Summer Blockbuster season is just days away with the release of Marvel’s Avengers sequel. There’s A LOT to be excited for this summer, and they aren’t all blockbuster-types, but a good handful of small, indie films that are sure to capture our minds and hearts between the bombastic thrillers we’ll be seeing.
The TYF staff share their Top 5 most anticipated movies this summer. At the end of summer, sometime in September, we’ll revisit these lists and see if any of these films were worth the hype.
Click NEXT to see our Most Anticipated Summer Movies.
Gabrielle Bondi’s Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies
I find that this summer, it’s not really the BIG blockbusters that have me excited, like Avengers, Ant-Man, Fantastic Four, Terminator, etc. While I am looking forward to those movies, it’s the ones listed below that have me biting my nails in anticipation. (Also, I should mention that Me & Earl and The Dying Girl would have made the list if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve already seen it and loved it.)
- Tomorrowland – I love director Brad Bird, so I am just automatically looking forward to any of his movies. This one, in particular, looks amazingly original, and something I hope to love immensely.
- Dope – Did you watch this trailer? Along with the good buzz from Sundance, Dope just seems like a hell of a time. I love smart teen comedies that are atmospheric and showcase a genuine air of authenticity.
- Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – Of all the franchise movies out this summer, I’m most excited for the new Mission Impossible. The crazy stunts, gadgets and missions have always kept me on the edge of my seat.
- Trainwreck – LeBron James watches Downton Abbey. I’m done.
- Inside Out – It’s been HOW long since we’ve gotten a new Pixar movie?! The concept behind Inside Out seems ridiculously ambitious, but from what I’ve seen so far, I think they’re going to nail it.
Honorable Mention: Pan. It would have topped the list if Warner Bros. didn’t delay its release to October. :(
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Alex Hanavan’s Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies
Jurassic World
There are too many reasons to be excited about this movie, and not one reason that it can’t be the defining movie of the summer. Jurassic Park defined how our generation imagines dinosaurs, as well as established how to act like one to terrorize younger siblings. Plus Chris Pratt.
Mad Max: Fury Road
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I’m a long time fan of the original movies. The Wasteland is brought to life in an incredible way and they perfectly showcase the chaotic, desolate atmosphere that so many movies try to recreate. It’s gritty and raw, and I can’t wait to see how Max translates to this century’s special effects industry.
Pitch Perfect 2
Pitch Perfect was a movie that I was forced to watch and thought I would hate. Little did I know that I would still be quoting the entire thing two years later. I can’t get enough of Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson.
Inside Out
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Pixar. Enough said.
But really, I’ve never left the theater unsatisfied (forget about Cars 2) and I am always surprised by how much creativity can be squeezed out of that studio’s brains.Pete Docter is truly a creative genius.
Tomorrowland
Speaking of Pixar, Tomorrowland director Brad Bird has me hopeful for a truly moving performance by George Clooney. Even if it’s not terribly moving, who doesn’t want to see more of George Clooney?
Ryan Gibbs’ Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies
- Love and Mercy (dir: Bill Pohlad, June 5)
The story of the great Brian Wilson has long warranted the biopic treatment. Wilson, who turned his group the Beach Boys from icons of surf music to the most innovative American pop act of the 1960s, retreated from the spotlight at the height of his career. Love and Mercy documents two starkly different portions of the troubled genius’ life: the production of the landmark Pet Sounds as he begins to fall into mental illness and the 1980s, where he is under the care of the infamous therapist Eugene Landy, who controlled his life and career at that point. The film uses two different actors – Paul Dano and John Cusack – to play Wilson at the two different parts of his career. The rave reviews the film has received on the festival circuit over the past year, and the enthusiastic endorsement from Wilson himself, makes Love and Mercy out the be the film to look out for this summer for music obsessives.
- Ricki and the Flash (dir: Jonathan Demme, Aug. 7)
This film’s interesting premise (an aging rock star attempts to reconnect with the husband and daughter she abandoned decades ago) and attached big names have me very excited about this. The script is from Diablo Cody, whose work has been more hit (“Young Adult,” “Juno” despite its faults) than miss (“Jennifer’s Body”) in my opinion. In the director’s seat is Demme, who has become very selective with the films he choses to attach himself to. The film stars Meryl Streep and her real-life daughter Mamie Gummer, and it’s first time the two have appeared in a film together since 1986’s Heartburn, filmed when Gummer was a toddler. The film should be another worthy entry in Streep’s celebrated filmography and if the buzz is to be believed, could be her 20th Oscar nomination come January.
