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At any rate, here's a schedule of 52 movies that are expected to open locally between May 2 and August 29. Most are national releases, while a handful are art-house features that are expected to hit Charlotte during the hot-weather months. As always, dates are subject to change.
MAY 2
X2
PLOT: Even as Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) tries to learn more about his mysterious past, he and the other X-Men must defend themselves against a military man (Brian Cox) hell-bent on wiping out all mutants.
THE LOWDOWN: This sequel to the 2000 summer hit brings back practically the entire first cast (including English thesps Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen and Oscar winners Anna Paquin and Halle Berry) and introduces several new characters, such as Alan Cumming's Nightcrawler. (See Hugh Jackman interview in this issue's Flicks section.)
Also: In THE LIZZIE MCGUIRE MOVIE (based on the Disney Channel show), the spunky teen (Hilary Duff) heads to Rome, where she finds amore and becomes a singing sensation.
MAY 9
DADDY DAY CARE
PLOT: After getting laid off, two fathers (Eddie Murphy and Jeff Garlin) decide to open a day-care facility, figuring it'll be a piece of cake to look after some kids.
THE LOWDOWN: Murphy's three 2002 flops (The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Showtime and I Spy) will be forgiven and forgotten once the box office comes close to Nutty Professor/Dr. Dolittle heights. . .This may end up being tame and lame, but the clever use of the Psycho music in the preview gets me every time.
A MIGHTY WIND
PLOT: The members of three folk groups (played by, among others, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, Catherine O'Hara and Parker Posey) get together for an "oldies" memorial concert in this "mockumentary."
THE LOWDOWN: This reunites most of the principal cast and crew from Best In Show and Waiting For Guffman -- in other words, we're there.
MAY 15
THE MATRIX RELOADED
PLOT: In this middle chapter in the Matrix trilogy, Neo (Keanu Reeves), Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) must save the fabled city of Zion from being destroyed by the ruling computers.
THE LOWDOWN: The most anticipated movie of the summer should also emerge as the most profitable, fighting off challenges from X2, Bruce Almighty and Finding Nemo. . .New characters include good girl Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) and bad girl Persephone (Monica Bellucci). . .The final installment, The Matrix Revolutions, will be released November 5, 2003.
MAY 16
DOWN WITH LOVE
PLOT: A best-selling advice writer (Renee Zellweger) and a suave journalist (Ewan McGregor) go through the romantic paces in this update of those beloved Rock Hudson/Doris Day comedies.
THE LOWDOWN: Like Far From Heaven, this hopes to duplicate not just the subject matter of its screen antecedents but their style as well, right down to Technicolor saturation and fake studio backlots. . .The cast includes Tony Randall, who co-starred in three Hudson-Day romps way back when.
Also: John Malkovich directs Oscar nominee Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) in THE DANCER UPSTAIRS, a political thriller set in a volatile South American country. . .In LAUREL CANYON, the liberal lifestyle of an LA record producer (Frances McDormand) causes a rift in the relationship between her conservative son (Christian Bale) and his open-minded fiancee (Kate Beckinsale). . .According to the studio press release, the original Japanese title for POKEMON HEROES is Guardian Spirits of the Water Capital: Latias and Latios; let's see them put that on a US marquee and still draw the kiddies. . .THE SHAPE OF THINGS, the latest from director Neil LaBute (Nurse Betty, Possession), takes place among art lovers in a college town; Paul Rudd (Clueless) and Rachel Weisz (About a Boy) star.
MAY 23
THE IN-LAWS
PLOT: Comic hijinks ensue when the father of the bride, a nebbishy foot doctor (Albert Brooks), meets the father of the groom, a daredevil CIA agent (Michael Douglas).
THE LOWDOWN: Anybody who's seen 1979's The In-Laws (with Alan Arkin, Peter Falk, and writer Andrew Bergman's great one-liners) knows that this new version has its work cut out for it. Still, it's hard to dislike the Brooks-Douglas pairing.
BRUCE ALMIGHTY
PLOT: Tired of blasphemous humans, God (Morgan Freeman) appears before an angry young man named Bruce (Jim Carrey) and bestows on him all his mighty powers, challenging the puny mortal to do a better job.
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