Coming to a summer near you

Chris Reynolds
Equinox Staff

Looking ahead to this summer’s upcoming movies and shows in New England, there is a lot to look forward to.

Starting off the list for movies, Robert Downey Jr. returns as the super-suit-wearing action hero as Tony Stark in “Iron Man 2.” There are some new faces this time, including a change in the original cast. Terrance Howard will no longer play Rhodes. Instead, blockbuster veteran Don Cheadle takes the reins as Rhodey gets his own crime fighting suit and becomes War Machine. The villain in the sequel, Whiplash, played by Mickey Rourke, is after Stark himself, since he announced his identity in the last movie. Whiplash seems to have figured out Stark’s ark reactor technology and uses his own power against him with energy charged whips. “Iron Man 2” hits theaters May 7.

Next in line for movies is “Robin Hood.” This film takes place before the events that occur in Sherwood Forest and show the cloaked crusader’s path to outlawdom. All of the characters you expect to see in a Robin Hood movie will be present, including Marian, Prince John, Will Scarlet, Friar Tuck and Little John (played by Kevin Durand of “Smoking Aces,” and “Lost” fame), just to name a few. Robin Longstride himself will be played by Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott, who also directed “Gladiator.” “Robin Hood” hits theaters May 14.

Rolling on with summer movies, the upcoming A-Team movie seems to promise intense stunt-tacular action and hold true to the corny humor of the original 80’s television series. The star-studded cast rebirths many aspects of the shows four main characters. The team leader and idea man John “Hannibal” Smith is played by Liam Neeson, while the smart mouthed Templeton “Faceman” Peck will be played by Bradley Cooper. Also, Mr. T’s character Bosco “B.A” Baracus will be played by former UFC fighter, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Not to mention the machine man “Howling Mad” Murdock will be played by Sharlto Copley. And when a trailer involves the team parachuting to earth in a tank, guns blazing, that’s a sure fire indicator of some far-fetched A-Team action. “The A-Team” hits theaters June 11.

The next film to look forward to is the third installment of Pixar’s Toy Story saga. In “Toy Story 3” Andy is off to college and his toys are boxed up and shipped to the Sunny Side daycare center. The group of toys comes to terms with their new home when they not only realize Andy is looking for them but also the mob-like toys of Sunny Side are doing everything to make sure they don’t escape. Most of the original voice actors return to lend their vocals to the cast and there is a special prize in store when the gang needs to reset Buzz Lightyear. “Toy Story 3” hit theatres June 18.

“The Last Airbender” will be blowing onto the big screen next. This adaptation of the television series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” depicts four nations that control the powers of different elements at war with one another: the water nation, earth nation, air nation and the conquering fire nation. The aforementioned Avatar (named Aang) is an Airbender who will supposedly save the rest of the nations from the one of fire, even though he is only 12 years old. Only the Avatar can manipulate (bend) all four of the elements, which gives him the upper hand no one else has. Oh, and did I mention he is the last of his kind? That’s kind of important. “The Last Airbender” hits theaters July 2.

The next entry from the book of movie magic is “The Sorcerers Apprentice” which stars Nicolas Cage as well as rising star Jay Baruchel (“Tropic Thunder,” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”) Balthazar Blake (Cage) is said sorcerer and he is keeping a watchful eye on New York City. And what could he possibly be protecting it from? His wizard nemesis of course! This is where Baruchel’s character, Dave Stutler comes in as Blake’s apprentice, to help him fight off the evil spell caster. IMDB.com has this film labeled as “loosely based” on the “Sorcerers Apprentice” segment of Disney’s “Fantasia,” so I wouldn’t expect any Mickey Mouse style shenanigans, although the trailer clearly depicts Baruchel in a basement flooding with water and dancing brooms for a split second. “The Sorcerers Apprentice” comes to a theater near you July 16.

Another movie to look for later this summer is this cop comedy “The Other Guys” staring Will Ferrell, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson. Jackson and Johnson play the two over-the-top crime fighting cops in this story who will no sooner punch you in the mouth than say hello to you. Ferrell and Wahlberg are the partners behind the desks who don’t really get along but they share one thing: they idolize the aforementioned action cops. The two paper pushers get their chance to move up in their department, only it seems they get into more than they can handle. “The Other Guys” hits theaters August 6.

The final round of summer flicks features “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Pilgrim, played by Michael Cera, falls for a girl who may be causing more than just his heart to ache. Turns out she has seven evil exs and he needs to defeat everyone of them in order to have her. The film utilizes flashy video game style graphics to let you know when a fight is about to begin along with traditional comic book type “POWS” and “BIFFS” to inform you someone just got their butt kicked. Each ex-boyfriend (and an ex-girlfriend) have their own unique fighting style and quirk. Pilgrim must figure out in order to beat them all and get the princess… uh, I mean… girl. “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” hits theaters August 13.
Be sure to look for shows in the Upcoming Events section on page B-6.

Chris Reynolds can be reached at creynolds@keeneequinox.com