As the United States appears to be closing in on entering the latter stages of the pandemic, kicking around plans for this summer and beyond is a popular trend among Americans right now. People are excited to travel, see friends and family and get back to engaging in hobbies that they weren't able to partake in during COVID. Returning to movie theaters is very close to the top of the list of things I'm excited to do once I'm fully vaccinated and fortunately for me, that magical date where relief and relative freedom is finally achieved happens to land in the middle of summer movie season.
After missing out on a year of huge titles, movie fans are getting treated to a slate so massive that it feels like Hollywood is unleashing two year's worth of carefully aged wine from their vault over the next four months (in a way, they are since the movies slated for release during this period are a combination of delayed 2020 titles and stuff that was originally dated for 2021). With everything from the return of the A24 prestige machine (False Positive, Zola, The Green Knight) to twist maestro M. Night Shyamalan (Old) to some of the biggest blockbuster franchise's on the planet (Black Widow, F9) occupying space on the loaded dance card, the industry is really pulling out all the stops to celebrate audiences returning to cinemas. Here are the 10 movies from this delightfully busy and diverse May-August slate that I'm most excited to watch.
10.Candyman (August 27th):
Nia DeCosta made a hell of a first impression with her riveting 2019 directorial debut Little Woods and I'm excited to see if the strong grasp of building a haunting atmosphere and getting quietly commanding performances out of actors she displayed in that neo-western thriller translates to her modern re-imagining of one of the most influential slasher movies ever made.
9.Space Jam: A New Legacy (July 16th):
Like a lot of people who were born in the late 80's to mid 90's, the original Space Jam was my favorite movie as a kid. I'm hopeful that making a spiritual sequel with some of the biggest basketball stars of today led by LeBron James will be able to invoke the same joyous feelings I experienced out of this generation of youth as well as honor the endearingly goofy yet important legacy that Space Jam has built up over the past 25 years.
8.Wrath of Man (May 7th):
After a 15 year span of not working together, Jason Statham and Guy Ritchie immediately joining forces on another movie -an untitled spy thriller previously known as Five Eyes that recently wrapped filming in Turkey and is expected to release sometime next year-after Wrath of Man is a great sign that their long-awaited reunion didn't result in another Revolver. Plus Ritchie making something that's more in line with the gritty action fare that's driven Statham's career since his initial breakout roles in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch than his usual darkly comedic crime sagas could be super cool.
7.The Forever Purge (July 2nd):
Although I'm concerned that The Purge franchise is going to be bookended by mediocre movies, the groove this series has settled into since switching genres from home invasion to action horror with the initial sequel Anarchy has been so impressive that it would be silly to completely doubt franchise architect James DeMonaco's ability to deliver a satisfying final installment.
6.A Quiet Place Part II (May 28th):
The first film to be taken off the schedule because of COVID (it was originally set to release on March 20th of last year) is ironically the first major film set to be released theatrically this summer. While I'm still not sure that a sequel was necessary given how A Quiet Place ended, there was enough impressive acting and technical filmmaking present in the original to make another go-round in this world appealing.
5.Black Widow (July 9th):
Marvel's return to their big ticket items represents a terrific opportunity for the MCU to atone for the drawn out yet still underdeveloped storytelling and bland action sequences that have plagued their initial Disney+ series offerings.
4.Army of the Dead (May 21st):
Netflix handing Zack Snyder $90 million to make his first original (as well as non-DCU) project since 2011's Sucker Punch feels like an open invitation for the polarizing cult blockbuster filmmaker to go completely fucking wild. If the trailer for this zombie/heist movie hybrid-which features star Dave Bautista lighting up zombies while jumping between game tables in the casino that he and his team of mercenaries are robbing, an undead CGI tiger and fistfights between man and the highly intelligent/athletic zombies that have overrun Las Vegas is any indication, Mr. Snyder has taken full advantage of this opportunity to have unimpeded creative control.
3.F9 (June 25th):
The promise of seeing the Fast and Furious crew head to space on the big screen is what got me through the darkest days of the pandemic and in just under two month's time, I'll finally get to see their historic launch into orbit take place. All good things really do come to those who wait people.
2.The Suicide Squad (August 6th):
Proud oddball James Gunn birthed what remains one of the most off-kilter and uniquely entertaining MCU films in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. Now without the constraints of both the PG-13 rating and having to make something that is required to neatly fit into a broader superhero universe, he'll look to do the same thing for the DCU with The Suicide Squad. Considering the quality of the trailers and talent of the ensemble cast (Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Daniela Melchoir, David Dastmalchian, Sylvester Stallone, Peter Capaldi, Michael Rooker, Alice Braga, Pete Davidson, Nathan Fillion, Flula Borg, Taika Waititi, Storm Reid), I'm bullish on his odds of pulling it off.
1.Those Who Wish Me Dead (May 14th):
Taylor Sheridan has started off his career behind the camera on an unreal heater (Hell or High Water, Wind River, both Sicario films) and with his second directorial effort Those Who Wish Me Dead boasting yet another group of incredible actors (Angelina Jolie, Jon Bernthal, Nicolas Hoult, Aiden Gillen, Tyler Perry, Tory Kittles) and premise that feels like an organic breeding ground for his signature suffocating suspense to build up to unrelenting levels (two assassins in pursuit of a young boy-whose father they just killed in front of him and the fire marshal who provided him with shelter in her lookout tower intentionally start a forest fire with the hopes of drawing out their prey), that absurd winning streak seems like a good bet to continue.
Also Plan on Watching:
Initiation (May 7th)
Monster (May 7th)
Oxygen (May 12th)
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (May 14th)
The Woman in the Window (May 14th)
Blast Beat (May 21st)
The Dry (May 21st)
Riders of Justice (May 21st)
Cruella (May 28th)
Plan B (May 28th)
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (June 4th)
Flashback (June 4th)
Awake (June 9th)
Censor (June 11th)
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (June 16th)
Fatherhood (June 18th)
Luca (June 18th)
False Positive (June 25th)
The Ice Road (June 25th)
Werewolves Within (June 25th)
Zola (June 30th)
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (July 2nd)
The Tomorrow War (July 2nd)
Escape Room 2 (July 16th)
First Date (July 23rd)
Mandibles (July 23rd)
Old (July 23rd)
Snake Eyes (July 23rd)
The Green Knight (July 30th)
Jungle Cruise (July 30th)
The Last Mercenary (July 30th)
Stillwater (July 30th)
John and the Hole (August 6th)
CODA (August 13th)
Don't Breathe 2 (August 13th)
Free Guy (August 13th)
Demonic (August 20th)
The Night House (August 20th)
The Protégé (August 20th)
Reminiscence (August 20th)
Sweet Girl (August 20th)
Beckett (August 27th)
Gunpowder Milkshake (TBD)
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