Summer movie preview: reasons to spend time indoors

Though we haven't yet packed away our sweaters, the summer movie season is upon us. Here are some of the films we'll be seeing in the multiplexes and arthouses; note that all release dates are tentative and can change faster than the USS Enterprise can travel.

For those holding out hope that a summer movie can contend for an Oscar

Guess how many of last year's best-picture nominees came out before November? None. Regardless, let's hold out some hope for Michael Mann's 1930s-era gangster drama "Public Enemies" (July 1), with Johnny Depp (as John Dillinger) and the busy Christian Bale; Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock" (Aug. 14), set during the 1969 musical festival; Stephen Frears' period romance "Chéri" (June 26) starring Michelle Pfeiffer and some fabulous-looking hats; Jim Jarmusch's crime drama "The Limits of Control" (May 8), starring Bill Murray, John Hurt and Tilda Swinton; and Quentin Tarantino's creatively spelled "Inglourious Basterds" (Aug. 21), a World War II adventure starring Brad Pitt.

For the kids

Someday, the Pixar wizards will make a bad movie, but it probably won't be "Up" (May 29), an adorable-sounding tale of a retiree (voiced by Ed Asner) who decides to fly to South America by tying balloons to his home (May 29). Speaking of master filmmakers, the great Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro") returns with "Ponyo" (Aug. 14), the tale of a little boy and a goldfish princess.

On the sequel front, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (July 1) takes us back to a frozen time (what, a Seattle spring?), and "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" (May 22) unveils the potentially delicious spectacle of Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart. Robert Rodriguez ("Spy Kids") returns with another family film: "Shorts" (Aug. 7) about a suburban kid who finds a magic rock.

Eddie Murphy's up-and-down movie career (one minute it's "Dreamgirls," the next it's "Norbit") continues with the family film "Imagine That" (June 12), with Murphy as a businessman whose daughter helps him solve his problems. And, because summer isn't complete without a movie about guinea pigs in outer space, "G-Force" and its airborne rodents arrive in theaters July 24.

For those not frightened enough by the economy

Oh, you innocents who thought that there was anything final about "Final Destination" — we're now at "Final Destination: Death Trip 3D" (Aug. 28), just in case you feel like experiencing gruesome death in three dimensions. Other thoroughly grim-sounding summer offerings include the slasher film "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" (July 17); the scary-little-kid thriller "Orphan" (July 24); and Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" follow-up, "Drag Me to Hell" (May 29), with Alison Lohman as a loan officer whose life becomes, perhaps appropriately, a living hell.

For those who need romance in spring

It's a prime season for romantic comedies, kicking off Friday with "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," in which Matthew McConaughey plays a bachelor haunted by his past. Other potentially cute pairings are Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel in "(500) Days of Summer" (July 17); Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne in "Adam" (July 29); Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in "The Proposal" (June 19); Nia Vardalos and Richard Dreyfuss in "My Life in Ruins" (June 5); Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler in "The Ugly Truth" (July 24); and Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham in "The Answer Man" (July 24).

For those who need to laugh

Yes, Judd Apatow ("Knocked Up," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin") has a new one out: "Funny People" (July 31), in which a veteran comedian (Adam Sandler) takes on an up-and-comer (Seth Rogen) as his assistant. Woody Allen makes his yearly bow with "Whatever Works" (July), a Manhattan comedy starring Larry David (!), Michael McKean, Patricia Clarkson and Evan Rachel Wood. And Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat") is back as the flamboyant Austrian "Brüno" (July 10), co-starring a host of unsuspecting people now busily contacting their lawyers.

Jack Black and Michael Cera go primitive in Harold Ramis' "Year One" (June 19); John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph play a young couple on a road trip in Sam Mendes' "Away We Go" (June). "Office Space" director Mike Judge takes on a different workplace — a flower-extract plant — in "Extract" (Sept. 4), starring Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig and Ben Affleck. Ashton Kutcher plays a freeloading womanizer in "Spread" (Aug. 14); Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy man a '60s pirate radio station in "The Boat That Rocked" (Aug. 28).

