HOLLYWOOD — There’s
a lot riding on the summer
movie season (unoffi cially
kicking off with the May 1
release of X-Men Origins:
Wolverine) and not just
because of those super-
sized budgets and mega-
marketing costs.
Also on the line are the
careers of a number of actors
and directors anxious to either
stop a slump in its tracks
and/or prove they’re more
than just one-hit wonders
— and they’re hoping the
following will do the trick:
Star Trek (May 8)
At length: A reboot of
the mighty Trek movie
franchise, this back-to-
basics title refl ects an origins
storyline that goes back to
the infancy of the starship
Enterprise, with a fresh-
faced cast playing its crew.
At stake: Director J.J. Abrams
2006 take on Tom Cruise’s
Mission: Impossible series
grossed a respectable but
nothing-to-jump-up-on-a-
sofa-about $133.4 million.
But this time he’ll incur
the wrath of Trekkies if
the going proves a bit too
much on the bold side.
My Life in Ruins (June 5)
At length: Canada’s own Nia
Vardalos plays a travel guide
who returns to her Greek
roots and develops
a big fat crush
on her tour bus
driver in this scenic
romantic comedy.
At stake: With
both 2004’s Connie
and Carla and
the small screen
version of My Big
Fat Greek Wedding
failing to click with
viewers, the gifted
comedienne has
yet to demonstrate
that her 2002 indie sensation
wasn’t a remarkable fl uke.
Imagine Th at (June 12)
At length: Eddie Murphy’s a
workaholic fi nancial executive
who receives valuable insider
tips from an unusual source
— his 7-year-old daughter’s
imaginary friends.
At stake: Last year Murphy’s
winning streak (Norbit,
Dreamgirls, the Shrek movies)
came to a crashing halt when
audiences refused to take him
up on the off er to Meet Dave.
Is it just us or is it a tricky
time for Murphy to be
mining laughs from
the fi nance world?
Year One (June 19)
At length: Jack
Black and Michael
Cera play a pair
of slacker hunter-
gatherers in this
ancient comedy
directed by the guy
who once gave us
Groundhog Day
and Caddyshack.
At stake:
Unfortunately
Harold Ramis’
more recent output
has included the decidedly
not-so-classic comedies
Bedazzled, Multiplicity and
Th e Ice Harvest and, if the
trailer’s of any indication, Year
One plays like a one-gag relic
from Mel Brooks’ discard pile.
Bruno (July 10)
At length: Th e man who
begat Borat is back with
Bruno, just another gay
Austrian TV fashionista who
again manages to bait his
unsuspecting American hosts
with even more
R-rated outrageousness.
At stake: Th ere’s no denying
Sacha Baron Cohen’s
previous boundary-bashing
creation was a bona fi de pop
culture phenom (even in
Kazakhstan), but less certain
is whether the mock doc will
manage to retain its shock
value the second time around.
Inglourious Basterds
(August 21)
At length: Brad Pitt and his
band of Jewish-American
soldiers are dispatched to
occupied France to kick
some major Nazi butt in
Quentin Tarantino’s fi rst
crack at a war movie.
At stake: Grindhouse, his
collaborative (with director
Robert Rodriguez) ode to
cheesy ’70s double-bills
turned out to be a double
bomb and with Pulp Fiction
now (gasp!) 15 years behind
him, Tarantino is gunning for
a “glourious” return to form.
Michael Rechtsha en,
a Canadian entertainment writer
based in Los Angeles, appears
Wednesdays and Sundays
