Summer begins with the Entertainment Weekly Summer Movie Preview! I've been back to school so the blogging has been slow and this post has been delayed until after finals. Thus, I've already seen Tully and it won't (unnecessarily) appear on my annual list of....Top Ten Movies I'm Most Looking Forward to Seeing this Summer
(1.) Ant-Man and the Wasp (opening: 7/6). Peyton Reed is back. The original was the surprise hit for me of summer 2015 and I sooooooo want lightning to strike twice.
(2.) Solo: A Star Wars Story (opening: 5/25, duh). It's Star Wars! And the trailers look good. And it's Star Wars! Nice to see Lawrence Kasdan in on the writing. And of course cutie Emilia Clarke is in it. Admittedly, I'm jut as worried as everyone about Alden Ehrenreich, so we'll see.
(3.) Action Point (opening: 6/1). I seriously can't wait, I fear there is something wrong with me.
(4.) Mission Impossible: Fallout (opening 7/27). It's been 22 years since Cruise launched this franchise playing Ethan Hunt, which is a long time --wow! I loved Ghost Protocol (2011) but Rogue Nation (2015) did not keep up the momentum and this new movie is from the same director (Christopher McQuarrie, mostly a writer, who has almost exclusively done Tom Cruise movies for the last several years). Has a flashy trailer; seems to have a lot of Paris in it.
(5.) Puzzle (opening: 7/13). Puzzle is by Marc Turtletaub, king of the quirky indie, so there's that plus I love puzzles and there's something Wordplay-esque about the trailer.
(6.) Deadpool 2 (opening: 5/18). I wasn't gaga about the first one but I did like it for its wise-assery and the opening titles alone made it worthy of a thumbs-up. This sequel could go either way, let's hope they didn't screw it up.
(7.) Don't Worry He Won't Get Far on Foot (opening: 7/13). Interestingly, this movie opens on the same day as Puzzle. Well who can say on this one, but Jonah Hill's performance is touted and I like everything he does, Joaquin not so much, but maybe it'll be a much-needed comeback for him. Gus Van Sant has had big critical successes and big critical failures, but at least he has the potential for greatness.
(8.) Ocean's 8 (opening: 6/8). Sure it's a stunt (just like me putting it at #8!), but it seems to have the right ingredients. Another good trailer. Wonder if the "boys" will cameo?
(9.) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (opening: 6/22). Jurassic World was just alright, and I think I'm on board for this sequel mostly based on inertia, but there's Chris Pratt and the return of Goldblum (even if reportedly just in a glorified cameo).
(10.) The Wife (opening: 8/3). Did they consult Woody Allen on the title for nail-on-the-head blandness? Nonetheless, I like Pryce and the critics are already talking up Oscar bridesmaid Glenn Close. I don't recognize the director (from Sweden).
Honorable Mention: Hotel Artemis (opening; 6/8). OK, it's a possible disaster with a good cast, but I have my fingers crossed-- however, I'll want to see what the reviews are like first.
And a few question marks that are on my radar: Under the Silver Lake (opening: 6/22; maybe it's impossible to create a trailer for it; but It Follows was interesting and it's the same director); Skyscraper (opening: 7/13; the Rock in a Towering Inferno dealy, with Neve Campbell still looking pretty cute); Like Father (opening 8/3; with Kelsey Grammer and Kristen Bell as father-daughter).
Note: I haven't seen The Avengers: Infinity Wars, but EW deemed it before the summer movie season (i.e. it came out in April) so I've stuck to that, will be seeing it this weekend though.
