Judd Karn
Online Editor
Many of the long awaited, pushed back films are finally coming to theaters this Summer.
Dr. Fauci recently claimed we are “out of the full-blown explosive pandemic phase,” one of the many upsides of this return to normalcy is the cinema. For the first time in two years moviegoers are able to experience a normal Summer release of movies. Well the release is not completely normal, many movies that were delayed were pushed back until this Summer, resulting in several blockbuster movies a week this Summer.
With this abundance of movies comes a hard decision to make, many people only go to the movie once or twice a month so they have to choose their movie wisely, so instead of just listing every single movie to come out I am going to be listing my most anticipated movies of the Summer and who they would appeal to.
May 27 – Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise, is the action packed revisit of the 1980s classic Top Gun. Cruise plays ace pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, who has flown for the Navy for 36 years and is now faced with training the new rising stars of the Navy.
The movie, like its predecessor, contains some of the most gut-wrenching scenes of the year filmed with bleeding-edge technology.
If you’re a fan of classic thrill/action movies like the James Bond series or Mission: Impossible, I would not skip this one.
June 10 – Jurassic World Dominion
The third installment of the Jurassic Park revival leaves off right where the Fallen Kingdom left off: Isla Nublar, where the theme park Jurassic World was, was destroyed in a volcanic eruption and because of this the dinosaurs were able to escape into the real world. Now, in Jurassic World Dominion, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), and Dr. Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum) has to deal with the ramifications of the freeing of the dinosaurs.
Like Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion is a great watch for anyone who enjoys thrill movies.
June 17- Lightyear
The Pixar movie Lightyear acts as an origin story for the Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear. It is not in the same universe as the Toy Story franchise but instead covers the character that the toy Buzz Lightyear is based off of. The movie features Chris Evans as Buzz Lightyear and Taika Waititi (director of and voice of Korg, the rock dude, in Thor: Ragnarok) as Mo Morrison.
June 24 – Elvis
The Biopic Elvis, in a similar vein to Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, covers the discovery of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) and the relation he had to his manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The biopic is inherently a must watch for die-hard Presley fans, but for those who can wait the film will be on HBO max 45 days after it is released.
July 8 – Thor: Love and Thunder
The fourth installment of Thor, the first Marvel series to have a fourth installment, is directed by Taika Waititi, who also directed Thor: Ragnarok. The movie revolves around Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) taking over the mantle of Thor. Like Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: Love and Thunder contains a lot more comedy than the typical Marvel movie.
Personally I’ve found Waititi’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be a delightful change of pace; he brings new life into the semi-formulaic film catalog. It’s a must watch for anyone who enjoys Marvel movies. The movie is also slated to come out to Disney+ in September.
July 15 – The Gray Man
Written and Directed by the Russo Brothers (notable for Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame), The Gray Man covers a former CIA operative, Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling), as he breaks out of prison and gets hired as a bounty hunter. At the same time a psychopathic killer is after him and has put a bounty on his head.
I found the Russo Brothers last endeavor, Cherry, as incredibly underwhelming, but that was an original story and this is adapted from a novel by the same name, and the Russos have been (to say the least) pretty good at directing with source material.
The Gray Man releases in theaters on July 15 and comes out to Netflix a week afterwards, July 22.
July 22 – NOPE
NOPE, the Jordan Peele horror film, covers ranch owners as they face abnormal and terrifying events. Unlike Get Out and Us, NOPE contains sci-fi elements. The reason the movie is called NOPE is because it stands for Not of Planet Earth. Not much else is known about NOPE besides that it casts Daniel Kaluuya, Steven Yeun, and Keke Palmer.
August 5 – Secret Headquarters
A superhero movie that is not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the DC Extended Universe, Secret Headquarters is a movie revolving around a kid who finds a secret superhero headquarters under his house. The movie features Owen Wilson (Loki, Cars, The Royal Tenenbaums), Michael Peña (Ant-Man) and Walker Scobell (The Adam Project).
This movie is more of a wildcard, seeing as the directors have not created anything of critical acclaim, nor is it part of a big franchise, but I am hoping that with Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarok and The Mandalorian writer) they are able to make a compelling superhero story that is not just overly similar to a Marvel movie.
Seeing as there is little known about the movie, other than the synopsis, I am not sure if it is going to be directed towards children or to a wider audience, but I really hope it is the latter.
