We are nearing the end of April, so it's time to look forward to one of my favorite seasons of the year: Summer movie season.
It used to be that Summer movie season would begin in June. But then it became standard for the big movies to come out in May. Recently, things are pushed all the way to April. But with the COVID fears, studios look like they were holding their powder dry until warmer days, just in case. Since the lockdowns, the box office has not fully recovered, but Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Batman have shown pre-pandemic numbers. So people will come out to the theater if they think they will have a good experience.
One of the problems in the past is that the summer movie season was too crowded and so big-budget movies would sometimes become bombs because bigger movies overshadowed them. This year, it looks like studios are hedging their bets and there are fewer big movies on the horizon and many are given space around their opening dates.
I know as a cinephile I should be more interested in when the "important" movies come out just before the major awards. But I think the movies of summer are pure cinema and tend to be the ones remembered long after people have forgotten the plot of whatever film won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Here is a list, with a few brief thoughts of my own, including on a scale of 1-5 stars my likelihood of seeing it in theaters (1 being “Not at all” 5 being “Cannot wait!”).
MAY 6
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Hot off the heels of Spider-Man: No Way Home, this movie looks like a sequel to that film as well as the WandaVision TV show. I like the fact that Sam Raimi is directing, so I will be curious if this movie will have the flair of the original Spider-Man films. My only trepidation is the inclusion of America Chavez, whose comic book stories have been terrible. But the MCU tends to make them more tolerable, as they did with Kate Bishop in Hawkeye. (*****)
I noped out of this show a long time ago and I didn't see the previous theatrical film (*)
MAY 27
Top Gun: Maverick
Jurassic World: Dominion
The second film in this series was awful and most people know that. But bringing back the originals might just be enough nostalgia-bait to make me interested. The plot (from what I can make out) looks insipidly stupid. But I think I have to see it (****)
JUNE 17
Lightyear
I get the appeal of the minions, but this entire franchise is a little shallow, even for me. I might take my nieces and nephew to see it if they wanted (**)
JULY 9
Thor: Love and Thunder
I'm trepidatious about this one, but because I am still a big fan of the MCU, I am going to give it a shot. Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt still have a lot of good will from me. Interesting to note: Hemsworth is the only the 2nd actor to play the same superhero in 4 of the their own self-titled movies (the first was Christopher Reeve for Superman) (*****)
JULY 15
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
This looks like a lazy version of Karate Kid and Kung Fu Panda. I'm not opposed to fart jokes, but you have to give me a little more to make me interested. (**)
Where the Crawdads Sing
Terrible title and the trailer wasn't very compelling. I get the feeling the movie is going to have a heavy lecture element attached to it.
JULY 22
Nope
Nothing about the trailer looked interesting to me (*)
JULY 29
DC League of Super-Pets
This could be a fun concept. Also Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart have good chemistry. I'll be curious to see if this translates to animation. (***)
Bullet Train
This could be this year's John Wick. I've grown to like Brad Pitt a lot more since Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. Has the potential to be a high-octane, violent adventure. (***)
AUGUST 5
Secret Headquarters
I know as a cinephile I should be more interested in when the "important" movies come out just before the major awards. But I think the movies of summer are pure cinema and tend to be the ones remembered long after people have forgotten the plot of whatever film won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Here is a list, with a few brief thoughts of my own, including on a scale of 1-5 stars my likelihood of seeing it in theaters (1 being “Not at all” 5 being “Cannot wait!”).
MAY 6
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Hot off the heels of Spider-Man: No Way Home, this movie looks like a sequel to that film as well as the WandaVision TV show. I like the fact that Sam Raimi is directing, so I will be curious if this movie will have the flair of the original Spider-Man films. My only trepidation is the inclusion of America Chavez, whose comic book stories have been terrible. But the MCU tends to make them more tolerable, as they did with Kate Bishop in Hawkeye. (*****)
MAY 11
Firestarter
I was not a fan of the first one, primarily because I didn't really understand that it was a horror movie. Blumhouse does a good job of telling a story on a tight budget. It looks okay, but did they really need to tell this story again? (**)
MAY 20
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Firestarter
I was not a fan of the first one, primarily because I didn't really understand that it was a horror movie. Blumhouse does a good job of telling a story on a tight budget. It looks okay, but did they really need to tell this story again? (**)
MAY 20
Downton Abbey: A New Era
I noped out of this show a long time ago and I didn't see the previous theatrical film (*)
MAY 27
Top Gun: Maverick
This might be the movie I am most excited for. The trailers look fantastic. Either they are hiding the CGI very well or they filmed a lot of the jet action in camera. There is something about that sense of reality that makes it a more engaged and visceral experience. (*****)
The Bob's Burgers Movie
I have a friend of mine who swears by this show, but I've never watched a complete episode (*)
JUNE 10
JUNE 10
Jurassic World: Dominion
The second film in this series was awful and most people know that. But bringing back the originals might just be enough nostalgia-bait to make me interested. The plot (from what I can make out) looks insipidly stupid. But I think I have to see it (****)
JUNE 17
Lightyear
After seeing Turning Red, I have soured on PIXAR, especially in their move to use their movies as a primer for children to accept an immoral world-view. It doesn't bother me as much when I see this in content made for teens and adults. But I have a real problem when it is targeted at children. I'm out. (*)
JUNE 24
Elvis
I don't know... I go back and forth on this one. There are moments when I think it could look good. And though I am not a big Elvis fan, I find him and his popularity fascinating. But something about this warns me that it looks a little over-blown: less Bohemian Rhapsody and more Rocketman. I might give it a try (***)
The Black Phone
The trailers are perfectly creepy and set up an interesting film. But my distaste for horror films will keep me away (*)
JULY 1
Minions: The Rise of Gru
JUNE 24
Elvis
I don't know... I go back and forth on this one. There are moments when I think it could look good. And though I am not a big Elvis fan, I find him and his popularity fascinating. But something about this warns me that it looks a little over-blown: less Bohemian Rhapsody and more Rocketman. I might give it a try (***)
The Black Phone
The trailers are perfectly creepy and set up an interesting film. But my distaste for horror films will keep me away (*)
JULY 1
Minions: The Rise of Gru
I get the appeal of the minions, but this entire franchise is a little shallow, even for me. I might take my nieces and nephew to see it if they wanted (**)
JULY 9
Thor: Love and Thunder
I'm trepidatious about this one, but because I am still a big fan of the MCU, I am going to give it a shot. Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt still have a lot of good will from me. Interesting to note: Hemsworth is the only the 2nd actor to play the same superhero in 4 of the their own self-titled movies (the first was Christopher Reeve for Superman) (*****)
JULY 15
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
This looks like a lazy version of Karate Kid and Kung Fu Panda. I'm not opposed to fart jokes, but you have to give me a little more to make me interested. (**)
Where the Crawdads Sing
Terrible title and the trailer wasn't very compelling. I get the feeling the movie is going to have a heavy lecture element attached to it.
JULY 22
Nope
Nothing about the trailer looked interesting to me (*)
JULY 29
DC League of Super-Pets
This could be a fun concept. Also Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart have good chemistry. I'll be curious to see if this translates to animation. (***)
Bullet Train
This could be this year's John Wick. I've grown to like Brad Pitt a lot more since Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. Has the potential to be a high-octane, violent adventure. (***)
AUGUST 5
Secret Headquarters
The concept (a kid finds a superhero secret headquarters underneath his house) is a good one, but I would need to see a lot more to see if it is worth my time (**)
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
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