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Why you should see it: Streep rarely chooses unredeemable projects.

Why you should not: Do we care how hard it is to work for a fashion magazine?

June 30

Superman Returns

Starring: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, and Kevin Spacey

Directed by: Bryan Singer ( X-Men, X-2)

Written by: Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris

What it's about: Set five years after Superman II, more or less, Superman returns from self-imposed exile to find Lois Lane with a kid and Lex Luthor out of prison, with yet another plan for world domination.

Why you should see it: Singer made the X-Men movies into something accessible to mainstream audiences without sacrificing its comic-book roots; he made superheroes human.

Why you should not: Look, it can't be any worse than Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.

July 7

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley

Directed by: Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)

Written by: Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (Shrek), based on a Disneyland ride

What it's about: Bill Nighy joins the fun as supernatural part-man/part-octopus villain Davey Jones, out to collect the soul of Capt. Jack Sparrow (Depp) just in time to ruin the marriage plans of Will (Bloom) and Elizabeth (Knightley).

Why you should see it: Depp's Jack Sparrow is one of the most entertaining characters in cinematic history.

Why you should not: Bloom's still a stiff. And Chow Yun-Fat is in part three, not this one.

July 21

Clerks II

Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, and Rosario Dawson

Written and directed by: Kevin Smith (Clerks)

What it's about: Dante (O'Halloran) and Randal (Anderson) are still slacking away their lives, except their 20s have turned into their 30s, and both work at fast-food joint Mooby's. In other words, this is what Smith does when his attempt at maturity (Jersey Girl) tanks and he's left going back to the well. Again. And again.

Why you should see it: Because it's just like Clerks. With a Jason Lee cameo.

Why you should not: It really is just like Clerks.

July 21

Lady in the Water

Starring: Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Cinderella Man), Bryce Dallas Howard (Manderlay), and Freddy Rodriguez

Written and directed by: M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, The Village)

What it's about: A lonely apartment building superintendent (Giamatti) discovers a beautiful woman (Howard), who turns out to be a mermaid, in the building's swimming pool. And there are other supernatural creatures after her...

Why you should see it: Advance word says there's no gratuitous twist ending this time. Shyamalan's a good director when he doesn't paint himself into a corner; even The Village had its moments until that terrible "surprise" finish.

Why you should not: This film's been labeled a "bedtime story." What does that even mean?

July 21

Super Ex-Girlfriend

Starring: Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson, and Anna Faris

Directed by: Ivan Reitman (Old School)

Written by: Don Payne (The Simpsons)

What it's about: Wilson plays a normal dude who dumps the superneedy, superhottie G-Girl (Thurman), who proves hell hath no fury like a superwoman scorned. In other words, what if Lois Lane broke up with Superman, and he didn't take it well? At all.

Why you should see it: Ivan Reitman directed Ghostbusters, Stripes, and Meatballs.

Why you should not: Ivan Reitman directed Six Days Seven Nights, Father's Day, and Evolution.

July 28

Miami Vice

Starring: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, and Gong Li

Written and directed by: Michael Mann (Ali, The Insider )

What it's about: Gee, lessee. Crockett and Tubbs. Drug dealers. Speed boats. Guns. Flashy suits. Bad accents. Expensive cars. Hot chicks. That about covers it.

Why you should see it: See above.

Why you should not: See above. And no Jan Hammer theme song. Rip. Off.

August 4

Fearless

Starring: Jet Li, Nakamura Shidou, and Betty Sun

Directed by: Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason)

Written by: There doesn't seem to be a credited screenwriter. But Yuen Woo-ping is the fight choreographer, which is what matters most.

What it's about: Jet Li kicks some ass. Then a tragedy happens, and he doesn't want to kick any further ass, so he goes into seclusion, where he learns the true way of the warrior. The claim is that this will be Li's last martial-arts epic.

Why you should see it: Sigh. If you know your Hong Kong films, you'd have no doubt that Li and Yu and Woo-ping teaming up can only be awesome.

Why you should not: Steer clear if action isn't your thing.

August 11

Accepted

Starring: Justin Long (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story), Adam Herschman, and Jonah Hill

Directed by: First-timer Steve Pink

Written by: Bill Collage, Adam Cooper, and Mark Perez

What it's about: A slack senior (Long) finds out that he's failed to get into college. So, of course, he and his similarly unmotivated pals fool their parents by inventing their own fraud of a university, which suddenly becomes crowded with similar rejects. Hey, it couldn't be any more worthless than your liberal arts degree, right?

Why you should see it: If a fake frat was funny (as it was in Old School), an entire fake university has to be a knee-slapper, right?