This summer is packed with sequels, comic book movies, and remakes. Let us highlight some of the biggest films hitting the multiplex this summer.

May 20

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Directed by Rob Marshall
Starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane and Geoffrey Rush

Everybody’s favourite pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, is back in this fourth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, which sees the beloved pirate finally take centre stage. On Stranger Tides focuses on Sparrow as he tries to find the Fountain of Youth and contends against the infamous pirate Blackbeard (McShane). Absent from the film are Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley) and much of the convoluted mythology that weighed down the third film, At World’s End. However, added to the film is Sparrow’s former flame, Blackbeard’s feisty daughter, Angelica (Cruz), so expect to see a previously unseen romantic side to Sparrow — all in 3D of course.

May 26

The Hangover Part II
Directed by Todd Phillips
Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zack Galifianakis

The sequel to the hilarious 2009 blockbuster sees the Wolfpack in Bangkok, Thailand for Stu’s (Helms) wedding and again having to solve the mystery of the night-before in order to find Stu’s missing brother-in-law-to-be.

Kung Fu Panda 2
Directed by Jennifer Yuh
Starring Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman and Gary Oldman

The sequel to Dreamworks’ hugely popular 2008 hit sees Po (Black) struggle against villainous Lord Shen (Oldman) to save the existence of Kung Fu itself.

June 3

X-Men: First Class
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, January Jones and Kevin Bacon

This 1960s set X-Men prequel from the director of Kick-Ass follows Professor X (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbender) before they were enemies as they try to avert the Cuban Missile Crisis.

June 10

Super 8
Directed by J. J. Abrams
Starring Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning and Kyle Chandler

J. J. Abrams keeps the details of his projects so quiet that I’m surprised we even know the name of his new movie. Of course, the mystery is sure to pay off in this nostalgia monster movie from the creator of Lost and Cloverfield, and director of Mission: Impossible III and the Star Trek reboot. Super 8 centres around a group of movie-making children who witness an accident where a train from Area 51 derails and unleashes a mysterious creature. Nothing more about the film is known except that it is set in a small town in 1979 and tries to recreate the feel of early Steven Spielberg classics like E.T. Thus, it doesn’t hurt to have Spielberg on board as executive producer.

June 17

Green Lantern
Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard

Ryan Reynolds is Hal Jordan, an American test pilot who gains a magic ring that grants him super powers and tasks him with defending the universe against evil in this adaptation of the DC comic book.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Directed by Mark Waters
Starring Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino and Angela Lansbury

The update of the classic children’s book stars Jim Carrey as a wealthy New York businessman who comes into the possession of half a dozen Gentoo penguins.

June 24

Bad Teacher
Directed by Jake Kasdan
Starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake and Jason Segel

A raunchy comedy about an out of control schoolteacher (Diaz) who becomes involved with a colleague (Timberlake) much to the chagrin of another (Segel).

Cars 2
Directed by John Lasseter
Starring Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy and Michael Caine

The sequel to Pixar’s 2006 animated hit sees Lightning McQueen (Wilson) compete in the World Grand Prix while Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) becomes mixed up in international espionage.

July 1

Larry Crowne
Directed by Tom Hanks
Starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts

Larry Crowne (Hanks) is a middle-aged man who loses his job and enrolls himself in community college where he tries to reinvent himself with the help of his professor (Roberts).

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Directed by Michael Bay
Starring Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Tyrese Gibson

The third film in the action franchise based on children’s toys sees the Autobots race against the Decepticons to obtain a Cybertronian spacecraft that crashed on the dark side of the moon.

July 8

Horrible Bosses
Directed by Seth Gordon
Starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day

Bateman, Sudeikis and Day play three white-collar men who decide to kill their respective bosses in this dark comedy from the director of The King of Kong.

Zookeeper
Directed by Frank Coraci
Starring Kevin James, Leslie Bibb and Rosario Dawson

A hapless zookeeper (James) discovers that the animals of his zoo are capable of complex thought and speech in this family comedy.

July 15

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ”“ Part 2
Directed by David Yates
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint

The end has come. The final film in the Harry Potter series promises to be the best of the bunch, containing massive plot points like the climactic battle between Voldemort and Harry, and Ron and Hermione’s first kiss. This is a film series that has only been getting better as the cast matures and the story delves into darker territory. Everyone on the planet may know how the story ends, but that won’t stop them from lining up around the block to see Harry finish his journey on the big screen — in 3D.

