Summer Guide - Summer Movie Preview

One of the biggest questions of the film season was put to rest the first weekend of May: Yes, Captain America: Civil War is a practically perfect summer movie, and everyone’s probably going to want to see it.

But questions about the rest of summer’s cinematic lineup remain: Which computer game-based film looks worse, Warcraft or The Angry Birds Movie? Will Hollywood ever stop chasing incredibly expensive franchises and instead build business plans on smaller, cost-effective projects that appeal to adults and other underserved portions of the moviegoing public?

The latter may be unanswerable in the short term. But if you’re asking yourself, “What movies should I plan on seeing — or avoiding — this summer?” the following will help narrow down your choices.

Photo credit:

What’s it about? In funky 1970s Los Angeles, Ryan Gosling’s private detective reluctantly teams with Russell Crowe’s hired enforcer to unravel a conspiracy.

Will people like it? Writer/director Shane Black specializes in funny buddy cop movies, having written the original Lethal Weapon and goofed on the genre when directing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and, to a lesser extent, Iron Man 3. Despite the latter film making more than $1 billion, he’s almost a cult filmmaker.

Burning question: Crowe’s an intense, accomplished Oscar winner, but does he have any flair for comedy?

Alice Through the Looking Glass (May 27)

What’s it about? Mia Wasikowska’s grown-up Alice makes a return to Wonderland (or is it Underland?) to save her friends from Sacha Baron Cohen’s time-traveling antagonist apparently called Time. (Really? That’s the best name they could come up with?)

Will people like it? Tim Burton’s previous adaptation was an incredible hit in 2010, probably helped by coming soon after Avatar, when 3-D was still a novelty. For the new one, Burton cedes the director’s chair to James Bobin of Muppets Most Wanted.

Burning question: Will Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter do more of that hip-hop dancing that makes you die inside?

X-Men: Apocalypse (May 27)

What’s it about? Oscar Isaac plays an invincible mutant from ancient times, resurrected to wreak havoc in the 1980s.

Will people like it? Of the eight previous films involving Marvel Comics mutants, Apocalypse director Bryan Singer did arguably the two best, X2: X-Men United and X-Men: Days of Future Past, which bodes well. Plus, it retains some A-list actors, including Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy, and adds such esteemed newcomers as Isaac and Sophie Turner of “Game of Thrones.”

Question: How will Ryan Reynolds’ popular Deadpool, who’s part of this universe, make a surprise cameo?

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (June 3)

What’s it about? Pop idol Conner4Real (Andy Samberg) considers getting his old boy band together when his new album flops.

Will people like it? For a decade, Samberg and his comedy team the Lonely Island have delivered consistently funny song parodies, and this satire of music documentaries like Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never seems right in their wheelhouse. In addition to the Lonely Island’s Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, the cast includes Sarah Silverman, Imogen Poots, Maya Rudolph, and tons of cameos. At the very least, it should hit bigger than the biopic spoof Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Burning question: Will the film be upstaged by the inevitable viral videos promoting it?

Finding Dory (June 17)

What’s it about? Amnesiac fish Dory (Ellen Degeneres) remembers just enough to send her across the ocean to find her family.

Will people like it? The original Finding Nemo is one of Pixar’s most beloved films, and the sequel will bring back faves like Marlin the clownfish (Albert Brooks) and Crush the sea turtle (returning director Andrew Stanton). But apart from the follow-ups to Toy Story, Pixar’s sequels tend to be pleasant but forgettable. Like Dory, will we have trouble remembering anything about it?

Burning question: Finding Dory’s SeaWorld-based themes were changed following the documentary Blackfish — will we be able to tell?

Independence Day: Resurgence (June 24)

What’s it about? Two decades after their first invasion, the hostile aliens return to Earth with even bigger ships and weapons.

Will people like it? A sequel to Independence Day seems a little late, but the follow-up brings back director Roland Emmerich and actors Jeff Goldblum, Vivica A. Fox, Bill Pullman, and others. Like last summer’s colossal hit Jurassic World, it’ll probably provide enough dumb spectacle to sell a ton of tickets.

Burning question: How much will we miss Will Smith, who was apparently too expensive for the sequel and killed off?

The BFG (July 1)

What’s it about? Those initials refer to the Big Friendly Giant, who kidnaps a young English orphan (Ruby Barnhill) and seeks to stop the bigger, meaner giants.

Will people like it? Well, it’s based on a novel by Willy Wonka creator Roald Dahl and directed by Steven Spielberg in a throwback to his E.T. days, so it’ll definitely go for that spirit of child-like wonder. Plus Mark Rylance, who voices and performs motion-capture for the giant, just won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, so they’re striking while they’re hot.

