A Guide to the Summer's Hottest Movies

By Jeff Giles

Can't wait for the flying superheroes and larger-than-life action figures of blockbuster season? Happily, summer's just around the corner, waiting to sate your hunger with the biggest studio offerings of the year! Michael Bay is on hand, of course -- his "Transformers" promises to turn your childhood action figures into box-office gold -- and there are sequels galore, including "Fantastic Four 2," a new "Harry Potter," and a bevy of third installments: "Spider-Man 3," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Shrek the Third," "Rush Hour 3," and "Ocean's Thirteen." (One step ahead of them, numerically anyway, is Bruce Willis' fourth turn as John McClane in "Live Free or Die Hard.") And that's just scratching the surface of what you can expect to see at your neighborhood megaplex between the last day of school and the dog days of August. For a more in-depth look at what your cinematic summer looks like, read on!