Winnie the Pooh
Directed by Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall
Starring Jim Cummings, John Cleese and Craig Ferguson

The new film based on the beloved children’s books goes back to the basics with hand-drawn animation recounting Pooh and friends’ adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood.

July 22

Captain America: The First Avenger
Directed by Joe Johnston
Starring Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones

Steve Rogers (Evans) joins a secret military program in World War Two that turns him into the iconic Marvel superhero capable of taking down the Nazi war machine.

Friends with Benefits
Directed by Will Gluck
Starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis

Timberlake and Kunis play two friends who add a sexual dimension to their relationship while trying to avoid the emotional hiccups that come with it — the exact same plot as No Strings Attached, the other casual sex film starring an actress from Black Swan.

July 29

Cowboys & Aliens
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde

It’s as simple as cowboys fighting aliens in this comic-book action film from the director of Iron Man.

Crazy, Stupid, Love
Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone

When Cal Weaver’s (Carell) wife leaves him, Weaver seeks advice from his relationship guru friend (Gosling) on how to recover his life.

The Smurfs
Directed by Raja Gosnell
Starring Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays and Hank Azaria

This live-action movie of the 1980s cartoon follows the Smurfs as evil wizard Gargamel (Azaria) chases them into modern New York and the lives of an ordinary couple (Harris and Mays).

August 5

The Change-Up
Directed by David Dobkin
Starring Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds

Bateman, a married man, and Reynolds, a ladies’ man, swap bodies and get a chance to experience life as each other in this R-rated comedy from the director of Wedding Crashers.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Directed by Rupert Wyatt
Starring James Franco, Freida Pinto and Andy Serkis

A prequel to the Planet of the Apes films seems like a cash-grab in many respects, but the more I see of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the more I’m intrigued. Set in modern day San Francisco, the film follows a brilliant young scientist (Franco) whose experiments cause an ape named Caesar (Serkis) to develop hyper intelligence, unwittingly opening the door for apes to challenge humanity for control of the planet.

Sounds kind of silly and after Tim Burton’s disastrous remake of Planet of the Apes, it’s not hard to see why people weren’t clamouring for another film in the series. But the teaser trailer promises a different kind of film than the ludicrous remake; it displays a much more serious tone. Also, WETA (the digital effects company behind The Lord of the Rings and Avatar) has created impressive digital animation for the apes, giving the film the potential to be one of the few good entries in the extensive sci-fi series. In an August lacking interesting films, Rise of the Planet of the Apes may be one of the few films worth seeing.

August 12

30 Minutes or Less
Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride and Aziz Ansari

A pizza delivery boy (Eisenberg) is forced to rob a bank by a group of hapless criminals in this comedy from the director of Zombieland.

Final Destination 5
Directed by Steve Quale
Starring Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell and Arien Escarpeta

Another entry in the campy horror series about a group of people futilely trying to cheat death.

The Help
Directed by Tate Taylor
Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer

In the Southern States in the 1960s, a young writer (Stone) upsets the social order by interviewing black nannies and maids about their thoughts on their white employers — based on the bestselling novel.

August 19

Conan the Barbarian
Directed by Marcus Nispel
Starring Jason Momoa, Ron Perlman and Rose McGowan

A remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger genre classic about a Cimmerian warrior (Momoa) seeking revenge for the slaughter of his village.

Fright Night
Directed by Craig Gillespie
Starring Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin and Toni Collette

A remake of the 1980s horror comedy about a kid (Yelchin) who learns that his neighbour (Farrell) is a vampire.

One Day
Directed by Lone Scherfig
Starring Jim Sturgess, Anne Hathaway and Patricia Clarkson

A drama that follows one time lovers (Sturgess and Hathaway) over the course of twenty years, catching up with them on the same calender day each year.

Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring Jessica Alba and Jeremy Piven

The fourth film in Robert Rodriguez’ series about a family of spies.

August 26

Apollo 18
Directed by Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego

A found-footage horror film uncovering a conspiracy about what happened on the final NASA moon mission.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
Directed by Troy Nixey
Starring Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce and Bailee Madison

A remake of the classic horror movie about a family moving into a haunted house — written by Guillermo del Toro.