Summer movie preview: A season of cinema

The hot season for movies is coming to a theater near you

We hate to quote Michael Jackson, but he hit it on the head all those years ago when he sang, "We're going back to Indiana. Indiana here we come." Indiana Jones, that is.

Even though we're less than an hour from the Indiana state border, it took Hollywood legends George Lucas and Steven Spielberg 19 years to get there again. Luckily, Harrison Ford has his sights high this summer at the box office and his boffo return. "We hope to make hundreds and hundreds of dollars," jokes the guy with the big hat and the whip.

He will definitely whip the competition during the warm weather months, but it's safe to say there are many other places to go this summer at the multiplex besides Indiana.

There are other lands full of Cosmos, Manolos, Dark Knights, M. Night, hot vacation spots like Tropic Thunder and Narnia, and even Tom Cruise in a cameo and the late Heath Ledger in his much-anticipated role as the Joker.

No joke: Welcome to the summer movie season.

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman (May 9).

What you need to know: There's this little boy who can't concentrate on his schoolwork because he's obsessed with racing cars. He grows up to look an awful lot like "Into the Wild's" Hirsch in a white jumpsuit, which looks good in that famous white Mach 5 car.

What you want to know: Since the film is directed by Chicago natives and "Matrix" creators Larry and Andy Wachowski, it's not exactly the staid '60s 'toon anymore. "The car is literally airborne and flying through what looks like a track that's a rollercoaster ride," promises producer Joel Silver.

Starring: Ben Barnes, Warwick Davis, Eddie Izzard, Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton (May 16).

What you need to know: Those Pevensie kids find themselves back in Narnia, where a thousand years have passed and now an evil king rules the land. They have to help the handsome Prince Caspian take the throne again.

What you want to know: Barnes joined the set two weeks into filming and those other nutty Narnians gave him a shaken-up bottle of orange pop as a welcoming gift. It shot in his face while 30 people on the set screamed as his costume was doused, his hair was wrecked and his makeup ran. "It was quite the introduction to a movie set, but all in good fun," Barnes says. "I think everyone is still waiting for my revenge. The waiting is worse for them than anything."

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blachett. Directed by Steven Spielberg (May 22).

What you need to know: Ford is back in action in a stunt-filled action adventure where he must deal with greed, corruption abduction and the Cold War, to name a few inconveniences. There's also that nagging theft of some cool artifacts.

What you want to know: Yes, Ford risked life and limb to play Indy again. During a stunt where a truck crashes through a wall, a box of explosives landed right next to Ford. That look of shock on his face isn't just good acting.

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Chris Noth (May 30).

What you need to know: The hottest series on HBO ended in 2004, but the Manolo Blahniks weren't packed away for good. Despite several stops and starts (plus a few reported cast feuds), the fabulous foursome are back dealing with life and love in the concrete jungle. Will Carrie get hitched or ditched?

What you want to know: Plot secrets? They're being kept close to the designer vest, but we do know it's four years later and the ladies have settled a bit into their early 40s. But we do hear there is a death in the early part of the film that starts the action. Carrie is also reportedly engaged and living with Mr. Big while dealing with a booming career with an assistant in the form of Chicago's own Jennifer Hudson.

Starring: Adam Sandler and Emmanuelle Chriqui (June 6).

What you need to know: Sandler is an ex-Israeli counterterrorist agent who fakes his own death because his lifelong dream is to become a hairdresser for Paul Mitchell. He winds up in New York, where one side of his new street is Israeli and the other half Palestinian. He falls in love with a girl from the other side of the street played by Chriqui (best known as E's love interest on "Entourage").

What you want to know: For the counterterrorim scenes, Sandler trained to know all form of martial arts. Wheaton native and director Dennis Dugan says, "Adam worked out like a maniac and he's got arms and a six-pack now."

Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt (June 13).

What you need to know: The film has Bruce Banner already in Hulk mode and hanging in Brazil trying to find a way to stop turning into a giant green guy. He's found out by Gen. Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) and then must run from Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), a soldier who becomes a character named Abomination.

What you want to know: Norton (who also co-wrote the screenplay) is staying mum about the film's final cut.

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan (June 13).

What you need to know: Walhberg and Deschanel are a couple on the run from an apocalyptic crisis.

What you want to know: Everything, but Shyamalan never talks plot before his films open. He has dubbed it an "environmental nightmare."

Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway (June 20).

What you need to know: Carell is spy Maxwell Smart who works for his CONTROL agency in their reports department, but wants to get out in the field and catch bad guys. He has the cute Agent 99 (Hathaway) by his side.

What you want to know: James Caan, as the president of the United States, knows this material well. He did a guest stint on the original series, playing a swordsman named Rotten Rupert of Rathskeller.

Starring: Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake (June 20).

What you need to know: Myers is a spiritual leader who learned his stuff in an ashram and wants to spread the word of love to the masses.

