Sneak preview: What's next for Ben Affleck, Woody Allen and Johnny Depp

June 12, 9:44 AMLA Movie ExaminerJim Luksic

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It's been a considerable year for Ben Affleck. (AP)

During a movie season when an animated floating house (look Up) and the wildly overpraised The Hangover have dominated, it's time to think ahead.

By my count, four promising movies -- one of which (Moon) opens this weekend -- are on the horizon. A pair of pending comedies, Extract! and Whatever Works, appear light years ahead of recent releases already fading into history: Land of the Lost and the aptly titled My Life in Ruins.

With the exception of Public Enemies, this bunch has been buzzing under the radar, which makes 'em all the more tantalizing:

Moon launches today -- and not a moment too soon, given its intriguing 2001: A Space Odyssey essence. Duncan Jones' austere thriller sends Sam Rockwell on a 3-year lunar mission, replete with a Hal-like machine; our astronaut is on the verge of returning home when bizarre circumstances suddenly gum up the works. The movie's trailer conveyed a spare, suspenseful feel that suggests a cool respite from the likes of Star Trek.

Meanwhile, Extract! marks a return to 9-to-5 form by Office Space creator Mike Judge. The comedy reunites Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck, on-screen adversaries just two months ago in State of Play.

If you haven't seen the Extract! trailer, it's worthwhile for this exchange: When Bateman's character, the beleaguered owner of an extract plant, mentions his new employee (comely Mila Kunis) is a temp, Affleck replies, "A tramp?" Although I've never cared for the man, this year Affleck has chosen three plum supporting roles (He's Just Not That into You rounds out his trifecta) and nailed them.

Extract! also brings aboard two national treasures, ubiquitous J.K. Simmons (Burn After Reading, Juno, New in Town) and Kristen Wiig from this year's Adventureland.

Another common-man comedy, Whatever Works, is Woody Allen's latest concoction, with Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) embodying the filmmaker's on-screen persona (a la Kenneth Branagh in Celebrity). David portrays a half-suicidal physicist, complemented by Evan Rachel Wood as a teenage runaway: Their characters couldn't be more opposite, a typical premise from the Wood shed.

Last but most -- at least in my book -- is Public Enemies, which can't arrive soon enough to supply the cineplex with gravitas or serious ammunition, if you will. Regular readers of this column know I've been banging the drum for Michael Mann's true-crime chronicle, which boasts Johnny Depp shooting up a storm as John Dillinger.

After it outguns its box-office rivals in July, I would expect to see this headline: Public Enemies number 1.