John Horn Associated Press entertainment writer Predictability commands the summer movie season. Like cloned sheep, the season's major films are almost genetically identical to their predecessors and each other. You have to look hard to find anything fresh.
Sequels have sequels.
Playing it safe means familiar stories share equal billing with familiar names. Nicolas Cage, Alicia Silverstone, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia and Patrick Stewart all are in two summer movies apiece. Thankfully, it's not the same two movies. Amid such rehashed product also comes the unpredictable, both in front of and behind the camera. Several first-time directors will make feature debuts during the vacation season, often with more sophisticated movies that don't try to copy whatever genre is hot.