SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW | PART TWO Thrills, chills, spills and ills

A summer too big for one preview. That's what we have this year. Here's Part Two of our rundown of summer movies. Remember, movie moguls have been known to change their alleged minds, so dates -- and even releases -- can change at the drop of a lens cap.
By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
JULY 9
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." Based on their popular theme park attraction, Disney's $125 million, effects-laden adventure stars Johnny Depp as a swashbuckling hero who braves the Caribbean to stop a pirate ship commandeered by dastardly Geoffrey Rush. Produced by Jerry ("Black Hawk Down") Bruckheimer and directed by Gore ("The Ring") Verbinski, the smashing trailer certainly makes it look more adult-friendly than last summer's "The Country Bears."
JULY 11
"The League." A group of fantasy, sci-fi and adventure characters (including Tom Sawyer, Jekyll and Hyde, and Sean Connery as Allan Quatermain) are commissioned by Queen Victoria to stop a madman bent on -- stop me if you've heard this before -- world domination. Adapted from Alan ("From Hell") Moore's 1999 comic book, this was directed by Stephen Norrington, who followed his impressive 1998 debut "Blade & quot; -- one of the best comics-to-screen translations -- with straight-to-video clunker "The Last Minute."
JULY 18
"Bad Boys 2." In this long-delayed sequel, narcotics detectives Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are assigned to a high-tech task force investigating the flow of designer drug Ecstasy into Miami. Directed, surprisingly enough, by Michael Bay, who helmed the original 1995 buddy-action flick before moving on to bigger (if not necessarily better) fish like "Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor."
"Exorcist: The Beginning." Director Paul ("Auto Focus") Schrader's prequel to the 1973 scary-movie landmark chronicles Father Merrin's first encounter with the demon Pazuzu. Schrader's last fright flick was the underrated 1982 chiller, "Cat People," so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
"How to Deal." Disillusioned teen Mandy Moore refuses to believe that true love exists until she meets Mr. Right (newcomer Trent Ford).
"Johnny English." British spy spoof in which Rowan Atkinson of "Mr. Bean" fame plays a klutzy Inspector Clouseau-type who single-handedly prevents French businessman John Malkovich from dethroning the Queen of England. Lets hope this isn't the lazy "Austin Powers" retread that it sounds like.
JULY 25
"Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life." Reprising her role as action heroine Croft, Angelina Jolie rides Jet Skis, horses and motorcycles across the globe to save the world once again from the most unspeakable evil known to man. (No, not Billy Bob.)
"Seabiscuit." This summer's obvious "quality" entry is the fact-based tale of legendary Depression-era racehorse, Seabiscuit. "Spider-Man" Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Oscar-winner Chris Cooper play, respectively, the nag's boxer-turned-jockey, auto magnate owner and taciturn trainer. Director Gary Ross' last film was 1998's enchanting "Pleasantville," which also starred Maguire.
"Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over." To capitalize on the movie's groovy 3-D effects, Carmen (Alexa Vega) gets trapped in a virtual reality game designed by the Kids' latest nemesis, the Toymaker (played by, I kid you not, Sylvester Stallone). Naturally it's up to Juni (Daryl Sabara) to save his sister and, oh yeah, the planet.
AUG. 1
"American Wedding." Jesse ("How High") Dylan directed this third installment in the "American Pie" franchise which uses the wedding of Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) as backdrop for the usual ribald comic shenanigans. Thank heavens "Pie" MVPs Seann William Scott and Eugene Levy are back. Curiously MIA, however, are series stalwarts Chris Klein and Mena Suvari.
"Gigli." Problem-plagued romantic gangster comedy from Martin Brest ("Beverly Hills Cop," "Midnight Run") about a lowly thug (Ben Affleck) who lets love (in the form of Affleck's real-life squeeze Jennifer Lopez) interfere with his high-risk mob assignment. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" mama Lainie Kazan plays Affleck's mother, and professional scene-stealers Christopher Walken and Al Pacino contribute flashy supporting turns.
AUG. 6
"Freaky Friday." Jamie Lee Curtis and her 15-year-old daughter (Lindsay Lohan, who starred in Disney's 1998 version of "The Parent Trap") swap bodies in this Mouse House remake of the similarly-monickered 1977 Jodie Foster/Barbara Harris laffer.
AUG. 8
"The Fighting Temptations." Cut-throat New York advertising executive Cuba Gooding Jr. must assemble a gospel choir before collecting an inheritance in director Jonathan ("My Cousin Vinny," "The Whole Nine Yards") Lynn's MTV-produced musical-comedy. Beyonce Knowles, Steve Harvey, and Mike Epps provide back-up support.
