The summer movie season has begun. And it’s hard to imagine “Iron Man 2” will set a poor mood for the movie season, but crazier things have happened. Remember “The Matrix Reloaded”? Robert Downey, Jr. and the all star cast are sure to make us all fall in love again with the big metal superhero, but what about the rest of the summer? The epic battle of “Iron Man 2” sets the stage for the weekend battles to come between competing films.

May 14: Maximus is back from the dead. But his days as a gladiator in Rome are over. I guess he’ll have to settle for taking on the Sheriff of Nottingham in 12th century England. Russell Crowe becomes the liberator of the poor in the new “Robin Hood”, which appears to be a much edgier and more action-packed film about the original hooded hero.

May 21: May the battle of “who cares” begin. On one side, Saturday Night Live’s latest film, “MacGruber” brings Will Forte front and center for this action farce of the original man with a mullet, MacGyver. On the other side, “Shrek Forever After” attempts to recover from its horrific third installment, taking our favorite ogre into an alternate reality where he’s made no impact on the world around him. Get ready for “It’s a Wonderful Life” with more fart jokes.

 May 28: HBO’s leading ladies return in “Sex and the City 2”, but this time the “city” part just went global as the gang embarks on a journey that might provide them with some perspective on life at home. Meanwhile, Disney tries to do the impossible, create a video game adaptation that isn’t terrible. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a Persian prince in “Prince of Persia: Sands of Time”, proving once again just how much Disney cares about racial representation.

June 4: “Get Him to the Greek” marks a curious spin-off to the wildly hysterical “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, bringing back rock god Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) in a new adventure with music studio intern Aaron (Jonah Hill). But “Killers” might just take the weekend with beloved (and sure hated by some) actors Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl trying to make love work amidst spy games — Mr. and Mrs. Smith probably don’t have anything to worry about but Aldous might.

June 11: The battle of ‘80s nostalgia commences as Mr. T takes on Daniel Son at the box office. “The Karate Kid”, this time set in China and starring Jackie Chan and Jaden has the makings for a deal breaker among die hard fans, but don’t plan on “The A-Team” saving the day as they could each go either way. Thinking back on those days with my Mr. T sweatshirt stuffed with muscle pillows, I’m sadly convinced it won’t be good for one reason…“The Losers” was amazing, thus “The A-Team” won’t be — the gods of action have spoken.

July 18: Cowboys step up with Woody in “Toy Story 3” with no other option but to be entertaining (though “How to Train Your Dragon” has this year’s Animated Feature Oscar pinned down) and yet another superhero film, DC Comics “Jonah Hex”, brings a western superhero tale that could be great with Josh Brolin in the lead, or could be terrible with Megan Fox as a prostitute.

June 30: Less than a year later, another “Twilight” flick, “Eclipse”, is ready for the tweens and Twihards to get another peak at Taylor Latner’s abs. With the bleakest of lights, I can at least be curious with the franchise’s latest director David Slade, known for his cinematic brutality in “Hard Candy” and “30 Days of Night”.

July 2: “The Last Airbender” brings to life the stellar kids cartoon that captured the attention of people of all ages with both rich characters and smart storytelling. But a shadow looms over this fantasy adventure as the lead characters of the show have been recast for the movie as what director M. Night Shyamalan refers to as the “neutral” casting of white characters. It’s not shocking, it’s just sad that Paramount Pictures decided to take the “easy” way out with a cultural ly  textured story.

June 9: Filmmakers have finally given the “Alien vs. Predator” films a rest, deciding on a “Predators” instead. But another villain will rule the day, “Despicable Me”, featuring the voice talents of Steve Carell as a supervillain who recently learns he has to be a daddy too. 

June 16: “Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan returns to his roots with his psychological film “Inception”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. What’s it about? Not sure, but it looks amazing and is an easy shoo-in over “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”.

August 6: No competition here, as “The Other Guys” is the only choice. Director Adam McKay (“Anchorman” and “Step Brothers”) returns with his BFF, Will Ferrell and new co-star Mark Wahlberg. A new buddy cop movie to end them all and I’ll be there to see this one unfold.

August 13: What do Sylvester Stalone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Bruce Willis, and…wait for it…Arnold Schwarzenegger have in common? They’re all in “The Expendables”. But if that sounds ludicrous, then try “Shaun of the Dead” director Edgar Wright’s most commercial venture to date, comic book adaptation “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” where our leading man, played by Michael Cera, must defeat his girlfriend’s seven ex-boyfriends in order to win her love. 

Amidst the battles for the weekend, there are always a few surefire failures and some even bigger question marks. The “Step Up” franchise returns with its third installment cleverly titled “Step Up 3D” — I don’t think I need to say anymore. Owen Wilson as the voice of a Great Dane in “Marmaduke”…oh boy. And then there’s Angelina Jolie’s latest action endeavor, “Salt”, where she doesn’t know if she’s a secret spy or not. I remember the first time I saw this film; it was called “Imposter” with Gary Sinise.