Most Anticipated Summer Movies of ’08: #5 and #6

#5. The Dark Knight (July 18th)
Obviously the death of Heath Ledger puts a damper on this Batman sequel but it’s hard not to be giddy with excitement over the film and even the performance of Ledger as the Joker. The previews have been exhilarating and up until a week ago Batman Begins was arguably the best comic book movie ever so it’s fair to expect big things from director Christopher Nolan and his crew. One of the weaker points of the first film, Katie Holmes, has been jettisoned in favor of the great Maggie Gyellenhall. Aaron Eckhart also joins the cast as a frienemy to Bruce Wayne. The story looks darker and the Bat once again seems to be the center, which is the secret to a great Batman film. With the greatness that is Iron Man already in the books The Dark Knight has a lot to live up too.


#6. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (7/11th)
Of course we can’t all have mega budgets and iconic characters in all our comic book films, sometimes we can have visionaries and cult heroes. This leads us to Hellboy and the mad mind of Guillermo del Toro. The first film was a hilarious romp that utilized the highly underrated Ron Pearlman in a visual spectacle from the man that brought us Pan’s Labyrinth. Now coming of the critical acclaim of that film del Toro looks to up the visual ante and give us more wise cracking from the guy with the shaved horns. Comic creator Mike Mignola wrote an original Hellboy tale with del Toro just for the film, which should wet fanboy appetites and anyone who enjoys a good laugh with a great backdrop.