BIG PICTURES

• By ADVOCATE STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
• Published: May 8, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Indiana Jones? Check. Batman? Yep. Will Smith? Him too.

There will be no shortage of box-office draws during the 2008 summer movie season, which is so loaded with potential blockbusters that it may surpass last year’s record-setting summer grosses of $4.15 billion, the highest in Hollywood history.

That is no guarantee the movies themselves will be good, of course: Just because they’ve made another Hulk picture doesn’t mean it will be any better. But at least on paper, the 2008 summer movie lineup certainly looks formidable enough.

And it’s kicking off the right way with Iron Man, which is good enough to make it worth putting Grand Theft Auto IV aside for a couple of hours. Here is a list of the many movies heading our way between now and Labor Day. Release dates are subject to change:

May 9

Speed Racer: In their first film since The Matrix Revolutions, directors Larry and Andy Wachowski turn the TV cartoon staple into the first live-action anime film. Emile Hirsch is Speed, Christina Ricci is Trixie, John Goodman is Pops and Matthew Fox is Racer X.

The Fall: Tarsem Singh (The Cell) directs this visually striking fantasy about the tall tales a bedridden man tells a little girl during her stay at a hospital.

The Tracey Fragments: This story tells why a 15-year-old girl is riding out a blizzard in the back of a city bus, naked except for the tattered  curtain she’s wrapped in, and looking for her missing brother. Stars Oscar nominee Ellen Page.

What Happens in Vegas: The morning after a night of drunken partying in Vegas, two strangers (Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher) wake up to discover they’re married to each other and they share a $3 million jackpot. So each tries to make the other file for divorce so they can keep the loot.

May 16

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: The next installment in author C.S. Lewis’ fantasy series about the magical realm of Narnia is set a year after the events of the first film, which translates into 1,300 years in Narnia-time. Once again, the four Pevensie siblings play a key role in helping the denizens of the land fight off evil forces, etc. You know the drill.

Son of Rambow: In the 1980s, two British boys direct a homemade homage to their favorite movie of all time — First Blood — and become local celebrities in the process.

May 22