By Brett Blake & Breanne Brennan Just last weekend, the Summer Movie Season officially kicked-off (though, honestly, we’ve been in big blockbuster territory since BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE opened back on March 25th) with CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. For movie buffs, this is a fun time of year; not all of the movies headed our way will be good, of course, but the potential is always there for some genuinely great entertainment to emerge. We’re excited! As we look over the release calendar, what’s most striking is just how many movies are coming this summer. It’s a stacked couple of months, more than any summer in recent memory (at least it feels that way), with several release dates occupied by multiple giant films. We’ll do our best to cover as many of them as we can, but it’s inevitable that some of the smaller (or less significant) ones will be left off. We’re only human. In any case, we’ve compiled a fairly exhaustive list of this summer’s most notable releases, even some that may not particularly interest us, but may interest YOU! Brett has presented his thoughts in a “Pro/Con” format, allowing him to talk about potential good qualities, as well as potential problems and pitfalls, which is accompanied by Breanne’s “Pro/Con” take (in red!) on the movie. With that prelude out of the way, let’s dive in! MAY Captain America: Civil War - May 6th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - Well, the movie’s out and I’ve seen it. Read my review here, but the short version is that it’s absolutely fantastic. Brett’s Con - None, really. The movie is great, it just had a huge opening weekend, and it’s poised to be considered one of the best installments of the entire Marvel franchise. The summer couldn't have started any better than this. Money Monster - May 13th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The movie’s got a top notch cast, an idiosyncratic director in the form of Jodie Foster, and subject matter that feels zeitgeisty and relevant as the United States still recovers from the financial collapse of 2008. Brett’s Con - Fundamentally, it seems to be a hostage movie in the vein of DOG DAY AFTERNOON and countless others. How will that well-worn subgenre be made to feel fresh and unpredictable? It’s unclear at this stage. The Angry Birds Movie - May 20th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The Angry Birds is a property with a fanbase, and the character designs appear to be nicely silly. Younger audiences will likely find much to enjoy. Brett’s Con - How can the subject matter sustain any sort of strong narrative? It seems like a film mostly designed to feature gags, sketches, and vignettes loosely strung together… which is fine, and par for the course with most (non-Pixar) animated films, but what’s the appeal here for those in the audience who aren’t kids? Breanne's Pro - It's a license to print money, and will certainly be an enjoyable time, even for older kids. Breanne's Con - How do you make an appealing story about a side-scrolling app? There's a chance the story might seem forced. On another note, I'm always slightly adverse to animated movies that feel the need to credit their celebrity voice actors in their marketing campaigns. The appeal for me is not knowing! Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising - May 20th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The first NEIGHBORS was a funny enough time at the movies, and most of the people who made it so are back for this one. Plus, dealing with a sorority should offer the chance to put a fresh(er) perspective on the basic premise. Brett’s Con - This looks to be your standard comedy sequel, which is to say it’s going to basically retread the plot of the first movie, which could have the side effect of making it feel redundant. Also, was there a burning desire for another NEIGHBORS movie? Who was beating down the studio’s door demanding this? It’s a weird movie to want to sequelize. Breanne's Pro - I'm down for seeing Chloe Grace Moretz as a stoned sorority girl (plus Zac Efron's physique ain't so bad, either.) Breanne's Con - It's not something I'm clamoring for, and I don't think many moviegoers are either. The Nice Guys - May 20th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The film comes from the mind of Shane Black, an accomplished screenwriter and also the director of IRON MAN 3 and the masterpiece that is KISS KISS BANG BANG. This film looks to be right in his wheelhouse, a buddy crime comedy with mystery and action overtones, and the trailer is selling an experience that appears as if it will be a ton of fun. Brett’s Con - I’m extremely confident this is going to be one of the highlights of the summer. It just remains to be seen if it will find an audience, opening as it does in a packed May schedule, and directly up against another comedy the very same week. Breanne's Pro - I was sold the moment I saw the trailer. It's the thinking person's comedy. Breanne's Con - Can you sell a 70s-era comedy in Summer? Alice Through the Looking Glass - May 27th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - This new iteration of an oft-told tale appears to be visually inventive and colorful. And, um... that’s all I’ve got. Brett’s Con - The film could well be a hit, as it’s a sequel to a film which was a massive success - albeit six years ago. I have, however, no confidence in the odds of the movie’s quality, and the likelihood that it will overindulge Johnny Depp (reprising one of his most insufferable characters) and the extreme visuals makes me doubt it will be an improvement over the first movie, which - despite its box office - is not a good film. Breanne's Pro - Given the interesting steampunk-style aesthetic, I might be inclined to give this one a go, even though the first was so dull. Breanne's Con - See Brett's... X-Men: Apocalypse - May 27th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST re-established the franchise as one of the best in the realm of comic book movies, and APOCALYPSE looks to continue that trajectory as it ties off the storylines which began in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS while also introducing new threads and characters. Also, the scope appears much bigger than any X film so far. Brett’s Con - Will the film feel like its own, standalone thing, or just another chapter in the ongoing saga? Will characters have arcs that feel organic and earned? And will the villainous title character (portrayed by the excellent Oscar Isaac) make for an imposing threat? Breanne's Pro - Given the success and quality of the last two films and what's at stake in this one, I think we could be in store for a worthy installment. Breanne's Con - There's a chance of new character/multi-storyline overload that tends to mar sequels. JUNE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows - June 3rd Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The first film was something of a surprise hit, and I’ve heard tell that that it was actually a decent, inoffensive-enough movie. This sequel looks to add some more recognizable characters from TMNT lore, while also delivering action that looks even bigger than what came before. Brett’s Con - It’s a kids movie, and it should be viewed on that level. There will likely be some dumb humor, and the plot likely won’t hang together very well. Breanne's Pro - Um... it'll make a lot of money. Breanne's Con - CGI overload makes this feel nauseating. And also, if it's a kid movie, can we maybe not gravitate towards Megan Fox's midriff? The Conjuring 2 - June 10th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The first CONJURING is one of the best studio-released horror films of the decade, and this sequel looks to mine one of the most infamous (among paranormal fan circles) haunting/poltergeist/possession cases of all time. Per the trailer, it looks like everything I would want a CONJURING 2 to look like. Brett’s Con - How many liberties will the movie take with the facts of the actual case? Also, can the movie ever hope to rival the out-of-nowhere surprise of the first movie’s quality? Finally, is an early June release the best possible time for this movie to open? I’m skeptical. Breanne's Pro - Judging from the trailer, I'm sure we're in for some quality scares. Breanne's Con - How much of a retread will this be of the first? Now You See Me 2 - June 10th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - Adding a spirited performer like Daniel Radcliffe to the proceedings can only be a good thing, and it’s nice to see they managed to get Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman to return. Brett’s Con - I think it’s safe to say this is another movie nobody was really asking for, and the supposed “magic” being performed looks even more ridiculous and phony than the stuff in the first movie did. Breanne's Pro - Daniel Radcliffe hams it up with card tricks, and I'm sure he'll give the film some much needed zest. Breanne's Con - The first one was okay and not really a true smash at the box office, so I'm not sure why it's getting a sequel. Warcraft - June 10th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - It looks hugely ambitious, with plenty of proper fantasy spectacle, and it is directed by Duncan Jones, whose previous two films are quite good. The game the movie’s based on has a devoted fanbase which includes many of the filmmakers involved, so the impulse behind the movie is coming from a good place. Brett’s Con - This is one of the summer’s biggest question marks for me. I don’t think the trailers look particularly good, nor does the CGI look particularly convincing to my eyes. I think there’s a very real risk that the movie could be good but audiences will be just too turned off by the visuals or the subject matter to show up in theaters. Breanne's Pro - Video game movies get a bad rap, but I think this one might change that given its scope. Breanne's Con - I'm not sure how the movie will appeal to those unacquainted with the WOW game. De Palma - June 10th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - We need to have at least one documentary on this list, and this looks like a great one. An intimate, no-holds-barred conversation with the great Brian De Palma (director of any number of fantastic films, including CARRIE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, SCARFACE, and DRESSED TO KILL) should make for a fascinating couple of hours. Brett’s Con - Let’s face it, this is aimed at a very niche audience: hardcore movie buffs. Which is great, but it likely means this won’t have much widespread appeal. Finding Dory - June 17th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - FINDING NEMO is one of Pixar’s most beloved films, and FINDING DORY looks like a natural extension of both that movie’s aesthetic and its plot. The quality of the animation looks nothing less than dazzling. Brett’s Con - Is the movie going to be more than just a reversal of the positions from FINDING NEMO? Is there more “there” there, or is it going to be a retread full of callbacks to all the things people love about the first movie? Independence Day: Resurgence - June 24th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The first INDEPENDENCE DAY was a massive hit back in 1996, and with the sequel arriving 20 years later, nostalgia