10 Must-See Summer Movies

Release date: May 3, 2013

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The Buzz: Tony Stark faced an unbeatable foe the last time out: The Sophomore Slump. Having succumbed to an ill-advised storyline that turned much of the spotlight on Stark's narcissism (or RDJ's, perhaps), the franchise first shook things up by bringing in fan-favorite Shane Black to write and direct this installment, which looks to be moving to mainland China for a showdown with Mandarin, Iron Man's toughest-ever opponent.

Release date: August 9, 2013

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The Buzz: With its A-list cast, rumored alien-planet setting, and layers of secrecy, Neill Blomkamp's follow-up to District 9 is this year's Prometheus.

Release date: May 16, 2013

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The Buzz: With Benedict Cumberbatch (aka Sherlock Holmes) playing a new Khan and Peter Weller (aka RoboCop) reportedly joining the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise in a major way, what else do we need to make J.J. Abrams's return to Roddenberry space the most anticipated sequel of 2013? A Klingon subplot? You got it. More Spock Prime? Check. William Shatner cameo? Unlikely, but we'll hold out for it, again.

Release date: June 14, 2013

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The Buzz: It's tough to be a superhero movie the summer after The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, especially when you're a reboot of a franchise that Bryan Singer couldn't quite relaunch. Funny how in movie terms seven years can feel either like an eternity or just moments ago. With Warner Bros. and DC Comics execs hovering about and Christopher Nolan in studio-mandated mentor mode, it's safe to assume that director Zack Snyder has been on a tight leash for the duration of development and production; since he's working with his best cast to date, we're rooting for a serious-minded superhero flick with some of Snyder's fanboy candy - his trademark visual flourishes. There are a number of stalled comic-book properties that are being re-imagined, from The Fantastic Four to Daredevil. At worst, this one could be the best. I mean, Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon in the same movie? I'll take that bet.

Release date: June 21, 2013

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The Buzz: Marc Foster always seemed like a curious pick to helm an action-heavy adaptation of the novel by Max Brooks, and details on the out-of-focus production emerged over the summer of 2012 as to its myriad problems, from indecision as to what the zombies should look like to major crew members asking to be let go from the production. Never mind the skyrocketing budget. What first appeared to be the best franchise starter since Rise of the Planet of the Apes has a target on its back; I'm sensing this is the Men in Black 3 of summer 2013 - meaning it will under-perform in the U.S. and make its money elsewhere.

Release date: July 12, 2013

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The Buzz: We got our first look at Guillermo del Toro's mega-robot vs. kaiju project at Comic-Con 2012, where human emotion, smart science, and smarter CGI/visually effected moviemaking created one of the event's most thrilling presentations. It's the type of creation that could make all other movie monsters look off in scale; literally, we felt awestruck and a bit nauseous from the heights. Knowing that the giant robots require two pilots -- one for each hemisphere of the brain -- we're assuming that a major story element will be centered on one of the pilots having to go it alone. Also, we're hoping for 100-foot tall Idris Elba action figures.

Release date: June 21, 2013

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The Buzz: Initially, we were a bit disheartened to hear that Pixar was using its 2013 slot for a Monsters, Inc. prequel: we already know that Mike and Sulley wind up being best friends, so the story of how they met could feel redundant. We got a look at some Monsters University concept art at Disney's D23 event last summer, though, and now we're definitely interested to see how Pixar goes about "monsterizing" the college experience. Here's hoping that in the pantheon of Pixar sequels/prequels, this is more Toy Story 3 and less Cars 2.

Release date: August 23, 2013

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The Buzz: The cherry atop Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy has us all guessing if the threat will be some sort of natural disaster or an alien invasion -- or something else entirely? Personally, I'm hoping for at least one overt From Dusk Till Dawn homage.

Release date: July 26, 2013

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The Buzz: Pity that Darren Aronofsky moved on from directing the it-has-to-be-better-than-the-first outing for the Wolverine; Frank Miller's fan-choice comic book, which is the framework for the sequel, is rife with romantic melodrama, character building, and a bad/not-so-bad guy, Ken Harada, aka the katana-sword wielding Silver Samurai. By no means is James Mangold a weak alternative; it's more that Aronofsky's added luster could have helped remount the franchise.

Release date: July 5, 2013

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The Buzz: While we're unsure what Gru is up to in the sequel to the runaway worldwide hit, we do know that the Minions have a spin-off movie slated for 2014 as Illumination Entertainment (the production company behind this budding franchise as well as The Lorax) has become Universal's most reliable entity.