Hollywood Heats Up

It's Hollywood's busiest time of year, with almost 130 films being released by Labor Day.

That makes it a perfect time for The Early Show entertainment contributor and People magazine Editor at Large Jess Cagle to take an advance look at some of the heavies hitters hitting the big screen this summer.

He says, after 2005's box office slump, theater owners are hoping this year's big guns will keep the early momentum going.

Things move into high gear Friday, when one of the year's most controversial films makes it way to wide release: the best-selling publishing phenomenon "The Da Vinci Code," starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard.

It may be the summer's most buzzed-about movie, but will it live up to the book?

The answer, Cagle says emphatically, is "No."

It's being blasted by critics, and rightfully so, he observes.

"The critics are right. The movie did not work out so well," Cagle says. "Turns out, it was not an easy book to translate to the screen. And it is really boring. You know, in the book, it was easy to convey all that information about the symbols and the history of the church. (The film) is as dull as it is controversial."

Next week, another highly anticipated movie opens: "X-Men: The Last Stand," once again with Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman.

The summer movie some of us are most eager to check out is "Superman Returns." Brandon Routh is the new Man of Steel and Clark Kent, back to save his relationship with Lois Lane and, of course, save the planet.

Another TV show gets the big-screen treatment in "Miami Vice." There's no Don Johnson in a pastel jacket. Instead, it has Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx and director Michael Mann, who created the TV series.In "Lady in the Water," a hotel manager finds a mysterious woman in the pool. The movie itself is very mysterious. Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, who also gave us "The Sixth Sense," is keeping the plot secret, but says it's very different from his other movies. He calls this one a "bedtime story."

"The Lake House" has at least one thing going for it: It reunites the stars of "Speed," Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. This romantic drama, however, doesn't take place on a runaway bus.

There's lots to laugh about this summer.

Adam Sandler discovers a universal remote with magical powers in "Click."

Most of us are at least a little curious about "The Break-Up," a falling-out-of-love story starring real-life couple Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. We expect some on-screen chemistry.

Newlyweds, played by Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon, suffer a home invasion by their slacker friend, played by Owen Wilson, in "You, Me, and Dupree."

Meryl Streep plays the boss from hell in the film adaptation of the bestseller, "The Devil Wears Prada," which also stars Anne Hathaway.

And Jack Black fans are looking forward to his turn as a Mexican wrestler in "Nacho Libre."

If you're looking for family films, there's an abundance of animation, including the Disney-Pixar collaboration, "Cars."

Disney hopes it can outrun Dreamworks' "Over the Hedge," which stars the voices of Bruce Willis and Garry Shandling.

"Monster House" comes to life and terrifies the neighborhood.

In "The Ant Bully," a little boy is shrunk down to bug size.

And "Barnyard" looks at what happens when the farmer's away.

Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow in the highly anticipated "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the first of two sequels to the $300 million hit. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley also return.

It's been a dozen years, but Kevin Smith's memorable slackers return for "Clerks 2."

Also, Nicolas Cage stars in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," about 9/11.

The trailer for that will be in front of "The Da Vinci Code" this weekend, so be prepared.

And Samuel L. Jackson stars in "Snakes on a Plane," a film that's getting a lot of buzz on the Internet. How could you resist a movie called "Snakes on a Plane?"