The first half of summer 2016 is officially over and on the whole, it greatly exceeded my expectations with a number of very pleasant surprises (Central Intelligence, Now You See Me 2) and truly brilliant films (The Nice Guys, Popstar). The final two months of the season have the potential to be even better with a loaded slate that features intriguing blockbusters, indie films and oft-kilter, mid-budget fare. Here are the 10 films I'm most excited to see for the rest of July and August.
10.The Infiltrator (7/13):
Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston making his poetic return to the drug-driven crime drama genre has the potential to be a prime piece of gritty, smart counterprogramming to the blockbusters currently flooding the marketplace.
9.Don't Breathe (8/26)
I loathed Fede Alvarez's 2013 remake of Evil Dead, but Don't Breathe looks like such an intense and welcome departure from the supernatural horror films that have dominated the genre's landscape over the past several years that I'm willing to give his work another shot.
8.Cafe Society (7/15)
Cafe Society sees Woody Allen returning to the world of period comedies (this film is set in the 1930's) after last year's ambitious, but ultimately failed experiment with modern drama in Irrational Man. The cast is one of the most stacked Allen has ever assembled (Jeese Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, Steve Carrell, Corey Stoll) and the vibe from the trailer implies that Allen is in full quirky, romance mode here, which is never a bad think for fans of his work
7.Don't Think Twice (7/22)
Stand-up comedian Mike Birbiglia tackles the fascinating, ultra-competitive and often underappreciated world of comedy improv groups in his second directorial feature. With Birbiglia's notoriously smart writing and a cast led by Keegan-Michael Key, Community's Gillian Jacobs and Birbiglia himself, Don't Think Twice could end up being the brightest, under-the-radar indie gem of this summer.
6.Ghostbusters (7/15)
I've soured a bit on this widely-scorned reboot of the iconic 1984 comedy in recent weeks after seeing a bunch of weak commercials and the horrific new trailer that was attached to Finding Dory. That being said, I still have enough faith that this cast and writer/director Paul Feig can deliver a quality comedy to be pretty damn excited to see the finished product.
5.Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (out now)
This is clearly cheating a bit since this was released on Thursday night, but I'm including it anyways since I've been highly anticipating it for a while now. The past couple of months have been excellent for R-rated comedies and with four gifted comedic actors in Adam DeVine, Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza leading the charge and an excellent premise rife with comedic potential, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is in prime position to extend summer 2016's hot streak.
4.Star Trek Beyond (7/22)
There are plenty of question marks surrounding the third installment of the rebooted Star Trek franchise (can Justin Lin keep the spirit of this series that J.J Abrams started alive, are the underwhelming trailers indicative of the film's quality or merely just bad advertising, will the various subplots surrounding the Enterprise crew and the villains that split them apart lead to a convoluted story, etc). However, the quality of the first two films in the franchise and the addition of Idris Elba to the film's strong returning cast is enough for me to overlook the potential red flags and still get really excited for this film.
3.War Dogs (8/19)
Jonah Hill, Miles Teller and director Todd Phillips are looking to spice up the dog days of summer with a fact-based dark comedy about two 20-something arms dealers (Hill and Teller) who land a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm U.S. allies in Afghanistan. The amount of talent on board with this project is staggering and if it's executed properly, this could very well end up being one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences of the year.
2.Sausage Party (8/12)
Seth Rogen and co.+R-rated animated film=Guaranteed over-the-top vulgar insanity that I can't wait to experience.
1.Suicide Squad (8/5)
I've written extensively over the past few months about my overwhelming excitement for David Ayer's villain-focused superhero film Suicide Squad. All I can do now is sit back and pray that the actual film delivers the chaos and excitement the trailers have offered up in droves.
Showing posts with label 10 most anticipated films of summer 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10 most anticipated films of summer 2016. Show all posts
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
10 Most Anticipated Films of Summer 2016
After a long and mostly uneventful winter and spring, the magic of summer movie season is finally upon us. The 2016 summer movie slate-which officially starts on May 6th with the release of Captain America: Civil War-doesn't feature an abundance of intriguing titles, but there's still a fair amount of titles on the docket that I'm highly anticipating. Regardless of the relatively low quantity of titles I'm looking forward to, I'm just hoping that this summer won't offer up as many monumental letdowns as 2015 did. Without further ado, here are the 10 films I'm most excited to see this summer.
10.Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (7/8): The trailer that came out in February wasn't that funny, but the comedic talent of its four leads (Adam DeVine, Zac Efron, Aubrey Plaza, Anna Kendrick) paired with the overwhelmingly positive reception from its screening at last month's South by Southwest Festival in Austin gives me faith that this could be a rock solid R-rated comedy.
