Most Anticipated Summer Movies

Tomorrow's opening of "The Avengers" officially marks the summer blockbuster season. My top ten most anticipated summer movies are as follows:

1. Brave

Coming off of last year's critically panned "Cars 2", Pixar finally has something to prove. Pixar's first female lead, it's first period piece, it's first princess all make for what should be a remarkable adventure. Given the studio's past history, "Brave" should be both a critical and box office success. With the exception of the "Cars" franchise, Pixar has been near-perfect. "Brave" is a safe bet for a great time at the movies and that's why it makes number one on my most anticipated summer movies.

2. Prometheus

Ridley Scott is back. And I mean BACK. This guy has been making fan boy films while Chris Nolan was in diapers. He has made some of Hollywood's most recognizable films of all time. "Alien", "Blade Runner", and "Gladiator" comprise just a small list of Scott's repertoire. He has been on a sci-fi break for decades so this return with a "semi-sorta-not really" prequel to Alien is a welcome number two on the list.

3. The Amazing Spider-Man

Andrew Garfield has had a short career thus far but has already proven he is one of the best actor's of our generation. Still a relatively unknown to some, you will fall in love with this guy. You will think, why the hell did we cast Tobey Maguire in the first place? Now I know what you're thinking, "there's not a single person who is looking forward to this over The Dark Knight Rises". Slow down. We all know the new Batman flick will be great, but this one is a toss-up. It has Marc Webb directing. His filmography is limited. And I mean limited, as in like one movie, "500 Days of Summer". And while we can all agree that movie was a breakout indie, how will Webb stack up on a high-budget action film? This is why I'm looking forward to The Amazing Spider-Man, not because I think it'll be better than The Dark Knight, but because we just don't know what it's going to look like.

4. The Dark Knight Rises

Need I say more? It's Batman. I had the opportunity to catch the first 10 minutes of this film and all I can say is "wow". It opens similar to "The Dark Knight" with a big heist scene (this time in a plane). Chris Nolan will undoubtedly have fan boys saying "Greatest Movie Ever" until his next flick comes out. Look for this film becoming a dark horse in the Oscar Race this year. If I had to put money on it, this will become the highest grossing movie of the summer, but don't forget the force that it is "Prometheus".

5. The Avengers

This movie has had very good reviews coming out of the gate (and I mean like critically acclaimed reviews) which makes me pretty excited for this action pic. It is one of the most ambitious films ever made and I can't think of any other movie like it (unless you count Freddy Vs. Jason). not only does it combine the stars of "Iron Man", "Thor" and "Captain America" but it weaves their story lines into this film (picking up where Captain America left off). It's not really a sequel, it's kind of hard to put into words. All four preceding Marvel films (five if you count "The Incredible Hulk") have received overwhelming positive reviews making this one of the best critical franchises of all time. The first five films are all solid, the next five could all be hit or miss.

6. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

I admit this one could be a huge flop, but just the title gets me excited. Throw in Tim Burton to the mix and we could have ourselves a cult classic. Benjamin Walker who plays Abraham Lincoln has had some experience with playing president's last seen as Andrew Jackson on Broadway's "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson". It should be interesting seeing him in a different medium this summer.

7. The Bourne Legacy

Jeremy Renner has really made a name with himself since The Hurt Locker won the Oscar in 2010. He stars in two mega blockbusters this summer, the first as Hawkeye in "The Avengers" and the second in "The Bourne Legacy" but NOT as Jason Bourne. It's not really a sequel and it's not really a reboot, it's a spin-off with the same naming scheme. This new series follows Aaron Cross on the same predicaments Matt Damon's "Bourne" character had. It's on the list because the first three were solid action flicks so who's to say this film won't follow suit?

8. Men In Black III

This is one of those toss-ups on the list. In one respect it could be awesome like "Men In Black" or it could be complete shit like "Men In Black II". Will Smith has definitely matured a lot as an actor since we last saw him as Agent J so it should be interesting to see how the character has progressed (my guess is not at all). This new film uses time travel, mostly because Tommy Lee Jones is getting too old for this shit.  They're sticking with Barry Sonnenfeld, who hasn't directed a good film since the original Men In Black in 1997. Some of his flops in the meantime include, "Wild Wild West", "Fun With Dick and Jane", and "RV". I guess we'll just have to wait in anticipation...

9. Dark Shadows

Johnny Depp. Tim Burton. Let's face it, except "Alice In Wonderland", every movie these guys do together is amazing. Why should this one be any different? The trailer looks odd to say the least, but can we expect anything different from this duo? Add an extra dose of anticipation because of the cult following aspect (this is an adaptation of a 1960's soap opera).

10. Ted

On one hand I hate "Family Guy" (It lacks originality, coherency and whimsy). On the other, it does look pretty funny. If there's one thing I've learned from the years is don't trust a trailer. Trailer houses are notorious for cramming in all of the funny bits into two minute trailers (see any Adam Sandler movie for an example). That's why I will have to wait and see with this one. I will give it it credit though, in the brief two minute trailer there was more originality and comedy than a 30 minute Family Guy episode. Let's hope Seth MacFarlane makes a successful break into the movie industry.

HONORABLE MENTION: "Lawless"

Formerly titled "The Wettest County", this film did not make the list because I've already seen it. I can attest to how good it is though. There's been a lot of Oscar talk (especially now that it is premiering at Cannes) but I can dismiss that notion (unless they've done an overhaul since October). Shia LaBeouf has his best performance in years and Tom Hardy is excellent as always. Guy Pearce was the standout (and if there is an Oscar nomination for anybody, it's going to him). This is a very big character-driven piece and I highly recommend it. Opening in August.