One of my least-favorite tasks is writing about movies I haven't seen yet: It means reviewing advertising and hype, which is hardly the same as reviewing an actual movie. Even so, I'm as susceptible as anyone to the siren song of the summer-movie trailer. Based on those seductive wisps of promise, these are the pictures I have the highest hopes for:
Priest, May 13
As he proved in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, among other things, Paul Bettany is a marvelous actor. But nobody knows what to do with him. Until he starts getting better, smarter roles, I'm happy to see him as a man of the cloth kicking vampire ass.
Bad Teacher, June 24
Cameron Diaz is a crackerjack comic actress and a good sport -- maybe too much of a good sport, giving her all in lousy movies like Green Hornet and Knight and Day. But Bad Teacher -- also starring her ex, the sorely underappreciated Justin Timberlake -- looks pretty disreputable, and possibly fun. Maybe, just maybe, it's worthy of her.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, July 15
Not every picture in the Harry Potter movie franchise has been equally satisfying, and everyone has his or her particular favorites. Mine happen to be Alfonso Cuarón's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Mike Newell's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but I also like David Yates' interpretations of the material. I'm curious to see how he rounds out the series, bringing this particular 11-year era to an end.
Cowboys and Aliens, July 29
It sure looks weird, or maybe not weird enough. But if Jon Favreau -- whose first Iron Man movie was one of the great surprises of 2008 -- wants to put Daniel Craig in a retro-futuristic western, I have reason to be optimistic.
The Debt, Aug 3
In this post-Nazi spy thriller, up-and-coming (and, from what we've seen so far, remarkably gifted) actress Jessica Chastain appears as a young version of Helen Mirren. If that's not intriguing casting, I don't know what is.