May is when the flowers come, an apt metaphor for the summer movie season as well:
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
The Good: Marvel has a good grasp on its superheroes and their general movie trajectory.
The Bad: The more Marvel movies, the more bloated they all start to feel with info dumps.
Prediction:
This will be a strong outing really contemplating the role of superheroes in society, and a nice palate cleanser before Marvel’s intergalactic war.
SNOWDEN
The Good: A movie about THE biggest question and most fascinating individual of our digital age.
The Bad: A dramatization of an already well documented event.
Prediction:
Oliver Stone’s movies are usually interesting, but hasn’t he learned his lesson about covering real life hot button topics like JFK or George W. Bush?
THE LOBSTER
The Good: Fantastically bizarre premise.
The Bad: Unproven director in the US.
Prediction:
The preview is so fascinating, plus it could be a fascinating take on relationships.
ANGRY BIRDS
The Good: Very colorful and visually pretty striking.
The Bad: Movies based on Apps haven’t exactly been proven commodities yet.
Prediction:
This should be cute for kids, and filled with horrible puns.
NEIGHBORS 2: SORORITY RISING
The Good: Neighbors was funny, and everyone is back.
The Bad: Sequel fatigue is inevitable, especially because the first ended the story pretty definitively.
Prediction:
This will be funny as hell, and probably pointless as hell. But it will be funny, so relax.
THE NICE GUYS
The Good: Strong jokey premise with a smart director, Shane Black.
The Bad: Russell Crowe isn’t exactly the funniest guy.
Prediction:
I trust the creative team, and the trailer gave me more laughs than any other trailer in recent memory.
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
The Good: Strong, reinvigorated franchise with top notch talent everywhere.
The Bad: Like Marvel, might get a tad overstuffed.
Prediction:
With contract issues for the stars of the franchise, it is possible we might see a major superhero death in this film, raising the stakes.
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
The Good: A necessary director change from the first film that should still have fantastic visuals.
The Bad: The same writer from a mediocre prequel that was cool to look at but that’s it.
Prediction:
I think this will be better than the 2010 original, but I have large doubts if it will be much better.