Summer is typically movie season. Young people are out of school and have a lot more free time to go to the movies. Hollywood has known this for the last forty years. Over the last twenty years, summer releases of big budget action blockbusters have increased. Studios even put out big budget, non-action movies like the upcoming The Great Gatsby. This summer has many blockbusters as well as non-blockbusters to look forward to. From May to August, here are the top 10 movies to watch out for this summer in order of release date:
Iron Man 3 — May 2
See Robert Downey Jr. don the iron man suit yet again for Iron Man 3. Iron Man was great, Iron Man 2 was decent, so Iron Man 3 should fall somewhere in the middle. If Iron Man 3 does not persuade viewers, the sheer talent of the cast will. Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle and of course Robert Downey Jr. are sure to please. Preliminary reviews are already positive.
The Iceman — May 3
Michael Shannon (“Boardwalk Empire”) portrays real-life mob hitman Richard Kuklinski. This biopic tells the story of the now imprisoned Kuklinski, from his early beginnings to his eventual capture. Michael Shannon has been on a performance streak, and he surely will not disappoint.
The Great Gatsby - May 10
Baz Luhrmann is always a risky choice because his films are always hits or misses with audiences. He is also attempting to adapt an American classic, which is always tricky. Whether Gatsby turns out to be a good film or a bad film, it should at least be on everyone’s radar.
Star Trek Into Darkness — May 15
Seeing the first Star Trek is more than enough reason to see the sequel.
The Hangover Part III —May 24
No one thought that a trilogy of films could come from such a premise, but The Hangover Part III comes out in May. The first movie was great, and the second was a poor copy of the first. Do not expect anything groundbreaking, but the movie will certainly have some laugh-out-loud moments.
Man of Steel — June 14
Two words: Christopher Nolan. That is the name of one of the world’s most talented directors. Christopher Nolan knows how to make a movie, and he delivered one of the richest trilogies of all time with the Dark Knight Trilogy. Here, he produces, and Zack Snyder of 300 directs. This should be one of the better movies of the summer and is an absolute must-see for fans of either 300, the Batman movies, or anything Superman-related.
Pacific Rim — July 12
Guillermo del Toro has an imagination unlike any other. It gave the world two Hellboy films and Pan’s Labyrinth. On the basis of the latter, this should be a worthy film.
Only God Forgives — July 19
Most people will know director Nicolas Winding Refn from his 2011 Drive, which also starred Ryan Gosling. He has been making great films since his first film, Pusher (1996), and this upcoming crime thriller should continue his hot streak.
The Wolverine — July 26
For those viewers looking for a good action movie, The Wolverine is probably it. Director James Mangold has directed enough good movies, and Hugh Jackman has performed the role of Wolverine enough times that this should be worth seeing.
300: Rise of an Empire —August 2
Do not expect much new here. 300 was, if nothing else, slick entertainment, and this film should follow in its footsteps.
This will surely be a great summer for movies. This list is just a starting point. There are many other potentially good movies, but hopefully these movies are worth the price of admission.
