Upcoming Movies to Watch For

Yet another remake for summer audiences in “The Omen.” The 1976 original stared Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as parents of the son with an unusual birth mark, “666.” The story continued with the small boy causing death and destruction as he grew through that film and several sequels. This story has Leiv Schreiber and Julia Stiles as the little devil’s parents. It also has an added bonus of starring Mia Farrow, who knows a little something about birthing the devil since portrayed the mom of one in “Rosemary’s Baby.” “The Omen” is released on June 6.

June 9 adds Pixar Animation to the movie race with “Cars.” A film about a race car trying to make it to a great race. He has to stop in an small town on the old Route 66. He discovers that “life is journey, not a race.” This Disney Pixar collaboration stars the voices of Paul Newman, Richard Petty and Owen Wilson.

Also on June 9 is “A Prairie Home Companion,” the story of a radio show hosted by Garrison Keilor. It stars Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Tommy Lee Jones, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson, Lindsey Lohan and Keilor. Who else could bring these talents together but director Robert Altman?

And finally Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock are together again. Remember, they were together for the blockbuster “Speed.” Now they are in a romantic drama that crosses time and alternate planes of reality. “Lake House” finds a lonely Kate Forster (Bullock), who used to live in an unusual lake house, exchanging letters with the now resident Alex Burnham (Reeves). They begin to fall in love only to find that they are living two years apart. Now they must unravel the mystery of time to find true love. The film is released on June 16.

And yes, summer movies seem more like repeats of the summers before but this sequel everyone will want to see. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” Johnny Depp is back as Captain Jack Sparrow, this time he owes his soul to undersea Captain Davy Jones, played by Bill Nighy. And the returning lovers Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) will have some problems on the eve of their wedding as they get drawn into Capt. Jack’s problems. This film has been anxiously awaited by audiences since the credits rolled on the first Pirate film in 2003 that grossed $653 million world wide. The best bet to its success is that not only Depp and company return but the director Gore Verbinski and writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio return as well. Released July 7.

Two other films worth mentioning are “Lady In The Water” directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It is a bedtime story he conceived for his children. It introduces us to a nymph-like character named Story who is trying to get back to her world. She is being stalked by vicious creatures determined to stop her. By the way, she lives in the passageways beneath an old building. Aren’t you glad your parents stayed with the Disney bedtime stories? This opens on July 21. The second anticipated film is “Miami Vice,” starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell. This time Detective Ricardo Tubbs (Foxx) and Detective Sonny Crockett (Farrell) are on the trail of a Chinese/Cuban drug dealer. The film is based on the television program. It is released July 28.

There are many more films not mentioned in this article but this will give you a good idea of what is out there.