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THE LONGEST YARD

When I first heard about this one late last year — "Adam Sandler and Chris Rock in a remake of the popular Burt Reynolds football-in-prison comedy" — it sounded like a no-brainer for a guaranteed $100 million hit. I'll stand by that diagnosis, though the preview isn't nearly as funny as I had imagined it would be. Maybe instead of cramming all the good parts into the trailer, they're saving them for the movie? Incidentally, Reynolds has a supporting role in this new version.

JUNE 1

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS

A prime example of summer counter-programming, this adaptation of a best-selling book centers on four teenage girls (Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera and Blake Lively) who stay in touch one summer by passing around the same pair of jeans among themselves. Cute premise, appealing kids, easy-to-swallow life lessons — the Unleashed crowd won't be caught dead at this one, but it should satisfy its target audience.

JUNE 3

CINDERELLA MAN

Ron Howard has lately become the poster boy for everything that's wrong with mainstream Hollywood, but hey, I happen to like A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 and a few other of his films (and how can anybody not dig Night Shift?). Having said that, the trailer for his latest picture, about Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock, is pretty snoozy, wrapped in an air of self-importance and making even vibrant performers like Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger look somnambular. Plus, the timing couldn't be worse for a boxing picture: You know Howard must be cursing Clint Eastwood for releasing the critical and commercial hit Million Dollar Baby a mere half-year before his flick. Still, it's hard to bet against this crew, and after the usual high-volume summer fodder, a quiet period piece might be just what the doctor ordered.

HIGH TENSION

Despite the inclusion of some critical blurbs declaring it "Brilliant!" and "Terrifying!," it's hard to get a feel from the trailer as to what makes this slasher flick different from the rest. The footage shows a young woman evading a hook-wielding killer inside a friend's house before lapsing into the usual rapid-fire edits that render the rest of the preview impenetrable.

LORDS OF DOGTOWN

If you missed the acclaimed documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, here's the fictional version of the true-life tale about a group of California kids who became media darlings in the mid-70s thanks to their skateboarding prowess in empty swimming pools. The trailer features Heath Ledger (briefly) on the screen and classic rock tunes on the soundtrack.

JUNE 10

THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL

A lonely boy discovers that his imaginary superhero friends are actually real in director Robert Rodriguez's second film to be presented in 3-D (following Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over). The trailer states "From The Director Of Spy Kids"; it would have been funnier if it read, "From The Director Of Sin City," as Rodriguez (who moves with ease between kiddie and grownup fare) made both.

THE BAD NEWS BEARS

Instead of Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal, we get Billy Bob Thornton and a bunch of nondescript tykes in a remake of the family favorite about a struggling kids' baseball team and their drunken coach. This version looks more coarse and less funny than the charming original; most of its thunder will probably get stolen anyway by the similar Kicking and Screaming, which opens a month earlier.

MR. AND MRS. SMITH

The gossip rags' favorite movie of the summer finds Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as hired killers whose identities are secret even to each other. Watching the trailer, I wasn't thinking about whether Angelina really drove a rift in the marriage of Brad and Jen as much as I was thinking how similar this sounds to Prizzi's Honor. But I'm actually looking forward to this one — and not just because the stars are easy on the eyes.

JUNE 15

BATMAN BEGINS

I went to town on this one, scoping out the TV spot, the teaser trailer and two different full-length previews. This is full of possibilities, though it's going to be hard to top Tim Burton's vision of Gotham City and its most famous crime fighter. The stars have certainly turned out: beyond Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine all appear to make sizable contributions as our hero's allies. It's a shame that director Joel Schumacher and star George Clooney ran the last series into the ground, but based on these moody previews, Memento's Chris Nolan just might prove to be skilled at resuscitation.