9.The Nice Guys (5/20): Shane Black's first original film since 2005's Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is one of only a dozen or so non-blockbusters set for wide release over the next four months. The pairing of two vastly different yet well-matched leads in Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling is very appealing and the film appears to have the zany, darkly comic vibe that has made Black's previous projects a ton of fun.
8.Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (5/20): The first Neighbors was one of the funniest movies of 2014 and the sequel is in prime position to duplicate that success. All of the key players from the original are back and Chloe Grace Moretz looks to have crushed her role as the leader of the sorority that's terrorizing the Radner's (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) and their small children this time around.
7.Ghostbusters (7/15): Based on the overwhelmingly negative reception to the first trailer, I seem to be one of the very few people that's excited for this. Ghostbusters is a film that needed to be remade and given the presence of four comedy superstars (Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon Leslie Jones) in the leading roles and a top-flight director in Paul Feig (Spy, Bridesmaids), I'd be surprised if this wasn't one of the better remakes to come out in quite some time.
6.Star Trek Beyond (7/22): This would be much higher on the list if J.J. Abrams was still attached to it. While Justin Lin (Fast and Furious 3-6) is a gifted filmmaker who excels at directing massive action sequences, he doesn't have the magic touch that Abrams has with sci-fi films. That being said, I loved the first two Star Trek films too much to not be excited about spending another two hours with the crew of USS Enterprise (once again led by Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock and Zoe Saldana as Uhra.)
5.War Dogs (8/19): Veteran comedy director Todd Philips (The Hangover trilogy, Old School) has taken a page out of the Adam McKay (Anchorman, The Big Short) playbook by making an unexpected departure from the world of lowbrow comedies to dark, fact-based satire. With a fascinating premise (a pair of 20-something dudes wind up getting a $300 million Pentagon contract to supply weapons to American allies in Afghanistan), a pair of tremendous actors in Jonah Hill and Miles Teller in the lead roles and an excellent trailer, War Dogs has the potential to be a game-changer for Phillips' career.
4.Sausage Party (8/12): Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's R-rated animated passion project about a group of food items who live in a grocery store discovering the true nature of their existence is quite possibly the most bizarre release on the entire summer schedule. Early reports are that its one of the most deranged, strange and over-the top vulgar movies to ever hit theaters in the United States. If that's not an effective sales pitch, I don't know what is.
3.Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (6/3): It may taken nine long years for a studio to greenlit another project for them after the financial failure of Hot Rod, but Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island are finally bringing their brand of brilliant, absurd humor back to the big screen with Popstar. With a mockumentary style and an absurd premise documenting the rise, fall and rise of an excess-obsessed popstar (Samberg), they appear to have the perfect backdrop to create another unpredictable, oddball comic masterpiece.
2.X-Men: Apocalypse (5/27):The X-Men franchise has made a massive turnaround since it was rebooted in 2011. The franchise is completely independent from Marvel Studios, which means the filmmakers can focus on telling satisfying, standalone narratives instead of consistently churning out films that merely exist to set up the next Avengers film. With the latest installment bringing back writer Simon Kinberg, director Bryan Singer and all of the pivotal members of the cast (Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, etc.) and adding the always fantastic Oscar Issac to the fold as the titular villain, X-Men: Apocalypse seems poised to be another stellar entry in this consistent and highly underrated series.
1.Suicide Squad (8/5): The rumors of reshoots to add more humor almost forced me to remove this from the top spot of this list. Then the third trailer came out and I realized that nothing could possibly spoil my excitement for this. The consistently astonishing quality of the trailers combined with the presence of a phenomenal ensemble cast led by Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto and top-notch writer/director in David Ayer (End of Watch, Fury) are responsible for making this my most hotly-anticipated blockbuster since 2010's Inception. If this ends up sucking, I might have a mental breakdown.
Also Interested In:
Captain America: Civil War (5/6)
High-Rise (5/13)
The Lobster (5/13)
Money Monster (5/13)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (6/3)
The Conjuring 2 (6/10)
Now You See Me 2 (6/10)
Central Intelligence (6/17)
Clown (6/17)
Finding Dory (6/17)
Swiss Army Man (6/17)
Free State of Jones (6/24)
Independence Day: Resurgence (6/24)
The Purge: Election Year (7/1)
Captain Fantastic (7/8)
The Infiltrator (7/15)
Bad Moms (7/29)
Jason Bourne (7/29)
The Founder (8/5)
Cafe Society (8/12)
Hell or High Water (8/12)
Spectral (8/12)
Ben-Hur (8/19)
Southside with You (8/19)
Don't Breathe (8/26)
Hands of Stone (8/26)
The Hollars (8/26)
Mechanic: Resurrection (8/26)
10.Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (7/8): The trailer that came out in February wasn't that funny, but the comedic talent of its four leads (Adam DeVine, Zac Efron, Aubrey Plaza, Anna Kendrick) paired with the overwhelmingly positive reception from its screening at last month's South by Southwest Festival in Austin gives me faith that this could be a rock solid R-rated comedy.
