Summer Viewing 3.0

OK, I'm a little late with the third installment of my summer viewing recommendations.

Last week saw the release of “Public Enemies,” the John Dillinger biopic starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, and “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.” The “Ice Age” previews look cute, but the second installment was a little dark for younger children. My recommendation would have been “Public Enemies.”

So now we'll pick up with the rest of the month...

July 10 — “I Love You, Beth Cooper.”

Here's hoping director Chris Columbus stays true to the tone of the hilarious novel by “Simpsons” scribe Larry Doyle. It perfectly captures the feeling of unrequited love in high school, then moves on to what might happen if the object of that affection suddenly noticed her shy suitor was alive and a series of madcap adventures ensued. Some inappropriate content is bound to carry over from the book too, but at PG-13, I'm sure it's tame compared to the...

Alternative: “Bruno.” I'd rather watch a sequel to “Snakes on a Plane.” And I thought it was worse than “Gigli.”

July 17 — “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”

Originally slated to be released last year, the sixth installment in the cinematic adaptation of the uber-popular book series got bumped to this summer. Think that'll hurt its box office? Me neither.

Anyway, this continues the series' trend of getting darker, with a climax even more draining than the death in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” It'll set the stage for the two-part interpretation of Harry's final adventure. A word of warning to parents of young Potter fans — This stuff's probably even scarier on the big screen than on the page.

Alternative: “(500) Days of Summer.” Joseph Gordon-Levitt (yes, the kid from “3rd Rock from the Sun”) and Zooey Deschanel (“The Happening”) unite for what should be a fun, clever romantic comedy.

July 24 — “G-Force.”

I may regret endorsing a movie starring computer-animated guinea pigs that, according to Entertainment Weekly, sprung from the musings of director Hoyt Yeatman's young son on whether their new guinea pig could be a secret agent. But frankly, too many movies are over-thought. A kid saying “wouldn't it be neat if...” isn't a bad starting point. Throw in folks like Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi and Jon Favreau providing the voices of the animal characters and I'm intrigued.

Alternative: “The Ugly Truth.” The romantic-comedy juggernaut that is Katherine Heigl returns, this time as a TV producer who is both repulsed by and (surprise!) attracted to a new co-worker (Gerard Butler, “300”).

July 31 — “Funny People.”

My oft-stated aversion to overly crude humor has kept me away from many of director Judd Apatow's offerings (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up”), but the previews for this film have me optimistic. The movie stars Adam Sandler as a stand-up comedian, facing a terminal disease, and Seth Rogen as his protege.

Alternative: “Aliens in the Attic.” A family vacation is derailed by intergalactic invaders upstairs. The cast includes Kevin Nealon, Andy Richter and Doris Roberts, as well as Ashley Tisdale of “High School Musical” fame.