Summer Movies – May 2016

It’s summertime, summertime, sum, sum, summertime….

That means a lot of bright, loud movies once again.

Before I start to take a look at what will be adorning multiplex screens during the warmer months, I have a question to pose – has the summer movie season lost its luster at all?

I mean, in the last several years Hollywood has released a lot of big movies that would have normally looked like standard summer fare outside the summer season.

Big-budget, high profile, hotly anticipated movies typically would be plugged into one of the summer months where they would gobble up money. But now we’re seeing those kind of movies dot all around the calendar year, and they’ve been extremely successful. Summer time is no longer the only time audiences can see these big event movies, they’re now popping up every month.

Yet, summer continues to hold the most Hollywood blockbusters in one nice little season so everyone looks forward to it. Taking a break from the heat in a nice air-conditioned movie theater can also be a draw. Here’s a few flicks that will be on the screens while we enjoy the cool comfortable air.

May 6, 2016
Captain America: Civil War

There’s not much to say about this. Most likely by the time I post this fans will already be lining up to see it and the internet will be burning up talking about it, so there’s nothing I can say about it to either help build hype or discourage anyone from seeing it.

It’s already a huge hit in the areas it has opened and it will most likely be a huge hit everywhere else. Everyone is going to see it and it will probably dominate most of the month. Maybe even longer.

Anthony and Joe Russo follow up Captain America: The Winter Solider with this sequel which Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) butts ideologies, heads and fists with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and all their pals take sides.

I’m really looking forward to this. I loved Winter Soldier and already we’ve been hearing about the positive response Civil War is getting, so its sounding like it will deliver the goods. At least I really hope it does.

Excitement has been building for this latest Marvel entry by fans of all ages. Over the weekend I was at a garage sale where my friend was selling some of his old comic books. A little kid started rifling through the box of comics, saw a Captain America one and began talking to his little friend about Civil War. My friend and I asked him who he was rooting for and he explained that he liked Cap, but he was Team Iron Man and they talked about how hyped up they were to see Civil War. Sometimes it’s a great reminder to hear that little kids are enjoying these movies as much as their older pudgier superhero t-shirt wearing counterparts.

There’s no question this will be a huge hit, the only thing we don’t know yet is how huge.

Pelé: Birth of a Legend

The most famous soccer player in the world who’s not married to a Spice Girl gets a bio treatment.

It’s Pelé’s long and difficult climb from the slums of Sao Paulo kicking around mangos to leading Brazil to a World Cup victory – and doing it by the tender age of seventeen!

This looks like it has that old trusted formula so many sports movies follow. A dream. Perseverance. Rejection. Doubt. Overcoming the odds. Victory. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will include how Pelé landed a role in the Sylvester Stallone/Michael Caine movie Victory though.

Audiences love a good underdog movie. Although this looks pretty routine, those who are fans of the soccer icon should enjoy it and maybe this bio will be successful in making audiences stand up and cheer.

Elstree 1976 

A long time ago in a suburb outside of London, Elstree Studios was the location where this weird film called Star Wars was being made. Actors and extras got calls to show up on set, were instructed to put on masks and costumes not knowing what to expect other than a days work. Then somehow their seemingly insignificant participation in this movie would become a defining moment in their lives.

It’s a documentary interviewing those actors about their recollections and how Star Wars affected them, along with the devotion of fans who fill cons for their autographs. It’s something of a unique and unusual tale to the Star Wars saga from a perspective we haven’t seen before, but I don’t know if there’s enough interesting tales to fill a whole documentary.

It could be worthwhile. I’m guessing most fans will catch this when it hits dvd or cable. That’s probably where I’ll end up checking it out. I’m curious about it, but it’s not something that I’m going to rush out to see.

May 13, 2016

The Darkness

It’s Friday the 13th so that means they have to release scary movies to coincide with the date. Gee, that’s a real novel marketing move.

So we have The Darkness. A kid picks up a Native American supernatural rock, gets possessed, leaves handprints all over the house and scares his dad played by Kevin Bacon.

All you horror fans that watch these movies you let me know how it is. I have no interest. This looks like another jump scare flick that I’d toss on the pile that contains 90% of the horror movies that have come and gone in the last decade. Their shelf life is usually opening weekend, then after that they’re forgotten.

The Curse of Sleeping Beauty

A guy inherits a mansion with a problem. The place is overrun with nasty demons or ghosts or some scary things thanks to an ancient curse that dates back to a beauty who is taking a long doze. I assume he has to kiss her to break the curse and live happily ever after.

When first hearing this movie I thought it was another one of these updates of an old fairy tale that has become the rage now. However, this isn’t one for the kiddies and looks to be a very bland horror movie with sleeping beauty as the hook. From the trailer I thought it looked pretty bad. It kind of looked like a generic horror movie, The Cell, a little sleeping beauty mixed in made by the folks from Asylum.

High-Rise

A sci-fi allegory of class structure and its implosion all taking place in a sleek bizarre high rise apartment building.

I’ve never read the J.G. Ballard 1975 novel the film is based on, but the film looks like one trippy, fascinating experience. The kind of movie that would make Terry Gilliam drool. Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Luke Evans and Sienna Miller star.

I’ve already been hearing some pretty positive things from those who’ve seen it. It might not be for mainstream audiences thinking they’re going to see Hiddleston in a straight forward thriller, but for those more riskier fans this looks like something worth checking out. Some of the images alone look amazing. I believe it’s going to be released on-demand also.