Burning question: Will The BFG transcend the creepy uncanny valley quality of films that use similar effects?

The Legend of Tarzan (July 1)

What’s it about? Raised by apes, Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård) returns to the jungle after years in England with wife Jane (Margot Robbie) to fight colonial bad guys.

Will people like it? Disney’s animated Tarzan was a hit in 1999, but otherwise Edgar Rice Burroughs’ iconic “ape-man” has had trouble connecting to audiences in the post-Star Wars era, not unlike the Lone Ranger. Judging from the trailer, director David Yates offers the same mix of portentous mood and splashy set pieces that he gave the final four Harry Potter films.

Burning question: Did the spring’s Jungle Book remake sate audience’s hunger for CGI animals?

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (July 8)

What’s it about? In need of dates to their sister’s wedding, two ne’er-do-well brothers (Zac Efron and Adam DeVine) bring two strangers (Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick) who turn out to be much wilder than the guys.

Will people like it? It’s Jake Szymanski’s first feature film after a career mostly in TV, but screenwriters Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien wrote Neighbors and its sequel Sorority Rising (which opens May 20). This seems to be very much in the raunchy spirit of those and the Hangover movies.

Burning question: Isn’t it nice that someone made a slob comedy that lets the women be the funny ones?

Ghostbusters (July 15)

What’s it about? Stop me if you’ve heard this: A team of paranormal researchers suit up to thwart supernatural perils in New York.

Will people like it? Bridesmaids director Paul Feig helms a partially gender-swapped reboot of the classic comedy, starring Melissa McCarthy and “Saturday Night Live” vets Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the Ghostbusters and Chris “Thor” Hemsworth as their secretary. It’s already been controversial, drawing the ire of the kind of misogynist fans who griped about the female heroes of the last Mad Max and Star Wars movies.

Burning question: Will Bill Murray or, more likely, Dan Aykroyd from the original film make an appearance?

Star Trek Beyond (July 22)

What’s it about? Surprisingly little has been revealed at press time, but the Enterprise crew gets stranded on a planet full of hostile aliens, including Idris Elba as Krall.

Will people like it? Director Justin Lin of the Fast & Furious franchise takes over for J.J. Abrams, suggesting a warp-speed treatment of the script, co-written by Simon Pegg (who plays Scotty while being a fanboy in his own right). Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and the rest return.

Burning question: Will it find room for any of the philosophical concepts that separate Star Trek from generic sci-fi action movies like, say, Independence Day?

page
Jason Bourne (July 29)

What’s it about? Superspy Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) comes out of retirement for more running and fighting and stuff.

Will people like it? Well, they’re sure to like it more than The Bourne Legacy, which tried to extend the trilogy with Jeremy Renner in the lead. The new one not only brings back Damon, but previous co-star Julia Stiles and Captain Phillips director Paul Greengrass, who helmed the best Bourne installments.

Burning question: Couldn’t Damon and Greengrass launch a new spy series rather than reheating this one?

Suicide Squad (Aug. 5)

What’s it about? In a super-powered take on The Dirty Dozen, villainous convicts and freaks get the chance for pardons if they accept a deadly mission.

Will people like it? Warner Bros. certainly hopes so, as it’s pitching it as the DC Comics equivalent to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The design looks pretty ugly, but the cast includes Will Smith as sniper Deadshot, Oscar-winner Jared Leto as the Joker, and Margot Robbie as fan favorite Harley Quinn, who’s the most fun part of the trailers.

Burning question: Will Suicide Squad dispel the bad vibes left from the darkness of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice?

Sausage Party (Aug. 12)

What’s it about? A hot dog named Frank (Seth Rogen), a bun named Brenda (Kristen Wiig), and other anthropomorphized foodstuffs try to escape a kitchen and avoid being eaten.

Will people like it? Co-writers Rogen and his partner Evan Goldberg penned such terrific comedies as Superbad and This is the End. Sausage Party mocks animated family films like Toy Story, only replete with R-rated gags about wieners and whatnot. It’s such an odd premise that I’m not sure if it’s really an elaborate hoax.

Burning question? Just ... why?

Kubo and the Two Strings (Aug. 19)

What’s it about? In ancient Japan, a boy named Kubo seeks to find a magical suit of armor to stop a malicious spirit.

Will people like it? It’s the latest stop-motion animated film from Laika, creators of such visually splendid movies as ParaNorman and Coraline. The gorgeous trailer makes such effective use of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” it’ll give you chills.

Burning question? Is it a problem that a film set in Japan is voiced primarily by Anglo actors (including Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, and Ralph Fiennes), with George Takei an exception?