Sneak peek at summer
SEQUELS, SUPERHEROES LEAD CHARGE ONTO BIG SCREEN
I t's almost summertime at the movies, and I wonder if “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” (May 12, Warner Bros.) fits under the heading “Superhero” (he wears a cape, after all, and has a magic sword) or “Reboot”? Well, I can take comfort in knowing where “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (May 5, Buena Vista) fits, and that is under the headings “Sequels” (and “Prequels”) and Marvel comic book movies.
Yes, the season when all the titles sound more than vaguely familiar is upon us. Ergo, more sequels such as Ridley Scott's “Alien: Covenant” (May 19, Fox), the second in the “Alien” prequel series, which hits theaters with a spray of yellow corrosive gore, and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul” (May 19, Fox),
which arrives with a whimper. More sequels? are you ready for the return of Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” (May 26, Buena Vista) or “let's Get Johnny depp Out of debtor's prison”?
“Cars 2” brought machine guns to the kiddie series. let's see what “Cars 3” (June 16, Buena Vista) dredges up. Speaking arturian, director Michael Bay says “Transformers: The Last Knight” (June 23, paramount) is the last “Transformers” film he will direct until a “good story” comes along. When did he get picky? The Minions are back in “Despicable
Me 3” (June 30, Universal). Even more? devil doll film
“Annabelle: Creation” (aug. 11, Warner Bros.) arrives a week before the animated follow-up “The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature” (aug. 18, Open road Films).
File under “Superhero”: dC's “Wonder Woman” (June 2, Warner Bros.) with supermodel Gal Gadot, whose screen career has not been stellar. “SpiderMan: Homecoming” (July 7, Sony) with Brit Tom Holland is a reboot, a superhero film and a sequel (or prequel) all wrapped up in the same shiny package, and also featuring someone named iron Man. a sequel to a reboot, “War for the Planet of the
Apes” (July 14, Fox) boasts a simian andy Serkis along with humans Woody Harrelson and Judy Greer.
Sequel or reboot? you tell me. “The Mummy” (June 9, Universal), another effort by the studio to, ahem, resurrect, again, its Golden age of Horror-era classic screen monsters, with producers alex Kurtzman and roberto Orci of those “Transformers” movies and starring Tom Cruise. So who's the Mummy? The 19th “amityville” film in the series, “Amityville: The Awakening” (June 30, Weinstein), also arrives.
Under the heading “Movies Based on TV Shows from prehistoric Times” comes the ultimate eye-candy sparkly thing — “Baywatch” (May 25, paramount), with dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, alexandra daddario, priyanka Chopra and ilfenesh Hadera as Florida, not Malibu, lifeguards. a rare original film, “All
Eyez on Me” (June 16, lionsgate) tells the life story of rapper Tupac Shakur. also original are “Snatched” (May 12, Fox), teaming amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn, and “Baby Driver” (June 28, Tri-Star), a “drive”-soundalike crime drama from Edgar Wright (“The World's End”) with ansel Elgort and lily James. The title — “The
House” (June 30, Warner Bros.) — with amy poehler and Will Ferrell, might not be original. But the film, a comedy about parents who turn their basement into a casino, is. The dice will roll when original titles “Dunkirk” (July
21, Warner Bros.) and “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” (July 21, STX Entertainment), the former a World War ii-era epic from Christopher Nolan, the latter a sci-fi extravaganza from the director of “The Fifth Element,” open the same day.
arguably the summer's biggest gamble is “Detroit,” (aug. 4, annapurna pictures), a re-enactment of the biggest citizen uprising in U.S. history in that city in 1967 from academy award-winner Kathryn Bigelow. perhaps the start of a new film series,
“The Dark Tower” (aug. 4, Sony), a sequel to a book series by Stephen King, features idris Elba as gunslinger roland deschain. Shoot men, roland.