The light at the end of every grueling school year is the slate of summer films (or maybe that\u2019s just me). Hollywood\u200b saves their splashiest films for this release window, making it a very exciting time for moviegoers everywhere. So what does Hollywood have in store for us this year?
\u201cStar Wars\u201d has been in the gutter. The once legendary franchise that transported audiences to a galaxy far, far away with unparalleled cinematic gravitas has now become a television novelty act. Ever since the controversial \u201cThe Last Jedi\u201d and pathetic \u201cThe Rise of Skywalker,\u201d Disney has been left dumbfounded on how to move forward (the brilliant \u201cAndor\u201d withstanding). The only thing that has really dazzled the general public is \u201cThe Mandalorian\u201d on Disney+, but even that started to falter with a weak Season 3. Nevertheless, Disney is now counting on it to revive the franchise at the box office with \u201cStar Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,\u201d which is set to hit theaters May 22. The trailers have looked decent, but I think the first \u201cStar Wars\u201d theatrical film in seven years needs a little more pizazz; it still ultimately looks like a television episode I could catch on Disney+. But if you\u2019re a fan of the show or itching to watch \u201cStar Wars\u201d on the big screen again, this will probably be worth watching.
Internet urban legends are the defining folklore of the 21st century. Cursed figures and horrifying stories born in the dark corners of the internet have ingrained themselves in the public imagination of those who grew up online \u2014 the playground rumors of old have now moved to YouTube comment sections. So it makes perfect sense that A24 is now adapting one of these stories for the big screen with \u201cBackrooms.\u201d For those who don\u2019t know, Backrooms describes a type of haunting liminal space: abandoned rooms that stretch forever, with no sign of civilization in sight. Kane Parsons helped popularize the urban legend through his YouTube videos and is now directing this film, due May 29. The fact that he is directing an A24 film at only 20 has made me feel a lot of things about what I\u2019m doing with my life. But putting that aside, \u201cBackrooms\u201d looks unlike any other horror film I\u2019ve seen, with the central concept of the backrooms exuding a haunting allure. I\u2019d recommend you watch this not only for its mysterious novelty, but also to understand what the future of cinema will look like as Gen Z assumes the directorial chair.
We are currently living in a post-woke moment, with many people eager to indulge in dark humor after years of aggressive institutional endorsement of progressive values. \u201cScary Movie\u201d is back to capitalize on this trend, constantly flaunting edgy jokes and mocking political correctness in its trailers. I personally find this style of humor to be grating and lazy; making a pronoun joke the big punchline in your trailer demonstrates the same comedic instincts as a fifth grader. Perhaps the trailers are overplaying this style of humor, and the film will primarily focus on sending up horror films, which is kind of the whole point of the franchise anyway. But if you\u2019re exhausted from woke, and you need a Hollywood film to tell you it\u2019s OK to laugh at marginalized groups again, then \u201cScary Movie\u201d might be perfect for you. And try to catch it sooner rather than later, as Woke 2.0 will soon take over and destroy all copies of it.
Interest in aliens has surged in recent years, as if people are so tired of humanity and this world that they hope an advanced species out there will either come to save or destroy us. Here to add fuel to this wildfire of speculation is Steven Spielberg and his newest film about aliens, \u201cDisclosure Day.\u201d Spielberg is no stranger to the topic, having directed films like \u201cE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial\u201d and \u201cClose Encounters of the Third Kind.\u201d However, this film seems much more urgent and serious than those, almost as if Spielberg is genuinely wrestling with what the existence of aliens means for humanity. At CinemaCon, Spielberg said he \u201ctruly believe[s] that this movie is going to answer questions and cause you to ask a lot of questions\u201d and that the film is \u201cway closer to truth than to fiction.\u201d Did he capture real footage of aliens for this film? The only way to find out is to see it in theaters. And even if you\u2019re not that interested in the topic of aliens, any film from a masterful director like Spielberg should be seen on the big screen.
I know many people groaned when Pixar announced they were making \u201cToy Story 5\u201d. The previous installment, \u201cToy Story 4,\u201d was already met with a heavy amount of skepticism, as many claimed it was a shameless cash grab after the perfectly satisfying ending of \u201cToy Story 3\u201d. But I will always defend this franchise continuing after the third installment because these new films have something worth saying. \u201cToy Story 4\u201d smartly evolved the themes of purpose and responsibility from the previous films, and \u201cToy Story 5\u201d seems set to critique our increasing dependence on technology that has been creeping deeper and deeper into childhood. I know Pixar has been inconsistent this decade, but I trust them to cook with their most cherished property, and you should, too.
