Summer Flick Picks

Are you ready for summer? For outdoor types, that means plenty of hats, sunscreen and various and sundry sports equipment. For movie fans, it means Visine, Fandango on speed dial and plenty of those funny-shaped pillows for lower-back support.

Nearly 100 movies are going to open between the beginning of May and the end of August -- movies big and small, loud and quiet and, perhaps most important, good and bad. We've culled the list of upcoming releases and chosen a few dozen that -- from the looks of their pedigree, creative talent or simple "Huh?!" factor -- are worthy of making an appointment at the multiplex. Tuck this chart into your bag of summer supplies. Remember, opening dates may change. Look for interviews and reviews of these movies throughout the summer in Weekend and Style.

For the Adrenaline Junkies | For the Kids | For the Film Snobs | For the Rest of Us

FOR THE ADRENALINE JUNKIES

Iron Man

Opens: May 2

Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges

What's the Buzz?: An injection of Downey's edgy sarcasm is just what the comic-book-movie glut needs, and reportedly director Jon Favreau is no fan of computer-generated fakery. Sounds cool.

Speed Racer

Opens: May 9

Stars: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon

What's the Buzz?: Can the Wachowski siblings ("The Matrix") bring life to yet another big-screen TV remake? The trailer suggests a firm it-just-might-work.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Opens: May 22

Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf

What's the Buzz?: Give it up to ol' Indy for hanging in there, even if he has to wheeze and hobble his way to whatever dingus he's searching for in this beloved boomer franchise.

The Incredible Hulk

Opens: June 13

Stars: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth

What's the Buzz?: The 2003 movie "Hulk" was anything but incredible; maybe Norton can turn the franchise around (he's a co-writer).

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Opens: July 11

Stars: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair

What's the Buzz?: Guillermo del Toro's first "Hellboy" was a dark, improbably humanist interpretation of the classic comic book. Put this one on the very short list of sequels we actually want to see.

The Dark Knight

Opens: July 18

Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine

What's the Buzz?: Bale brought a somber soulfulness to Bruce Wayne in "Batman Begins," and Ledger fans will be eager to see his final complete performance as the Joker before his death earlier this year.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Opens: July 25

Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Xzibit

What's the Buzz?: "The X-Files": I want to care. But six years after the television series ended and a full decade after the first (so-so) movie, will fans?

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Opens: Aug. 15

What's the Buzz?: This installment will be animated, the better to advertise the upcoming Cartoon Network program. It's all about the synergy, baby.

FOR THE KIDS

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Opens: May 16

Stars: William Moseley, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell

What's the Buzz?: The Pevensie siblings are back, this time to help Prince Caspian assume his rightful place on the throne as king of Narnia. We can't wait for the next installment of this classy fantasy franchise.

Kung Fu Panda

Opens: June 6

Stars: Jack Black, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie (voices)

What's the Buzz?: The animated title character might overstay his welcome with those ubiquitous cellphone trailers, but the terrific cast of voice talent is irresistible.

WALL-E

Opens: June 27

Stars: Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin (voices)

What's the Buzz?: This animated adventure from Pixar features hilarious voice talent; but the question is: Can the filmmakers do for robots what they did for fish in "Finding Nemo"?

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Opens: July 2

Stars: Abigail Breslin, Julia Ormond, Stanley Tucci

What's the Buzz?: A movie based on a best-selling line of dolls and books screams "crass merchandising tie-in," but just look at that cast. And the director is smart, quirky Patricia Rozema ("Mansfield Park," "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing").

Space Chimps

Opens: July 18

Stars: Jeff Daniels, Kristin Chenoweth, Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines (voices)

What's the Buzz?: There's just something about the title of this animated feature: "Space Chimps" ¿ so simple, so elegant. We get it. We're there.

Fly Me to the Moon

Opens: Aug. 22

Stars: Nicollette Sheridan, Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry (voices)

What's the Buzz?: Just in time to glom on to the animals-in-space trend, this movie about young flies aboard the Apollo 11 mission features a cameo by Buzz Aldrin. No punning allowed!

Get Smart

Opens: June 20

Stars: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway

What's the Buzz?: Forty-year-old virgins, Little Miss movies and modern-day arks notwithstanding, some Carell fans think he has yet to fully realize his big-screen potential. Maybe all he needs is a little KAOS.

FOR THE FILM SNOBS

Surfwise

Opens: May 9

Stars: The Paskowitz family

What's the Buzz?: This documentary combines the sun-kissed surfing action of "The Endless Summer" with the family dysfunction of "Capturing the Friedmans." That's a good thing.

Son of Rambow

Opens: May 9

Stars: Bill Milner, Will Poulter

What's the Buzz?: This semiautobiographical coming-of-age comedy, from British writer-director Garth Jennings ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"), has been well-received on the festival circuit.

Beaufort

Opens: May 9

Stars: Oshri Cohen, Ohad Knoller, Eli Eltonyo

What's the Buzz?: An Oscar nominee this year for Best Foreign Language Film, the Israeli drama, set on the eve of Israel's pullout from Lebanon in 2000, won an award for best director at the Berlin film festival last year.

