Pat Morita’s Oscar-nominated turn
as the wise martial arts teacher to
Ralph Macchio’s character in the
1984 original. But Chan should be
fun, and the theme of callow youth
finding direction and purpose thanks
to an elder’s lifetime of experience is
ageless. The film’s first incarnation
was based in L.A.; this time the story
unfolds in China, where an American
kid (Jaden Smith, son of actor Will
Smith) learns kung fu from a master.
GROWN UPS;June 25
Adam Sandler, Chris Rock,
David Spade, Kevin James,
Rob Schneider
We trademarked “Movies for Grownups®” a few years back, so we thought
about sending a bill to Sandler &
Company. Then we figured, “Nah, the
movie sounds so promising, we’ll let
it go.” Some 30 years after their high-school graduation, five middle-aged
pals reunite for a Fourth of July weekend. There’ll be the usual Sandler-esque gross-outs and crotch hits, no
doubt, but the star has shown a laudably thoughtful streak as he has grown
older ( Funny People, Reign Over Me).
No one’s expecting an Albee play, but
this could get interesting.
THE KIDS ARE
ALL RIGHT ;July 7
Annette Bening, Julianne Moore,
Mark Ruffalo
Teen siblings (Mia Wasikowska and
Josh Hutcherson) are born to a
lesbian couple (Bening and Moore)
through artificial insemination. They
decide to secretly track down their
KEEPING A FAMILY AFLOAT
Nanny Mc Phee Returns: Warts and all,
Emma Thompson is back to save the day.
biological father (Ruffalo)—but not
before one of them observes, “That
could really hurt Moms’s feelings.”
SALT;July 23
Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber
The trailers promise a slam-bang spy
story, with Jolie’s titular character, a
CIA officer, accused of being a Russian
spy. Faster than you can say, “I’m innocent, I tell ya!” Salt is on the run. We’d
be lukewarm if the film weren’t directed by Phillip Noyce, whose
Rabbit-Proof Fence and Patriot Games are
classics, and cowritten by Oscar winner
Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential ).
GE T LOW;July 30
Bill Murray, Robert Duvall, Sissy
Spacek, Gerald McRaney
Sporting a beard that would make
ZZ Top proud, Duvall stars as a 1930s
small-town misfit who, nearing the
end of his hermitlike existence, throws
a funeral for himself while he’s still
alive. Spacek, costarring as the woman
who has a long-ago connection to the
hermit, is always a delight, but it’s the
male stars who make an irresistible odd
couple: Duvall as the curmudgeonly,
secretive loner whose shadowy past is
the subject of wild rumor, and Murray
as the local mortician whose demeanor
seems more akin to used-car salesman
than professional mourner.
EAT PRAY LOVE;August 13
Julia Roberts, Richard Jenkins,
Javier Bardem
Each summer since its publication in
2006, Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling
memoir has been on many a beach-blanket reading list. Fans of the book
will consider this a must-see as newly
divorced Gilbert (Roberts) crashes
through a big-screen version of her
literary midlife crisis. She jets off to
Italy, India, and Bali on a yearlong voyage of food, spiritual renewal, and sex.
Let’s see—round-the-world air ticket:
See trailers for these films—and our list of
all-time-great summer blockbusters—at
aarp.org/entertainment.