will likely play a big factor in its success. There are some intriguing hints about what the world is going to look like in the film, and the fact that they were able to get virtually every key player from the first (aside from Will Smith) to come back hopefully speaks to a story worth telling. Brett’s Con - But what of that story? What will we find in the movie beyond just mayhem and disaster, which - let’s be honest - we’ve seen many, many times in the years since the original movie. Spectacle isn’t special anymore in the way it was in 1996, so how will the movie compensate for that? Breanne - I have a confession to make....I've never seen the original INDEPENDENCE DAY. (You can draw and quarter me now) Brett's Additional Shocked Color Commentary - WHAT?! The Shallows - June 24th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - This looks to be a stripped-down, fairly realistic survival thriller. Sharks hold a degree of fascination for many people (myself included), and it feels like there’s room for another solid entry in that subgenre after many attempts that have been, frankly, crap. Brett’s Con - How will the film sustain its premise without becoming boring or repetitive? How do you keep a story about a person stranded in a small area visually compelling? It’s been done before, but it remains to be seen if it can be done here. And what of the shark? Will it just be an unconvincing digital creation (the trailer doesn’t inspire total confidence), or will footage of a real shark perhaps be thrown into the mix? Breanne's Pro - The trailer was legitimately great, and there's a chance this could be a sleeper hit this summer. Breanne's Con - What if this just turns out to be a cliched survival thriller where the main character makes some really stupid, eye-rolling choices? JULY The BFG - July 1st Trailer! Brett’s Pro - THE BFG represents Steven Spielberg returning to the genre of the live action family film for the first time since 1991’s HOOK, and it also marks his first time at the helm of a Disney movie. For fans of the director, those should be very exciting things, as should the movie’s source material, which comes from the quirky mind of Roald Dahl. Having newly-minted Oscar-winner Mark Rylance in the title role should also portend a level of pathos and complexity that one might not necessarily expect. Brett’s Con - The trailer’s kind of underwhelming, to be honest! There are some shots that are ultra-Spielbergian, but there’s a sugary CGI gloss to the effects work that really doesn’t look very good to me. Breanne's Pro - Most Dahl adaptations lately have been pretty faithful to the books, and from the looks of it, this will be, too. Breanne's Con - Those unfamiliar with Dahl's story (seriously, you really shouldn't be) will probably pass it up ("What's a BFG???"). The Legend of Tarzan - July 1st Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The movie has one hell of a terrific cast (you really can’t go wrong with Christoph Waltz as your villain, typecasting though it may be), and it appears to be an old-fashioned (in a good way) adventure tale. Director David Yates also proved he’s got a fairly cinematic eye with his work on the HARRY POTTER series. Brett’s Con - Is Tarzan a character who’s even relevant to modern audiences? Can he be compelling to today’s viewers and, more importantly, will the movie show us things we haven’t already seen in the countless earlier Tarzan movies, or jungle adventure films more broadly? Breanne's Pro - Looks visually interesting and has a great cast. Breanne's Con - Disney did Tarzan better than this likely will... The Purge: Election Year - July 1st Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The third in one of the more improbable franchises of recent years, this one looks to tap into some topical elements, and seems to further expand the scope of its TWILIGHT ZONEy premise even more into the realm of survival thriller. Brett’s Con - Does anyone even want to be reminded that this is an election year? Also, it’s unclear how much more gas the basic “Purge” concept has in the tank. Breanne's Pro - While I admit the second installment was marginally better than the first, I think fans of the last two will most likely enjoy the sinister tone and timely themes. Breanne's Con - Did we really need a third and will anyone really care about the characters presented here? The Secret Life of Pets - July 8th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The animals appear thoroughly charming and adorable, and the humor seems to absolutely kill when I’ve seen the trailer with an audience. This film could hit a sweet spot for family audiences. Brett’s Con - How different will this movie be from all of the countless “talking animal” animated films that have been sent our way over the years? What truly makes this one special? Breanne's Pro - The most recent trailer was absolutely hilarious, and Illumination has a decent track record so far with its animated films. Breanne's Con - The marketing for this started reeeaaally early, and having seen the trailer tacked on to countless movies, I'm actually getting sick of it by now. Ghostbusters - July 15th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The cast is full of incredibly talented and funny people, and the concept (as originated in the 1984 masterpiece) should still offer lots of opportunities for great setpieces and engaging characters. Brett’s Con - Okay, that trailer is almost painfully unfunny! The attempts at “humor” found in there are either outright cringe-inducing (a “That’s gonna leave a mark!” gag?) or land with a dull thud. Hopefully they’re saving the good stuff for the movie