What you want to know: Alba insists, "The hardest part of doing the film was not laughing when Mike was in character ... or out of character."

Starring: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Common (June 27).

What you need to know: Based on Mark Miller's graphic novel, it's the story of a man named Joe (McAvoy) who joins a group of super assassins led by one hardcore femme (Angelina, of course) with the mission being avenging his father's murder.

What you want to know: McAvoy says Jolie is a tough act to follow: "She's really hanging off those cars."

Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman (July 2).

What you need to know: Smith in a big summer film? Would it be July without it? This time he's a hero who also had a bit of a drinking problem, but now he wants to fix his public image. Bateman is the marketing expert who helps him.

What you want to know: "It's the fact that this guy has flaws that attracted me to him in the first place," says Smith. "No one is perfect, but this guy is really trying which is the point for most of us."

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart (July 18).

What you want to know: The film marks the massively anticipated creepy performance of the late Ledger as the Joker. Batman begins again with the same moody Caped Crusader (Bale), his trusty butler Alfred (Caine) and a new femme in the form of Maggie Gyllenhaal. Aaron Eckhart is DA Harvey Dent, who becomes a villain known as Two-Face.

What you need to know: Gyllenhaal, who plays Bruce Wayne's lawyer, says this is a much hotter Batman. "I have two lovers in the movie and they're both gorgeous," she confides.

Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson (July 25).

What you need to know: From X-Files headquarters: "It is a stand-alone story in the tradition of some of the show's most acclaimed and beloved episodes, and takes the complicated relationship between Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) in unexpected directions. Mulder continues his unshakable quest for the truth, and Scully, the passionate, ferociously intelligent physician, remains inextricably tied to Mulder's pursuits."

What you want to know: Everything, but you get nothing. Even star Anderson recently said, "We've gone to pretty extreme lengths to keep things secret. I mean, the crew didn't even get copies of the script, which made shooting pretty challenging."

Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Matthew McConaughey. Directed by Stiller (Aug. 15).

What you need to know: A group of diva-type actors are about to film a Vietnam war movie so they go off to boot camp and then they find themselves enmeshed in a real-life battle.

What you want to know: Yes, Tom Cruise is featured in a cameo as a dirty-dancing movie mogul reportedly based on his nemesis, Viacom's Sumner Redstone.

Big Pictures News Inc.

"What Happens in Vegas": Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher star as two New York singles who let loose in Sin City (May 9).

"Savage Grace": Julianne Moore is part of a love triangle as a society queen with a disturbed son and a cheating hubby (May 30).

"The Wackness": Ben Kingsley plays a shrink who buys some pot from a young patient (July 3).

"Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D": Brendan Fraser plays a scientist in a search for the core of the planet (July 11).

"Meet Dave": Eddie Murphy plays a 1˝-inch creature who arrives on earth and morphs into ... Eddie Murphy (July 11).

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army": Ron Pearlman returns as the guy with the nubs of horns on his head (July 11).

"Mama Mia": Meryl Streep is the mother of the bride in this film adaptation of the hit ABBA-laced Broadway musical (July 18).

"Step Brothers": Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly experience adult sibling rivalry (July 25).

"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor": Brendan Fraser joins Jet Li and Mario Bello in the hit franchise(Aug. 1).

"Pineapple Express": James Franco joins Seth Rogen and Rosie Perez in a story about some stoners who bump into a murderous cop (Aug. 8).

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars": Produced by George Lucas, this "Star Wars" spinoff is set during the time between "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith" (Aug. 15).

"Crossing Over": Harrison Ford tackles illegal immigration with Ashley Judd, Sean Penn and Ray Liotta (Aug. 22).

"The Accidental Husband": Uma Thurman is a radio relationship hostess who tells a caller to break up (Aug. 22).

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona": Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Scarlett Johansson star for Woody Allen in the story of a painter (Bardem) who loves two women (Aug. 29).

Cindy Pearlman

Better than a babysitter and less costly than a trip to Toys R Us (well, maybe if you don't load up on the candy and sodas), we have the ultimate clip-it-and-put-it-on-your-fridge reminder of three likely family- friendly summer blockbusters.

You have an adorable panda named Po (voiced by Jack Black) who longs to be a martial arts legend. He must battle the evil snow leopard (voiced by "Deadwood's" Ian McShane) (June 6).

Get ready to hit the store and buy the dolls. But first comes the film starring Abigail Breslin and Chicago's Chris O'Donnell. "Little Miss Sunshine" stars as a Depression-era cutie who brings down some unsavory types while saving her home. Spread the sunshine, indeed (June 20).

It's the year 2805, and a lonely garbage-eating robot named Wall-E is a giant hunk of metal and wires who lives on a garbage-covered Earth, thanks to the fact that mankind has left the planet. Wall-E (which stands for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth class) has a cockroach friend and a droid girl named EVE (June 27).

Cindy Pearlman