Categories
Reviews Stories In Focus

What to Watch This Summer

#10: Finding DoryFinding Nemo continues to hold up as one of Pixar’s best, most vivid, and heart-warming films making this Dory-centered sequel one that audiences have awaited for years. The lovable blue tang’s search for her parents could easily be the next smash-hit for Pixar, provided it has something new to offer beyond simply living off the success of its predecessor.

#9: WarcraftWarcraft with its name-recognition, big budget, and competent director, is seeking to upend the notion that all “Video Game Movies” have to suck. Its CGI-heavy story about the ongoing war between humans and orcs is given a boost of legitimacy with Duncan Jones’ name attached, having established a notable track record with films like Moon and Source Code, definitely making this one to look out for.

#8: Sausage Party – Seth Rogen’s hard R-rated animated comedy is about a talking sausage who’s trying to warn his fellow food-based friends about what really happens when humans take them home from the grocery store. Fans of Rogen’s crude humor are likely to enjoy this one, just know that it is not for everybody. Do not take the kids unless you want them learning some fun new words.

#7: Suicide Squad – DC’s lack of a sense of humor in their films is something Suicide Squad aims to fix, reintroducing the Joker and a number of Batman villains for Ben Affleck and the rest of Gotham to worry about. After such a mixed response to Batman v. Superman, DC needs a slam dunk here. The trailers have been promising. If Suicide Squad can actually deliver then Marvel may have to start paying attention.

#6: The Conjuring 2 – Ed and Lorraine Warren continue their paranormal investigations, counseling a young girl in London who is being tormented by another evil spirit. Horror movie sequels usually fall way short of their predecessors and The Conjuring set that standard pretty high, but if the trailer is any indication of 2’s overall quality then none of us are sleeping for weeks.

Kubo-and-the-Two-Strings-The-Garden-of-Eyes-1 copy#5: Kubo and the Two Strings – From the director of Coraline and ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings looks beautiful. A young boy sets out on a quest to defeat a vengeful spirit, armed with only his friends and his small, important-looking guitar…thing. Anyone familiar with Travis Knight’s other films will be familiar with Kubo’s distinct, vivid animation. It is a unique looking film with plenty of character to sustain the film beyond simple aesthetics.

#4: Pete’s Dragon – The original Pete’s Dragon was a middling Disney movie with its standout feature being the melding of a live-action world with a two-dimensional dragon. That feature no longer feels like a gimmick today, but the trailer for this summer’s remake looks simply incredible. So close on the heels of Jon Favreau’s Jungle Book adaptation, to see Pete’s Dragon be given blockbuster treatment in such lavish fashion makes it look like another fine addition to Disney’s catalog.

#3: Swiss Army ManSwiss Army Man is a dark comedy about Hank, (Paul Dano) who’s been stranded on a deserted island and finds a dead body (Daniel Radcliffe) that’s been washed ashore. Hank discovers that he can not only speak to the body, but he can use him for essentially any necessary task, plausible or surreal. It is completely bizarre and seemingly impossible to describe the film briefly. It is better just to watch the trailer and appreciate how strange it really is.

#2: The LobsterThe Lobster is an odd indie flick where single people are arrested and sent to retreat centers where they are required to fall in love within a 45-day window. If they cannot, those people are turned into animals, literally. It’s a quirky, dark comedy with an unsettling tone and critics are already raving about it.

#1: Captain America: Civil War – Marvel has outdone itself every year and Civil War is being called the best film in its lineup. Captain America vs. Iron Man, Liberty vs. Security. This is a film that provokes just as much thought as it does adrenaline. It is a visual spectacle foremost, but it also considers morality in a way that most superhero movies, heck, most movies fail to address. Oh, also Spider-Man is in it. You cannot forget Spider-Man.