Flickr/LiGado em Série

Memorial Day is fast approaching, which means you have exactly 30 days until the box office explodes with summer blockbusters. But this year we’re in for a treat, because there are at least four sure-to-be hits out before Memorial Day; consider them a warm-up for good things to come. You now have exactly 10 days until “Iron Man 2,” so get out your sunscreen and get out your calendars– it’s time to take note of this summer’s releases.

May
Iron Man 2
Robin Hood
MacGruber
Shrek Forever After
Sex and the City 2
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

June
Marmaduke
Get Him to the Greek
Killers
The Karate Kid
The A-Team
Toy Story 3
Grown Ups
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

July
The Last Airbender
The Kids Are All Right
Inception
Dinner for Schmucks
Salt

August
The Other Guys
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
The Expendables
Eat, Pray, Love

Flickr/jp49

Think “2012″ is just another disaster movie? Think again. Here’s what MTV.com has to say about the new flick, opening Friday:

Director Roland Emmerich has made disaster movies aplenty (“Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow”) but Cusack argued in a recent MTV News interview that “2012″ is no disastrous flick.

“This is more of an apocalypse movie!” he declared.

Cusack plays Jackson Curtis, a struggling fiction writer who catches wind of the impending end-of-times just before the destruction kicks into Oh-my-God-everyone’s-gonna-die mode. He grabs his kids, his ex-wife (Amanda Peet) and her rich dude lover, and they all embark on the world’s most treacherous road trip, running, flying and driving across the road in the hope of making it to safe territory. But there’s just not a lot of that left.

Read the full story, and get your apocalypse fix Friday in theaters.

Flickr/aboutsaffron

Joining a book club has always been too much of a production. All those reading types, agreeing on discussion points they printed out off the internet, drinking red wine and laughing. Who needs them– you’ve always preferred white wine, anyway.

Well, you’re in luck, because for the next six weeks, you don’t need a book club. All you need is a few movie tickets, and you’ll be just as well-read as the next book clubber. Or, close enough anyway. Then come January, make that New Year’s resolution to read more, and you’ll already be four “books” in the black. Here’s what’s in store for you through the end of the year:

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” (Nov. 20). It’s been a whole year since we were able to stare into Robert Pattinson’s dreamy eyes, wishing so badly Edward Cullen were a real person…er, vampire. Whatever. It’s been a year, and we’re ready for more. With this second installment in the “Twilight” series, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) finally steps up to the plate, and in Edward’s absence, he and Bella form the bond that will threaten the vamp throughout the rest of the novels– and surely, the movies as well. Bonus: We get our first real taste of the Volturi, and Dakota Fanning stars as the diabolical Jane. Stephenie Meyer should be pleased.

“The Road” (Nov. 25). With “All the Pretty Horses” and “No Country for Old Men” under his belt, Cormac McCarthy is no stranger to having his novels turned into movies. “The Road” is his most recent book (published in 2006), and its dark, end-of-the-world subject matter is matched by its stream of consciousness writing and lack of character names. The Man and The Boy are our heros, and they spend the story walking down a post-apocalyptic deserted road, always cold and hungry, and always fighting to stay alive. All of this leaves us wondering exactly how the movie will look, but we expect Viggo Mortensen as The Man to act his way to Oscar and make the movie worthy of its Pulitzer Prize winning inspiration.

“The Lovely Bones” (Dec. 11). Alice Sebold first hit best-seller success in 1999 with “Lucky,” a memoir she wrote about being raped in college and how it changed the rest of her life. In 2002, the author followed with “The Lovely Bones,” a novel telling the tale of a murdered girl watching over her family and her killer from heaven. Superstar director Peter Jackson personally purchased the movie-making rights, and has some big names lined up to star, including Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon. We’re most looking forward to Saoirse Ronan’s portrayal of young heroine Susie Salmon though; if you don’t remember Ronan, she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2008 for her role as Keira Knightley’s younger sister in “Atonement.”

“Sherlock Holmes” (Dec. 25). Four novels and 56 short stories may have been enough for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when he was writing about Sherlock Holmes back in the 1880′s, but we’re not going to be happy until we see Robert Downey Jr. portraying Holmes on the big screen. And Jude Law as Watson certainly won’t hurt the cause, either. “Sherlock Holmes” is set to be the big Christmas Day release this year, mainly because its direct competition falls squarely into completely separate categories: “Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakuel” (children); “It’s Complicated” (romantic comedy); and “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (fantasy, and Health Ledger’s final film). “Sherlock Holmes” has the corner on the whole-family-getting-together market, we’re sure.

An epic movie about Islam’s Prophet Muhammad is in the pipeline, backed by a producer of the Lord of the Rings.

American Barrie Osborne, who also produced The Matrix, told Reuters the film would be an “international epic” aimed at “bridging cultures”.

In accordance with Islamic rules, the Prophet cannot be depicted on screen. Images of the Prophet are considered blasphemous by Muslims.

Interestingly, the movie is not mentioned on Osborne’s Imdb page, but a 2010 movie called “Kingdom Come,” a biblical epic focusing on the life of Jesus, is mentioned. Looks to us like Osborne’s new religion is box office dollars.

Twilight-diehards are already counting down the days until the release of “New Moon,” the second installment in the pop vampire series (that’s November 20, in case you have yet to mark your calendar). The soundtrack was released this week though, and we’re not surprised to see so many big names on the album.

True fans also have a strong grasp of Photoshop. (Flickr/Satsukiame|Vampire Diaries Addict|)

1. Death Cab for Cutie, “Meet Me On the Equinox”
2. Band of Skulls, “Friends”
3. Thom Yorke, “Hearing Damage”
4. Lykke Li, “Possibility”
5. The Killers, “A White Demon Love Song”
6. Anya Marina, “Satellite Heart”
7. Muse, “I Belong to You (New Moon Remix)”
8. Bon Iver & St. Vincent, “Rosyln”
9. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Done All Wrong”
10. Hurricane Bells, “Monsters”
11. Sea Wolf, “The Violet Hour”
12. Ok Go, “Shooting the Moon”
13. Grizzly Bear, “Slow Life”
14. Editors, “No Sound But the Wind”
15. Alexandre Desplat, “New Moon (The Meadow)”
16. Lupe Fiasco, “Solar Midnite”
17. The Magic Numbers & Amadou & Mariam, “All I Believe In”
18. APM Orchestra, “Die Fledermaus – Duettino: Ach, Ich Darf Nicht Hin Zu Dir”

It’s available on iTunes for just $14.99, so while you’re reserving your double feature AMC tickets for November 20, may as well spring for the soundtrack, too.

Friday, August 7
A Perfect Getaway
Cold Souls
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Julie & Julia
Paper Heart

Friday, August 14
District 9
Spread
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
The Time Traveler’s Wife

Friday, August 21
Inglourious Basterds
Shorts

Friday, August 28
Big Fan
Halloween II (directed by Rob Zombie)
The Final Destination