From Tony Stark's grand return as "Iron Man" to Bella's tortured love triangle with a vampire and a werewolf in "Eclipse" to blowing things up in "The A-Team" and "The Expendables," this summer at the movies is shaping up to be an exciting one!
We breakdown the who, what, when and why of all the summer blockbusters!
Who: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke; directed by Jon Favreau
What: Billionaire inventor Tony Stark returns for more adventures as his alter ego, Iron Man, facing pressure from the public and government to share his technology with the military, finding new allies (Johansson) and confronting new enemies (Rourke).
Why: Seriously, who isn't ready for more Robert Downey Jr. as the snarky Tony Stark?
Who: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow and Mark Strong; directed by Ridley Scott.
What: Crowe plays the expert archer who fights in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion against the Norman invaders and becomes the legendary hero known as Robin Hood.
Why: In the capable hands of “Gladiator” director Scott and his muse Crowe, this “Robin Hood” should deliver the action goods.
Who: The vocal talents of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Craig Robinson, Jane Lynch and Jon Hamm.
What: Our favorite green ogre gets tricked by Rumpelstiltskin and finds himself in an alternate universe in which Donkey doesn't know him, Fiona is a wanted criminal and Puss in Boots is a fat cat!
Why:As the final installment in the “Shrek” franchise, let's hope they've saved the best for last!
Who: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall, Chris Noth, John Corbett; directed by Michael Patrick King.
What: The girls are back for more cocktails, shopping excursions — and sex, natch. This time they cavort not only in the Big Apple but in Abu Dhabi, as well.
Why: Ask any woman on the street, and she'll tell you she can never get enough “Sex.”
"Prince of Persia: Sands of Time"
Who: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Gemma Arterton; directed by Mike Newell.
What: Based on the video game, an adventurous prince (Gyllenhaal) teams up with a rival princess (Arterton) to stop an angry ruler (Kinglsey) from wielding the destructive Sands of Time to destroy the world.
Why: Seeing Gyllenhaal as a buffed, kick-ass action hero should be worth the price of a ticket, at least.
Who: Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Rose Byrne, Katy Perry; directed by Nicholas Stoller.
What: British rock star bad boy Aldous Snow (Brand) is up to no good again, this time screwing with a green record label lackey (Hill), trying to get Snow to a concert in L.A.
Why: Having Brand reprise his hilarious “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” character is a stroke of genius, especially pairing him with the always funny Hill.
Who: Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl; directed by Robert Luketic.
What: A woman (Heigl) meets the man of her dreams (Kutcher) on vacation. He also happens to be a top-level assassin, but decides to chuck the fast life for domestic bliss — until the couple discovers they are being targeted for a contract hit. Now that's a major blip in the marriage, wouldn't you say?
Why: From the same director who brought us “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” the banter and bullets in this dark comedy should be flying at equal speed.
Who: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Sharlto Copley, Rampage; directed by Joe Carnahan.
What: Based on the hit '80s TV show, a group of exiled mercenaries regroup to clear their names after being framed for murder.
Why: Because “The A-Team” is one giant excuse to watch things blow up — the perfect summer popcorn blockbuster!
Who: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson; directed by Harald Zwart.
What: A young American boy (Smith) moves to China with this single mom (Henson) to make a fresh start, but has a tough time fitting in. He eventually learns martial arts from an excellent teacher and is soon standing his ground.
Why: If they had to remake this '80s cult classic, getting Chan as the kung-fu master is the only way to do it. Wax on!
Who: Josh Brolin, Megan Fox, John Malkovich; directed by Jimmy Hayward.
What: Based on the comic book, a bounty hunter (Brolin), with warrants on his own head, must stop a terrorist ready to unleash Hell on Earth in exchange for his freedom.
Why: A badass bounty hunter, demons — and Megan Fox scantily clad. What more can you ask for?
