Warm up to 2024’s Most Anticipated Spring/Summer Movies
I don’t know how the movie producers picked March 2024, but Dune Part Two, a Ghostbusters sequel, a new Godzilla movie, and a host of other big releases decided to get an early start on movie blockbuster season. Personally, I consider April to August the official season… But with Dune vacating what would have been my top spot, the shine on the summer is a little darker than it already was. With the superhero malaise set in and no big spectacle event, is there anything worth watching? Well, welcome to offbeat summer 2024, a year of swings, years old interesting IP reboots, and long awaited returns of movie legends from the past.
Let’s start though with the “red flags,” the movies that will be pandering, condescending, and likely a waste of $10-$20:
This is dangerously flirting with red flag, as are all Non Deadpool Ryan Reynolds movies. John Krasinski’s direction gives some hope, but the more I see the less interested I become.
Simpler is better with video game to movie adaptations, and the sprawling Borderlands game with an August release isn’t inspiring. Though I’m at least a little intrigued by Eli Roth directing and a wild cast from Cate Blanchett to Jack Black.
Though others liked Alien: Covenant, I hated it, and feel as if the Alien franchise has run out of steam. Maybe Fede Alvarez’s direction will give the franchise a jolt, but I’m not betting on it.
Everyone’s back from the original. But should they be? I like Eddie Murphy like everyone else, but I liked him a lot more when he was edgy and exciting in the 1980s, less so as a multi millionaire reliving his glory days.
The last film ended on a high, but no Matt Reeves and no Andy Serkis means a new generation of Apes. We’ll see if there’s more story on this franchise’s bones.
The cast is excellent, with Tom Hardy trying a Chicago accent, and Austin Butler continuing his ascent to stardom. But more exciting is the welcome return to Jeff Nichols, who makes really interesting films.
The first time director makes me a little scary, but the first Inside Out was so smart, and left so much more story to tell, that I couldn’t be more excited to see what new emotions Pixar has for us as we see a young girl become a teenager, including the most prevalent one of the last 10 years, Anxiety. Plus, the puberty button is going to be a hilarious wrecking ball for sure!
I like the romcom concept: mom of teenage girl has romance with lead singer of a boy band. Anne Hathaway has made a bunch of interesting acting choices since her 2012 Oscar, and Nicholas Galitzine is ready for another big romcom moment after Red White & Royal Blue.
Initially, I thought this would go the route of generic pointless Gray Man action comedy garbage. Instead, early reviews are excellent, and it’s a hella fun romcom action ride. All hail Ken!
I know, the honorables aren’t exactly thrilling either. But even in the darkest movie moments there’s light. Here’s the brightest 10 lights of the summer 2024 movie season:
Kevin Costner decided enough was enough. No more Yellowstone on the small screen. It’s time for Yellowstone on the BIG SCREEN!! Costner is writing, directing, and starring in these two films, coming out within 2 MONTHS of each other in July & August. Sounds like this is a 4 parter if it goes well, and I hope it does…been a long time since we had a legit good ol’ fashioned western movie.
The first Twister in the 90s was one of the really fun summer blockbusters, with cows in the air, and trucks plowing through houses. 20ish years later and it’s time for a fun reboot. This is the summer of Glen Powell, who’s starring here along with a host of up and comers (Daisy Edgar Jones, Kiernan Shipka, Sasha Lane). The wildcard is director Lee Isaac Chung, who did the quiet small wonderful Minari a couple years ago; hopefully he can become as great of a big summer budget director as he is an indie sensation!
I applaud A24’s support of Alex Garland, who makes complex, very ambitious films that can be hard to appeal to mainstream audiences. I don’t think that will be a problem with this one, which is tapping into the frayed, exasperated feelings of many a United States citizen wondering about which kind of American they are, and if they’re the “good” kind of American. Plus, the action looks tense and exciting, with amazing celeb power couple Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons running the show.
After a pretty disastrous 2024, Marvel’s choosing to regroup, pushing all their projects back. The only one they left on the calendar is this one. Ryan Reynolds finally convinced Hugh Jackman to join him in a movie superhero buddy adventure, presumably going through the Fox X-Men movies and probably putting them to rest so a new generation of X-Men get ready to join the MCU. If it’s right, we’ll have an R-rated snarkier No Way Home, abounding with cameos and Jackman and Reynolds sniping at each other.
Ti West’s conclusion to one of the great horror franchises. We’re in the 1980s serial killer Hollywood now, with Mia Goth probably wreaking havoc in Los Angeles as she tries to become famous by any means necessary. This movie’s gonna be electric, weird, and exciting because of the perfect West/Goth pairing, who killed it previously with X and Pearl.
While Mad Max started George Miller’s endearing legacy, it was Charlize Theron’s Furiosa who’s catapulted it into a new generation. While it was tough to lose Theron for the prequel, Anya Taylor-Joy is a more than capable replacement, and an unhinged Chris Hemsworth and George Miller’s eye for incredible action set pieces should make this prequel way more fun than your random franchise fare.
Thanks to movies like RRR, I’ve become more versed in Bollywood action filmmaking. Though Dev Patel is not from India, his directorial debut shares a lot of beats of great Indian action if the trailer is any indication. And with Jordan Peele putting his producing stamp of approval on this one, my hopes are sky high that this is going to be an action sensation that will beat itself into your brain long after it ends.
If you haven’t seen 2019’s Boys State on Apple TV, watch that ASAP for an amazing look at kids going through the political process for the first time. The documentarians for that also directed this one, about girls going through the exact same thing. If this doc’s even 80% as compelling as their 2019 one, it’s going to be one of the best of the year, and early buzz says it delivers.
While Ryan Gosling and the Rock are trying to CGI everyone into forgetting their dialogue and characters in Netflix’s action comedy’s actually suck, Netflix got the memo, and gives us the opposite. Pair Austin, TX darlings Glen Powell (star, writing), and one of my favorite working directors Richard Linklater (writing, directing) to give us a an action comedy that has both action and comedy, and a little heat (Adria Arjona is also in this, and her and Powell already look sizzling). This is gonna be funny, exciting, and sexy, 3 for 3 on the bonafide blockbuster scale for me, with early reviews really selling the sh*t out of this one.
Summer’s queen though is Zendaya. Dune Two will be a player for a while…until she turns the summer heat up with this one. Luca Guadagnino modernizes the Hitchcock thriller with a little sports, a smokin love triangle, and Zendaya, poised to lead this story into fun, steamy, exciting directions. Move over Tom Holland: it’s time for Mary Jane to take center court for herself, and win the summer.
