From my list of July movies, it looks like I’ll be spending a lot of time at the theater. And considering the current heat and humidity, I doubt if I complain much.

So many movies, so little time! Here’s my list for July:

Public Enemies : Living large was what John Dillinger did best – oh, and rob banks. Johnny Depp portrays the nation’s first Public Enemy No. 1 in this Michael Mann helmed film. During the Great Depression, the recently created Bureau of Investigation turned its efforts, lead by top agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), on apprehending the charming and daring bank robber. The film also stars Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff and Stephen Lang. Rated R, Public Enemies opens July 1.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs : The franchise’s third film, Dawn finds Manny and Ellie (the mammoths voiced by Ray Romano and Queen Latifah), along with Diego the Saber-Toothed Tiger (Denis Leary), Scrat and the rest of the gang, heading underground to help Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo). Faced with dinosaurs and more, the gang also must fend off the new bad guy – Buck (Simon Pegg), a dinosaur-hunting weasel. Rated PG, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs opens July 1.

I Hate Valentine’s Day : Reuniting Nia Vardalos and John Corbett (after their success with My Big Fat Greek Wedding) might be just what the doctor ordered. If, that is, this lightweight romance works. Genevieve (Vardalos) won’t take a relationship (if one can call it that) past five dates, until she meets the new restaurant owner in the neighborhood (Corbett). Vardalos pulls off a hat trick with this one: she also wrote the story and screenplay, and she directs. Too much for one person? We’ll see. Rated PG-13, I Hate Valentine’s Day opens in limited release July 3.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince : Following the young wizards into their sixth year at Hogwarts, Half-Blood Prince is the darkest (so far) of the J.K. Rowling’s series. The Death Eaters take their fight through the magical world into the world of Muggles as Dumbledore attempts to prepare Harry for the final battle against Lord Voldemort. Oh, and love is in the air as Hogwarts becomes a romantic battleground. Jim Broadbent and Helen McCrory join the cast. Rated PG, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens July 15. 

(500) Days of Summer : More than a love story, Days follows forever-romantic Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he pursues the cynical Summer (Zoey Deschanel) in a roller coaster ride of life and love. For me, this looks to be a great quirky romance with laughter and tears overlaying a well-written, well-acted, independent film. Hopefully. Rated PG-13, (500) Days of Summer opens in limited release July 17.

The Ugly Truth : On the opposite end of the moviemaking spectrum from (500) Days of Summer, The Ugly Truth stars Katherine Heigl as a television producer forced to deal with a difficult show host (Gerard Butler), who attempts to help her with her romantic pursuits. We all know how this will go (and end), but it might be a fun ride. Besides, Gerard Butler! I swear, I’d watch the man read the phone book. Rated R, The Ugly Truth opens July 24.

The Answer Man : Another romance, The Answer Man throws a dash of spirituality into the mix. Arlen Faber (Jeff Daniels) wrote the defining book on spirituality 20 years ago. His reclusive life suddenly collides with single mom Elizabeth (Lauren Graham) and Kris (Taylor Pucci), a young man just out of rehab. Everyone wants Arlen to have all the answers to life, but he’s a clueless as everyone else. Rated R, The Answer Man opens July 24.

Adam : In another quirky indie release, we meet Adam (Hugh Dancy) after his father has passed away. Beth (Rose Byrne) moves into the same apartment building, and a friendship ensues, despite Adam’s awkward behavior. Is it possible for Adam, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, and Beth, with her past relationship baggage, to make a go of it? Stay tuned. Also starring Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving and Mark Linn-Baker, Adam is rated PG-13 and opens in limited release July 29.

Funny People : While Adam Sandler is not one of my favorite actors, he’s captured my attention in the trailers for this film. When diagnosed with a terminal illness, funny man George Simmons (Sandler) takes a newcomer (Seth Rogen) under his wing as his opening act. Directed by Judd Apatow, the film also stars Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman, RZA, Jonah Hill and Aubrey Plaza. Rated R, Funny People opens July 31.

July’s a busy month for moviegoers. Any other films on your radar? I’m a bit behind on my June watching too, so see ya at the movies!

Recent trips to the movies garnered a few new trailers to look forward to. I mentioned a few of the last few movies I’ve seen in my last post: Bolt, Australia and Seven Pounds. Since Thanksgiving, I’ve also seen Transporter 3 (good fight scenes and Jason Statham), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (and I forgot to write down the trailers before Button – darn!). Button was excellent, although a mite long. It’s a quiet study of a man living his life as best he can in unusual and stressful circumstances. Brad Pitt is excellent as Benjamin, and Cate Blanchett as his one true love. If nothing else, see it for the special makeup effects; it’s pretty amazing what they can do these days.

Here are a few of the January releases that I’m looking forward to.

Defiance : A World War II tale, based on a true story, of three brothers saving other Jews from the Holocaust. Starring Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell, this film has my historical side more than a little curious and interested. Opens January 16.

Inkheart : Anything starring Brendan Fraser is worth a look, in my opinion, and Inkheart has the added advantage of being a fantasy about books. Bookworms, unite! Opens January 23.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans : OK, I confess, I liked the first Underworld (Underworld: Evolution, not so much). Rise of the Lycans takes the franchise back to the beginning, to when the war between vampires and werewolves began and the love story of Lucian (Michael Sheen) and Sonja (Rhona Mitra) takes place. Opens January 23.

Taken : Looks interesting and Liam Neeson is always good. I read about this just yesterday, as I was researching the movies on the way in 2009, and then I saw a trailer on television last night. Excellent timing, I’d say. It seems this movie was released quite a while ago in Europe and Asia; so, no spoilers, please! Opens January 30.

New in Town : Hopefully, this romantic comedy will be a win for Renee Zellwegger. It co-stars Harry Connick Jr. and Nathan Fillion as the romantic interests, and features a lot of Minnesota snow (at least in the trailers). Opens January 30.

A few of the interesting trailers I’ve noted include Last Chance Harvey with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson (opens January 16), The Ugly Truth with Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler (opens April 3), The International with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts opens February 13, and, drumroll please, Star Trek! I may barely survive until the J.J. Abrams’ helmed Star Trek arrives in theaters May 8.

By the way, these official movie sites are awesome!

These days, I’ve found an excellent way to keep track of current and upcoming movies: blogs. I visit, daily, The Movie Blog, critic Roger Ebert’s review page and blog and Cinematical. For what’s to be released down the road, I like to visit Internet Movie Database, Yahoo! Movies, Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. Any other suggestions?

So what do you think of these films, folks? And what do you say I make this a regular feature? Every month I’ll list the movies I’m looking forward to in the next few weeks, and then I’ll review one or two of them. I’d love to hear what you think of the movies I didn’t get to see; love those comments!

See ya at the movies!