Holy summer movies, Batman!

“Rebound”
Starring: Martin Lawrence, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Breckin Meyer, Horatio Sanz, Megan Mullally
Director: Steve Carr
Story: After having a meltdown while coaching a college basketball team, Coach Roy McCormick (Lawrence) finds himself reduced to coaching a junior-high-school team. But will his over-the-top tactics work with these middle schoolers? Or will their spirit change him? Um, yeah, one guess. “Will & Grace” star Mullally plays the school principal.

20th Century Fox

Buzz: “Rebound” is what Lawrence needs his career to do. He takes the Eddie Murphy route here, signing on for a family-friendly comedy, but Lawrence doesn’t really possess Murphy’s likeability. Speaking of Murphy, director Carr helmed both “Daddy Day Care” and “Doctor Doolittle 2.” Look for Lawrence’s career to still be in need of a rebound after this one.
Web site:  http://www.reboundthemovie.com/home.html

“Undead”

Lions Gate Films

Starring: Felicity Mason, Mungo McKay, Rob Jenkins, Lisa Cunningham, Emma Randall, Dirk Hunter
Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Story: Set in Berkeley, a small fishing village in Australia, this film tells the story of Rene (Mason) a woman who loses her house to the bank and decides to move to the big city. When I meteor shower strikes, and brings with it an otherworldly infection, Rene finds herself fighting not only to get out of town but for her life. Worse, yet, the victims of the illness don’t just die, they come back as zombies.
Buzz: This film sounds a lot like “28 Days,” and will have to work hard to top that film. But sometimes these smaller horror films are the best kinds — because they have to rely more on genuine fright and less on special effects. This is the Spierig brothers’ debut feature — they already have a new film on tap for 2006 about vampires. 
Web site:  http://www.undeadthemovie.com/

“Dark Water”

Touchstone

Starring: Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite, Ariel Gade
Director: Walter Salles
Story: Having recently undergone a brutal custody battle, Dahlia (Connelly) and her daughter Ceci (Gade) move into a dilapidated building. But when persistent water leaks and odd sounds appear, Connelly is determined to solve the mystery behind them. As Dahlia searches for answers, the dark water seems to grow around her and her daughter. Could it be a portal into another world?
Buzz: What happens when you take the Japanese creators of “The Ring,” mix in the talented Brazilian director of “The Motorcycle Diaries,” and then throw in an Academy Award winning American star like Connelly? Well, you should get a little bit more than your average Ashley Judd thriller. This is definitely becoming the summer of the horror film.
Web site:  http://touchstone.movies.go.com/index.html?dlink=darkwater

“Fantastic Four”

20th Century Fox

Starring: Michael Chiklis, Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, Jessica Alba, Julian McMahon, Maria Menounos, Kerry Washington, Hamish Linklater
Director: Tim Story
Story: After a mishap in space, five people find themselves mysteriously altered. Reed Richards (Gruffudd) finds that he can elongate his body almost as if it were made of rubber. Sue Storm (Alba) gains the ability to render herself and objects around her invisible. Johnny Storm (Evans) can shoot flames from his fingers and he can bend the flames. Ben Grimm (Chiklis) becomes a stone monster with superhuman strength. And Victor Von Doom (McMahon) becomes the evil Dr. Doom.
Buzz: Word of mouth on this one has not been good — it hasn’t been “Catwoman” bad, but it might be playing in that ballpark. Story is best known for directing “Barbershop” and “Taxi.” Chiklis had to get therapy to deal with the claustrophobia caused by being trapped in The Thing’s suit during filming. With “Sin City,” this year, Alba’s star is certainly on the rise. Ioan Gruffudd is one of those names (along with about a dozen others) that is being tossed around as the next Bond.
Web site:  http://www.fantasticfourmovie.com/

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