Collateral, Thunderbirds, Alien vs. Predator, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Yu-Gi-Oh!, The Exorcist: The Beginning, Jet Li's The Hero, Without a Paddle, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
Collateral - A professional killer (Tom Cruise) commandeers a cab whose driver (Jamie Foxx) chauffeurs him through a long night of assignments. Director Michael Mann (The Insider, Heat) has a knack for urgency that should make this a wild ride.
Thunderbirds - The quaintly clumsy puppet show becomes a live-action science fiction adventure. Bill Paxton leads a family of interplanetary crimefighters against a would-be galaxy conqueror. The film is directed by Jonathan Frakes, who has plenty of Star Trek experience to inspire him.
AUG. 11
Alien vs. Predator - Let's get ready to grumble. Two famous monsters of filmland collide in a loser-eats-Earth battle. Sigourney Weaver and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stayed far, far away from this one.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement - Anne Hathaway (Ella Enchanted) returns as a newly crowned princess rebelling against an arranged marriage. Garry Marshall (Raising Helen) is one of two directors with two films on the summer slate.
Yu-Gi-Oh! - Toss away those Pokemon cards. Another role-playing fantasy seduces children these days and, of course, a movie must follow.
AUG. 20
The Exorcist: The Beginning - A prequel to the 1973 horror classic traces the demon-busting origins of Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard). Renny Harlin's second movie of the summer originally wasn't his; John Frankenheimer quit a month before his death and Paul Schrader's version was scrapped, leading to Harlin reshooting most of the movie.
Jet Li's The Hero - An enormously popular Hong Kong martial arts flick comes to U.S. shores.
Without a Paddle - Burt Reynolds trashes fond memories of Deliverance by playing a crazy hermit helping three young canoe explorers escape dangerous drug dealers.
AUG. 27
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid - Hiss. Boo.
