LITTLE ROCK — Are we having a laugh? We will be if summer movies have anything to say about it.
From now through August, we'll either be chortling madly at the antics of Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy, Anna Faris, Jack Black, Steve Carell, Mike Myers and an assortment of animated critters, or having high adventures alongside Harrison Ford, Kim Cattrall, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Ron Perlman, Angelina Jolie, Christian Bale and Will Smith. It's a summer for big stars and big budgets. These are a few of the films - comedies, superhero sagas and thrillers - that sound most likely to entertain us when the heat is on.
Opening dates are subject to the everchanging whims of movie studios.
THURSDAY
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. With Harrison Ford, ShiaLaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen;
directed by Steven Spielberg. Globe-trotting, bullwhip-wielding archaeologist ologist Jones (Ford) may be getting a little gray (it was 1989 when we last saw him in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), but he's not slowing down. Here he teams up with Mutt (LaBeouf) and heads to Peru in search of the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination and fear.
MAY 30
Sex and the City. With Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, Jennifer Hudson, Lynn Cohen; directed by Michael Patrick King. The continuing adventures of the glamorously fashionable stars of HBO's popular 1998-2004 series - Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda - carry on four years after the series ended, with a new character, Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls), as Carrie's assistant (although it's not clear whyshe needs one).
The Strangers. With Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman; directed by Bryan Bertino. One of the few horror offerings this summer gets creepy and claustrophobic when a couple, snuggling in an isolated getaway, are confronted by unwelcome visitors.
JUNE 6
Kung Fu Panda. Animated with the voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Ian Mc-Shane; directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne. Po the Panda (voice of Jack Black) is a big - way too big - fan of kung fu, a sport that does not embrace those with a portly physique. But the enemy is near, and Po is destined to be the defender of his realm.
You Don't Mess With the Zohan. With Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui; directed by Dennis Dugan. Sandler sports an expansive new coiffure as Zohan, an Israeli commando who will do anything to achieve his goal of becoming a swanky hairdresser in New York.
JUNE 13
The Happening. With Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo; directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Scary stuff from the director of The Sixth Sense in which humankind is yet again in the throes of potential worldwide destruction.
The Incredible Hulk. With Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson; directed by Louis Leterrier. The ill-tempered superhero returns (last seen in 2003, portrayed by Eric Bana) with Edward Norton in the role of gamma-radiation-poisoned scientist Bruce Banner, who goes green when he gets aggravated.
JUNE 20
Get Smart. With Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson; directed by Peter Segal. The TV series (1965-1970) blows up to big-screen size with Carell as a blundering secret agent, aided by ever-helpful Agent 99 (Hathaway) in a battle against global criminal organization KAOS.
The Love Guru. With Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Ben Kingsley; directed by Marco Schnabel. An American (Myers), left at the entrance of an Indian ashram as a child and reared by gurus, moves to the United States to make his mark in the cutthroat competitive world of self-help and spirituality.
JUNE 27
WALL-E. Animated with voices of Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Sigourney Weaver, John Ratzenberger; directed by Andrew Stanton. The latest from Pixar Animation Studios features a strong-willed robot who, through no fault of his own, uncovers the meansto keep the earth up and running.
Wanted. With James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Common, Angelina Jolie; directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Based on Mark Millar's graphic novels and directed by the creator of Russia's popular Night Watch series, this is the story of Wesley Gibson (McAvoy) who goes from white-collar working drone to megaavenger, hot on the trail of his father's murderer.
JULY 2
Hancock. With Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman; directed by Peter Berg. Smith plays a neighborhood hero who all too often leaves a trail of destruction behind his well-intentioned efforts.
JULY 11
Hellboy II: The Golden Army. With Ron Perlman, Selma Blair; directed by Guillermo del Toro. More high jinks from hell by the big red kitten-loving superhero and his pals in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development.
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D. With Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson; directed by Eric Brevig. Based on Jules Verne's novel. A science professor (Fraser) goes underground in Iceland for an incredible journey.
Meet Dave. With Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union; directed by Brian Robbins. New York visitor Dave Ming Chang (Murphy) isn't like all those other tourists, for reasons that will become obvious (even for those who haven't already seen the trailer about a million times).
JULY 18
The Dark Knight. With Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman; directed by Christopher Nolan. Batman's (Bale) battle against crime inGotham- focusing on The Joker (Ledger) - continues, with the same director and star of 2005's Batman Begins and featuring Ledger, who died in January.
Mamma Mia! With Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard; directed by Phyllida Lloyd. This is a film adaptation of the mega-musical about a mother, a daughter and three men who might be the daughter's as-yet unidentified father, that features the music of ABBA.
Space Chimps. Animated with the voices of Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Patrick Warburton; directed by Kirk De Micco. The flamboyant circus-performer grandson ofthe first chimpanzee in space is unwillingly recruited to rescue a NASA intergalactic probe that disappears.
JULY 25
The Longshots. With Ice Cube, Tasha Smith; directed by Fred Durst (lead singer for Limp Bizkit). A small-town Illinois quarterback becomes the first female player in the history of Pop Warner football.
Step Brothers. With Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen; directed by Adam McKay. Perennial 40-year-old slacker Brennan (Ferrell) is disconcerted to learn that his mother, Nancy (Steenburgen) intends to marry Robert (Jenkins), the fatherof Dale (John C. Reilly), who, at age 39, is about as worthless as Brennan.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe. With David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Xzibit; directed by Chris Carter. The second feature film (the first appeared in 1998) based on the much-adored Fox sciencefiction TV series (1993-2002) once again unites FBI agents Mulder (Duchovny) and Scully (Anderson), both of them still seeking the truth, which is out there. Somewhere.
AUGUST
August is laden with comedies as well. Releases (subject to change) include:
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The third in the Mummy adventure series with Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeoh; directed by Rob Cohen.
The Rocker. Romantic comedy about an unsuccessful rock 'n' roll drummer with Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate and Jeff Garlin; directed by Peter Cattaneo.
Swing Vote. Lovable-loser comedy with Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane and Judge Reinhold; directed by Joshua Michael Stern.
Pineapple Express. Actioncomedy directed by Arkansas native David Gordon Green about a dope smoker who witnesses a murder, and starring Seth Rogen, James Franco and Gary Cole.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Chick flick with Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Amber Tamblyn; directed by Sanaa Hamri.
Mirrors. Horrorfest with Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton and Amy Smart; directed by Alexandre Aja.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The billionth Jedi knight sci-fi adventure, directed by David Filoni.
Tropic Thunder. Comedy about actors on location, with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise, directed by Stiller.
The Accidental Husband. Romantic comedy with Uma Thurman, Colin Firth and Sam Shepard, directed by Griffin Dunne.
Bangkok Dangerous. Actionthriller about a hit man working in Thailand, with Nicolas Cage; directed by twins Danny Pang and Oxide Pang Chun (The Eye).
Crossing Over. Drama about immigrants in Los Angeles, with Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, Sean Penn and Ray Liotta, directed by Wayne Kramer.
Fly Me to the Moon. Animated space fantasy with the voices of Trevor Gagnon, Adrienne Barbeau and Ed Begley Jr.; directed by Ben Stassen.
The House Bunny. Comedy about a Playboy bunny who moves into a sorority house, with Anna Faris and Colin Hanks; directed by Fred Wolf.
Style, Pages 62, 63 on 05/18/2008