Anyhoo, the latest entry into this oeuvre looks dicey. You've got director David Dobkin, who did "Shanghai Knights" with Wilson (not perfect, but Wilson was funny). The writers are newcomers, and that could go either way. On the other hand, you've got Vaughan and Wilson, arguably the funniest of the crew, in the lead with cameos from Ferrell and, well, they're not listed but I'm sure most of the other gang will show up. And then you've got the ace in the hole. Christopher Fuckin' Walken as the Secretary of the Treasury. Not to mention Rachel "Mean Girls" MacAdams as the love interest. Good times.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
People like this crew. Heavy anticipation. Comedies (usually) do well in the summer. $85mil.

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• HUSTLE & FLOW

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
It's a basic sitcom plot. Our protagonist must get his demo in the hands of "Mr. Big" before the clock runs out. It just happens that in this case our protagonist is a pimp.

WILL IT SUCK?
Unlikely, though the IMDB rating is inexplicably low for winning the Sundance Audience Award and drawing over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. First of all, this was the deal to end all deals at Sundance this year. It broke the record for most money paid for a flick ever. Paramount and MTV films shelled out $9 million and a movie deal for producer John Singleton in order to get the distribution rights for this one.

As if that weren't faith enough, they're releasing it on a Wednesday, a head start usually afforded only big budget fare like "Batman Begins" (although, these days, even "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" benefits from that strategy). What I've seen of it so far looks great, with the now ubiquitous Terence Dashon Howard (also in "Crash" and "Four Brothers" this summer alone), DJ Qualls, and Anthony Anderson on board.

A note about another award this won at Sundance. Best Cinematography. It went to Amy Vincent. If there's one area in the film industry in which women are underrepresented (and there are many) it's cinematography. In fact, up until this moment, I couldn't really name ANY female cinematographers. (I can only name maybe ten male ones, but still). Anyway, I'm just saying it's nice to see the props, is all.

By the way, I looove the title of writer/director Craig Brewer's next screenplay - "Step in the Name of Love."

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Hard to say. It might have been a mistake to release it wide. Will mainstream audiences be turned off by the fact that the main character is a pimp? Will they relate to crunk? Will they choose this over a slightly creepy Johnny Depp or charming lotharios Vince and Owen? Probably not. I would've done a platform release myself. Gone for a "Napoleon Dynamite" run. But hey, we'll see. $45mil.

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• HAPPY ENDINGS
Interconnected LA Stories from the Master of Snark - Don "Opposite of Sex" Roos. Keep in mind, the title is in the context of a massage parlor.

WILL IT SUCK?
Mixed reviews so far. At least they like it better than "Bounce." It's probably good that you don't remember Roos' wide release follow up to "Opposite of Sex." Which is probably what brought him back to the indies.

The cast is outstanding. Lisa Kudrow (who was awesome in "Sex"), Steve Coogan, Bobby Cannavale, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, among others.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This is one of the bigger July indies. $3mil.

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• THE WARRIOR

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
When will hitmen learn? If you try to leave the business, your former employers will hunt you down like a dog. In this case, it's the local muscle for an Indian warlord, and the hunt goes through the Himalayas.

WILL IT SUCK?
Seems to be getting some complaints for being too "simplistic," but other than that there are raves galore, including a Golden Hitchcock award, and you know that's gotta be good. Also won Best British Film at the BAFTA's.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
If this were the old Miramax distributing, I'd say it has a shot. But which Miramax is this? Harvey's or Disney's? That uncertainty alone is crippling. $300,000.

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• MEMORIES OF MURDER

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Another serial killer. Also based on a true story. This one in Korea.

WILL IT SUCK?
Probably not. So much positive buzz for this film and director, it's kind of ridiculous. Now I wish I hadn't missed it at the Philly Film Fest (where I saw "Cronicas.")

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
And in the final coincidence, this is another Palm Pictures release. Too bad. $100,000.

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OPENING JULY 22

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• THE ISLAND

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson find out they're organ mills for their human original counterparts. This is where all that clone research is heading! Soylent Green is people! It's peeeeeeee-puuuuuuuulllllllll!

WILL IT SUCK?
I have as much against the Michael Bay oeuvre as the next guy. But at the end of the day, my secret shame is an inability to change the channel when "Bad Boys II" is on. Still, every time I remember that he's directing "The Transformers," I cry silent, little tears. Silent, little tears.

