May Movie Preview

 

Summer Blockbuster season is upon us again and this year the show is starting with the showstopper as arguably the biggest movie of the year, The Avengers is the first out of the gate and there’s at least one huge movie every weekend till August.  Here’s a guide to what’s coming this month.

May 4th

• The Avengers: The culmination of the Marvel movie universe is finally here as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk finally join forces against Loki and his mysterious alien army.  Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury and everyone’s favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, Agent Coulson, are also on hand to fight off the invasion.  Nerd god Joss Whedon directed the movie and expectations could not be higher.

May 11th

• Dark Shadows: The latest from Tim Burton/Johnny Depp is a remake of the cult 60’s gothic soap, Dark Shadows, where Depp plays vampire Barnabas Collins, who is freed from his coffin after centuries to find himself in the 1970’s where his dsyfunctional descendants are living in his manor and the witch who cursed him is still around and still on the prowl.

May 16th

• The Dictator: Sacha Baron Cohen is back with an original character, despot General Aladeen, who comes to NYC to address the UN.

May 18th

• Battleship: “From Hasbro, the company that brought you Transformers” comes the latest explosion fest based on a toy line.  Liam Neeson and Taylor Kitsch star as naval officers whose fleet of ships become the last line of defense against an alien invasion.  Peter Berg, of The Rundown and Get Smart, is directing.
• What to Expect When You’re Expecting: Five couples who are in the various stages of pregnancy get into wacky situations.  The ensemble cast includes Tom Lennon, Rob Huebel, Chris Rock, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Brooklyn Decker, Jennifer Lopez, Anna Kendrick, Dennis Quaid, Chace Crawford and Joe Manganiello.

May 25th

• Men in Black III: After ten years, Agents Jay and Kay are back to police the scum of the universe with the third Men in Black III.  The hook this time is that someone has killed the past version of Kay, changing the future so Jay must travel back in time to the 60’s and team up with the younger Kay, played with ridiculous accuracy by Josh Brolin, to find out who killed Kay and stop an alien invasion.
• Chernobyl Diaries: Paranormal Activity’s Oren Peli, who recently kind of flopped with The River on ABC, is back with another found footage movie, this time involving a group of tourists who head into the abandoned city of Pripyat, on the outskirts of the Chernobyl nuclear plant, and find that there is something in the ruins with them.