- The Avengers: Age of Ultron (dir: Joss Whedon, May 1)
I hope my list of mostly arthouse fare doesn’t make me seem like i’m above superhero films. The Avengers was one of the most exciting cinematic experiences of the past decade, and while I’ve been less than thrilled with most of the MCU Phase II movies (barring Guardians of the Galaxy), i’m still looking forward to Age of Ultron. For all its build-up as 2015’s Big Event Movie, i’m still expecting this to be a terrific popcorn flick and I’m curious to see if the film provides the early seeds of the Civil War storyline that may provide an interesting arc for Phase 3.
- The End of the Tour (dir: James Ponsoldt, July 31)
There has been a lot going against The End of the Tour, a film that recounts journalist David Lipsky’s summer following the celebrated writer David Foster Wallace on his book tour for his magnum opus Infinite Jest. Jason Segel seemed like an odd casting choice, and fans of Wallace revolted at early production photos that seemed to reduce him to an eccentric white dude wearing a do-rag. Wallace’s estate also blasted the film and refused to have anything to do with it. However, I greatly enjoyed Lipsky’s book, And Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, which acts as the source material for this film, and i’m willing to give the film a chance despite its initial bad press.
- Results (dir: Andrew Bujalski, May 29)
Andrew Bujalski’s previous effort, Computer Chess, was one of my favorite films of 2013; an unexpected mash of different genres that practically required an immediate second viewing. Previews for his new film Results make it out to be a bit more conventional than Computer Chess, but i’m quite excited to see what the director (who also helmed the terrific Funny Ha Ha) does next, especially with the buzz Cobie Smulders has been getting for her lead role.
Evan Griffin’s Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies
These films are so FREAKIN’ massive in scope and size and have the reputation of franchises dependent on them, that people are even afraid of The Avengers toppling over itself. These are the movies that have the chance of crushing under their own weight, but I have hope that they breath something new and awesome into their respective franchises.
5. Terminator Genisys: The first two Terminator films, and the Sarah Connor Chronicles, are a couple of my favorite Sci-Fi creations ever made. That makes Terminator 3 and Salvation so, incredibly, disappointing. The promotions for this have been awful, from bad photoshops and an old, scrunchy Arnold inches from shouting “Get THROUGH the Choppah!”
But with cast members like Emilia Clarke and Jason Clarke, and throwbacks to the quality of T2 in the most recent trailer… I’m slowly rolling into a hope that this could be really really awesome. I hope Arnold proves me wrong on this one.
4. Jurassic World: I’ve loved Jurassic Park my whole life, but let’s face it – there’s only one good Jurassic Park movie. Between the writers of the new Planet of the Apes films, and indie director Collin Trevorrow, and new mega-star Chris Pratt with his velociraptor Entourage, it very well could make dinosaurs the coolest shit ever one more time.
3. Ant-Man: I love Edgar Wright too, he would have made the least Marvel-y Marvel movie to date. However, I’m still intrigued by Ant-Man in it’s scale being so considerably different, literally, compared to Age of Ultron or the upcoming Civil War. I can’t wait to see Paul Rudd portray a complex anti-hero like Scott Lang, I’m a fan of Corey Stoll as a performer, and I’m very interested to see what kind of writing Adam McKay and Rudd turned out in their month of reworking a script for this. People are ready to deem this as Marvel’s first misstep, and I think it would be the coolest thing if they proved everyone wrong once again, just like last summer.
2. Mad Max: Fury Road: I’m sorry, but HAVE YOU SEEN THE ROAD WARRIOR? Go watch it right now, you should be ashamed of yourself if you haven’t.
You back, yet? Ok good. Now picture George Miller doing exactly that kind of film with the possibilities available to him in 2015 and a strong cast in Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult. Thunderdome be damned. This could be the best movie of the year.
1. Avengers: Age of Ultron
You know why this is here. You must by hiding under a rock if you don’t know about this movie, and there’s no reason you should be afraid of it. I literally cannot contain the amount of excitement that is building within me to see Joss Whedon’s last dance with the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Be prepared for James Spader to produce dark twisted insanity as Ultron 5, The Living Automaton. And if you don’t know or care who Vision is, you certainly will when the film is over. CHOO CHOO GUYS! HERE COMES THE HYPE TRAIN!
Allyson Johnson’s Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies
Mission Impossible 5
I loved Ghost Protocol and can’t seem to find a way that the 5th installment of the Mission Impossible series will be anything less than an exhilarating ride.
