There are quite a few movies hitting theaters this summer (and the rest of the year, really), that I and many others are excited for. There are even more movies that probably aren’t going to be worth a second thought. I figured I would cull the list of upcoming movies into the ones that I am fairly excited for, or at least have a strong promise to them. Because there are so many movies coming out, I limited this selection to movie releases through June, so expect another one of these in a couple of months.
There are a couple movies you should see still coming out in April; both Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, as well as Pain & Gain starring Mark Wahlberg and The Rock look pretty damn good, and are probably worth the 12 bucks to see.
Iron Man 3 – Iron Man 3 is one of my most anticipated movies of the entire year. The first was amazing, and I really enjoyed the second film as well (I think it actually got a bad rap from a lot of people). Bringing in Shane Black (Writing: Lethal Weapon 1 and 2, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (also directed)) to write and direct definitely caught my attention, and Iron Man 3 is definitely looking to be darker than its predecessors. Iron Man 3 will be out May 3rd.
Aftershock – When Eli Roth isn’t busy looking like Ed Boon, he is one of my favorite writers in Hollywood. His specific brand of horror is one that isn’t seen much on the big screen; and I am really curious what he and the Chilean production crew behind Aftershock put together when trying to depict the events of a society in shambles directly after a massive earthquake. It looks to be gruesome, and somewhat alarming. Aftershock will be in theaters May 10th.
The Great Gatsby – There is not a single argument that can be made against F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as being anything other than one of the greatest books ever written. Seriously, you should read that book, it is considered a classic for a reason. Because of that, the Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle will have quite the reputation to live up to. From production stills and the trailer, it seems to be doing quite a job for itself so far. The Great Gatsby will hit theaters also on May 10th.
Star Trek Into Darkness – Let me just say that I am not the biggest fan of the 2009 reboot Star Trek. It is fine as a film, but as a piece of Star Trek fiction, I found it very lacking. That said, I am really looking forward to Star Trek Into Darkness. The trailers have looked pretty great; and while I still don’t think it looks like a very good piece of fiction in the Star Trek universe, it should be a movie to watch for. Look for it May 17th.
Fast & Furious 6 – After the travesty that is 2 Fast, 2 Furious and the less of a travesty Tokyo Drift, I thought this series was done. Fast & Furious turned it around, it was an incredibly well made, but still kinda bad action movie that was totally awesome. By Fast Five, they were fully headed in the other direction as it was a totally dope movie that I recommended to everyone a couple years ago. Fast & Furious 6 seems to be following in that same path, and I for one will be in the theater opening night, and then be driving home at 120 MPH after the showing. Be ready for it on May 24th.
Epic – I almost don’t want to write about this movie because it is a terrible title, alas, I must. But it turns out that despite the terrible title, Epic actually looks like a pretty damn fine movie! Blue Sky (Ice Ageseries, Robots, an upcoming Peanuts film) is the team developing the movie with founder of Blue Sky, Chris Wedge (Ice Age, Robots) directing. Robots and the original Ice Age are pretty good films, and I hope this one lives up to the reputation. Once again, we have a May 24th release.
The Purge – OK, I will be the first to admit the plot sounds dumb: Government decides that it is better for 364 days of the year for everyone if they allow one day for everyone to just go bat-shit insane and commit any crime they want without repercussions. It looks like Panic Room, but a whole house. Despite the dumb-sounding plot, I am genuinely interested in the movie as the trailer makes the drama look quite…dramatic. This is the last May release, coming in on the 31st.
June
The Internship – Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson have had many opportunities to collaborate on movies after the 2005 hit The Wedding Crashers, but both have rejected the idea because the projects weren’t right. So with them joining back together for The Internship, in which the duo will be going after an internship at Google, many people are anticipating the potential for comedy gold once again. The Internship will be in a theater near you June 7th.
This Is the End – Just watch the trailer. You’ll understand. June 12th.
Man of Steel – The movie that This Is the End is trying to dodge out of the way of, coming June 14th, and it looks great. Once again, a semi-reboot of the film series, this time to fall back in line with the comics, Man of Steel is offering up a pensive Superman, who is in need of answers of who and what he is. As one of the few proponents of Superman Returns, my opinion on Superman movies may not be the best, but I feel this trailer speaks for itself:
Monsters University – I loved the original Monsters Inc. It was a hilarious movie with a great sentimentality about it. That said, from this trailer, Monsters U. doesn’t look quite as good as its predecessor. Even that being the case, I will always give Pixar the benefit of the doubt. I believe they are one of the greatest studios out there (I know! Controversy!), and all of their films hold an appeal to at least one demographic.June 21st is the day to look for this one.
World War Z – I am currently reading through the book (thanks Kindle Lending Library), and I am loving the hell out of it so far. So this movie can either be as good as the book, or it can go the way of I Am Legend a few years back. It may be an overused plot at this point, but I think World War Z can work as a film, and the trailer has done nothing to dissuade me of that thought. Look for it in cinemas June 21st.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a hell of a year for movies, so expect at least another one of these in a short amount of time. I will also be trying to get some reviews out the week of release for some movies this year, so tune in for that, as well. I hope everyone else is looking forward to these and many more movies in the next couple months.
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