Loud, proud trailers say new Terminator,
Transformers and Harry Potter installments are heading
our way soon. But don’t let sequel-fatigue get you down—chase down
those explosions with our summer picks.
MAY
The Limits of Control (directed by Jim Jarmusch) A
mysterious, sexy criminal (Isaach De Bankolé) journeys across
Spain, and through his own consciousness, meeting up with white-haired,
cowboy-hatted Tilda Swinton (and Bill Murray) along the way.
O’ Horten (directed by Bent Hamer) The perfect antidote to
summer-movie loudness: a well-regarded Norwegian film about a train
engineer on the verge of retirement.
Also: Documentary Outrage lambastes closeted
anti-gay politicians.
JUNE
Away We Go (directed by Sam Mendes) A very scruffy John
Krasinski and SNL‘s Maya Rudolph play a couple journeying across
America to find the perfect place to raise their coming baby. Sounds
cloying, but looks cute—and literary luminaries Dave Eggers and
Vendela Vida (co-editor of The Believer) wrote the script, which
can’t hurt.
Moon (directed by Duncan Jones) The trailer looks like a
strange Sam Rockwell-filled cross between 2001: A Space Odyssey and the recent guy-stabs-himself-in-the-arm time-puzzle
Timecrimes. That certainly isn’t a bad thing. (P.S. Duncan Jones
is David Bowie’s son.)
$9.99 (directed by Tatia Rosenthal) Somehow, stop-motion
animation makes the possibly pretentious—like a story about people
“in a Sydney apartment complex looking for meaning in their
lives”—seem potentially enchanting, instead. (Plus, the film’s based
on a story by Etgar Keret, who wrote the story that inspired the
better-than-it-sounds Wristcutters: A Love Story.)
Also: Dangerous Liaisons team (director Stephen
Frears, screenwriter Christopher Hampton and Michelle Pfeiffer) meets
again for Chéri; doc Food, Inc. turns a critical
eye to the food-production machine.
JULY
Humpday (directed by Lynn Shelton) Two straight male college
friends reconnect, and somehow one-up their way into agreeing to sleep
together for an amateur porn contest.
(500) Days of Summer (directed by Marc Webb) Joseph
Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel meet cute over music by The Smiths;
much later, they break up; non-chronologically, the audience learns
why.
In the Loop (directed by Armando Iannucci) “Spin-off” doesn’t
have to be a dirty word: In the Loop was spun off from
award-winning BBC TV series/political satire The Thick of It,
and the film’s director and co-writer, Armando Iannucci, is
TTOI‘s creator, which bodes well. Plus: Steve Coogan and James
Gandolfini!
Also: Funny People has a lame, sentimental trailer and
stars Adam Sandler, but give Judd Apatow the benefit of the doubt.
AUGUST
Taking Woodstock (directed by Ang Lee) Impressively, Lee’s
helmed a superhero flick and a Jane Austen costume drama; the director
continues his delightfully confusing genre-jumping by following up
Chinese espionage thriller Lust, Caution with a comedy-drama
about Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin), the guy who accidentally ended up
hosting Woodstock at his family’s farm.
Inglourious Basterds (directed by Quentin Tarantino) Assuming
Tarantino’s recent weird-ass American Idol appearance didn’t you
put off the man forever, his long-awaited film about a group of
Jewish-American soldiers who kill Nazis during WWII is worth a look.
Besides, it’s the only place you’re going to see The Office‘s
B.J. Novak and Neal Schweiber from Freaks and Geeks dressed up
together in uniform.
The Boat That Rocked (directed by Richard Curtis) Love
Actually director brings the tale of a ’60s-era British pirate
radio station housed in a boat. With Philip Seymour Hoffman and Rhys
Darby (Murray from Flight of the Conchords)
Also: In Paper Heart, a pseudo-doc about love, Michael
Cera and real-life girlfriend Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up) star as
themselves, sorta; the English-dubbed version of anime great Hayao
Miyazaki’s Ponyo featuring Miley Cyrus’ little sister as a fish.
This article appears in May 14-20, 2009.