Summer blockbuster season is upon us as well as some great arthouse films too. This year promises one of the best seasons yet. To get us ready, I’ve chosen 15 of the most exciting releases of the summer for you to mark your calendars for this year, from planet-takeover apes and brave storm chasers to animated teen feelings and more superheroes. Although there are many sequels this year, I still find it exciting that these stories are taking us to even more places. Let’s check them out...
The Fall Guy - May 3rd
The Summer begins with The Fall Guy, an action comedy film based on the 1980s TV series about stunt performers. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. Gosling plays Colt Seavers, a past-his-prime stunt man, who finds himself working on a film set with Tom Ryder, a famous actor for whom he had doubled long ago. When Tom goes missing and the film, which is being directed by Jody Moreno (Blunt), Colt's ex-girlfriend in her directing debut, is in danger of being shut down, Colt volunteers to find Tom and save Jody's debut film. The trailer has laughs and thrills that are sure to set the bar for summer action films. And who doesn’t like Gosling and Blunt?
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - May 10
It’s been 300 years since the events of War for the Planet of the Apes. In Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, apes have flourished, while the remaining humans have regressed into a primitive, nonverbal state. A powerful ape king has corrupted Caesar’s teachings, enslaving other ape clans and hunting down humans, and a chimp hunter named Noa (Owen Teague) teams up with a human girl named Mae (Freya Allan) to try and save both of their kinds from destroying each other. Even though I appreciate the visual effects, I still miss the ape suits and make-up of the original films.
Back to Black - May 17th
Back to Black is the highly anticipated biographical drama film based on the life of British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, played by Marisa Abela. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. Following the death of Winehouse in 2011, several filmmakers attempted to create biopic projects but none of them progressed. In 2018, Winehouse's estate announced they had signed a deal for a film about her life and career. This is that film.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - May 24
This is George Miller’s next installment of his Mad Max universe. Miller’s Fury Road prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is finally hitting theaters after what was probably another long, exhausting shoot in the middle of the desert. The film is set before Fury Road right when the world is tipping into chaos. It stars Anya Taylor-Joy as young Furiosa, stolen from her green homeland and indoctrinated into a biker horde led by a warlord fighting for dominance over the land. While the two would-be kings fight it out, Furiosa plots her return to home.
The Watchers - June 14
The Watchers is very exciting because it is written and directed by newcomer, M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan. The film stars Dakota Fanning. In the film, 28-year-old artist Mina gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. Upon finding shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night. This is sure to be a test to see if horror and suspense runs in the Shyamalan family.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die - June 14
I am mostly excited for this next installment. The world, including myself, can’t help but love Will Smith especially when it's with Martin Lawrence. The third film, Bad Boys for Life, turned out to be a big hit in its opening weekend. The Miami Police is the epicenter of corruption, the late police chief Captain Howard is blamed for secretly being involved with a number of drug cartels. When Smith and Lawrence try to find out what’s really going on, they’re cut loose in a sudden setup, forcing them to become fugitives.
Inside Out 2 - June 14
Let me start by saying how I have loved every single Pixar film. It’s time to go back into the mind of young Riley Andersen, in Inside Out 2. In this sequel, Riley is a teenager, in a formative transitional period of life that comes with all kinds of new stuff, including an army of new emotions. The control center run by Amy Poehler’s Joy and her friends is suddenly inundated with feelings they’ve never felt or even heard of before — Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment — that each threaten to take over Riley’s teenage mind if they don’t all learn how to work together.
The Bikeriders - June 21
Jeff Nichols’ new drama combines generational family sagas and biker gangs. The Bikeriders unfolds over the course of a decade, told from the eyes of each of the members and their growing families while a violent organized crime group threatens the safety of everyone involved. Michael Shannon, a regular in Nichols’ films, stars with Austin Butler and Tom Hardy.
Kinds of Kindness - June 21
Kinds of Kindness is an upcoming film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things). The films stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Schafer. Kinds of Kindness is a fable with segments following a man without choice who tries to take control of his life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing at sea has returned and seems to be a different person; and a woman who is determined to find a specific someone destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader. Lanthimos not only directed Poor Things, but also The Lobster, The Killing of the Sacred Deer and The Favourite also starring Stone.
A Quiet Place: Day One - June 28
The film’s tagline states: Hear How It All Began. All we know about A Quiet Place: Day One is that this one is set on the day the aliens with supersonic hearing invaded our planet and ended the world. Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn star as refugees from the extraterrestrial threat, along with Alex Wolff and Djimon Hounsou, reprising his role from A Quiet Place Part 2 — which might mean we’ll finally get the backstory of that mysterious island sanctuary.
MaxXxine - July 5
Mia Goth is back as Maxine Minx, sole survivor of the adult film shoot gone wrong at a farmhouse in the middle of the Texas wilderness. Now her journey takes her to 1985 Los Angeles to pursue her dreams. Ti West directs this third installment following X and Pearl.
Twisters - July 19
It was just a matter of time until Hollywood thought, what is worse than one Twister? Multiple Twisters! Twisters stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell as today’s generation of storm chasers, piling themselves and their meteorological equipment into trucks and careening off in search of the big one. I was blown away by the original’s visual effects so technology 30 years later is sure to show even more exciting thrills.
Deadpool & Wolverine - July 19
Deadpool & Wolverine not only brings together two of the most iconic Marvel superhero characters but ushers them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time. It’s also the only Marvel movie coming out this year. Ryan Reynolds teams Deadpool up with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to go on a mission; they’ll change the past and the future of the MCU forever. This is comic book movie history and who doesn’t like a good, big-budget MCU movie?
Alien: Romulus - August 16
Set between the events of Alien and its sequel Aliens, Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus, takes place onboard a derelict space station scavenged by a crew of desperate young colonists, which is also naturally home to some new and terrifying form of xenomorph. Even though Ridley Scott is not returning to directing, he serves as producer of what is sure to be an exciting scary ride.
Late Minute Summer Watch
The Crow - August 23rd
Bill Skarsgard stars in this retelling of The Crow. A superhero film directed by Rupert Sanders from a screenplay by Zach Baylin and Will Schneider, based on the 1989 limited comic book series of the same name by James O'Barr. It will be the fifth installment in The Crow film series, serving as its reboot and the remake of the 1994 film of the same name.
You can see all of these films in your local theaters including The Cameo Art House Theatre, Omni Cinema and AMCs.