The DIAC Summer Movie Preview feat. 10 Movies You Must Watch

Welcome to the unofficial official movie summer guide for watching movies. In this guide, I will provide a list of the 10 movies that you absolutely, positively must see in order to enjoy your summer travels to the movies. Judging by the trailers, who is behind the camera, the concept, originality, and coolness factor, I have assembled an essential viewing guide that I hope will suit everybody. If it doesn’t, you are wrong and there honestly isn’t much you can do about it. Eh, enough introduction, it’s not like any of you read this anyway, here are the ten movies you absolutely must watch.

But before we do that, I must hand you the list of movies that I predict will ultimately disappoint:

1) Twilight: Eclipse: Looks like crap from a distance. Plus, I am on Team Jacob allllll the way--and we all know he is going to lose

2) Shrek Forever After: Shrek stopped being funny years ago....glad this is supposedly the last installment

3) Killers: Katherine Heigl....please stop.

4) Despicable Me: Eh...meh....eh...

5) Get Him to the Greek: Watch the trailer...looks like a movie trying way too hard for raunchy humor...

Now, on to the top 10!


#10: Salt
Star: Angelina Jolie
This movie is about an employee in the CIA that apparently is going to kill the president because secretly she is a spy. One tiny catch though, she has absolutely no idea she is going to perform such a feat and has no idea she even has the ability to become a spy. It looks like a nice hybrid of action and suspense and mystery all blended in with a nice---rather original concept. Comes out July 23rd

#9: The Last Airbender
Star: None
While M. Night may be the laughing stock of the movie industry (See: The Happening), he does have a chance to redeem himself (again) with a screenplay that does not totally belong to him. Based off the cult hit Nickelodeon show that was cast under the shadow of Spongebob (forever and always), The Last Airbender looks like a live-action look into the first couple of seasons. As long as they can capture the magic and majesty of the show, there’s no reason why this film could fail. But..it is M. Night……Releases July 2nd

#8: Sex and the City 2
Star: Sarah Jessica Parker
Yes, this is on the list. The original television show was incredible writing mixed with great acting. The movie, while morally bankrupt, was still a fun movie to watch. In the sequel, we yet again get to see the lives of the four women with a lot of money and fashion sense, while never really showing what it is they do exactly. This time, they pick a totally obscure location, find some long-lost friends, and a long-lost love is thrown in the mix. If its anything like the original, it will be the premiere chick flick to watch in the summer. Releases early June.

#7: The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Star: Jake Gynlehallwhatchamacallit
While video game movies have failed miserably quality-wise on the most part (With nothing acting as an exception), Disney is going to give it another go with the biggest-budgeted gaming movie since Tomb Raider years ago. This time, we have a great director, great acting cast, and a grand producer behind the wheel. If its containing any of the magic of the original Pirates of the Caribbean (mix of action, humor, and adventure), then we have our potentially first grand gaming movie. And yes, I am including the overrated Resident Evil franchise in the list of misery. Releases May 28th

#6: The Other Guys
Star: Will Ferrell
While Will has many hit-and-miss moments, his work with director Adam McKay has been definitely on the successful end. This director was responsible for three of Ferrell’s best movies (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers). Whatever the reason, when these two team up, comedic sparks fly. Now, add Mark Wahlberg, the Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendez, Steve Coogan, and Will in a sudden action flick, and we have the potential for sheer epicness. The trailer for the movie featured your usual Will humor, but this time gunfights and chases following behind. This just might be the surprise-surprise hit of the summer season. Releases August 16th

#5: Knight and Day
Star: Cameron Diaz, Tom Cruise
This movie has all the potential in the world, especially with the whimsical comedic timing of Tom Cruise (who can be funny when he needs to be) and Cameron Diaz (immortalized in There’s Something About Mary). Add a fun concept (that mixes mayhem with romance), good-looking action sequences, great director (James Mangold), and just a fresh action flick in a sequel-filled summer season. Basically it’s about a woman who meets a mysterious man that seems to be a fugitive of the law. Releases June 25th

#4: Inception
Star: Leonardo DiCaprio
We have no idea what the plot is yet. What we do know is that it looks like a heist film—but stealing ideas of the mind. Crazy concept? I know. But, the trailer looked amazing, Christopher Nolan is an established star in the directing/writing world, and it will most certainly be the most unique movie of the entire year. Let’s not also forget the excellent-sounding score of Hans Zimmer. Releases July 16th

#3: Toy Story 3
Star: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
Pixar has literally had a perfect record, with A Bug’s Life and Cars being their weakest movie but still managed to deliver the entertainment and heart necessary to be worthy of the movie theater prices. And now we have the final installment to one of the greatest cinematic 1-2 punches in history: Toy Story 1 and 2. While the trailers aren’t as good as the first two, there are still major hopes that this will tug at the heartstrings and deliver just as many laughs as Toy Story 2 did back in 1999. With almost the entire cast returning and many new characters joining in, how can this movie possibly fail? But, the question is, just how good will it is when compared to the first two…Releases June 18th

#2: Iron Man 2
Star: Robert Downey Jr.
This movie will whether suffer the Spider-Man 3 effect (too much, not enough time), or deliver the X-Men 2 effect (effective use of massive cast). Iron Man 2 looks like it will have all the humor, fun, and action of the first installment, which was a surprise smash in 2008. And with glimpses of War Machine, Whiplash, Nick Fury, and Natasha Romanoff, there is no reason why comic book fans should skip out on this opening weekend. Please don’t let it suffer from Spider-Man 3 syndrome…please…Releases May 7th

#1: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Star: Michael Cera
Now, not everyone loves fanboyism movies, but I personally do. Fanboy movies are some of the best you’ll ever see, with Zombieland, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, Kick-Ass, Shoot Em Up being great examples of great filmmaking that screws over the rating system by delivering crazy action and content that can usually find only in the comic books and underground cartoons. And now we have this epic-looking movie with an epic-looking trailer and an epic-looking concept. Scott must fight several ex-boyfriends in gaming-related contests to win the heart of a beautiful woman. Then, we have Edgar Wright, whom was responsible for the nearly-flawless Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, behind the director’s chair. How can you possibly go wrong with a mesh of the deadpan humor of Cera with the directing details of Wright? Of all the good-looking summer movies coming out, this one looks the most fun by far. Releases in August.