That having been said, you've got some "Alias" writers up in here, though it's possible the idea was stolen from some guy who wrote a story called "Clonus." You'll know what I mean if you get that e-mail, which insists that it's not spam, leading me to believe that it's spam.

They've also thrown better acting talent than necessary at this. The aforementioned leads plus new baddie go-to Sean Bean, Djimon Hounsou playing a heavy for once, Michael Clarke Duncan, and my newly crowned best. Character. Actor. Ever. Steve Buscemi.

I think this will be better than your average Bay suckfest.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Has a nice distance from "Four" but has to deal with "Stealth" the very next week. This, however, will be marketed much more aggressively. $128mil.

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• BAD NEWS BEARS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Remake with Billy Bob Thornton as the coach.

WILL IT SUCK?
Normally, I'd say "yes" out of hand. It's a remake, one, of a kid's film, two, that I don't remember liking that much in the first place, three. However, it's directed by Richard Linklater, one, with a script from the "Bad Santa" team, two, and starring that film's bad Santa, three. Not to mention that Linklater has already proven himself in this genre with "School of Rock." And the trailer's hilarious.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
You've got "Wedding Crashers" the week before and "Sky High" the following week. Not kid's films, per se, but it's getting a little crowded. $23mil.

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• THE DEVIL'S REJECTS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Sequel to "House of 1,000 Corpses" in which the crazy family from that flick goes on a killing spree while on the run from The Man.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is actually kind of good. Far better than it was for "Corpses." Put simply, if you liked "Corpses," you'll like this.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This far removed from "Land of the Dead," there's nothing like it in theaters. Even with "Land of the Dead" this is probably several notches up on the gore factor. A limited, but dedicated audience. $16mil.

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• LAST DAYS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
"The Passion of the Kurt." Gus Van Sant's take on the last hours of a Cobain-ish Seattle rocker.

WILL IT SUCK?
Gus just keeps getting weirder and weirder. First he goes all experimental on us with "Gerry." Then he, well, I guess this isn't much weirder than that, but expect a lot of long pauses without anything actually happening. Early buzz is very mixed. This is NOT "Finding Forrester."

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Director-wise, this is about as high profile as it gets in limited release this month. And the Kurt following may help. $2mil.

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• THE EDUKATORS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A group of young anarchists go around fucking up people's homes until they run into someone who's actually home when they do it. Hilarity/tragedy ensues.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is very, very, very good. Mad props from a bunch of international fests. And everyone I talked to who saw it at the Philly fest loved it. Also, keep an eye on lead Daniel Bruhl whom you might know from "Goodbye, Lenin," but whom I recognize from "Ladies in Lavendar" because "Goodbye, Lenin" hasn't arrived from Netflix yet.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
A little under the radar now, but if IFC can pick up the pace, there's hope. $2mil.

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• 9 SONGS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Guy reflects on a relationship he had with this chick. Flashbacks include lots of sex and some really cool bands.

WILL IT SUCK?
Funny story. There's actual fellatio here. And ejaculation. And penetration. Michael Winterbottom has decided to push the envelope. He also threw in performances by The Dandy Warhols, Franz Ferdinand, and Super Furry Animals, among others. It's kind of like Lollapalooza with cum shots.

Critics have not been kind.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It's hard to say which will get a more limited release, this or "The Aristocrats," which also has no official rating from the MPAA. Neither will actually make money. $25,000.

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• NOVEMBER

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Courtney Cox loses her boyfriend in a tragic robbery. Grief ensues. Then it gets weird. Like, conspiracy theory weird.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is kind of harsh. Interesting to note, though, that this also won the Sundance award for cinematography (the year before "Hustle and Flow") and, again, it was a female cinematographer.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The obvious mitigating factor here is Cox. This is her first real indie lead (and her first lead in general). If Sony Pictures Classics knows how to market that fact (and they do) this should do well. On the other hand, this is being released at the wrong time, and not just because of the title. This would do far better in the fall on a less crowded weekend. $400,000.

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OPENING JULY 29

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• STEALTH

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
It's basically the last ten minutes of "Deal of the Century." What? You've gotta be kidding me. I'm the only one who remembers that flop? It had Chevy Chase, Sigourney Weaver, and Gregory Hines! Hines takes a flamethrower to a car! How can you forget that?! It was directed by William Fuckin' Friedkin! Fine. Obviously none of you had HBO when you were a kid. Anyway, at the end of the film Hines flies against a prototype airplane that's completely robotic. Replace Hines with Jamie Foxx, Josh Lucas, and Jessica Biel.

