Summer 2011

26 December 2010

The Summer season is where the big films, the most expensive films, the franchise films and the most entertaining films come to play and next Summer will have more than your fair share of entertainment, some robot aliens will return, some pirates will return and a dashing of superhero action will light up the screen.

Here at FemaleFirst, we've picked 10 of the biggest films you can look forward to next Summer.

The first big film to come out of the blocks will be Thor. Thor is the first Marvel film to be released in 2011 and is part of the long line of Marvel films leading towards the grand finale in 2012, The Avengers.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is the story of the Norse warrior/son of Odin (the Norse god of gods, played by Anthony Hopkins), who through his recklessness, is banished to Earth by the gods and meets Natalie Portman and along the way becomes a defender of Earth.

Thor is going to tie in with the previous Marvel films that have come before, Iron Man 1 and 2, The Incredible Hulk.

In July, Captain America will also be added to the line-up of Marvel films and will be the final film before all the lead stars unite for The Avengers in 2012.

Captain America is set in 1942 and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a soldier who wants to fight in the war but is deemed unfit, so he is signed up to a secret military project which turns him into a super soldier.

The villain comes in the form of Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), he's the man behind Hitler's advanced weaponry. In essence, this is a war movie, with a few extra flourishes thrown in.

If you thought that Inglourious Basterds took liberties with the story of World War 2, just wait until you've seen this. You can watch Chris Evans in all his Super Soldier Serum filled glory on July 22.

There's two new franchises kicking off this Summer. First up will be Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, a test pilot, who, upon witnessing an alien craft crash landing, is given a ring which bestows him with extraordinary powers. Alongside him will be Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard. You can watch this on June 17.

The other possible franchise starter is Cowboys & Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau, the man behind Iron Man and starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. The title says it all really, aliens crash land in the American West during the 1800s and all that stands in their way is a gang of cowboys.

Trailers and pictures so far have looked very appealing and this could have an outside chance of doing big business at the box office on August 12.

If comedy is where you're looking, the Summer pick has to be The Hangover: Part II. The premise is simple, they are all heading to Bangkok for Stu's (Ed Helms) wedding.

The original was a real comedy hit, telling the story of a debauched stag night from the point of view of the morning after. Hopefully the second one can provide something new whilst also retaining the quality the first one provided.

Zach Galifianakis is likely to steal the show once again, and Liam Neeson, Bill Clinton and Paul Giamatti are said to be appearing in small roles. This should be interesting to say the least. Check it out on May 27.

Cars 2 has to be the pick of the bunch when it comes to the kids films. Although the first one has been classed as one of the lesser Pixar films, Pixar rarely manage to mess things up and each year they have gone from strength to strength.

This year we had Toy Story 3, last year was Up and the year before Wall-E. This year they have a lot to live up to and they can generally be trusted to bring something special to the table. Take the kids along on July 22.

The last four films are dedicated to the real heavy-hitters. Pirates Of The Caribbean returns first for its fourth outing on May 18. It follows Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow as he searches for the fountain of youth with Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane will also be joining the crew and Geoffrey Rush will be returning.

A director change may not be the greatest turn of events, but for many, seeing Johnny Depp back in the role which catapulted him into the mega A-list will do the trick.

Next up is X-Men: First Class, a prequel to the original X-Men trilogy. Some brilliant casting choices and Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn re-teaming as writing and directing partners again, after the superb Kick Ass make this one of the most exciting prospects for the summer.

It follows the beginnings of Magneto and Professor X when they were simply Eric Lensherr and Charles Xavier, they were once good friends, and then they slowly became enemies. This will be released on June 2.

Arguably, the two biggest films follow. Firstly, there's Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. The first one was fun and action packed, then the second one was overly convoluted. The third film's trailer has just been released and it looks like they may be heading in the right direction with this.

Michael Bay has added John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey and has replaced Megan Fox with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Bay has some critics to win over, but it looks like the end to his trilogy is set to go out on a high on June 29.

We had to save the best until last, so here we have, the final Harry Potter, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2. In November, Part 1 came out and provided the beginning of the story, mostly just a road movie as Harry, Ron and Hermione found Lord Voldemort's horcruxes.
However, the action didn't come thick and fast. It ended on a very tense and exciting cliffhanger though, and those who have seen it or know the book will know that the second half is going to be very action-packed and an all-out war of the wizards will happen.