9.The Nice Guys (5/20): Shane Black's first original film since 2005's Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is one of only a dozen or so non-blockbusters set for wide release over the next four months. The pairing of two vastly different yet well-matched leads in Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling is very appealing and the film appears to have the zany, darkly comic vibe that has made Black's previous projects a ton of fun.
8.Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (5/20): The first Neighbors was one of the funniest movies of 2014 and the sequel is in prime position to duplicate that success. All of the key players from the original are back and Chloe Grace Moretz looks to have crushed her role as the leader of the sorority that's terrorizing the Radner's (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) and their small children this time around.
7.Ghostbusters (7/15): Based on the overwhelmingly negative reception to the first trailer, I seem to be one of the very few people that's excited for this. Ghostbusters is a film that needed to be remade and given the presence of four comedy superstars (Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon Leslie Jones) in the leading roles and a top-flight director in Paul Feig (Spy, Bridesmaids), I'd be surprised if this wasn't one of the better remakes to come out in quite some time.
6.Star Trek Beyond (7/22): This would be much higher on the list if J.J. Abrams was still attached to it. While Justin Lin (Fast and Furious 3-6) is a gifted filmmaker who excels at directing massive action sequences, he doesn't have the magic touch that Abrams has with sci-fi films. That being said, I loved the first two Star Trek films too much to not be excited about spending another two hours with the crew of USS Enterprise (once again led by Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock and Zoe Saldana as Uhra.)
5.War Dogs (8/19): Veteran comedy director Todd Philips (The Hangover trilogy, Old School) has taken a page out of the Adam McKay (Anchorman, The Big Short) playbook by making an unexpected departure from the world of lowbrow comedies to dark, fact-based satire. With a fascinating premise (a pair of 20-something dudes wind up getting a $300 million Pentagon contract to supply weapons to American allies in Afghanistan), a pair of tremendous actors in Jonah Hill and Miles Teller in the lead roles and an excellent trailer, War Dogs has the potential to be a game-changer for Phillips' career.
4.Sausage Party (8/12): Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's R-rated animated passion project about a group of food items who live in a grocery store discovering the true nature of their existence is quite possibly the most bizarre release on the entire summer schedule. Early reports are that its one of the most deranged, strange and over-the top vulgar movies to ever hit theaters in the United States. If that's not an effective sales pitch, I don't know what is.
3.Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (6/3): It may taken nine long years for a studio to greenlit another project for them after the financial failure of Hot Rod, but Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island are finally bringing their brand of brilliant, absurd humor back to the big screen with Popstar. With a mockumentary style and an absurd premise documenting the rise, fall and rise of an excess-obsessed popstar (Samberg), they appear to have the perfect backdrop to create another unpredictable, oddball comic masterpiece.
2.X-Men: Apocalypse (5/27):The X-Men franchise has made a massive turnaround since it was rebooted in 2011. The franchise is completely independent from Marvel Studios, which means the filmmakers can focus on telling satisfying, standalone narratives instead of consistently churning out films that merely exist to set up the next Avengers film. With the latest installment bringing back writer Simon Kinberg, director Bryan Singer and all of the pivotal members of the cast (Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, etc.) and adding the always fantastic Oscar Issac to the fold as the titular villain, X-Men: Apocalypse seems poised to be another stellar entry in this consistent and highly underrated series.
1.Suicide Squad (8/5): The rumors of reshoots to add more humor almost forced me to remove this from the top spot of this list. Then the third trailer came out and I realized that nothing could possibly spoil my excitement for this. The consistently astonishing quality of the trailers combined with the presence of a phenomenal ensemble cast led by Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto and top-notch writer/director in David Ayer (End of Watch, Fury) are responsible for making this my most hotly-anticipated blockbuster since 2010's Inception. If this ends up sucking, I might have a mental breakdown.
Also Interested In:
Captain America: Civil War (5/6)
High-Rise (5/13)
The Lobster (5/13)
Money Monster (5/13)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (6/3)
The Conjuring 2 (6/10)
Now You See Me 2 (6/10)
Central Intelligence (6/17)
Clown (6/17)
Finding Dory (6/17)
Swiss Army Man (6/17)
Free State of Jones (6/24)
Independence Day: Resurgence (6/24)
The Purge: Election Year (7/1)
Captain Fantastic (7/8)
The Infiltrator (7/15)
Bad Moms (7/29)
Jason Bourne (7/29)
The Founder (8/5)
Cafe Society (8/12)
Hell or High Water (8/12)
Spectral (8/12)
Ben-Hur (8/19)
Southside with You (8/19)
Don't Breathe (8/26)
Hands of Stone (8/26)
The Hollars (8/26)
Mechanic: Resurrection (8/26)
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