Last year\u2019s \u201cSuperman\u201d was a great time, but the real test of James Gunn\u2019s new leadership of DC Comics will be this summer\u2019s \u201cSupergirl.\u201d While Superman is a wholesome Boy Scout, Supergirl is a belligerent party girl, and the gritty style of the film reflects this. The film centers around Supergirl going on a revenge mission for her dog, Krypto, a la John Wick. Director Craig Gillespie is a reliable journeyman, and from what we\u2019ve seen so far, Milly Alcock is a great Supergirl, so I\u2019m confident this will turn out to be a solid entry in the burgeoning DCU.
How low can corporate greed go? Disney is trying to answer this age-old question with the live-action \u201cMoana.\u201d Yes, Disney is really doing a live-action remake of \u201cMoana\u201d only 10 years after the animated original came out. Why, you may ask? Well, there\u2019s something called money, and Disney wants a lot of it. Even better, the footage from the trailers looks as soulless as the film\u2019s existence sounds. The film is an abomination devoid of any artistic merit. It will probably make a billion dollars.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is it. The definitive movie of the summer is Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u201cThe Odyssey.\u201d After the success of \u201cOppenheimer,\u201d Nolan was given a blank check to adapt Homer\u2019s \u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d among the most important stories in the Western world. Even though the sprawling epic was written almost 3,000 years before Nolan was born, it feels like it was made for his directorial style, with its non-linear storytelling and time as the driving conflict. It also features an all-star cast that\u2019s the result of every actor in Hollywood vying for a spot in Nolan\u2019s biggest film yet. Previews so far have been promising: As long as you\u2019re not obsessed with historical accuracy, I think this film will live up to the hype.
No matter how bad superhero fatigue gets, nobody will ever get tired of Spider-Man. Underneath all the spider superpowers is Peter Parker, an immensely relatable young guy who struggles with money and love just like everyone else. It seems that \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day\u201d will be leaning heavily into Peter\u2019s grounded personal problems. In the widely memed trailer for the film, we see Peter struggling with the fallout of everyone on Earth forgetting who he is after the magic spell in \u201cSpider-Man: No Way Home.\u201d He is profoundly lonely, and even worse, he is forced to watch MJ, the love of his life, move on as if he never existed \u2014 these emotional stakes give the film the potential to reach the heights of the Raimi trilogy. Also, Sadie Sink will be playing a superhero villain! The film will be a perfect midsummer pick-me-up if you have any baseline interest in Spider-Man.
You ask, \u201cWho loves rom-coms?\u201d and the entire room raises their hands. You then ask, \u201cWho wants to watch a rom-com in theaters?\u201d and most of the hands go back down. The genre has been consistently struggling at the box office as audiences are satisfied getting their rom-com fix from TV shows or at-home movies. But there have been some exceptions, including \u201cAnyone but You,\u201d starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. Rom-com expert Will Gluck was behind that film, and he\u2019s back again with \u201cOne Night Only\u201d. It\u2019s a high-concept rom-com in the style of \u201cThe Purge,\u201d taking place in an alternate world where pre-marital sex is only legal one night a year. It also stars two beautiful people, Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, so it should be a fun if slighly bizarre time at the movies.
\u201cJurassic Park\u201d holds a monopoly on dinosaurs in movies, which is rather unfortunate, as they are marvelous creatures. However, the last big release of the summer is stepping up and taking a crack at them. \u201cThe End of Oak Street\u201d is currently shrouded in mystery, but the basic premise is that an entire neighborhood street is magically transported to a world with dinosaurs. Indie darling David Robert Mitchell is behind the film, and seeing a director like him getting a summer blockbuster is super exciting. The trailers also look great, making this a very promising finish to the summer.
Overall, the box office is looking incredibly healthy this summer. We have original blockbusters from auteurs, new entries in beloved franchises and a solid diversity of genres. Now it is up to us, the audiences, to show up and tell Hollywood with our wallets what kind of films we want from them.<\/p>\n