Irina Palm

Opens: May 16

Stars: Marianne Faithfull

What's the Buzz?: The grand dame of post-Brechtian pop stars plays an aging widow who, to pay for her grandson's medical bills, takes a job as a hostess at a London sex club.

Standard Operating Procedure

Opens: May 23

What's the Buzz?: Documentaries have been made examining the Abu Ghraib scandal, but filmmaker Errol Morris ("The Fog of War") is sure to bring new intelligence and insight to the issues.

Mongol

Opens: June 20

Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Khulan Chuluun, Amadu Mamadakov

What's the Buzz?: Another of this year's Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film, this one is a big-canvas biopic of Genghis Khan.

The Edge of Heaven

Opens: June 20

Stars: Hanna Schygulla, Nurgül Yesilçay, Baki Davrak, Patrycia Ziolkowska

What's the Buzz?: German director Fatih Akin examines such elastic notions as borders, cultures and identity in this vividly textured portrait of Germany's Turkish community.

Religulous

Opens: June 20

Stars: Bill Maher

What's the Buzz?: The good news about this documentary ¿ in which Larry Charles, the director of "Borat," documents atheist Maher's take on world religions ¿ is that it won't offend anyone.

Alexandra

Opens: July 4

Stars: Galina Vishnevskaya

What's the Buzz?: The Russian diva (and widow of Mstislav Rostropovich) stars as a woman searching for her grandson at a remote outpost in Chechnya in this film by Aleksandr Sokurov ("Russian Ark").

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Opens: July 4

Stars: Hunter S. Thompson

What's the Buzz?: Alex Gibney, who directed the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side," chronicles the high times and high jinks of the legendary journalist, who died in 2005.

Encounters at the End of the World

Opens: July 11

What's the Buzz?: Werner Herzog ("Grizzly Man") takes his camera to Antarctica in what promises to be yet another broodingly fascinating investigation of man's constant struggle with nature.

Henry Poole Is Here

Opens: Aug. 1

Stars: Luke Wilson, Radha Mitchell, Cheryl Hines

What's the Buzz?: The serio-comedy, about a disenchanted man who tries to escape his life, comes from gifted director Mark Pellington ("Going All the Way," "Arlington Road").

Boy A

Opens: Aug. 8

Stars: Andrew Garfield, Peter Mullan

What's the Buzz?: Garfield delivers an astonishing performance as a troubled young man in the sophomore effort of Irish filmmaker John Crowley, who made the lively heist comedy "Intermission."

Man on Wire

Opens: Aug. 22

Stars: Philippe Petit

What's the Buzz?: Documentary filmmaker James Marsh ("Wisconsin Death Trip") revisits high-wire artist Petit's 1974 crossing of the World Trade Center's twin towers in this Sundance favorite.

Crossing Over

Opens: Aug. 22

Stars: Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Sean Penn, Ashley Judd

What's the Buzz?: This multi-character story about immigrants trying to achieve legal status in Los Angeles sounds like "Crash" redux, but we like writer-director Wayne Kramer ("The Cooler").

FOR THE REST OF US

What Happens in Vegas...

Opens: May 9

Stars: Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Rob Corddry

What's the Buzz?: Every summer needs a rollicking rom-com, and Diaz and Kutcher may just have that chemistry that zings.

Then She Found Me

Opens: May 9

Stars: Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth

What's the Buzz?: Hunt makes her big-screen directorial debut in this festival mini-hit, an adaptation the Elinor Lipman's novel about a teacher (Hunt) who reconnects with her birth mother (Midler).

Sex and the City

Opens: May 30

Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

What's the Buzz?: Can Carrie and the girls make the Jimmy Choo-clad jump from HBO to the big screen? I have to wonder .....

The Happening

Opens: June 13

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, John Leguizamo, Zooey Deschanel

What's the Buzz?: It's make-or-break time for director M. Night ShyamalanÖ, whose last outing, "Lady in the Water," barely made a ripple.

Wanted

Opens: June 27

Stars: James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie

What's the Buzz?: This action-thriller is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, whose "Night Watch" series has been trippy, escapist fun.

Hancock

Opens: July 2

Stars: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman

What's the Buzz?: Smith plays a burned-out superhero who undergoes a makeover, which should give Smith a chance to flex lots of muscles, from comedy to action.

Mamma Mia!

Opens: July 18

Stars: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth

What's the Buzz?: The Broadway show got raves, and the cast looks faboo.

Pineapple Express

Opens: Aug. 8

Stars: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole

What's the Buzz?: Word on the street is this stoner comedy is hilarious; producer Judd Apatow has handed directorial reins to David Gordon Green ("Snow Angels"), which bodes well.

The International

Opens: Aug. 15

Stars: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts

What's the Buzz?: It's directed by Tom Tykwer ("Run, Lola, Run"), who has the chops to make this the sleek, fast-paced international thriller it could be.-->

Tropic Thunder

Opens: Aug. 15

Stars: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr.

What's the Buzz?: Stiller stars in and directed this Hollywood satire, which is lighting up the blogosophere; Downey is getting buzz for his portrayal of a self-serious actor who wears blackface to play an African American character.

Traitor

Opens: Aug. 29

Stars: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce

What's the Buzz?: The screenplay of this CIA thriller is partly credited to Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin), so we'll show up out of curiosity alone.