A look as what's left of the summer movie schedule

Updated 8:03 PM Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Summer may have only just started according to the standard calendar, but for Hollywood’s decidedly non-standard calendar, summer is already half over. Here’s glimpses of what’s coming up, including everything from Harry Potter to Adam Sander to Meryl Streep. I give each movie a prospect grade, from A to F.

JULY 1 (Wednesday)

‘Ice Age: 
Dawn of the Dinosaurs’

• The pitch: Our prehistoric buddies encounter some rather nasty reptilian types.
• The buzz: I always thought this series was overrated, and the sequel flat-out stunk, but I must admit the trailers for this one made me laugh. I still think a movie with just Scrat would be a good idea.
• The prospect: B

‘Public Enemies’

• The pitch: Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. And, Christian Bale is in it, too. I want to see this yesterday.
• The buzz: Outside of “Up,” this looks like the one summer movie that has a shot at major Oscar nominations, and it’s the live action film I’m hottest to see, despite some iffy early buzz.
• The prospect: A

JULY 10

‘Bruno’

• The pitch: Sacha Baron Cohen (a.k.a. Borat) rubs many a person a wrong way with another one of his alter egos.
• The buzz: I wasn’t as high on “Borat” as a lot of people were, but I understood why people loved it. I hope this time I can join the chorus.
• The prospect: B

‘I Love You, Beth Cooper’

• The pitch: A geek declares his love for hottie cheerleader Hayden Panettiere in his graduation speech.
• The buzz: Seemed pretty nondescript, until I saw the director was Chris Columbus. The trailer isn’t that funny, but Columbus did cut his directorial teeth on a teen comedy called “Adventures in Babysitting.”
• The prospect: B

JULY 15

‘Harry Potter 
and the Half-Blood Prince’

• The pitch: Some wizard kid learns more about the past of his arch-enemy Volde-something-or-other. I think this will make some money, don’t you?
• The buzz: Now let me remove my tongue from my cheek and say the most recent trailer highly impressed me — enough to make me forget about the curious PG-rating, when the last two were PG-13.
• The prospect: A

JULY 24

‘G-Force’

• The pitch: A specially trained squad of guinea pigs ... oh, come on!
• The buzz: Guinea pigs? CGI GUINEA PIGS?? Oy. And I thought the dancing Beverly Hills Chihuahuas from last year were scary.
• The prospect: F

‘The Orphan‘

• The pitch: Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard adopt a child, but the kid turns out to be creepy.
• The buzz: From the director of the “House of Wax” remake. Oh, joy. Isn’t this basically “The Omen” in a dress?
• The prospect: D

‘The Ugly Truth’

• The pitch: Gerard Butler plays a boorish TV host who matches wits with his tough producer, Katherine Heigl.
• The buzz: I like the leads, but the trailer looks utterly formulaic. Still, this did get moved from spring to summer, so the studio thinks it has something. We’ll see if they’re right.
• The prospect: C

JULY 31

‘Aliens in the Attic’

• The pitch: Teenagers must protect their vacation home from the aliens who have taken over the top floor of the dwelling. Ashley Tisdale stars.
• The buzz: Ooooookaaaayyyy ... Sounds wild, but other than that, I just can’t say.
• The prospect: C

‘Funny People’

• The pitch: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann star in the latest film from Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up”), who goes in a serious vein by daring to have terminal illness as a subject matter.
• The buzz: It’s a calculated risk, but early word says this is Apatow’s best effort yet, and some are even suggesting it’s Oscar-worthy. In any case, I’m in, even though I’m not an Adam Sandler fan.
• The prospect: A

AUGUST 7

‘GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra’

• The pitch: Highly trained military fighters battle an evil force named after a scary-looking snake. It is what it is, ya’ know?
• The buzz: The trailer has some neat visuals, but the director is Stephen Sommers, who was last seen trashing the Universal monsters in the awful “Van Helsing.” Rumors abound the movie tested very, very badly. I’m ... scared.
• The prospect: D

