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!

In my area, spring has disappeared, and summer’s heat and humidity have taken its place. Being a complete indoors type, I’m not particularly thrilled with the changes. However, there is one outdoors arena in which I’m pleased to report a bit of success. OK, only if you don’t count my lack of weeding skills (or more accurately, weeding motivation).

You may remember a blog post from last November – Garden Headaches – in which I detailed my wonderful sister’s efforts in clearing out my front garden and dividing/transplanting hosta and sedum. (Do I have that right, folks? What variety of sedum do I have?) The before shot is above.

Check out what the spring brought! All of the transplants are flourishing, and a couple of the sedums are now almost as large as the two we divided last fall. Amazing!

I added the rock around the downspout, because the rain kept washing away the mulch, which is the same reason I added the border. And while both have helped, mulch continues to wash away. I think it’s going under the border, which I only placed on top of the ground. It probably needs to be installed properly. One of these days.

I smile every time I drive up to my house. It’s looking pretty good, if I do say so myself. Now if I can just get it weeded!

In the backyard, I actually started my container gardening. Yes, I actually did it. In Neophyte Gardener, I wrote about my intention of starting a container garden. I am proud to report that I am now the owner of three containers holding a Brandywine tomato plant, a red pepper plant, basil and oregano. The tomato plant has buds on it, so I am eagerly awaiting fruit. My mouth’s already watering.

The basil and oregano have yet to be used, and I’m struggling with ways to cook with both herbs. Once the peppers and tomatoes start arriving, though, that probably will no longer be an issue. I love tomatoes with oregano and mozzarella cheese. Yum!

So there you have it, and I promise I’ll keep you updated on my gardening adventures. I feel like a gardener; am I?

While studios brought out a lot of the big names in today’s movies last month, June isn’t going to be an empty month.

May brought Star Trek (excellent; I added the poster above just because the movie and the poster are so awesome!), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (so-so), Angels & Demons (so-so), and Termination Salvation (a bit of a disappointment) to the big screens, and June has one or two tricks up its sleeve as well. So here goes:

My Life in Ruins: Nia Vardalos returns to the big screen as a hapless tour guide looking for her dream job, her kefi (Greek for “mojo”) and her true love. The beauty of her native Greece creates the perfect backdrop for the tourists to find an exotic land and for Georgia (Vardalos) to find herself. I enjoyed Vardalos’ My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and I hope she has a hit here as well. Rated PG-13, My Life in Ruins opens June 5.

The Taking of Pelham 123: This action flick (a remake of a 1974 film starring Walter Mathau; and a TV version was produced in 1998) stars Denzel Washington as the NYC subway dispatcher caught in a hostage situation masterminded by John Travolta. The trailers for this film look great, and it will probably be worth it just to see Travolta as another bad guy. Rated R (violence and language), The Taking of Pelham 123 opens June 12.

Moon: On the far side of the moon, miner/astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is nearing the end of his three-year stint at mining Helium 3, a resource helping Earth fight its energy crisis. Alone except for a talking computer, Sam finds himself in trouble with no one to turn to. Science fiction is my favorite genre, so this caught my attention, and Rockwell is usually great to watch. I’m hearing some rumblings of a disjointed storyline, though, so I’m not sure Moon will remain on my to-see list. Rated R (language), Moon opens in limited release June 12.

The Proposal: About time Sandra Bullock had another hit, and she’s usually terrific in romantic comedies. In The Proposal, she’s a hard-headed and hard-hearted executive who finds herself threatened with deportation. She pounces on a solution that involves her unfortunate assistant (Ryan Reynolds) and a wedding. The trailers look funny, and while the plot sounds more than a mite preposterous, it might be worth a trip to the theater just to laugh. Rated PG-13, The Proposal opens June 19.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: OK, I have confession to make. While I liked the first Transformers movie, I have no clue as to who or what a Transformer really is, and I can’t identify a Transformer, in whatever form it might be in at any given moment. I did enjoy the action of the first film, and this one promises more of the same. I like Shia LaBeouf and Josh Duhamel, special effects and great fight scenes, so I’m in. Oh, you want a plot? Well, it appears Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) has discovered the truth of the Transformers’ origins, and a second epic battle ensues to save the planet and the universe. Rated PG-13, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opens June 24.

My Sister’s Keeper: Don’t forget the tissues, as this one promises to be a tearjerker. Based on Jodi Picoult’s novel of the same name, My Sister’s Keeper follows young Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin) as she seeks emancipation from her parents and the role she’s played since birth – the hope of her terminally ill sister. Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric take on the roles of Anna’s conflicted parents, and Sofia Vassilieva (from TV’s Medium) portrays the sister. I know people who scoop up Picoult’s books, so this might be worth a look. Do you suppose I’ll need an entire tissue box? Rated PG-13, My Sister’s Keeper opens June 26.

Three other movies caught my attention. The stop-action claymation $9.99 opens June 19, and two others open in limited release: The Hurt Locker and Surveillance.

$9.99 focuses on the meaning of life with the voices of Geoffrey Rush and Anthony LaPaglia leading the way.

The Hurt Locker is set in Iraq amid the chaos facing an elite American Army bomb squad with only a few weeks before they ship home. Rated R, The Hurt Locker opens in limited release June 26.  

Surveillance (rated R) also opens in limited release June 26, and then its DVD release is set for August 18. A cop drama, starring Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond, Surveillance tracks a serial killer as three possible victims tell the FBI agents (Pullman and Ormond) very different stories.

So there you go. Movies to while away the summer. Oh, and before I forget: July 1 brings Public Enemies to the big screen. Starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent who tracked him down, and Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover, Public Enemies looks to be one of those movies that will knock your socks off – I’ll be at the theater, what about you?