Well everyone, it’s that time of year again, my favorite time of year, Summer Movie Season! 2011 is looking surprisingly strong, and here’s a small preview of what we have to look forward to and my prediction for top movie of the summer:
Superhero Movies
Thor (May 6th)
X-Men: First Class (June 3rd)
Green Lantern (June 17th)
Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22nd)
: That’s right, there are four superhero movies coming out this summer! I am having an absolute geek fit. Chris Hemsworth is kicking things off as the Norse god of thunder, Thor, while Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy lead a new breed of X-men and both Ryan Reynolds slips on a power ring and Chris Evans picks up a shield to step into the iconic roles of Green Lantern and Captain America respectively. None of these characters have an incredibly strong fan-following, but I think that Green Lantern will have the most trouble appealing to mass audiences because of the deep extra-terrestrial mythology surrounding the core material. Personally, I am most excited for Captain America as the World War II period piece with Hugo Weaving as the iconic villain The Red Skull! Remember, stay for the end-credits, the films of this genre always has bonus scenes!
The Sequels Everyone is Waiting For
Fast Five (April 29th)
The Hangover: Part II (May 26th)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (May 20th)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (July 1st)
: There are some pretty strong sequels cropping up this summer, with Vin Diesel unleashing his inner street racer and going toe-to-toe with Dwayne Johnson it what is sure to be the world’s most epic fist-fight and the Wolf-Pack once again partying a little too hard, this time in Thailand. The big question marks lie with Captain Jack Sparrow and Optimus Prime. Will Johnny Depp be enough to keep the franchise afloat now that Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley are gone? Will Michael Bay redeem himself after the awful Revenge of the Fallen, especially after removing one of the main draws, Megan Fox herself? Time will tell…I’m probably looking forward to The Hangover: Part II the most.
Animated and Family Friendly
Kung Fu Panda 2 (May 26th)
Cars 2 (June 24th)
Mr. Popper’s Penguins (June 17th)
Zookeeper (July 8th)
Winnie the Pooh (July 15th)
The Smurfs (July 29th)
Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (August 19th)
: I don’t care if Katy Perry is a voice and Neil Patrick Harris plays the lead, The Smurfs looks just…awful. Jim Carrey and Kevin James will try and hold their own against friendly animals, and the Spy Kids franchise will continue to beat a dead horse trying to cheat parents out of more money. The real competition will be between Kung Fu Panda 2 and Cars 2; this may be the first summer that Disney-Pixar doesn’t take top prize, as Cars is probably the weakest of their franchises for which to produce a sequel…I still want to see The Incredibles 2! DreamWorks has the edge with Kung Fu Panda 2; the original was amazing and developed a huge following…I’ll probable be knocking over small children to get a good seat to watch Po and the Furious Five kick some animated ass!
The Standalones
Priest (May 13th)
Bridesmaids (May 13th)
Super 8 (June 10th)
Bad Teacher (June 24th)
Cowboys and Aliens (July 29th)
Conan the Barbarian (August 19th)
: I’m stoked to see Paul Bettany and Maggie Q deliver surefire action as anti-vampire warriors in Priest, and while I couldn’t tell you what Super 8 is about, it is associated with both Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams…enough said. As for Cowboys and Aliens, it sounds pretty straightforward, but it better be awesome if Jon Favreau decided to leave the Iron Man franchise to pursue the project. Bridesmaids looks like a female version of The Hangover, but Bad Teacher looks amazing…letting Cameron Diaz revert to the raunchy humor that made There’s Something About Mary great, all with the help of Jason Segel, is sure to produce comedic gold. Conan the Barbarian, on the other hand, I expect to fail horribly…who the hell thought that having an unknown actor play a now-forgotten role that was made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger almost 30 years ago was a good idea?
The Winner
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (July 15th)
: This one is an absolute no-brainer, not only will Harry Potter take top spot of the summer, and it will also break all kinds of records. The 3D offering that was absent from Part I will boost revenue, but the fact that this is the last entry in the series and that it features the epic Battle of Hogwarts will compel many to head for the theater rather than wait for a rental. Die-hard fans will also see it multiple times. Seriously, have you seen the preview for this thing? It’s a giant wizard’s brawl set around Harry, Ron and Hermione’s search for the Horcruxes to defeat Voldemort!…be warned though, the newest trailer reveals a major plot spoiler if you haven’t read the book. Who will live? Who will Die? Good vs. Evil…only one will emerge victorious!
This list is far from exhaustive, there are plenty of other films being released this summer and I will do my best to see and review as many as I can. I will be traveling abroad from May 15th to June 2nd, so there will be a gap in the frequency of my reviews, but keep checking back and please keep reading! Your continued support means a lot!
