r trade in those pencils and books for some quality time by the pool and that dreaded summer job. But save those pennies, because you're gonna want to drop most of them at the movies. This summer is so chock full of blockbusters, you might not even get a tan. -1- Iu I) STar Wars Episodeprequel we've all been waiting for has The Phantom Menace finally arrived. Now, an 20th Century Fox even longer time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Jedi knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) are pro- tecting their home planet of Naboo. And Anakin Skywalker, a.k.a. Darth Vader (Jake Lloyd), isn't a bad guy yet - he's just a little kid. Heck, Luke, Princess Lea, Han Solo and Chewbacca haven't even been born yet, so we're not sure what to expect. But if predir tions are correct, the money this baby pulls in is going to make Titanic look like a dingh. Big Daddy Columbia Adam Sandler has proven he can make just about anything funny. So don't be surprised if his take on fatherhood has you rolling in the aisles. He plays a thir- tysomething guy trying to prove to his girlfriend that he's an actual adult. To do so, he decides to accept custody of a preco- cious five-year-old, and all the responsibilities that come along with it. Watching Sandler navigate the world of pur- ple dinosaurs, sleep deprivation and bed-wetting will remind you once again how someone can turn juvenile bathroom humor into a multi-million-dollar commodity. Wild, Wild West Warner Bros. It's summer, so you had to know Will Smith would be saving the world. Only this time, there aren't any aliens. In this film version of the late '60s TV show of the same name, Smith and Kevin Kline play two buddies trying to stop the evil Dr. Loveless (Kenneth Branagh) from killing Ulysses S. Grant in the mid-1800s. Salma Hayek saddles up as the love interest of both Smith and Kline. The Runaway Bride Paramount We knew if we waited long enough, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere would do another movie together. And by golly, we were right. Roberts plays an indecisive woman who's left several grooms at the altar, and Gere plays the newspaper reporter who decides to write about her sad state of affairs. When he writes a scathing piece about her life, the two meet and sparks fly. Just what we'd expect from our favorite Pretty couple. Austin Powers: The Spy Who d M New Line Mike Myers is back as Austin Powers, that mod international man of mystery. And this time, he travels back in time to London during the swingin' '60s to face off with his arch nemesis Dr. Evil. With the help of an American CIA hottie, Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham), Powers shags his way through this groovy romp. This is one shagadelic summer flick that's guar- anteed to make you horny, baby. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Paramount Well, hidey-ho! Kenny, Kyle, Stan and Cartman are making their way to the big screen. Trey Parker and Matt Stone haven't been too successful thus far in scoring at the box office (think Baseketball and Orgazmo), but this is South Park, after all. Who knows, maybe this flick will solve the problem that's been plaguing us since the series' inception - why doesn't Kenny ever stay dead? Three to Tango Warner Bros. Neve Campbell has proven her ability to carry a feature film. Matthew Perry hasn't. But perhaps together they can pull it off. Perry plays an architect pretending to be gay in order to be near his secret crush (Campbell). Problem is, she's the mistress of his powerful boss (Dylan McDermott), and if Perry wants to keep his job, he needs to 5 keep up the charade. Dylan McDermott plays the powerful boyfriend. fight Club 20th Century Fox Don't be fooled by the babe-factor in this dark drama. Sure, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are usually pretty easy on the eyes, but we're betting they won't be so babelicious once director David Fincher (Seven) get. done with them. Set in the near future, this film chror4 cles an underground society where young men relieve their frustrations by beating each other to a pulp. Ouch! Myslty Men Universal A slew of our favorite comedians - Ben Stiller, Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman), William H. Macy, Hank Azaria and Janeane Garofalo - play superhero wanna-bes who are called o0 to save their city when the real superhero (Greg Kinnear) has been kidnapped. This comedy, based on Bob Burden's Dark Horse, comic is even funnier when you consider the villains names are Mr. Furious and Tony Pompadour, a talented but evil disco king. And you can bet Stiller is thanking his lucky stars he landed this role - superhero costumes usually don't have any zippers. Eyes Wide Shut Warner Bros. The late Stanley Kubrick's last film took about a zil- lion years to complete because of extensive re-shoots, which usually isn't a very good sign. But the secrecy surrounding the plot - all we know is that two hot psy- chiatrists (Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman) sleep with their patients - has Hollywood buzzing. We can't wait to find out if it lives up to the hype. 12 www.umagazine.com " April/May 1999 .