Trainwreck
A female led comedy? Amy Schumer as the lead? Bill Hader?! Any of the three would have had me purchasing a ticket…all of them together, is just a treat. I don’t know much about Schumers pas work but from the trailers, it seems like she’s going to be hilarious and with Hader playing her love interest (who I believe to be absolutely swoon-worthy) Trainwreck may continue to prove that romantic comedies aren’t a lost cause of a genre.
Testament of Youth
I love period dramas and the trailer for this adaptation looked gorgeous. The settings, the music, the costumes, and the actors all seem to have stepped out of that time. Alicia Vikander is playing the strong willed and highly intelligent lead with Kit Harrington as her lover and I can’t wait for the pair to break my heart this June.
Me & Earl and the Dying Girl
I love coming of age stories and this one looks unlike many that I’ve seen. The leading cast looks memorable and charming and it could be the antithesis to The Fault in our Stars that I’ve been waiting for.
Dope
Have you seen the trailer? I can’t pinpoint why I want to see this movie, but I dare you to watch the trailer and decide that you don’t.
Nicole Mendez’s Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies
- Ant-Man: I really, really like Paul Rudd and bad-guys-gone-good superhero movies. Marvel movies are my guilty pleasure, and out of all the other ones coming out this summer, this is one that I think will be the best in terms of story line and personality.
- Jurassic World: Okay, first of all, Chris Pratt. Second of all, the mind blowing graphics. Third of all, a new story line, 22 years later. Fourth of all, Christ Pratt.
- Trainwreck: This is the type of humor that I actually find funny, and it’s a movie about sex, which I think we all can enjoy. Also, Amy Schumer seems to be making her debut as a queen of comedy in this movie, and Bill Hader…well he was on 160 episodes of SNL, so he might be just a little funny.
- SouthPaw: I’m a sucker for hard-hitting movies about people who fight for what they love and try to fix their mistakes. I’m mostly excited because I think Jake G. is a genius at playing every role he’s given.
- Magic Mike XXL: I guess the plot line would be interesting, but I don’t need a plot line to want to watch this. The comedy is a plus, and the men are 98.9% of the reason I picked this on my list. Superficial, I know. But I think that’s the whole point.
Jon Espino’s Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies
In no particular order:
1) Tomorrowland – For a film based on a Disneyland attraction, this looks like it could be an interesting cinematic ride all its own. The visuals are stunning and it has George Clooney, so that’s already a good start. I’m not entirely sure what the story is, but the other two things are enough to make me want to see this.
2) Jurassic World – It’s been almost 15 years since the last Jurassic Park film and this exciting franchise was due for a reboot. It will be done with help of one of my favorite rising action stars, Chris Pratt. Hopefully, if he can save the galaxy, he can definitely save this once great franchise.
3) Terminator Genisys – Another great franchise that needs to be rebooted will have their opportunity this summer. All the trailers for it have been a little too revealing for my liking, but I will, of course, be watching it either way. Especially to see how they managed to integrate Arnold in again!
4) Ant-Man – This movie has gone through more writers than I can count. I was unbelievably excited when Edgar Wright was supposed to direct it, but now that he is gone I am still pretty excited to see what is done with the film. It might end up a reminder of what could have been with Wright at the helm.
5) Mr. Holmes – Ian McKellen can do no wrong, whether it is on stage or screen. That is why I’m excited for him to play the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. Just another great character like Magneto or Gandalf to put under his belt.
(*Side Note: I couldn’t include Spy or Me, Earl & The Dying Girl in my list because I’ve already seen them and can also vouch for their awesomeness)
Stephanie Jones’ Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies
The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Because who isn’t excited about this movie?! I LOVE superhero movies and this one takes the cake with its action-packed scenes.
Fantastic Four – I can’t wait for this particular reboot because of its darker tone. Granted, I’m a fan of the first movie, but there were times when it got a little campy and the reboot seems to have less jokes (which is good in my book because too many cheesy jokes kill superhero movies for me). And I can’t wait to Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch.
Mad Max: Fury Road – Judging by the trailer, it looks like the reboot captures the essence of the original cult films and that’s a positive. On the other hand, Charlize Theron looks so badass ,and I can’t wait to see her do what she does best, which is kicking butt and taking names.
Inside Out – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this trailer and have felt all fuzzy inside. The story is so unique, and I can’t wait to get all in my feelings with this one.
Straight Outta Compton – As one of the most influential rap groups in music history, I am anticipating seeing N.W.A’s story play out on the big screen. They’ve had an amazing journey, and I am curious as to how they reached the top.
What are your most-anticipated summer movies?
Share in the comments!
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