Featured Image: Movie goers during the Denton Black Film Festival sit back at Alamo Drafthouse on January 26, 2019. Photo by Kara Dry
The early months of 2019 have delivered some genuine hits in theaters. “Avengers: Endgame” crossed a billion dollars in its first weekend, Jordan Peele’s “Us” further proved how high of an uptick horror is at right now and even DC’s “Shazam” was a genuine surprise. With those few exceptions have come some disappointing films in terms of box office and more importantly, quality. Disney’s “Dumbo” was a byproduct of corporate greed, M. Night Shayamalan’s “Glass” was a disappointment and countless other films have come and gone without leaving much of an impression.
Thankfully, the summer movie season has already come with a roster of films chock-full of sequels, remakes and quirky little indies. Here is a handy little guide to some films already released and other films for this stacked summer season:
May 10th
“Detective Pikachu”: The first ever live action Pokemon finally descended upon us with Ryan Reynolds taking the helm of voicing the titular character. This was quite a surprising, entertaining time at the movies. The only other surprising thing about this film was that it took this long to happen and that it’s actually good.
May 17th
“John Wick Chapter 3”: Arguably the biggest surprise to come out in years is the “John Wick” franchise. Keanu Reeves physically and literally kills it as this character in some of the greatest action films of the past decade. Thankfully, the film keeps up the momentum of the previous two, so buckle in and enjoy the bloody ride.
“The Souvenir”: Director Joanna Hogg graced us with her return with a romance film about a young film student who falls in love with a man in the early 80s. Indie kids ASSEMBLE!
May 24th
“Aladdin”: These Disney live action remakes have been very hit or miss but thankfully, this was a step in the right direction for these remakes because this completely surprised me in many ways. It’s better than you think trust me!
“Booksmart”: Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut follows a couple of nerds who realize they have wasted their high school years studying instead of partying. I have already seen this film and I can assure you you will not want to miss this one.
“Brightburn”: A pseudo-Superman like film if Superman was actually born evil. “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn was involved in this so the result was quite the interesting, very violent take on the Superman mythos.
May 31st
“Godzilla: King of Monsters”: The Godzilla film I have been waiting for since I was eight years old is finally here. Godzilla takes on foes Mothra, King Ghidora and Rhodan in what turned out be a suitably epic monster film even if the human characters left a lot to be desired. But be honest, no one is watching this for them.
“Rocketman”: The Elton John biopic fronted by “Kingsman” star Taron Egerton. This was a totally wicked good time that avoided the “Bohemian Rhapsody” pitfalls in terms of execution. Director Dexter Fletcher and Taron Egerton delivered on their promises of making a very solid biopic of a legend.
June 7th
“Dark Phoenix”: The Fox X-Men saga has fally comes to an end with the story of Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix persona. This was an unfortunate ending to a franchise that has defined comics for so long. But, either this ending, it signifies the transfer of the X-Men to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so lets celebrate THAT!
June 14th
“Men in Black: International”: Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson take over the Men in Black roles from Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in a new installment that looks like a whole lot of fun and honestly seeing Hemsworth and Thompson together in a film again should be enough to get you excited.
“The Dead Don’t Die”: Director Jim Jarmusch tackles the zombie film with Tilda Swinton, Adam Driver, Bill Murray and even more in tow. You should be excited.
June 21st
“Toy Story 4”: Toy Story 3 was a perfect conclusion to this perfect trilogy but I am definitely interested in seeing where this film will take some of our favorite toys.
June 28th
“Yesterday”: A struggling musician realizes he is the only person who can remember The Beatles. “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle is tackling the film so expect quite an original, inventive film.
July 2nd
“Spider-Man: Far From Home”: Following the events of “Endgame”, we follow Spider-Man as he tackles grief and a new foe in Jake Gyllenhaal as the revered villain Mysterio.
“Midsommar”: “Hereditary” director Ari Aster returns with his sophomore effort hoping to terrorize us as bad as he did before. Judging from the trailer, it seems like he will be successful.
July 19th
“The Lion King”: Yet another live action remake of a Disney classic but alas, this one looks to be at visually fantastic. I am hoping this timeless story will translate into live action.
July 26th
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”: Quentin Tarantino returns with his ninth film tackling LA in the 60s right at the start of the infamous Manson Family reign of terror. This should be a cinematic event you should absolutely be looking out for.
August 9th
“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”: The classic collection of horror stories is finally getting its big screen debut with Guillermo Del Toro attached. Prepare for your nightmares to return.
“The Kitchen”: Elisabeth Moss, Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish play wives of New York gangsters who have to continue their husband’s dealings when they all go to prison. It should be an equally funny and equally tense crime caper.
August 16th
“Good Boys”: A late Summer R-rated raunchy comedy consisting of young kids cursing should add some adequate final laughs before school starts again.
Article Originally Published by on North Texas Daily
Source: North Texas Daily