video game to life with a parade of B-list actors camping it up.

THE STUDIO GO FISHIN'
These are the studio titles that aren't quite the big dogs - and don't quite fit into the other categories - but among which the studios are hoping to find some surprise smashes.

The Omen - June 9 - 6.6.6. Liev Schrieber and Julia Stiles replace Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. (With due respect to Liev, who is a powerhouse actor on stage, didn't Fox get the memo about the numbers for The Manchurian Candidate?) Still, it's a killer story.

The Lake House - June 16 - Sandra Bullock & Keanu Reeves stay off the bus, but get it on in this romantic drama, remade from a Korean film called Il Mare, The description of which sounds like a riff on Sleepless In Seattle.

Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift - June 16 - Ah, so many cars. Lucas Black is the new Paul Walker. Tokyo is the new turf. And amazingly, he finds the only black kid in Tokyo (Bow Wow) to run with and the only non-Asian woman dating a Yakusa (Nathalie Kelley) to fall in love with. We are gaijin.

The Devil Wears Prada - June 30 - Fox gets serious about counterprogramming, putting Meryl Streep in Anna Wintour drag and Anne Hathaway with her clothes on up against Superman. Guaranteed to have the same effect on male genitalia as ice water. But in niche world, anything is possible.

Pathfinder - July 14 - The director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre goes back to his blonde roots with a Viking era thriller on Native American territory. Fortunately, even without stars, the film, which is not named after the Nissan, was written by the power team of Laeta Kalogridis and Todd Komarnicki. Oh. I guess they have a lot of work to do.

Apocalypto - August 4 - Mel Gibson goes He-Mayan. The trailer looks as epic as so many of his films and he is capable of delivering a visual experience that reaches beyond words. So without a lot of people fighting for or against this one on principle, it will be fascinating to see how it plays.

The Reaping - August 11 - It is named like a horror movie, but it's a thriller with Hilary Swank as a former missionary trying to deal with tragedy.

World Trade Center - August 11 - Oliver Stone's 9/11 movie, from inside the building out… kind of an al Quada Poseidon Adventure.

Idlewild - August 25 - Outkast: The Movie. Will it smell like roses or poo-poo? But wait… don't roses smell like poo-poo?

HA HA HA HA HA

Now we're getting serious. Hollywood has been light on comedy for the last few summers. No such problem this year. Sandler, Vaughn, Farrell, Wilson, Black, and Carrell are just the start.

Just My Luck - May 12 - Lindsay Lohan tries to come of age in a combination of Freaky Friday and a romantic comedy. One kiss gives her luck the pretty boy. All she needs is to get Chris Pine to give her the wood. Get it? Pine? Wood? (Did I really make that joke? Ok… you can use it, Fox.)

The Break-Up - Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston in the inverted version of The Wedding Crashers. Trailer and ads are strong. Rumors about the end being changed only matter if the end keeps missing the mark.

Nacho Libre - June 16 - Jack Black in a lunchador costume is a laugh before he opens his mouth. This is the follow-up from the director of Napoleon Dynamite might actually be even better than that. But can they get women to laugh at it?

Click - June 23 - Adam Sandler in one of those one-sentence pitches… what would you do if you had a remote control for the world? With Chris Walken as Morgan Freeman. Can you smell the cash?

Little Man - July 5 - Marlon Wayans plays a midget cop, thanks to effects, who goes undercover as a baby. Start counting the nursing jokes now.

You, Me & Dupree - - July 14 - Owen Wilson as the Guest Who Wouldn't Leave. This time, it's Kate Hudson & Matt Dillon's house.

Super Ex-Girlfriend - July 21 - Uma is the super woman, literally. ("G-Girl." The name hits the spot.) Luke Wilson is the boyfriend. When he breaks her heart, she makes him pay. First film from Ivan Reitman in a while.

Little Miss Sunshine - July 28 - Fox Searchlight's Sundance pick-up will lean heavily on a supporting performance by Steve Carrell for attention, but beyond that, they have a smart, urban R-rated comedy that won't be an easy sell, but should find a willing audience.

John Tucker Must Die - July 28 - Three exes set up one cheating ex. A Betty Thomas film, but sounds like a premise that needs to move more than a week from the super version.

I Could Never Be Your Woman - July 28 - An Amy Heckerling comedy pairing "older woman" Michelle Pfeiffer with "younger man" Paul "I know you're gay because…" Rudd. Another Bauer Martinez special.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - August 4 - Will Ferrell gets southern and satirizes the racing world. Vroom.

Accepted - August 11 - Grosse Point Blank/High Fidelity co-writer Steve Pink does his best variation on Risky Business.

Beerfest - August 25 - The Broken Lizard boys are back and this time they head to Germany to investigate "Fight Club with beer." Also marks the return of Open Water's Blanchard Ryan.

IN A FAMILY WAY

Another underdeveloped market gets a little overdeveloped this summer.

Hoot - May 5 - Free Willy with Owls and a lighter touch.

Over The Hedge - May 19 - The first of the six CG animated films this summer and the first DW Animation release in the Paramount deal.

Cars - June 9 - The first Pixar release since the company was bought/bought Disney. Interest in Nascar may not extend to the kiddies, but if the parents are pleased to be there, maybe the third trip in a month will be more likely.

Garfield's A Tale Of Two Kiddies - June 23 - America has been waiting for two long years to see Breckin Meyer try to get into Jennifer Love Hewitt's PG pants… sigh. Keep cashing those checks, Bill.

Monster House - July 21 - The second experiment in motion capture from Bob Zemeckis, though this time, he gave the directing reins to Gil Kenan. Could be the surprise genre leader for the summer if the little kids aren't scared off.

Barnyard - July 28 - The Steve Oedekirk animated farm comedy of the year!

The Ant Bully - August 4 - Honey, I shrunk the mean kid down to being an ant! The Jimmy Neutron director stretches.

Zoom - August 11 - It's not a direct rip-off of Sky High… really. It's the more expensive version of Sky High.

How To Eat Fried Worms - August 25 - The classic elementary school book for boys and even girls becomes a movie, directed by the auteur of The Banger Sisters.

LET THE BIG DOGS BARK

How much do I need to say about any of these?

Mission: Impossible 3 - May 5 - Cruise is back. Oscar winner is his nemesis… second only to the press.

Poseidon - May 12 - Wolfgang Petersen is underestimated every time out. Not in this camp.

The Da Vinci Code - May 19 - Is it an amped up National Treasure or the adult powerhouse of the summer?

X-Men: The Last Stand - May 26 - Everything looks good so far. Avoid spoilers.

Superman - June 30 - The most expensive movie ever is going to have to be everything they hope it is.

Pirates of the Caribbean II - July 7 - Jack's back.

Lady in the Water - July 21 - Shyamalan's ego continues to grow, even after The Village. It would be nice for Giamatti to have a true box office smash.

Miami Vice - July 28 - Can you feel it coming in the air tonight? The expectations are getting so low that if it is even just good Mann, it might be the Comeback Kid of Summer 2006.

THE BOX OFFICE CHART

- Email David Poland