The summer season of cinema is almost upon us. This is the year of the three-quel, as four highly-popular franchises are going for the cinematic hat trick while two are pushing their fourth and fifth films. But don’t count out the non-sequels, including a heartfelt comedy from a familiar motley crew of funny men and women.

May

This year the whole sha-bang-a-bang starts on May 4, right at the end of NMU’s finals week with the release of “Spider-Man 3.” Director Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco all return for what is rumored to be the final installment in this run of the “Spider-Man” films. Fans will be delighted at the inclusion of the ever- popular Venom played by Topher Grace (“That 70’s Show”), alongside Thomas Hayden Church (“Sideways”) as Sandman, and Franco’s Harry Osborne exploring the depths of the new goblin.

Later in the month, another trilogy wraps up with “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” The final installment sees Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightly) seeking the help of Captains Barbossa and Sao Feng (Geoffrey Rush and Chow Yun-Fat, respectively) to resurrect the recently departed Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). This promises to tie up the loose ends left by the cliff-hanger ending of last years’ “Dead Man’s Chest,” yet keep up with the swashbuckling action we’ve come to expect from the epic franchise.

June

In June, we get “Knocked Up,” another raunchy but heartfelt comedy from Judd Apatow, the man behind “The 40 Year Old Virgin.” Young slacker Ben Stone (Seth Rogan, “The 40 Year Old Virgin”) goes out for a night on the town with his friends and ends up having a one night stand with Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl, “Grey’s Anatomy”) that results in a completely unplanned pregnancy. But rather than neglect the issue, Scott and Stone decide to forge a relationship and keep the baby, with the support of their family and friends, including Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (both also from “The 40 Year Old Virgin”). It looks to follow in its predecessor’s footsteps by having just the right mix of heart and comedy.

July

After almost 20 years on TV (with no signs of stopping soon), “The Simpsons” finally hit the big screen this July with “The Simpsons Movie.” Little is known about the plot details, as series producers and creators Matt Groening and James L. Brooks have kept a tight lid on the project. But suffice it to say we can expect the animated clan and their ever-growing cast of supporting characters to get into an epic predicament that for some reason only Homer can get them out of, despite being the likely cause of said predicament. This will likely be the animated feature to beat this summer.

August

Matt Damon returns for the second “Bourne” sequel in “The Bourne Ultimatum.” Jason Bourne (Damon) is trying to piece together the final pieces of his mysterious past, while the CIA is hot on his heels to bring him in after a shoot out in Moscow. The “Bourne” series reinvented the spy genre, with both “Mission: Impossible” and “James Bond” taking a cue and trading high tech gadgets for brains and brawn in their most recent installments. It’s the thinking man’s action film. It’ll be a fitting swan song for the amnesiac spy, and a perfect way for Damon to move on with his stellar career.

Summers are always jam packed with worthwhile and entertaining flicks, and there is something every week worth checking out. This summer is going to be a huge in the world of cinema and I don’t know about you, but I’m waiting to be a part of it.