Summer 2005 Preview: Movies, CDs, Concerts, Books

Julie Wohlberg | MergeDigital

A bat, a sith and a witch walked into this bar... Wait, no. Okay, an Irish humanitarian, a gothic rock star and a couple of smarmy Brit brothers are on a plane together... Let's try this again. Another witch, an attorney and a romance writer go to Hell...

It's no joke - it's summer blockbuster season, the only time of year that such an eclectic collection of quirky characters comes out at once for an on-screen and on-stage barrage of pyrotechnics.

Light the fuse and let's begin the countdown for the biggest movies, books, CDs and concerts to hit this summer.

FILMS

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The time has come, the series is over. Episode III is the final installment of the prequel trilogy. This time, we witness the battle royale between Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker, the fall of the Old Republic, a pack of Wookies and the return of a certain someone with a raspy voice and penchant for wearing black.May 19.

Batman Begins
The bat is back, and this time he's played by Christian Bale. Batman Begins, helmed by Christopher Nolan (Memento), focuses on the Dark Knight's earlier years, focusing on his origin and pitting him against international nemesis Ra's Al Ghul and Dr. Jonathan Crane, better known as ''The Scarecrow.'' June 15.

Bewitched
Taking a turn away from a true re-make, this film casts Will Ferrell as a Hollywood director who unwittingly casts a real witch (Nicole Kidman) in the role of Samantha. June 24.

The Wedding Crashers
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson star as a pair of womanizing divorce mediators who spend their weekends crashing weddings in a search of Ms. Right...for a night. The scam is perfect, until one of them falls for the engaged daughter of an eccentric politician and they end up spending a weekend at the family's estate, realizing they were in over their heads. June 24.

War of the Worlds

Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg head up the remake of the 1953 classic H.G. Wells' when aliens attack novel-turned-film. Worlds tells the story of the fight for humankind from the eyes of a family fighting for survival. June 29.

Fantastic Four
The longest running comic book series in history is finally coming to the big screen. Director Tim Story is bringing to life the family foursome that includes stretchy Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd), transparent Invisible Woman (Jessica Alba), the ever-lovin' Thing ( Michael Chiklis) and the too-hot-to-handle Human Torch (Chris Evans) in this anticipated summer release. July 8.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Johnny Depp and Tim Burton reunite, this time to take on the challenge of re-creating the trippy Roald Dahl classic. July 15.

CONCERTS

U2
The Irish band is making two stops in Philadelphia this May as part of the group's Vertigo tour, featuring songs from the album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Both shows are already sold out, but slow-moving U2 fans can rest easily: the band will be back in October for two more shows at the Wachovia Center.

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Summer 2005 Preview: Movies, CDs, Concerts, Books

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