WILL IT SUCK?
From consummate "meh" action helmer Rob Cohen. See, here's the difference between Michael Bay and Rob Cohen. Michael Bay films are almost uniformly bad, but most of them contain at least one or two iconic, amazing shots. Rob Cohen films aren't usually as bad, but they aren't neatly as visually memorable. I don't know which I'd rather sit through.

That having been said, this is written by the guy who wrote "Big Trouble in Little China," which would make me happier if that weren't the same guy who wrote "Home for the Holidays."

The really scary part is that Richard Roxburgh has a role, probably as a villain. Nothing against him, I think he's a fine actor, but he's the kiss of death for action films. He was the main baddie in "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and "Van Helsing." That's two summers in a row he's torpedoed. Will somebody please think of the children!?!

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Problematic. Second frame of "The Island." Not good. "Dukes of Hazzard" the following week. Even worse. "Sky High" this week doesn't help, though this will fare better. $76mil.

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• MUST LOVE DOGS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Romantic comedy with Diane Lane and John Cusack. And some dogs.

WILL IT SUCK?
Looks to be mediocre at best. I can't complain about the cast, but this is from the writer/director of "Dad." "Dad," people.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Admittedly, there's no romcom in sight. Will that be enough? I don't think so. $44mil.

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• SKY HIGH

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Not so much an "Incredibles" rip-off, though there is a family of superheroes, as a what-if-Professor-X's-school-for-the-gifted-were-a-wacky-sitcom-setting exercise. Or, if you prefer, Hogwarts for superheroes. With far worse special effects.

WILL IT SUCK?
Cheesy premise aside, the trailer's actually pretty funny. However, the director brought us not only "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo," but "Surviving Christmas" as well. The writers have worked on "Kim Possible," but really, I need more.

Keep an eye out for Dave Foley and Bruce Campbell in supporting roles.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
A little trouble from "Bad News Bears" the previous week but much more, I think, from "Stealth" this week. I don't know that you're gonna get enough of a family turnout especially when this seems to be going for a broader, comic-booky audience. $10mil.

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• NIGHT WATCH

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Sort of a Russian "Highlander."

WILL IT SUCK?
Early reviews are a bit mixed, and so is the trailer. Part of it looks cool as shit, the other, cheesy as hell. If pulled off right, could be the next "Matrix" or "Lord of the Rings." If not, could be the next "Underworld." Um, besides the "Underworld" sequel, that is.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
If the reviews hold up, could be this summer's "28 Days Later." Either way, it's already made its money back by being the highest grossing film in Russian history, beating out the likes of "Spider-Man 2" and "Lord of the Rings." The other two installments are a given, as the trailer points out. $32mil.

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• THE ARISTOCRATS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Over 100 comedians telling the same dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty…dirty, dirty joke.

WILL IT SUCK?
This is an extremely funny, extremely offensive movie. You WILL find something in here to offend you. At the same time, I laughed so hard I cried. Which is sort of the point. The joke itself is designed to allow the comedian to add his or her own (usually horrifically offensive) spin to it. To give you an idea how offensive, ThinkFilm is not submitting this to the MPAA. They know if they did, they'd have the first film to receive an NC-17 without benefit of violence or nudity.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Like "9 Songs," the ratings issue will bury it. However, unlike "9 Songs," I see an extremely bright future for this on DVD. $600,000.

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• BE HERE TO LOVE ME: A FILM ABOUT TOWNES VAN ZANDT

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
In spite of the title, actually a film about Roger Van Norton, a contractor from Des Moines.

Or a profile of famed (well, among musicians) songwriter Van Zandt.

WILL IT SUCK?
Fascinating story. Suffered from depression and alcohol. Fell off a building to see what it was like. Okay, maybe this is fairly typical "Behind the Music" fare, but it's still interesting. Interviews with Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and Steve Earle, among others.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Again, the curse of Palm Pictures, but I'll give them props for volume and taste (they also distributed the Tom Dowd doc). $50,000.

August promises to be just as bad as every other August but I don't care because the latest from Fernando "City of God" Meirelles is coming out and that's enough for two months.

-- Dave Thomas