By Emmanuel Velez
(1) Captain America: Civil War – To kick off the summer movie season, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark are under rules that require them to reveal their superhero identities. It features newer heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe like Ant-Man, Black Panther, and, of course, “your friendly neighborhood, Spider-Man!” Captain America: Civil War serves just enough action and suspense without overstuffing the movie (*cough* Batman v. Superman *cough*) – not to mention that a portion of the movie is filmed with IMAX cameras. Opens May 6, 2016. It is well worth the price of admission for its nonstop action and even plot development.
(2) X-Men: Apocalypse – This 16-year movie franchise returns to the big screen once again featuring Marvel’s mutants. This addition is in the rebooted universe, which began after First Class and then continued with Days of Future Past. After the events of Days of Future Past, the X-Men’s most powerful enemy, Apocalypse, wakes up in this movie’s setting, the 1980s, and he wants to destroy it. With the return of Professor X, Magneto, Mystique – along with the younger versions of Cyclops, Storm, and Jean Grey – and new characters like Psylocke, Angel, and Nightcrawler, X-Men: Apocalypse brings the best of the X-Men to reboot the franchise (without actually rebooting it) into a new “Future Present” of the mutants. Opens May 27, 2016.
(3) Finding Dory – You know how Pixar is with releasing films nearly every year and they’re really good. But after a long 13 years, 2003’s Finding Nemo finally gets its sequel, Finding Dory. Dory now sets off to find her family across the ocean. Featuring returns of the original cast, the movie also features new lovable characters. A comparison with the original and it becomes apparent how far animation technology, especially with for Pixar, has come. Remember how amazing the animation looked in Finding Nemo? This film blows it away. Opens June 17, 2016.
(4) Independence Day: Resurgence – Another sequel that has been a long time in coming is the Independence Day sequel. It takes place 20 years after the events of the original Independence Day movie, which is actually now. The original film was released in 1996! The aliens return to Earth with a vengeance. But this time, the humans have salvaged the extra-terrestrial technology, but the aliens have also developed their technology. Can the humans once again retain their independence? Opens June 24, 2016.
(5) The Secret Life of Pets – Want a taste of something a little different from Illumination Entertainment? The creators of Despicable Me have decided to show what pets do when their owners are not at home. It seems Toy Story-inspired (or ripped off), but it should keep audiences pacified until the upcoming Despicable Me 3 in 2017. Opens July 8, 2016.
(6) Ghostbusters (2016) – Who you gonna call? The all new, all rebooted, all female lead cast, GHOSTBUSTERS! Yes, rebooted – Ghostbusters, which means this probably does not tie in to the original two films. Set here in the present, four women open a paranormal-investigating business in New York and must put a stop to a threat releasing many figures of ghosts. If the visuals from Independence Day, which opened in the 90s, and Finding Nemo, which opened in the 2000s, looks amazing next to their 2016 sequels, then imagine how the Ghostbusters sequel will look next to the original from 1984! Opens July 15, 2016.
(7) Ice Age: Collision Course – The third animated movie to make the 10 most anticipated movies of this summer is the fifth Ice Age film. After exploring the ice age, its meltdown, the dinosaurs under it, and the continental drift, the next installment is more apocalyptic, representing the meteor shower that made the dinosaurs go extinct. Of course this was again all caused by that nut-loving prehistoric squirrel, Scrat. The fifth installment now has Manny, his friends, and family running to find a new home when meteor showers put them in danger. It should be fun to bring a little brother or sister to, anyway. Opens July 22, 2016.
(8) Jason Bourne – After nine years since the release of The Bourne Ultimatum, Matt Damon returns to reprise the role of an iconic American spy, Jason Bourne. Not much is known about the movie (even with a trailer released), but expect a ton of action from the man who is still trying to remember who he is. Opens July 29, 2016.
(9) Suicide Squad – Despite DC’s mediocre Batman versus Superman: Dawn of Justice, the push to compete with Marvel is not done in 2016. Supervillains are recruited to complete a mission only they can do, well actually if they fail, they were villains anyway, so no big loss, right? This movie looks more organized than the already mentioned Dawn of Justice and it’s about time DC released its supervillains! A little warning though, these are villains, so they are bad, this movie is definitely not for all audiences. This film was held to a PG-13 rating, to fit in with other films in the DC universe, but it definitely will include a much darker tone than other films in this universe. Opens August 5, 2016.
(10) Sausage Party – A film that did go for the “R” rating is the animated movie Sausage Party. In this unlikely movie, foods that can talk, or at least can be seen to talk by audiences, must figure out a plan to escape a digestive system. They realize that their destiny is to be kicked by our teeth, jaws, tongues and digestive system. Not the typical CGI animated film, this is a creative storyline, and it opens August 12, 2016.
This summer is poised to be a good summer for the movie patron. Get your popcorn and enjoy!
