Summer Preview Part 1

14 March 2008

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While everyone is willing this summer to come around a little faster so they can get to the cinema and watch the string of movies that make up superhero summer: Hulk, Batman, Ironman, Hellboy and Indy here at FemaleFirst we bring you a guide to what else is going to make it to the big screen.

Speed Racer

Born to race cars, Speed Racer is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized - the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer, the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner but uncovers a terrible secret - some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won't drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line. The only way for Speed to save his family's business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game.

With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie, Speed teams with his one-time rival - the mysterious Racer X - to win the race that had taken his brother's life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

Starring: Emile hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, Scott Porter, Matthew Porter, Matthew Fox, John Goodman.

Speed Racer is released 16th May 2008

View the first look Speed Racer Pictures.

The Happening

The Happening is the latest film from The Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan and is a paranoid thriller in which a family must survive a global environmental crisis.

The film will portray the earth as a victim of mankind's doings, which causes a global backlash.

Elliot Moore (Mark Wahnlberg), the main character figures out these conflicts, due to his being a high school biology teacher.

In the center, lies a conflict between him and his wife, in which he must settle before she threatens to end their marriage.

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Spencer Breslin, Betty Buckley, Tony Devon, Victoria Clark, Jeremy Strong, Frank Collison, Ashlyn Sanchez,

The Happening is released 13th June

Sex and the City

"Sex and the City" is coming to the big screen in a feature film adaptation of the hit HBO television series.

The film will follow the continuing adventures of the series four main characters - Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda - as they live their lives in Manhattan four years after the series ended.

Stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon are all on board to reprise their roles, while the film will be written and directed by Michael Patrick King, who executive produced the original television series.

Additionally, Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler and Jason Lewis will return as the women's love interests.

Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson ("Dreamgirls") has also joined the cast of the film and will play Carrie Bradshaw's assistant, a new character to be introduced in the film.

Sex and the City is released 17th June

View the first look Sex and the City images.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

One year after the incredible events of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the Kings and Queens of Narnia find themselves back in that faraway wondrous realm, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time.

During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has become extinct, Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy.

The four children will soon meet an intriguing new character: Narnia's rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne.

With the help of the kindly dwarf, a courageous talking mouse named Reepicheep, a badger named Trufflehunter and a Black Dwarf, Nikabrik, the Narnians, led by the mighty knights Peter and Caspian, embark on a remarkable journey to find Aslan, rescue Narnia from Miraz's tyrannical hold, and restore magic and glory to the land.

Ben Barnes, Peter Dinklage, Anna Popplewell, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Liam Neeson.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

View the Prince Caspian gallery.

Wanted

Wesley Gibson. 25-year-old Wes (James McAvoy) was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known.

His boss chewed him out hourly, his girlfriend ignored him routinely and his life plodded on interminably.

Everyone was certain this disengaged slacker would amount to nothing. There was little else for Wes to do but wile away the days and die in his slow, clock-punching rut.

Until he met a woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie). After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly sexy Fox recruits Wes into the Fraternity, a secret society that trains Wes to avenge his dad’s death by unlocking his dormant powers.

As she teaches him how to develop lightning-quick reflexes and phenomenal agility, Wes discovers this team lives by an ancient, unbreakable code: carry out the death orders given by fate itself.

With wickedly brilliant tutors including the Fraternity’s enigmatic leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman) Wes grows to enjoy all the strength he ever wanted.

But, slowly, he begins to realize there is more to his dangerous associates than meets the eye. And as he wavers between newfound heroism and vengeance, Wes will come to learn what no one could ever teach him: he alone controls his destiny.

Starring James Mcavoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman

Wanted is released 27th June

More Summer Preview Part 1 on page 2