"Matchstick Men." Obsessive-compulsive con man Nicolas Cage and protege Sam Rockwell ("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind") are on the verge of pulling a major score when Cage's estranged teenage daughter (Alison Lohman from "White Oleander") shows up. Ridley ("Gladiator," "Black Hawk Down") Scott directed this uncharacteristically small-scale character piece.
"S.W.A.T." "Inspired" by the cheesy '70s TV series, Sony's franchise-hopeful casts Colin Farrell as an LAPD officer recruited by team commander Samuel L. Jackson for a new Special Weapons and Tactics unit (S.W.A.T.) Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, and Brian Van Holt play Farrell's fellow S.W.A.T.-ers.
AUG. 15
"Freddy vs. Jason." Hell is raised on earth when Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhas are resurrected in this slasher movie "Battle of the Titans." Hong Kong action veteran Ronny Yu ("Bride of Chucky") directs.
"In the Cut." Lonely New Yorker Meg Ryan (who replaced Nicole Kidman) discovers the dark side of passion when she becomes involved with the tough homicide cop (Mark Ruffalo) investigating a series of murders in her neighborhood. Based on the best-selling novel by Susanna Moore, this psychological thriller was directed by the estimable Jane ("The Piano," "Portrait of a Lady") Campion.
"The Medallion." A magical pendant conveniently brings dead cop Jackie Chan back to life so he can battle criminal mastermind Julian Sands. Since Chan's Interpol agent partner is played by the charisma-challenged Claire Forlani ("Meet Joe Black"), this could actually make his lackluster pairing with Jennifer Love Hewitt in last fall's "Tuxedo" look downright scintillating by comparison.
"Uptown Girls." Freewheeling Manhattan socialite Brittany Murphy becomes the nanny of precocious "8-year-old going on forty" Dakota Fanning ("I Am Sam") after her trust fund is stolen. Director Boaz Yakin's last film was Denzel Washington's inspirational high-school gridiron saga, "Remember the Titans."
AUG. 22
"Grind." Four skateboarding enthusiasts follow their pro skater idol on his summer tour in the hopes of getting noticed, finding sponsors and becoming stars themselves. As if.
"My Boss's Daughter." Ashton Kutcher agrees to house-sit for boss Terrence Stamp in the hopes of striking sparks with his va-va-voom daughter ("American Pie" alumnus Tara Reid).
"Marci X." Jewish-American princess Lisa Kudrow inherits a hardcore hip-hop record label where she immediately butts heads with its baddest rapper, Damon Wayans. This might actually sound promising if both Kudrow and Wayans weren't at least a decade too old for their roles. Written by the overrated Paul ("In and Out," "Jeffrey") Rudnick and directed by Richard Benjamin whose last watchable movie was 1990's "Mermaids," neither of whom knows jack about rap.
AUG. 27
"Highwaymen." Widower Jim Caviezel ("The Count of Monte Cristo") relentlessly pursues the serial killer who murdered his wife in a creepy psychological thriller-road movie from director Robert Harmon (1986's cult chiller, "The Hitcher"). Because the maniac uses a '72 El Dorado as his weapon of choice, this promises to be a lot more interesting than your average "Silence of the Lambs" clone.
AUG. 29
"Jeepers Creepers 2." That ancient, flesh-eating winged creature is back to terrorize a group of varsity basketball players, cheerleaders and coaches stranded on a deserted highway after their bus breaks down.
ON THE FRINGE
They might not be opening on 3,000+ screens, but some of the season's more intriguing entries are independent and foreign-language films definitely worth seeking out :
*Cleveland comics writer Harvey Pekar is immortalized in "American Splendor" which won the Grand Jury prize at January's Sundance Film Festival.
*Already-controversial indie sensation "Better Luck Tomorrow" chronicles some over-achieving Asian-American highschoolers who turn to drugs and crime for kicks; a troubled Ohio teen has an inappropriate relationship with her English teacher in "Blue Car."
*The brazenly cynical but immensely entertaining "Buffalo Soldiers" casts Joaquin Phoenix as a GI black marketeer stationed in 1989 Berlin.
*Guy Pearce and Rachel Griffiths topline Aussie caper flick "The Hard Word."
*Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno find love in "Jet Lag," a French opposites-attract romantic comedy.
*Bob Dylan wrote and stars in "Masked and Anonymous" which also features Jeff Bridges, Jessica Lange and John Goodman.
*The Oscar-nominated documentary "Spellbound" (it lost to "Bowling for Columbine") tracks a group of kids competing in the National Spelling Bee; veteran British director Ken ("My Name is Joe") Loach's "Sweet Sixteen" is a coming-of-age classic.
*Sundance award winner "Thirteen" blows the lid off suburban teenage life.
*Val Kilmer plays legendary '70s porn star John C. Holmes in the true-crime melodrama "Wonderland."