A trio of buddies must find their missing friend in time to get him to the altar for his wedding in "The Hangover" (June 5) from Todd "Old School" Phillips. The made-in-Seattle comedy "Humpday" (July), from local filmmaker Lynn Shelton, also features male buddies, this time a pair of guys facing a very unusual dare. And I'm looking forward to "Dance Flick" (May 22), the latest spoof from the Wayans brothers, just because who doesn't love a dance film featuring Amy Sedaris as a teacher called Ms. Cameltoe?

For those who always read the book

Yes, the wait is almost over: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," featuring the debut of Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn (is there any great British actor who hasn't turned up in this series?), arrives July 15. "Julie & Julia" (Aug. 7), which reunites Meryl Streep and Amy Adams ("Doubt"), is based on a blog-turned-book (a blook?) by Julie Powell, about her adventures cooking Julia Child's cuisine. (Streep, natch, plays Child.) Audrey Niffeneger's popular novel "The Time Traveler's Wife," about a time-traveling Chicago librarian (Eric Bana), arrives Aug. 14. Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin star in the rather weepy-looking "My Sister's Keeper" (June 26), directed by Nick Cassavetes and based on Jodi Picoult's novel.

For those seeking noise and suspense

I'm just playing a hunch here, but let's assume that "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (Aug. 7) will be fairly deafening, as will the dinosaur adventure "Land of the Lost" (June 5). "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" (June 12), a remake of the 1974 tale of a hijacked subway, stars John Travolta, Denzel Washington and undoubtedly a lot of nail-biting. Kathryn Bigelow's action thriller "The Hurt Locker" (July 10), set during the Iraq war, stars Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce and has been getting good buzz on the festival circuit. "Pandorum"(Sept. 4), starring Dennis Quaid and former local Cam Gigandet, takes place on a mysterious spaceship; "Surveillance" (June 26) features Bill Pullman as a federal officer dealing with a series of murders; and Christian Bale headlines the cast of "Terminator Salvation" (May 21), set in post-apocalypse 2018.

For those seeking quiet

What could be calmer than a movie called "Lorna's Silence" (August)? From the Dardenne brothers ("L'enfant"), it's the story of an Albanian immigrant dreaming of a new life. Other low-key but promising fare includes "Fireflies in the Garden" (June 26), with Julia Roberts heading a strong cast in a family drama; "Departures" (June), the Academy Award-winning Japanese film about a cellist who takes a job in a funeral home; "Lemon Tree" (May 1) features Hiam Abbass (so lovely in "The Visitor") as a Palestinian widow fighting to save her lemon grove. "Easy Virtue" (June), based on a Noel Coward play, features the fetching duo of Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth; "American Violet," starring Nicole Beharie and Alfre Woodard, is the story of a mother's struggles to clear her name after wrongful arrest. (It opened Seattle's African-American Film Festival last weekend but is due to return for a regular run in May.)

For those seeking truth

Documentaries this summer cover a wide range of topics: the life of boxer Mike Tyson (James Toback's "Tyson," May); the Broadway musical "A Chorus Line" ("Every Little Step," June); closeted politicians who fight against gay rights (Kirby Dick's "Outrage," May); a 1974 soul-music festival accompanying the legendary Ali-Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" ("Soul Power," August); the U.S. food industry ("Food, Inc.," June 19); the abuse of dolphins ("The Cove," July 31); the widespread popularity of yoga ("Enlighten Up!," May 15); and a group of Seattle women discovering the power of burlesque (local filmmaker Deirdre Allen Timmons' "A Wink and a Smile," May 15).

For those in desperate need of another movie with that "Twilight" guy in it

I know a lot of you are out there, and, just for you: "Little Ashes" (May 15) features Robert "Edward" Pattinson as artist Salvador Dali, in a fact-based drama set just before the Spanish Civil War. Cue the swooning, and happy spring.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com