A few months back, I trashed the hell of this summer's movie slate. Outside of a few event films, nothing really stood out to me and I feared that 2017 would end up being yet another thoroughly underwhelming summer for Hollywood. But when I broke down the schedule in-depth in preparation for this piece, I realized that there are actually a ton of potential gems of both the blockbuster and indie variety set for release from May through August. While there is obviously a decent shot that a lot of these titles end up being letdowns, I'm optimistic that this group of films will be able to build upon the surprisingly excellent start to the cinematic year. Here are the 10 films I'm most excited to check out over the next four months.
10.Ingrid Goes West (8/11): If a dark comedy centered around the toxicity of social media that stars Elizabeth Olsen, O' Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell and Aubrey Plaza- who is probably my favorite human being on the planet right now- doesn't end up kicking all sorts of ass, Summer 2017 will go down as a catastrophic failure.
9.King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (5/12): The multiple release date changes are kind of alarming (it was initially set for release last July), but the trailers have been universally excellent and I have faith in Guy Ritchie's ability to put a unique spin on this classic story.
8.Wind River (8/4): After penning the scripts to acclaimed crime dramas Sicario and Hell or High Water in back-to-back years, Taylor Sheridan is finally making his directorial debut with Wind River. There's nothing out about this at the moment outside of some reviews from its premiere at Sundance (which were primarily very positive) in January, but the quality of Sheridan's past two screenplays along with the pairing of Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen in the lead roles is enough to make this my most anticipated indie movie of the summer.
7.Spider-Man: Homecoming (7/7): Every time I get fed up with them and their safe approach to superhero movies, those bastards at Marvel find a way to rope me back in. Tom Holland's portrayal of the friendly neighborhood web-slinger in Captain America: Civil War was so good that I'm now looking forward to seeing the 43,135th Spider-Man reboot that the Marvel overlords have put out in the last 15 years. Those comic book fatcats have me by the balls and I hate it so much.
6.Baby Driver (6/28): Writer/director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) is one of the most inventive filmmakers working today and even though my cynical-ass is having a hard-time buying into the overwhelmingly positive reviews that came out of its premiere at South by Southwest in March, I'm still expecting this music-driven heist film to be another winner for Wright.
5.Baywatch (5/25): Unlike the campy 90's TV series it's based on, the Baywatch movie appears to have a lot more going for it than slow-motion running and David Hasselhoff's trademark overacting. The trailers boast a self-aware tone that is reminiscent of the Jump Street movies and the casting of two of Hollywood's most consistent standout comic performers (Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron) in the lead roles is a stroke of genius. Of course with it being Baywatch, the presence of some alright-looking ladies including Priyanka Chopra, Kelly Rohrbach and Alexandra "Demon Eyes" Daddario in the supporting cast also doesn't hurt.
4.The House (6/30): I'm one of the 12 people that enjoyed Brendan O' Brien and Andrew J. Cohen's first two films (Neighbors and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates), so naturally I'm excited for their latest project. Leads Will Ferrell and Amy Pohler have a strong, established rapport with each other and the unique, hilarious premise (a 40-something couple starts a casino in their basement to help pay for their daughter's college tuition) should give these comedy heavyweights plenty of freedom to run wild.
3.Rough Night (6/16): The redband trailer wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be, but there's so many hilarious people attached to this project (Ilana Glazer, Jillian Bell, Kate McKinnon, Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello) that I still feel like it could end up being the best comedy of the summer, if not the whole year.
2.Atomic Blonde (7/28): The first solo directorial effort from David Leitch (John Wick) has the potential to be a legitimate B-action masterpiece. The cast is loaded with top-end talent (Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Sophia Boutella) that knows how to handle this type of over-the-top material and both trailers that are currently out show off of a lot of cleanly-shot, elaborately-choreographed fight scenes that are reminiscent of Leitch's spectacular 2014 directorial debut. Can not wait for this one.
1.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (5/5): Given Marvel's inconsistent track record with sequels, it wouldn't come as a huge shock if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 ended up underwhelming. However, the prospect of going on another whacked-out journey with Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot is too intriguing for me to not be super excited about this.
Also Interested In:
Chuck (5/5)
Snatched (5/12)
Alien: Covenant (5/19)
Berlin Syndrome (5/26)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (5/26)
War Machine (5/26)
Band-Aid (6/2)
Dean (6/2)
Wonder Woman (6/2)
Beatriz at Dinner (6/9)
The Hero (6/9)
It Comes at Night (6/9)
The Mummy (6/9)
All Eyez on Me (6/16)
The Book of Henry (6/16)
Transformers: The Last Knight (6/21)
The Big Sick (6/23)
Okja (6/28)
The Little Hours (6/30)
A Ghost Story (7/7)
Patti Cake$ (7/7)
To the Bone (7/14)
War for the Planet of the Apes (7/14)
Dunkirk (7/21)
Landline (7/21)
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (7/21)
Brigsby Bear (7/28)
The Dark Tower (8/4)
Detroit (8/4)
The Glass Castle (8/11)
The Only Living Boy in New York (8/11)
The Hitman's Bodyguard (8/18)
Logan Lucky (8/18)
Crown Heights (8/25)
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