Not sure what is coming out this month? Here is my rundown of my most anticipated films:
12. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Levy, May 22nd)
Plot: Security guard Larry Daley (Stiller) infiltrates the Smithsonian Institute in order to rescue Jedediah (Wilson) and Octavius (Coogan), who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.
Why You Should See It: The original was surprisingly entertaining, and this sequel seems to be more of the same. We have a great cast as Amy Adams, Steve Coogan, Bill Hader, and Christopher Guest join Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Ricky Gervais for this ‘Night’.
11. Departures (Takita, May 29th)
Plot: A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.
Why You Should See It: It upset Waltz With Bashir and The Class to win best Foreign film at the Oscars this year.
10. Rudo y Cursi (Cuaron, May 8th)
Plot: Two siblings rival each other inside the world of professional soccer.
Why You Should See It: Produced by Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro and written and directed by Carlos Cuarón. Also starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna. With all this star power, I’m looking forward to something special.
9. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Hood, May 1st)
Plot: Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.
Why You Should See It: Kicks off the summer blockbuster line-up. Hugh Jackman should be entertaining as always. Ryan Reynolds, Liev Schreiber, and Dominic Monaghan should all prove to be worthy adversaries.
8. The Limits of Control (Jarmusch, May 1st)
Plot: The story of a mysterious loner, a stranger in the process of completing a criminal job.
Why You Should See It: Early reviews have been negative, but looking forward to Jarmusch’s next project. Gael Garcia Bernal and Tilda Swinton join Bill Murray for this outing.
7. Angels & Demons (Howard, May 15th)
Plot: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.
Why You Should See It: Despite really disliking Da Vinci Code, this addition looks to be much more exciting. Hopefully Ewan McGregor can add the much needed spark.
6. The Girlfriend Experience (Soderbergh, May 22nd)
Plot: A drama set in the days leading up to the 2008 Presidential election, and centered on a high-end Manhattan call girl meeting the challenges of her boyfriend, her clients, and her work.
Why You Should See It: A porn star attempts acting and Soderbergh captures the incoherent narrative in his own style.
5. Drag Me to Hell (Raimi, May 29th)
Plot: A loan officer ordered to evict an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse, which turns her life into a living hell. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.
Why You Should See It: Raimi returns to what he does best.
4. Terminator Salvation (McG, May 22nd)
Plot: After Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, a group of survivors led by John Connor (Bale) struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.
Why You Should See It: I hope McG (We Are Marshall, Charlie’s Angels) gets it right with this new addition to the Terminator franchise. Christian Bale should be more than enough reason to see the movie.
3. The Brothers Bloom (Johnson, May 15th)
Plot: The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they’ve decided to take on one last job – showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.
Why You Should See It: After getting pushed back from this Oscar season Rian Johnson’s (Brick) indie comedy-drama featuring Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo is finally arriving. I loved Brick so I can’t wait to see this.
2. Up (Docter, May 29th)
Plot: By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.
Why You Should See It: It’s Pixar. Let’s see if they have another classic after Wall-E. All signs point to yes.
1. Star Trek (Abrams, May 8th)
Plot: A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.
Why You Should See It: Hell Yes. I’m no Star Trek fan by any means but after Cloverfield, Lost, and Mission Impossible 3 I have 100 percent faith in J.J. Abrams. The film is supposedly going to set Star Trek in a plausible futuristic world so I can’t wait.
Avoid:
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Waters, May 1st)
Plot: At his younger brother’s wedding, a committed bachelor/womanizer (McConaughey) is haunted by his romantic past.
Why You Should Stay Far Away: Here is McConaughey’s yearly moneygrab. Let’s see how bad it can fail this time.
Dance Flick (Wayans, May 22nd)
Plot: Street dancer Thomas Uncles is from the wrong side of the tracks, but his bond with the beautiful Megan White might help the duo realize their dreams as the enter in the mother of all dance battles.
Why You Should Stay Far Away: “Brought to you by the team behind White Chicks and Little Man“.
Do you agree with the list? What are you looking forward to this month?
– Jordan Raup