the buzz log

So much for a summer release formula: After two weeks of pairing a comedy with an action flick, Prince Caspian rides alone into this weekend's Buzz Multiplex.

Now that the AIM era (i.e., "After Iron Man") is here, we can take a look at how audiences have digested the summer movie previews. Local newspapers are rolling out their fairweather cinematic guides, and outlets like Rolling Stone have their opinionated round-up at the ready. IGN and Wired get into behind-the-scenes details, while the USA Today aesthetic makes things easier with a calendar that lists MPAA ratings and running time. The New York Daily News and The Wall Street Journal tout independents.

Looking for an angle beyond comic book fun? Twenty years after the testerone cinema of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis, Premiere looks at this season's "unlikely" movie heroes (no women? Thank goodness for Angelina Jolie). Marketwatch's interviews with studio executives provide readers with bigwig insights. For celluloid critical thinkers, Newsweek critic David Ansen writes about happy endings.

Meanwhile the audience has been doing their own reviews via online searches. "Iron Man" tops summer movie lookups of the past 30 days—and yes, that's fair, as it had been the most anticipated film in Search for months. The online lookups for "Speed Racer" might be a tad inflated given its lower debut numbers as noted here. And release dates will influence lookups for lesser known titles. All that said, here are the top 20 movies intriguing potential audiences.