HOPE FLOATS Will Smith in Hancock

Hopes are extremely high for tonight's New York City critics screening of Hancock, the Will Smith maybe-blockbuster in which he plays a disaffected, lonely, alcoholic superhero. Hopes are even higher for The Dark Knight, the latest Batman flick—for which each new theatrical preview contains more and more Heath Ledger. (Each preview therefore also becomes more and more frightening; also, the first review is as glowing as you might hope.) This desperation arises because the rest of the summer fare has been distinctly so-so. Speed Racer and The Love Guru were painful bombs. And there's not much else on the horizon.

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