The summer season is in full swing—hiking and biking, cold ones on the patio, barbecues with friends and, of course, summer movies galore. In my last column, I previewed four movies during the first half of the summer. I turn now to the latter portion of the season and I can tell you that this summer is definitely not light on the back end!
M. Night Shyamalan returns to the big screen with a new action fantasy, The Last Airbender. The Last Airbender brings to life the story of four nations, Air, Fire, Water and Earth, and the war that threatens to tear their world apart. Shyamalan has been a favourite director of mine since The Sixth Sense and I’m excited to see his first foray into someone else’s story. Although the script was written by him, it’s based on someone else’s creation. Check out The Last Airbender on July 2.
Festival darlings will want to check out The Kids Are All Right which premiered with high praise at the Sundance Film Festival this past January. The movie tells the story of a lesbian couple with two kids they conceived through artificial insemination. When their daughter turns 18, she and her brother contact the sperm bank to find their biological dad, a decision which turns their family life on its head. Julianne Moore and Annette Benning star as the moms, and the always-charming Mark Ruffalo co-stars as the unwilling dad. If you’re looking for a quirky family drama, watch The Kids Are All Right in theatres July 7.
Michael Cera has been popping up on my radar more and more. Following his breakout in Juno, Cera has charmed many a girl geek in both Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Paper Heart. He’s back again this summer in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, as a bass-guitar playing heartthrob with bad luck in the love department. When he meets Ramona, the girl of his dreams, he discovers there’s one small catch: he’ll have to defeat her seven evil exes before they kill him. I love Cera’s quiet, awkward humour and I can’t wait to see him wielding the power of love to defeat the exes. In theatres August 13.
Finally, action lovers should start drooling now. Take every big-name action star, throw them into one movie and what do you get? The Expendables! I’m not entirely sure what this movie is about other than a bunch of Rambo-types going to South America to save some village. However, considering the star power behind this one, I can guarantee that many will pay just to see these guys in the same movie. Consider the cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Steve Austin (yes, the wrestler), and Mickey Rourke, with a few cameos by Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Explosions coming your way August 13.
Take a break from the sunshine and head to your local theatre to take in one of these films.
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