‘Julie & Julia’

• The pitch: Meryl Streep plays legendary cook Julia Child. Amy Adams plays a woman trying to cook all 524 recipes in her book.
• The buzz: I’ll watch anything with Amy Adams, and Streep’s no slouch herself. They’ve got me hooked, even though writer-director Nora Ephron is sometimes good (“Sleepless in Seattle”), sometimes not (“Bewitched”).
• The prospect: A

AUGUST 14

‘Bandslam’

• The pitch: A couple form a band and enter their group in a battle of the bands. Vanessa Hudgens co-stars.
• The buzz: Todd Graff has mined similar material before in “Camp,” but it’s too early to tell how this will fare.
• The prospect: C

‘District 9’

• The pitch: A sci-fi/action story set in South Africa, where extraterrestrials are refugees.
• The buzz: Looks like a stab at low-budget sci-fi, and Peter Jackson is a producer, so this has potential. The trailers are very intriguing.
• The prospect: B

‘The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard’

• The pitch: Used-car liquidator Jeremy Piven is hired by a car dealership to turn their Fourth of July sale into a hit.
• The buzz: Fourth of July sale? Isn’t that a bit late? At any rate, I’ve no read on this one yet.
• The prospect: C

‘The Perfect Getaway’

• The pitch: Two couples, who include Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich and Timothy Olyphant, are on a tropical vacation and discover someone is murdering the tourists. One is tempted to add, “of course.”
• The buzz: The premise sounds dull, but the director is David Twohy, who can be either lean and mean (“Pitch Black”) or bloated and dull (“The Chronicles of Riddick.”)
• The prospect: C

‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’

• The pitch: The best-seller comes to the screen with Eric Bana playing a librarian with a gene that causes him to time travel. Rachel McAdams is the love interest.
• The buzz: I’m in if McAdams is.
• The prospect: B

AUGUST 21

‘Inglourious Basterds’

• The pitch: Quentin Tarantino makes his World War II flick, with the help of Brad Pitt.
• The buzz: This could be great and I hope it is, but note my use of the word “flick.” That was deliberate. Tarantino’s recent career trajectory tells me he’s less interested in being a great director then in being the ultimate B-moviemaker. That has its rewards, but after two “Kill Bills” and the overindulgent “Death Proof,” the method has become a bit stale.
• The prospect: B

‘Post Grad’

• The pitch: Alexis Bledel plays a recent college graduate who can’t find a job, so she moves back in with her family.
• The buzz: I always believed Bledel had the potential to break into bigger stardom. With Michael Keaton and Carol Burnett in the film, the comic possibilities are certainly there.
• The prospect: B

‘Shorts’

• The pitch: A wish-granting rock causes a stir and major trouble when adults get hold of it.
• The buzz: The director is Robert Rodriguez, but is this “The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl” or “Spy Kids?”
• The prospect: C

AUGUST 28

‘The Boat That Rocked’

• The pitch: “Love Actually” writer-director Richard Curtis returns with a 1960s comedy about a pirate radio station run by a band of rogue DJs.
• The buzz: Early reviews have been less than kind, but I can’t help but be interested in a film by this director, with actors as funny as Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Nick Frost around.
• The prospect: B

‘The Final Destination’

• The pitch: Last time it was a roller coaster. This time it’s a race track. In 3-D.
• The buzz: You know, I thought this series was kind of imaginative the first time around, but as so many horror franchises do, it wore out its welcome. Will this series ever actually be final? What’s next, an aquarium?
• The prospect: D

‘H2 (Halloween 2)’

• The pitch: The guy in the William Shatner mask is back. Personally, I prefer Shatner.
• The buzz: I gave Rob Zombie a chance the first time around, only to find him totally strip the chills form Michael Meyers until he became just another gross, misunderstood killer. Bor-ing. I’m not getting suckered again. Even the abbreviated title is stupid.
• The prospect: F