Hot summer nights As the days heat up, so do the movie blockbusters

With “The Mummy Returns” still holding audiences by the throat, “Shrek” galloping into theaters tomorrow and Michael Bay’s eagerly anticipated “Pearl Harbor” set to bomb the box office with gold on Memorial Day weekend, the summer movie season is fully upon us – and how.

In an all-out effort to eclipse the summer of 1999, when “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” redefined what it means for Hollywood to market and produce a blockbuster summer film, the summer of 2001 promises to be an ongoing spectacle, a season that follows a woefully weak spring with more than 130 new movies designed to underscore Hollywood’s eagerness to please the masses.

That’s not likely to happen, but as potential blockbusters go, this summer has more than its share of pumped-up event movies, from Nicole Kidman vamping it up as a cancan harlot in the Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious musical, “Moulin Rouge” (June 1); Julia Roberts, John Cusack and Billy Crystal redefining the Hollywood sweetheart in “America’s Sweethearts” (July 29); Mark Wahlberg crashing into Tim Burton’s revisionistic take on “Planet of the Apes” (July 27); and Steven Spielberg’s first film in three years, “A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.”

Considering the talent behind “A.I.,” the film is shaping up to be one of summer’s major box-office contenders. Starring Haley Joel Osment as an animatronic boy who longs to be human – think of it as a futuristic version of “Pinocchio” – the film was written by Spielberg from a story by Stanley Kubrick and also stars Jude Law and William Hurt in supporting roles. It opens June 29, just days before Hollywood unleashes some major box-office firepower on July 4 with the release of “Cats & Dogs,” a live-action comedy about the war between the litter-box and fire-hydrant set, and the sequel to last summer’s raunchy hit, “Scary Movie 2.”

“Scary Movie 2” is hardly summer’s only trip back to familiar ground. This season, audiences will find no fewer than seven sequels as Hollywood tries to protect its bottom line with films it hopes will have built-in audiences, including the new Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker comedy, “Rush Hour 2” (Aug. 3); Eddie Murphy in “Dr. Dolittle 2” (June 22); Jason Biggs in “American Pie 2” (Aug. 10); and Sam Neill and Tea Leoni battling the new spinosaurus in Joe Johnston’s “Jurassic Park III” (July 18).

Other commercial films likely to cause a stir are Disney’s new animated film, “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (June 15); Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in Simon West’s $100 million take on the popular video game, “Tomb Raider” (June 15); John McTiernan’s remake of “Rollerball” (Aug. 3); Mariah Carey belting out her first full-length starring role in “All that Glitters” (Aug. 31); and Ivan Reitman’s “Evolution” (June 8), a dirty little sci-fi comedy from the director of “Ghostbusters” that stars Julianne Moore and David Duchovny.

But if summer is known for its blockbusters, it’s also known for its potential bombs. If the trailer for the new John Travolta thriller, “Swordfish” (June 8), is any indication, this summer won’t disappoint in delivering its share of fish heads. Indeed, the buzz already swirling around “Swordfish” is so toxic (negative test screenings pushed the film’s original release date back by months so the movie could be completely re-edited), it makes the hammering that Travolta took for his much-maligned “Battlefield Earth” seem downright kind.

Still, those seeking something deeper will be happy to know that summer 2001 also features a wealth of smaller, independent films.

Ken Eisen, film programmer at Waterville’s Railroad Square Cinema, notes a handful of films the Railroad Square is looking forward to showing, including: “Memento,” the British thriller that tells its story backward; “About Adam,” an Irish comedy starring Kate Hudson; “The Luzhin Defense,” a film based on Vladimir Nabokov’s novel about a genius chess champion; and “The Golden Bowl,” Merchant-Ivory’s new adaptation of Henry James’ novel, which stars Nick Nolte, Uma Thurman and Anjelica Huston. (Release dates were not available at press time.)

Perhaps more exciting for Eisen and other film buffs is the fourth annual Maine International Film Festival. Running July 6-15 at the Railroad Square and at the Waterville Opera House, the festival will feature more than 100 screenings of more than 50 films, a good deal of which would never have come to Maine without the festival’s growing influence.

This year’s special guest is actress Sissy Spacek, whom, Eisen says, will be honored with a partial retrospective of some of her best work.

“Sissy Spacek is one of the great actresses in cinema,” Eisen says, “all the more so because her art makes her acting seem so natural. Her adventuresome taste in the films she chooses to perform in make her the perfect choice for the festival’s annual Midlife Achievement Award, which went to one of her first directors, Terrence Malick, last year. We look forward to showcasing some of Sissy’s finest work at the festival, and to being able to give audiences the chance to meet such an extraordinary artist.

“The festival will feature films from around the world,” Eisen says, “including ‘Daughters of the Sun’ from Iran, ‘The Mission’ from Hong Kong, ‘Spirits of Havana’ from Cuba, ‘Princes et Princesses’ from France, and ‘With a Friend Like Harry,’ from France.” Those seeking more information should call 861-8138 or check the festival’s Web site at www.miff.org/

Another popular film festival back for its second year is the Northeast Silent Movie Festival at the Alamo Theater in Bucksport. Running July 20-24, the festival, titled “Rural Places/Lost World,” will feature nine films from the silent era, including Clara Bow’s 1930 film, “True To The Navy”; 1925’s groundbreaking dinosaur movie, “The Lost World”; 1922’s “Shadows,” which stars Lon Chaney as a Chinese laundryman in a troubled Maine town; and the 1926 comedy, “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp,” which – rather fittingly – stars Joan Crawford.

The Alamo’s state-of-the-art, 125-seat theater is the place in Maine to view silent films. According to Karan Sheldon, Northeast Historic Film co-founder and a key organizer of the event, the Alamo “can show 35 mm prints at the right projection speed for the period, which very few other places in the country can do, and with the full image on the screen, also very rare. As an archives, we also have a great advantage in knowing colleagues at other film archives who help select films that are newly restored and that a contemporary audience will enjoy.

“We make the viewing experience a priority,” says Sheldon. “Last year’s festival sold out three shows and drew people of all ages. We love to introduce young people to the art of early film. And it’s a great feeling, too, to have people in the audience who remember what it was like before motion pictures had soundtracks.”

Returning this year as film accompanist is pianist Philip Carli, who will play from July 20-23. On July 24, the Bon-Ton Salon Orchestra accompanies “Captain Salvation,” the 1927 film about small-town hypocrisies provoked by a Boston prostitute that stars Lars Hanson and Pauline Starke. For tickets and more information, contact Northeast Historic Film at 469-0924.

In the end, summer 2001 seems to have it all – which, of course, is the point. Forty percent of Hollywood’s revenues come out of the dog days of summer, a season that, as least as far as this year is concerned, seems to promise more than just a summer’s worth of “Shrek.”

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.