Who: The vocal talents of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Michael Keaton, Whoopi Goldberg, Timothy Dalton.
What: Woody and the gang are back for more action. This time, after Andy goes to college, the gang is donated to a preschool center — from hell! Woody has to escape and get back to Andy before it's too late.
Why: The first “Toy Story” movies are such classics, the third one should follow suit, especially with all the original cast and crew attached once again.
Who: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Dano, Maggie Grace; directed by James Mangold.
What: A secret agent (Cruise) inadvertently involves a woman (Diaz) in his mission, and ends up having to take her along for the ride.
Why: Because it looks like Cruise is finally having some fun again onscreen with his “Vanilla Sky” co-star, Diaz.
Who: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, Kevin James, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Steve Buscemi; directed by Dennis Dugan.
What: This ensemble comedy sees five good friends and former high school basketball teammates reunite for a Fourth of July weekend.
Why: When Sandler, Rock, Schneider, James and Spade get together, the hilarity should ensue.
"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Who: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Bryce Dallas Howard; directed by David Slade.
What: The vampire-werewolf-human love triangle continues, with Bella (Stewart) struggling for her feelings for both Edward (Pattinson) and Jacob (Lautner). Meanwhile, evil vampire Victoria (Howard) is still out for Bella's blood.
Why: Oh come on, is there any explanation needed? Just ask a Twihard!
Who: The vocal talents of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Julie Andrews, Jason Segal, Miranda Cosgrove, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Russell Brand.
What: An evil mastermind, Gru (Carell), gets sidetracked from his dastardly plans by three orphan girls who see him as a potential father.
Why: The all-star comic cast certainly inspires confidence this 3-D animated film will be a hoot.
Who: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard; directed by Christopher Nolan.
What: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one's mind can be the most dangerous weapon... or the most valuable asset.
Why: Director Nolan pushes “The Dark Knight” aside for the moment and returns to his mind-bendy thriller “Memento” ways.
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
Who: Nicolas Cage, Jay Bruchel, Monica Bellucci, Alfred Molina; directed by Jon Turteltaub.
What: Master sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Cage) recruits a seemingly everyday guy (Bruchel) in his mission to defend New York City from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Molina).
Why: With Cage and fantasy, anything's possible!
Who: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor; directed by Phillip Noyce.
What: A by-the-book CIA officer (Jolie) suddenly finds herself on the run when she's accused of being a Russian spy.
Why: Angelina running around shooting guns will never lead you astray.
Who: Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Zach Galifianakis; directed by Jay Roach.
What: In order to get a big promotion, a corporate climber (Rudd) has to invite an idiot to dinner so he and his fellow coworkers can make fun of him. Guess who the idiot is?
Why: Guess how hard you'll laugh?
Who: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Daniel Dae Kim, Terence Stamp; directed by George Nolfi.
What: In this sci-fi thriller, an affair between a politician (Damon) and a ballerina (Blunt) is affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart.
Why: The premise — and the two leads — are entirely intriguing.
Who: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes; directed by Adam McKay.
What: Two behind-the-desk detectives (Wahlberg and Ferrell) long for some action and finally get their chance to prove themselves and be like the tough cops they idolize (Jackson and Johnson) — except things don't go quite as planned.
Why: Wahlberg is on a roll these days, playing the straight man in films like “Date Night” and now “The Other Guys.” Let see how straight-faced he can be against Ferrell.
Who: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts; directed by Sylvester Stallone.
What: A team of mercenaries heads to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator. What else?
Why: Wow, with a bunch of kick-assers like this, it should wrap up the summer season with a bang!
Who: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, James Franco, Billy Crudup; directed by Ryan Murphy.
What: Based on the bestselling memoirs of Elizabeth Gilbert, the film follows Gilbert (Roberts), as she faces a mid-life crisis and goes on a round-the-world journey to find herself.
Why: Roberts taking the lead again in a romantic drama could mean Oscar nominations.