Pick your flick

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” May 22

Starring Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen
Directed by Steven Spielberg

Almost 19 years after “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” was released, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford have finally gotten around to another Indy film. “Kingdom” will see the changes in Indy’s life over those 19 years, but then throw him into a worldwide search for an artifact against a world evil; this time it’s a mysterious crystal skull and the Cold War-era Russians. New to the series is Shia LaBeouf, starring as Mutt Williams, the “greaser” son of Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).

With a franchise so utterly loved as “Indiana Jones,” saying expectations are high for the fourth installment is an understatement. The excitement will lead to huge Memorial Day weekend box office numbers no matter what the reviews say. However, for almost two decades fans have concocted scripts in their heads about how this would go, and if things don’t line up, we could have another “Star Wars” prequel situation on our hands. If reviews are solid, expect it to be the biggest movie of the summer; if not, it’ll still be a monstrous hit. Corey Davis, manager of Showplace West 12 said that this could be the biggest film of the year for the theater.

“Wall-E” June 27

Voices by Sigourney Weaver, Ben Burtt
Directed by Andrew Stanton

Sure, the summer is known more for its full-throttle action flicks, but with school out it’s also prime time for family-oriented animated features; and no one does it better than Pixar. This summer, the animation studio bestows upon us “Wall-E,” a film about a cute little robot that’s been left on Earth to clean up the trash after all humans have abandoned the planet. An intergalactic love story begins when Wall-E falls in love with another robot, EVE.

Pixar films are always big money makers, but “Wall-E” is different for one reason: the lack of actual dialogue. The majority of the film lacks human words and instead is chock-full of beeps and blips from the robots. But we’ve all seen the commercials and toys. There’s no denying that Wall-E might be the most adorable animated character ever, and that fact out to bring in ungodly numbers. The other big family films — “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Journey To The Center of the Earth 3D” — don’t look to be as good, so “Wall-E” will go down as the family flick of the summer, and quite possibly the highest grossing.

“The Dark Knight” July 18

Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger
Directed by Christopher Nolan

Currently, “Iron Man” is making its claim as the best comic book film, but chances are that will all change on July 16 when the second film in the revamped Batman series hits. Writer-Director Christopher Nolan has brought two crucial characters of the “Batman” canon into the fold for “Dark Knight”: the Joker (Heath Ledger) and Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), aka Two-Face. Under the wing of Batman (Christian Bale), Nolan’s more realistic Gotham looks to be even more twisted with the Joker around.
Aside from the nostalgic interest in the fourth Indy installment, no film has been hyped up more than “The Dark Knight.” The cryptic viral-marketing schemes that have been going on since last summer have drummed up a lot of excitement, and the new trailer has the Internet message boards buzzing about this film’s potential to be the best comic book adaptation ever. Let’s not forget the hoopla surrounding the untimely death of Ledger (in a role that many think led to it), which will drive up the numbers even more. Expect it to be the best-reviewed summer film, and likely one of the top three highest grossing; Davis expects it to be extremely popular here in B-town.

“Hancock” July 2

Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
Directed by Peter Berg

Will Smith has become one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, and he typically uses high-profile July releases to prove it. This summer is no different, as Smith stars as the careless superhero title character in “Hancock.” The film depicts the invulnerable superhuman who looks to a publicist (Jason Bateman) to repair his image as the world despises him. Even with his PR troubles, Hancock enters into a questionable relationship with the publicist’s wife (Charlize Theron).

“Hancock” is unique because it’s one of the first superhero films that isn’t based on a comic book character, and one that depicts the hero as widely revered. Once a project that looked bust-worthy, the latest trailer appears to display a more interesting film. Plus, any interactions between Will Smith and Jason Bateman must be golden. Although the film has been battling the MPAA over its rating — having been given an R twice — the fresh plot and Smith’s star power should propel it into a huge July 4 weekend, no matter how good it is.

“The Incredible Hulk” June 13

Starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth
Directed by Louis Leterier

It’s not too often that a film series is rebooted only five years after it’s begun, but that’s the case here after Ang Lee’s 2003 “Hulk” bored audiences to death. “The Incredible Hulk” stars Edward Norton as Bruce Banner and his big green alter ego in the somewhat retooled origin story. But this time around expect more heroic actions from Hulk due to there being an actual villain — Abomination (Tim Roth) — instead of the green giant simply fighting his water vapor of a father, and better interactions between Bruce and his love Betty Ross (Liv Tyler).

This is one of the biggest question marks of the season. Not only did most people hate the first film, but “The Incredible Hulk” has been buried underneath the massive success of its Marvel kin “Iron Man.” Moreover, what doesn’t bode well is most of the press surrounding the issues between Norton and the studio over the final cut of the film — which Marvel won, making the film more action-oriented. However, the trailer looks solid because it seems to deliver on what people want to see: lots of havoc. Its success is impossible to call: It’s the film most likely to bomb, but there’s a small glimmer of hope.

“Pineapple Express” August 8

Starring Seth Rogen and James Franco
Directed by David Gordon Green

The Judd Apatow hit machine looks to keep on rolling this summer with stoner-buddy comedy “Pineapple Express,” starring Seth Rogen and James Franco. When process server Dale (Rogen) witnesses a murder and accidentally leaves a bit of rare weed at the scene, the killers come after Dale and his dealer Saul (Franco). And although there are lots of stoner jokes, expect a plethora of action sequences as well.

Apatow is on such a roll over the last few years — he had a hand in “Knocked Up” and “Superbad,” among others — that “Pineapple Express” is bound to succeed. Factor in that the target demographic probably smokes its fair share of pot and the early August release date, and you’ve got yourself a sizeable hit. Although other comedies being released have bigger stars — Adam Sandler in “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan,” Will Ferrell in “Step Brothers” and Mike Myers in “The Love Guru” — this will be the best. Buzz on the film and the red-band trailer make it seem funnier than “Superbad,” so prepare to hear it quoted constantly by all the studs on frat row.