What the hell do I do for the next three weeks???
{A suggestion of other movies to see in May}

So, if you are like me, and let us hope that is too much, you've been counting the minutes until The Matrix Reloaded comes out. With the sudden burst of ubiquitous trailers on TV and internet, my normal glee has transformed into the head-nodding eagerness of the typical brainwashed consumer (I have purchased every magazine I've seen that sports a Matrix theme).

Unfortunately, the biggest tragedy in my single-minded rampage toward Zion is X-Men 2, whose thunder seems to have been overshadowed by the fervor generated by Neo and his crew. I haven't heard hardly any fellow cinema patrons crow about how they are dying to see Wolverine, Cyclops, Magneto, or even the addition of Nightcrawler (whose effects in the latest trailer are wicked cool).

When X-Men (the first -- I refuse to say "X-Men 1") debuted, I was on my way up to Philly to see some friends and relatives, and I stopped in a theater on the way at 1pm so I could see it the day it came out. I'm a big fan of the comics, and a collector for as many years as I can remember (my collection rate has trailed off over the years, but I still have 500 or so stowed up in a locker at my parents house). That dedicated zeal has been aligned to another movie this year, and I wish X-Men 2 would be coming out sometime after Matrix Reloaded (but not too close to Matrix Revolutions -- due out in November!!!) so I could have something else to look forward to after I've seen Morpheus and the Twins ten times in the theater. This is not to say I'm not going to go see X-Men 2 less than three times, I'm sure, but in the back of my mind, I'll be pining for Trinity.

The other day I was remarking to my roommate, "I wonder what romantic comedies will be coming out in May to vie for the demographic that won't be in line for Reloaded or X-Men 2?" If I were a marketer, I'd surely salivate when I saw the movies released in May 2003 -- blockbuster, action, geek bonanza of a lifetime. More to the point, what else CAN one see when the Matrix 2 is sold out?

My natural segue processes turned to next summer. What will I be looking forward to THEN? The Matrix series will be done, Lord of the Rings will have spent its load, and Star Wars Episode III ("This time it's personal!!") won't be out until May of 2005. I thought about Ewan McGregor, a favorite actor of mine (not because of his proclivity to bare his pee pee, mind you) who hasn't been seen since Moulin Rouge. Then I remembered: Ewan and Renee Zellweger are starring in a romantic comedy remake of "Pillow Talk", called Down With Love, which judging by the trailer could be that $100 million romantic comedy 'sleeper'. I've been wanting to see Mr. McGregor in a romantic lead for some time, and this movie looks to have just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek sass, wit, and charm to make me want to see it before I've seen Matrix Reloaded twice (and that, believe me, is saying a lot).

Right now it's scheduled for either May 3rd or the 16th for release, depending on where you look (I suspect the 16th, for lack of TV trailers and hype). Obi-wan and romantic comedy; enough for the perfect (if there is one) date movie.