When the WGA and SAG strikes hit last year, I figured that the summer film slate of 2024 was going to be the first time that audiences really felt the impact of the shutdown. Many of the films originally slated for this portion of the calendar were either in the middle of or about to start production when the greedy idiots running the major studios decided to kneecap their business for 6 months by refusing to meet the contract terms that each union was eventually going to force them to end up agreeing to anyways.
As this summer's slate has come into focus in recent weeks, I've been pleasantly surprised by the looks of it. While the number of surefire commercial smash hits is lower than the typical May-August slate, there is a level of dynamism present in terms of the genre and scale of the films on the calendar that is sneakily impressive. We've got a pair of films from the Shyamalan family (Trap, The Watchers), a string of new prequels/sequels (Alien: Romulus, A Quiet Place: Day One, Twisters, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) from directors that weren't involved with the original films and some smaller sicko fare (Kinds of Kindness, Longlegs, Cuckoo) that will look to lure out the degenerates who wouldn't be caught dead buying a ticket to Deadpool and Wolverine. Veteran filmmakers (Richard Linklater, Jeff Nichols, Ryusuke Hamaguchi) who lit up the festival circuit last fall will finally get to see their projects receive wide domestic releases and actor-turned-directors (Kevin Costner, John Krasinski, Zoe Kravitz) will be hoping that people connect with the original stories they've helmed. Harmony Korine will take his new experimental action flick AGRRO DR1FT from LA strip club walls to a small number of big screen auditoriums across the United States starting next week. There's even a starry romantic comedy set during the space race that involves NASA hiring a crew to fake the moon landing as a backup plan if their planned mission fails (Fly Me to the Moon). Whether all of this translates to a good slate of movies will be revealed in due time, but it's pretty fucking cool that audiences will get to dig into such a massive cinematic cornucopia if they so choose. Here are the 10 films releasing over the next 4 months that I'm most excited to see.
10.Deadpool and Wolverine (July 26):
Letting a version of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine play around in the Deadpool's over-the-top meta sandbox is appealing enough for me to overlook the serious potential for disaster that exists with an MCU film that completed at least a fair amount of its filming during the writer's strike.
9.Twisters (July 19):
Twister isn't a movie I'm overly fond of nor have any nostalgic feelings towards as I was only 4 years old when it was released. That being said, the presence of Lee Issac Chung (Minari) in the director's chair and a crack team of charismatic young stars (Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Katy O'Brian, Sasha Lane, David Corenswet, Daryl McCormack) playing the storm chasers has me optimistic that this standalone sequel can be a great piece of old-fashioned popcorn entertainment.
8.The Bikeriders (June 21):
Early reviews for this 60's biker gang tale have been terrific, every trailer released dating back to last fall is sick and any excuse to watch Tom Hardy invent a new accent on screen is one that I'll gladly take.
7.Kill (July 4):
The reigning TIFF Midnight Madness Audience Award Runner-Up has earned plenty of attention on the genre festival circuit over the last 8 months for how unique, grounded and brutal its fight choreography is for an Indian action movie. Throw in the fact that all of this carnage takes place in the contained, claustrophobic setting of a moving train and you just might have what ends up being the spiritual successor to The Raid.
6.A Quiet Place: Day One (June 28):
Not even seeing the trailer 6,000 times in theaters since mid-February can damper my excitement for Day One. Putting these sound-sensitive creatures in the packed, noisy setting of New York City should create an entirely new form of tension for this franchise and it'll be really cool to see Lupita Ny'ongo get the all-too-rare opportunity to lead a film.
5.Kinds of Kindness (June 21):
Yorgos Lanthimos reuniting with his longtime writing partner Efthimis Filipou means that the Greek auteur is about to return to his real sicko shit after a brief venture into slightly less weird, cynical waters with his past 2 films. Can't wait to see what kind of deranged madness he cooks up with a fearless group of incredible actors including Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley and Hong Chau at his disposal for this anthology film.
4.Hit Man (May 24 theaters/June 7 streaming):
Speaking of reunions, Richard Linklater and Glen Powell getting back together to make a noir comedy about a nerdy Houston cop whose long run of successful undercover operations posing as a hitman is challenged when he falls for a woman (Adria Arjona) who hires him to kill her husband is an incredible development. It's a real shame that this indie production ended up landing at Netflix after playing to raves on the festival circuit last fall, but that's just the cruel nature of the industry right now unfortunately.
3.MaXXXine (July 5):
An 80's-set whodunit slasher that surrounds returning star Mia Goth with a bunch of weirdo character actors (Kevin Bacon, Bobby Cannavale, Giancarlo Esposito, Michelle Monaghan) playing LA sleazeballs feels like it could be the perfect way for Ti West to end his already excellent X trilogy.
2.The Fall Guy (May 3):
An action romcom that doubles as an ode to stunt performers anchored by two of the most magnetic, naturally funny actors working in Hollywood today serving as the leadoff hitter for the 2024 summer movie season just feels right. All of the enthusiastic reviews from sources that typically don't gush over the works of David Leitch has only further upped my anticipation for it.
1.Bad Boys: Ride or Die (June 7):
Bad Boys for Life proved that Will Smith and Martin Lawrence remain an all-time buddy duo and Belgian-Moroccan duo Adil El Arbi and Billal Fallah possessed the high-octane degenerate swagger required to fill the uniquely depraved shoes of franchise architect Michael Bay. The trailer for Ride or Die indicates that all parties involved are continuing to bring it and I can't wait to see what the end result is at the beginning of June.
Also Plan on Seeing:
The Idea of You (May 2)
I Saw the TV Glow (May 3)
Unfrosted (May 3)
AGGRO DR1FT (May 10)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (May 10)
Babes (May 17)
IF (May 17)
Furiosa (May 24)
I Used to Be Funny (June 7)
The Watchers (June 7)
Inside Out 2 (June 14)
Thelma (June 21)
Trigger Warning (June 21)
Daddio (June 28)
Beverley Hills Cop: Axel F (July 3)
Fly Me to the Moon (July 12)
Longlegs (July 12)
Sing Sing (July 12)
My Spy: The Eternal City (July 18)
Didi (July 26)
Cuckoo (August 2)
Kneecap (August 2)
My Old Ass (August 2)
Borderlands (August 9)
Trap (August 9)
Alien: Romulus (August 16)
Between the Temples (August 23)
Blink Twice (August 23)
The Crow (August 23)
Incoming (August 23)
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