Movies released between May 1 and Labor Day each year are considered to have the most potential for summer blockbuster status. This summer, most of the movies to be released are based on popular books series or popular cartoon series.
1) Angels & Demons. Release date: May 15. Stars Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgard; directed by Ron Howard. Based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, this mystery-thriller is the prequel to 2006’s The Da Vinci Code, also a best-selling novel and successful movie. The plot of Angels & Demons once again revolves around the quest of a fictional Harvard University symbologist named Robert Langdon. This time around Langdon is trying to solve the mysteries of a secret society and prevent its plan to annihilate Vatican City. The movie, like the book uses the factual and historical conflict between science and religion. To find out more about this conflict and the factual vs fictional aspects of the movie read religion magazines like Magnificat, Catholic Digest and Biblical Archaeology Review.

2) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Release date: June 24. Stars Shia LeBeouf, Rainn Wilson and Megan Fox; directed by Michael Bay. This is the sequel to 2007’s live-action science-fiction Transformers movie, in which a teenager battles two sects of alien robots. The live-action version is based on the popular 1980s cartoon series. In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen more robots and locations including Egypt are introduced in a battle for the universe. Though this robot-themed movie is based on a kid-friendly cartoon series, it is best for parents to first read reviews in parenting magazines like Cookie, Parents and Parenting before deciding whether it is appropriate for children to watch.

3) Star Trek. Release date: May 8. Stars Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood and Leonard Nimoy; directed by J.J. Abrams. This installment of the beloved Star Trek television series, which began in 1966, chronicles the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members. While young Spock is tortured over choosing between the Vulcan world and Starfleet Academy, the movie also introduces Dr. 'Bones' McCoy and a young linguist Uhura at the Academy.

4) Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince: July 17. Stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint; directed by David Yates. This is the sixth and next-to-last movie in the phenoma that is Harry Potter. This time around Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts turns out to be a very exciting year that includes a new teacher, a mysterious potions book and secrets of Voldemort’s, his arch rival, past. While the early installments of the Harry Potter movies were extremely kid-friendly, the Half Blood Prince is much darker. Though this wizard-themed movie is based on the mostly kid-friendly book series, it is best for parents to first read reviews in parenting magazines like Cookie, Parents and Parenting before deciding whether it is appropriate for children to watch.

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