ContraCostaTimes on summer movie buzz

From ContraCostaTimes: This summer's movies are not exactly like a box of chocolates. You do know what you're going to get with movies like "X Men: The Last Stand" (May 26) and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (July 7). But there are also plenty of question marks: summer movies that aren't part of a tried-and-true franchise, aren't the sequel to last summer's hit and aren't based on a half-forgotten '60s TV show. The summer 2006 season seems to boast more such pigs in a poke than usual. And that's good, says Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Corp., a box-office tracking firm. "Sometimes it's better not to know," Dergarabedian says. "Sometimes there's this great anticipation, and then the summer underperforms, and people say, 'What went wrong?'" Here are some summer films that are either getting buzz right now or soon may be. All release dates subject to change. ... • "Apocalypto" (Aug. 4): Mel Gibson's epic about the ancient Maya civilization -- in ancient Mayan, naturally. [the rest]