Summer Movie Guide: Of blockbusters and others 

Iron Man 2. Check. Robin Hood. Check. Shrek Forever After. Check. So far, the 2010 summer movie season is proceeding according to schedule, with a handful of heavily hyped titles behind us and approximately three dozen more on the way. Here, then, are 16 of those movies -- one per summer release date -- coming soon to a theater near all of us.

May 27: The inevitable sequel to the 2008 smash, Sex and the City 2 follows Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her best friends as they explore new adventures overseas.

May 28: A maverick prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) and a beauteous princess (Gemma Arterton) team up to keep a mystical dagger out of the hands of evildoers in the fantasy epic Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

June 4: A suburban wife (Katherine Heigl) is shocked to learn that her husband (Ashton Kutcher) is a hit man in the romantic comedy Killers.

June 11: The Karate Kid is a remake of the beloved 1984 hit, this time with Jaden Smith (Will and Jada's son) as the aspiring martial artist and Jackie Chan as the sage man who teaches him.

June 18: The long-awaited Toy Story 3 finds Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and all the other playthings worried about their collective future as owner Andy heads off to college.

June 25: Five former high school friends (Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider), with families in tow, gather for one wacky weekend in the slapstick comedy Grown Ups.

June 30: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse finds Belle (Kristen Stewart) still trapped between suitors Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner), even as a string of murders plagues the area and tensions between the vampires and the werewolves continue to grow.

July 2: Based on the Nickelodeon animated series, the live-action fantasy The Last Airbender centers on an Avatar (Noah Ringer) who uses his ability to control the elements (air, water, earth and fire) to restore peace to his world.

July 9: The animated film Despicable Me casts Steve Carell as Gru, an evil mastermind whose plan to steal the moon may get derailed by the efforts of three little girls.

July 16: Helming his first film since The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan offers Inception, a futuristic sci-fi tale about a man (Leonardo DiCaprio) adept at stealing valuable thoughts from people's subconscious minds during the dream state; the large cast also includes Juno's Ellen Page, (500) Days of Summer's Joseph-Gordon Levitt and the great Michael Caine.

July 23: A remake of the 1998 French farce The Dinner Game, Dinner for Schmucks centers around a social event/contest in which all the guests must bring the strangest person they can find; one guest (Paul Rudd) thinks he's going to win once he invites a particularly eccentric character (Steve Carell).

Aug. 6: A temperamental detective (Mark Wahlberg) and his incompetent partner (Will Farrell) hit the streets hoping to emulate the city's best cops (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson) in the action comedy The Other Guys.

Aug. 27: With apparently no relation to the 1978 Piranha (or James Cameron's 1981 Piranha Part Two: The Spawning), Piranha 3-D centers on prehistoric fish inadvertently released from beneath the bottom of a lake in Arizona.

MORE FILM EVENTS

• The Main Library's annual Summer Film Series sets its 2010 sights on "The Bad and the Beautiful: 8 Films By Vincente Minnelli." First up in this showcase of the Oscar-winning director is his 1944 classic, Meet Me In St. Louis, the exuberant musical starring Judy Garland in her most appealing performance. (2 p.m. May 29, Wachovia Theatre, ImaginOn. Free admission.)

• The Charlotte Film Society continues its Saturday Night Cine Club Series with a screening of 2008's Cherry Blossoms, a German import about a widower who journeys to Japan after the passing of his wife. (7:30 p.m. May 29, Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road. $8 general admission.)

• The Cult Movie Monday series continues with a screening of 1994's Serial Mom, writer-director John Waters' satiric look at a murderous mother (Kathleen Turner). Upcoming summer titles include Pee-wee's Big Adventure, The Phantom of the Paradise and Back to School. (8 p.m. May 31, Actor's Theatre, 650 E. Stonewall St. Free admission and popcorn; cash bar.)

• Just when you thought it was safe to go back into Discovery Place, the venue's Discovery 3-D Theatre will be screening the short film Sharks! during the summer months. This informative piece doubtless holds more entertainment value than the '80s dud Jaws 3-D ... (Various times, June 1-Nov. 30, Discovery Place. Free with museum admission.)

• The Light Factory presents Attack of the Summer Film Series, showcasing three sci-fi staples: 1956's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla and 1958's The Blob. (8:30 p.m. June 10, July 8, Aug. 12 respectively, location TBA. Free admission.)

• Reel Soul Cinema will present a feature-length anthology from 6 Leagues, an underground film collective comprised of six black filmmakers from NYU's Graduate Film Program. (June 11, Duke Power Theater, Spirit Square. Time & cost TBA.)

• More summer film events