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7. "Pineapple Express"
Mark Your Calendar: Aug. 8 Stars: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Bill Hader, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez The Story: Dale
(Rogen) is a process server who buys a new type of marijuana called Pineapple
Express from a drug dealer named Saul (Franco). They are forced to go on the run
after they witness a murder committed by a corrupt cop (Perez) and a local gang
leader (Cole). The Lowdown: Already finished and beloved by
test audiences, Sony Pictures is releasing this R-rated comedy from producer Judd Apatow and screenwriter Rogen on the same
successful summer weekend as "Superbad." Big Question Mark: Because of
the questionable quality of the flicks that precede it in the spring ("Drillbit Taylor" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"), will this be the first
Apatow movie not to have his name prominently displayed in the
advertising?
6. "Mamma Mia!" Mark
Your Calendar: July 18 Stars: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski The
Story: A young bride invites three of her mother's ex-flames to her
wedding in hopes of determining which one of them is her father. The
Lowdown: The original stage musical composed of the greatest hits of
1970s pop band ABBA has been extremely popular with audiences, but not so much
with critics. Big Question Mark: It's not whether Streep
can sing (she can), but without tween sensation Zac Efron in tow, can it make more money than last
summer's $118 million grossing "Hairspray"?
5. "Star Trek" Mark
Your Calendar: Dec. 25 Stars: Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Karl Urban, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin The
Story: Shrouded in secrecy, but rumor has it that, in order to correct
the timeline, Spock (Nimoy) is forced to return to the days when he first met
James T. Kirk and team up with his younger self (Quinto) to prevent Kirk and the
starship Enterprise from being erased from history entirely. The
Lowdown: Director J.J. Abrams ("Lost") is hoping to relaunch the
franchise by introducing a new cast and reimagining the look of the original
1960s show for today. By bringing back Nimoy and teaming him with Quinto, he's
basically making a Spock buddy picture. Big Question Mark:
Can Abrams and Paramount convince anyone under the age of 40 that "Star Trek" is
actually cool again?
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