Non-Blockbusters to Check Out This Summer
When the summer movie season comes around, people always focus on the big blockbusters.
But bigger isn't always better, and those mega-budget summer films don't always live up to their blockbuster hype.
So, on "The Early Show" Friday, Entertainment Weekly Assistant Managing Editor Dalton Ross suggested some upcoming alternatives:
"Karate Kid" (hitting theaters June 11)
Remake of the 1984 favorite now starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith (son of Will & Jada). Now set in China. With the nostalgia factor added in, it could be a great pick for families.Smith plays an American boy who finds himself shipped overseas when his mother (Taraji P.Henson) takes a job in China. He's bullied until a martial arts master (Chan) teaches him to kick back.
"The Kids Are All Right" (July 9)
Julianne Moore and Annette Bening join forces for director Lisa Cholodenko ("Laurel Canyon") as a lesbian couple whose almost-adult kids (Mia Wasikowska of "Alice in Wonderland" and Josh Hutcherson) want to find the sperm doner (Mark Ruffalo) who is their biological father. Hijinks ensue.
"Grease" (singalong version) (July 9)
A singalong version of the classic. Not quite a remake, but not merely a reissue: It's the 1978 musical "Grease," starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, with on-screen lyrics to encourage audience participation. Could be the summer's most cost-effective profit-maker.
"Dinner For Schmucks" (July 23)
Director Jay Roach reunites with Steve Carell and Paul Rudd for a film based on the 1998 French comedy "Le Diner de Cons," in which business executives have a competition in which they try to invite the biggest loser/buffoon possible to dinner. Carell has made a career out of playing buffoons and does so here, as he and Rudd end up forming an unlikely friendship.
"Eat Pray Love" (August 14)
Julia Roberts in adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's 2006 best-selling memoir. Directed by "Glee" 's Ryan Murphy. Roberts stars as a writer who, after a devastating divorce, takes a trek across the globe looking for peace, prayers and the possible meaning of it all. This should be Roberts' first big-screen hit since her Oscar-winning "Erin Brokovich." She has a trio of Hollywood hotties -- James Franco, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem -- who get the love mojo working again for our heroine. Also stars Richard Jenkins and Viola Davis.