itself, because this property is too important to botch. Also, the decision to ignore past continuity and make this a total reboot - while still using all the recognizable iconography and trappings - feels cheap and kind of insulting, frankly. After all this time, do audiences want to see a GHOSTBUSTERS without the original crew strapping on the proton packs? Breanne's Pro - The cast assembled is great and the ghost CGI actually looks really good. Breanne's Con - The trailer was beyond awful, and in regards to the premise, there were different ways you could've gone with this movie. I think its downfall will be that it took the path of being a reboot and not a continuation. Star Trek Beyond - July 22nd Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The cast has done great work in the previous two STAR TREK movies, and there’s every reason to believe that will still be case with BEYOND. Also, co-star Simon Pegg (an avowed TREK fan) has co-written the screenplay, which could signal a strong balance between being a crowd-pleaser while also bringing in some of the more philosophical ideas that TREK has been known for. 2016 being the 50th Anniversary of the franchise could also add some intangible magic of the sort that SKYFALL enjoyed during James Bond’s 50th Anniversary. Brett’s Con - Can this movie wash out the divisive taste of the previous film, INTO DARKNESS, from the mouths of fans? Also, in the wake of movies like GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and the return of STAR WARS, are audiences still hungry for STAR TREK’s version of space action? Breanne's Pro - Looking forward to Idris Elba's villain. Breanne's Con - The trailer did not sell me in regards to the movie's tone. Just because it's from the director of FAST AND FURIOUS doesn't mean you have to sell it like it's part of that franchise... Lights Out - July 22nd Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The movie (based on a chilling short film) has a fantastic central hook, and if it can manage to be even half as creepy as the short, it could make for a very solid summer horror flick. Brett’s Con - The chance of the movie just being a series of cheap jump scares is something that’s very real, which would be a shame and would squander the creative possibilities inherent to the concept. Jason Bourne - July 29th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - It’s Matt Damon back in action again, and once again directed by Paul Greengrass. Given that the two vowed they’d only return to the series if they had a really good idea for it, that indicates they might be able to bring back some of the old Bourne magic. Brett’s Con - Bourne’s personal story was pretty definitively wrapped up in THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, so what’s his agenda this time out? How will this new story feel like something important, and not just a transparent money grab to extend the series? AUGUST Suicide Squad - August 5th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - The trailer just looks like a blast, and the cast members seem to be having a ton of fun. After the dark and dour BATMAN v SUPERMAN earlier this year, SUICIDE SQAUAD feels like it could be a pretty delightful romp, albeit one with an edge. Brett’s Con - Aside from the presence of the Joker, most of the characters in this movie aren’t ones the average movie-goer has any familiarity with. Will this team of B-level villains have enough drawing power to get people into the theater? Ben-Hur - August 12th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - I’ll get back to you. Brett’s Con - This is movie that has no reason to exist. The 1959 version is nothing short of a masterpiece of epic Hollywood filmmaking, and this version looks bizarrely small-scale. It may have flashy action at times (though complete with bad CGI), but it has no chance of approaching the scope and masterful cinema of the Charlton Heston film. Breanne's Pro - The wonderful Jack Huston gets his due as a lead... Breanne's Con - ...too bad it's in this pointless remake. Is there even any interest in this? Morgan Freeman is (I hate to say it) being all Morgan Freeman-y. Sausage Party - August 12th Trailer (NSFW) Brett’s Pro - I’ll be honest… I see nothing appealing about this. Brett’s Con - If this trailer looks like your cup of tea, more power to you, but this looks like a premise that could work in a two or three minute short, not a feature. I think the schtick is going to get old really fast. Breanne's Pro - Meh... there were some silly moments featured in the trailer that made me chuckle. Breanne's Con - Did anyone see HELL AND BACK? No? Didn't think so. So where's the audience for this adult animation going to come from? Pete’s Dragon - August 12th Trailer! Brett’s Pro - Cinematically, the movie looks to be beautifully, evocatively photographed, and there’s a sense of mystery and wonder to the trailer that is appealing. The movie also appears to be a very loose remake, allowing the filmmakers to deal with different issues than the original did. Brett’s Con - How will the film stand out this summer? Will it be a film that can appeal to both kids and adults? Breanne's Pro - I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and look of the film, and to see that this wasn't a full ripoff of the original. Breanne's Con - As a devoted fan of the original, I don't know how receptive I'll be to it, regardless of the new plot. The filmmakers' design of Elliot (the dragon of the title) is also a little strange, in my opinion. August sort of fades out at this point, but there you have it - the Summer Movie Season in a nutshell!
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