Trailer Blazer: 'Cars,' 'Lady in the Water'

Is the second time the charm? Here are two summer blockbuster hopefuls on their second go-round in the trailer derby:

Cars (June 9) I’m starting to worry about this one. Has Pixar thrown a rod? The second trailer introduces all the major characters and reveals the entire plot — a retread of such stop-and-smell-the-roses films as I Know Where I’m Going, Local Hero, and Doc Hollywood) Ho-hum. That leaves Pixar’s visual inventiveness alone to carry the movie, but in execution, the town populated by anthropomorphic cars reminds me of nothing so much as the goofy, trippy city of anthropomorphic hats on Sid and Marty Krofft’s Lidsville. Maybe the actors can save Cars from turning into Cheeseville; I love George Carlin as a hippie VW Bus, croaking, ”How ’bout some organic fuel?” That could become my catchphrase for the summer. Besides, viewers may need some organic fuel to properly enjoy Cars.

Lady in the Water (July 21) The initial trailer, which called M. Night Shyamalan’s movie ”a bedtime story,” made me want to dismiss this movie as a Shyamalan tale literally watered down for kids. But the new trailer makes it look like his usual large-scale scarefest, loaded with otherworldly creepiness and Big Spiritual Themes. (”Does man deserve to be saved?” one character asks.) Apparently, the mermaid (or ”narf” or whatever she is), played by Bryce Dallas Howard (pictured), has come through Paul Giamatti’s swimming pool drain to warn us of a coming onslaught from her world. At the very least, the clip makes me want to avoid swimming pools for the rest of my life. Thanks a lot, M.