May 20, 2016

The Nice Guys

It’s 1970’s Los Angeles where Ryan Gosling is a private eye who teams up with tough Russell Crowe to solve the case of a missing porn star. Directed by Shane Black, The Nice Guys is an old fashioned ‘cop buddy movie’ with action, a mystery and hopefully plenty of laughs.

The trailer for this actually looks pretty good. The comedy bits were pretty good and the 1970’s setting could offer up a unique flavor to things.

The secret to the ‘cop buddy’ formula is the pair of actors that are tossed together. I wouldn’t have thought of teaming up Crowe and Gosling, but they could be a good match here. Crowe looks more entertaining than I’ve seen him in….I don’t think I can even remember. Finally he’s taking a break from his usual serious, sullen roles. This could be a nice little hit. And it could be fun to see Crowe reuniting with his L.A. Confidential co-star Kim Basinger.

The Angry Birds Movie

I have no idea what or who the Angry Birds are. I know they were born out of a video game, which I never played. I think I ate some gummy candy once that were made out of their shapes, but that’s where my extensive knowledge of them ends.

So I don’t care about this movie. It looks colorful. There are birds hitting and kicking each other. Kids should like that. I was surprised to see a pee joke in the trailer. That seems a bit odd, but I guess that goes to show this isn’t a Disney flick.

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne once again have a problem with their new neighbors. This time it’s a wild sorority that moves next door and makes their lives hell. So they reconnect with former frat guy Zac Efron to help them shut these crazy girls down, which leads to more pratfalls, yelling and immature gags in their assault against their enemies across the fence.

I didn’t expect to ever see the first Neighbors, but I happened to watch it late one night and actually thought it was ok. I didn’t mind it. I never watched it again and I certainly never craved a follow-up, but when a movie’s a hit that’s what they do.

This sequel looks to be the run-of-mill retread of the first. Nothing stuck out at me from the trailer. They’re literally doing some of the same jokes as the first movie (airbag joke I’m looking at you). That probably won’t matter much to fans. They’ll go see it and make it a respectable hit. Maybe the addition of Chloe Grace Moretz and Selena Gomez will help carry some interest to people.

For some reason I was reminded of Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise when I saw this trailer. It just seems like that type of sequel.

May 27, 2016

X-Men: Apocalypse

The world’s first and most powerful mutant by the name of Apocalypse is about to unleash destruction with the help of his four horsemen. Now it’s up to all the young X-Men to stop him and save the world.

It’s nice to see director Bryan Singer returning to the franchise. Some of the new mutants look cool. And Oliva Munn is looking hot in her costume. She’ll probably be guaranteed a slot as a popular pinup superhero for young male fans. But for some reason I’m not as excited as I thought I would be for X-Men: Apocalypse.

There’s certainly interest on my part, but I’m not hopping up and down in my seat in anticipation for it. It’s like the more trailers they’ve released for it the less excited I’ve become. The last trailer is filled with big CGI destruction that does little for me. You know it’s the big cityscapes that are getting torn up into the sky and all that. There are so many characters meaningful relationships between them aren’t coming across to me in the ads. And to put it bluntly I’m very sick of seeing Jennifer Lawrence. I’m right on the cusp of finding her officially annoying. The best moment from the last trailer for me was seeing Munn’s Psylocke leaping.

Still it’s a big superhero movie for a movie series that began in 2000! These X-Men movies just keep getting bigger. I enjoyed the last two X-Men movies and don’t see any reason why this won’t be another, at the very least, decent entry. It might be the best X-flick yet, but my anticipation for it as of now has not been ignited.

Alice Through The Looking Glass

They’re doing another one of these?

A sequel to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland from 2010. I never saw it. I know it was a big hit, so why not do another. It seems like a given for Disney to do. Plus, isn’t Alice in Wonderland in the public domain? That’s always an allure for Mickey and pals.

I have no idea about anything in this movie, only that Burton isn’t directing. It looks like the same bizarre, CGI-setting world and the same characters from the first one from what I remember seeing. It will probably be a big hit. The odds of me ever seeing it are slim to none.

The Do-Over

Adam Sandler and David Spade fake their own deaths, assume new identities and get in a lot of hot water. Brought to you by the folks at Netflix

There won’t be any Sandler films polluting movie screens this summer. The only place to see his latest outing is via Netflix, but I thought I would just throw this on the list for the novelty of it.

This is the second film in Sandler’s four-picture deal with Netflix, coming after The Ridiculous Six – I heard terrible things about that one.

To his credit, the trailer for The Do-Over does look better than his usual fare. I know that’s not high praise. That’s like saying this looks like a ‘very’ inept comedy rather than an ‘incredibly’ inept comedy. But still that would count as a step up!

I’m not sure if Sandler fans will like The Do-Over or if it’s the return to form they’ve been waiting for from him. That’s one thing I never got – some longtime fans of his refer to his early films as ‘comedy classics’ and miss that Sandler. I remember seeing Billy Madsion and those flicks of his when they were first released and thinking they were pretty stupid comedies. At best they were ‘ok’. That’s the best thing I can say about The Wedding Singer. But in no way would I have ever described any of his movies as ‘classics’. I must be missing something there. The only thing I can guess is once a certain amount of time passes, people wax nostalgic and anything can become a ‘classic’.

Anyway, maybe The Do-Over will become a future Sandler ‘classic’. Or it could sit alongside The Ridiculous Six as an ‘incredibly inept comedy’. Could it possibly become an ‘inept classic’? Well, I won’t be spending the time to find out.