Guaranteed to be good?

There are a few entertainers who have risen above the rest. Through a combo of innate talent and savvy project picking prowess, these people have come to guarantee first-rate entertainment. Their name in the credits is all it takes for me to fork over my $10. In no particular order: Tom Cruise. Steven Spielberg. Tom Hanks. Denzel Washington. Michael Mann. Jodie Foster (yes, Jodie Foster). Peter Jackson. Perhaps Nick Cage, though that's a little bit of a stretch. The list is not long. But this summer looks like it will wipe a few names off this list.

First MI:3 failed to live up to my expectations - one of the first Cruise movies to disappoint in a while. His record is blemished. And now the critics are tearing the Da Vinci Code apart, a film that I have been looking forward to for a while. Tom Hanks, who in my mind is severely miscast, might take his final bow on the list. Who's next?

This movie-going summer is coming to an abrupt halt before it's begun. The only thing I'm looking forward to is Michael Mann's "Miami Vice", and that's because it reminds me of Collateral. What a sad, sad summer for movies.