It's that time of year again, when throngs of movies vie to claim the throne reserved for summer blockbusters. We've selected 12 flicks that we think could be the heavyweight champions this summer. So grab a bucket of popcorn, find a good seat and silence your cell phone as we preview this summer's top contenders.
INCEPTION
Leonardo DeCaprio stars in Christopher Nolan's latest flick that takes place in the mind where nothing is safe. Inception's trailer features gravity-defying fist-fights, a city-scape that folds above the horizon and randomly combusting objects outside a café to blur the line between dreams and reality. "Inception" looks to be the most promising smash hit this summer — if Nolan's latest film can escape the tempting comparisons to the success of the "Dark Night."
TOY STORY 3
It's been 15 years since the original "Toy Story" debuted in theatres, and Pixar is reopening the toy chest for this summer's third installment. Buzz Lightyear, Woody and the gang are sold to a nursery as Andy leaves home for college. "Toy Story 3" reunites the original cast from the last two movies as they try to find their way back home, all while capturing the kid in all of us again.
SHREK FOREVER AFTER
The final chapter in the Shrek series aims to draw a tidy conclusion to its lackluster predecessor. But insider internet sources are indicating the movie is much better than originally anticipated. Perhaps for Shrek, Donkey and Fiona, the fourth and final time is a charm.
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE
Twi-hards, curious movie-goers and boyfriends get ready. The third installment of the Twilight Saga follows a series of mysterious killings as Bella, a high school graduate, must choose between her love for a vampire and her friendship with a werewolf. While the fight scenes should showcase stunning visual effects, the biggest obstacle for "Eclipse" is can it meet expectations to become this generation's most memorable love story? No, we're not kidding.
MACGRUBER
Derived from a highly popular Saturday Night Live skit, "MacGruber" makes its debut in theatres this summer. The knuckleheaded special ops specialist based on the burly MacGyver, must recover a stolen warhead that falls into the hands of the enemy. But the biggest obstacle MacGruber faces is escaping the shadows of its highly successful SNL movie predecessor, "Wayne's World."
GET HIM TO THE GREEK
The latest Nicholas Stoller, (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Judd Apatow film contains more sex, drugs and rock ‘n' roll than a KISS after-party. A record company intern (Jonah Hill) must get the lewd and out-of-control rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) to the Greek Theatre for a performance that promises to resuscitate the rocker's slumping career. An insane P. Diddy and an appearance by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich round out this summer's most promising comedy.
SPLICE
One of the few sci-fi thrillers this summer, "Splice" follows two genetic engineers who ignore proper protocol and combine animal and human DNA to create a hybrid creature. Consequently, the experiment goes awry and the creature's bond with the geneticists becomes deadly. Dubbed "Dren," the creature seems eerily lifelike thanks to impressive visual effects that may make this film come to life and spawn a potential summer sleeper hit.
THE A-TEAM
While most college students weren't born when the A-Team ruled the tube, the TV show that debuted 25 years ago, finally escapes the time capsule and on to the big screen. Falsely accused of a crime they didn't commit, four Iraq War vets aim to clear their name with the U.S. military by taking the offensive on the front lines. While the film promises heaps of unabashed combat, the biggest detriment for this action flick is the absence of the original Mr. T. We pity the fool.
SALT
This action flick decided to undergo a sex-change, and it seems that choice was for the better. "Salt" originally slated Tom Cruise for the lead. But changes in the script called for Angelina Jolie to step into the shoes of a falsely accused CIA operative who must evade her captors to prove her innocence. Fans should be weary though because according to imdb.com, the last time director Phillip Noyce handled this genre "effectively" was in 1994.
THE OTHER GUYS
The list of "buddy-cop" movies is a long one, which makes it easy to overlook "The Other Guys" as another crime fighting duo. But the mismatched pair of the nerdy Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and trigger-happy Terry Holtz (Mark Wahlberg), prove that the marriage of action and comedy may just be the right elements for success. Hopefully Ferrell isn't still sore from "Land of the Lost."
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD
Winning a girl's heart has never been this difficult. Based on the graphic novels of Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) must defeat seven of his new girlfriend's evil ex-boyfriends to prove his worth to her. The biggest risk though is if the film flops, the Cera faithful may not be so forgiving.
PRINCE OF PERSIA THE SANDS OF TIME
Movies based on video games have never been lauded as great films. That may change this year as Jake Gyllenhaal steps into the role of an Arabian prince who teams up with a princess to stop the movie's protagonist from unleashing a hellacious sandstorm on the earth. We smell a sequel if Gyllenhaal's beefcake performance is noteworthy—otherwise, movie-goers might as well stay home and play the game instead.
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