Summer is finally here, and what better way to start off the blockbuster season than with the sequel to the biggest film from three years ago: Marvel’s “The Avengers.” Though it may seem like it could only go downhill from there, May has plenty of exciting films on its slate, from the “Mad Max” reboot, to the “Pitch Perfect” sequel, to the shrouded-in-secrecy “Tomorrowland.” And while not every title is guaranteed to hit its mark, there’s enough potential here that 2015 is shaping up to be one of the best summers at the movies in years.
Who: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany and Don Cheadle
What: When Tony Stark’s robotic peacekeeping program goes awry, it is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.
When: May 1st
Why: Joss Whedon was given the unenviable task of one-upping “The Avengers” (a job made even more difficult on the heels of “Winter Soldier” and “Guardians of the Galaxy”), but it certainly looks like he’s done it with “Age of Ultron.” Though there was always the risk that adding more characters to the Avengers roster would cause the movie to feel overstuffed (just look at that cast list!), there aren’t many directors who can handle large ensembles better than Whedon, because he always finds a way to make everyone feel like an integral part of the story. “Age of Ultron” may be Whedon’s Marvel swan song, but if early word is any indication, he’s gone out on a high note.
Who: Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara and Robert Kazinsky
What: An inept police officer must protect the widow of a drug dealer from criminals and dirty policemen.
When: May 8th
Why: Pairing Reese Witherspoon with Sofia Vergara may have sounded like a good idea on paper, but this looks absolutely awful. Witherspoon hasn’t made a good comedy since the original “Legally Blonde,” while Vergara has been living off her funny foreigner shtick for way too long. It works as part of an ensemble like “Modern Family,” but just watching the trailer gives me a headache from her incessantly loud and nasally screaming, let alone the thought of having to sit through 90 minutes of it. Hollywood may be desperate to prove that women can be funny, but while there’s no disputing that fact, you’d be better off just waiting one more week for “Pitch Perfect 2.”
Who: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin and Joely Richardson
What: A teenage girl becomes infected by an outbreak of a disease that turns the infected into cannibalistic zombies. During her transformation, her loving father stays by her side.
When: May 8th
Why: Though the whole zombie subgenre has been played to death (no pun intended) over the past five years or so, Henry Hobson’s “Maggie” offers an interesting take on the subject by spinning those genre roots into a father-daughter relationship drama that feels more like “The Road” than “The Walking Dead.” Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return from retirement hasn’t exactly gone the way he hoped, so it’s nice to see the actor stretching himself here with a more subtle turn as opposed to his usual action fare. Whether he has the dramatic chops required for such a role remains unseen, but in a month jam-packed with blockbuster films, this small indie has definitely piqued my interest.
Who: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
What: In a post-apocalyptic world in which people fight to the death, Max teams up with a mysterious woman named Furiousa to try and survive.
When: May 15th
Why: The first three “Mad Max” movies are hugely overrated in my mind, so when “Fury Road” was announced after years of being mired in a special kind of Development Hell, I didn’t really pay too much attention. But then I saw the first trailer, and that all quickly changed. Though it’s still difficult to discern any sort of plot from the footage released thus far (which isn’t surprising considering director George Miller storyboarded the entire movie before even writing a script), the film looks like a balls-to-the-wall visual feast of weirdness and destruction that takes everything fans loved about “The Road Warrior” and turns it up to 11.
Who: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson and Hailee Steinfeld
What: A collegiate a cappella group called the Barden Bellas enter an international competition that no American team has ever won before.
When: May 15th
Why: The first film was one of the surprise hits of 2012, growing in popularity once it arrived on home video and the earworm “Cups” dominated the radio. Though it was only inevitable that Universal would want to cash in on its success, “Pitch Perfect” didn’t seem like the kind of movie that really called for a sequel. Still, the very things that made the original so enjoyable (the cast, the music, the humor) all appear to be intact for this second installment, and despite my concerns, the fact that it’s being shepherded by returning writer Kay Cannon and producer/co-star Elizabeth Banks, making her feature film debut, gives me hope that it won’t disappoint.
Who: George Clooney, Britt Robertson and Hugh Laurie
What: Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of Tomorrowland.
When: May 22nd
Why: Following in the footsteps of “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Haunted Mansion” by adapting a Walt Disney theme park property (in this case, the future-themed Tomorrowland) into a movie, director Brad Bird’s new film looks like a rollicking sci-fi adventure… even if I’m still not entirely sure what it’s about. Though Bird and co-writer Damon Lindelof’s secrecy about the project is certainly admirable, it could prove to backfire when no one shows up opening weekend. Of course, Bird’s past work hasn’t given moviegoers any reason to doubt him yet, and though Lindelof has something to prove after the collective disappointment of “Cowboys & Aliens” and “Prometheus,” this has the potential to be Disney’s next big thing.
Who: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt and Jared Harris
What: A family’s suburban home is invaded by evil forces.
When: May 22nd
Why: Though it’s not the first horror movie to be remade by Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures since opening up shop a decade ago, “Poltergeist” is actually a great choice to receive the remake treatment, even if the original still holds up pretty well today. There’s not much to improve on apart from a simple modernization of the story (see: the return of the creepy clown doll), but while some moviegoers may be quick to turn their noses up at this updated version, the talent involved (including Gil Kenan, who directed the underrated animated film, “Monster House”) suggests this might be the rare remake that isn’t a complete waste of time.
Who: Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams and John Krasinski
What: A military contractor reconnects with a former love while unexpectedly falling for the hard-charging Air Force watchdog assigned to him.
When: May 29th
Why: Over the past ten years or so, Cameron Crowe has found it difficult to make a movie that stacks up against his earlier work, but he may have finally done so with this romantic dramedy, which features what is arguably the director’s best cast ever assembled. In addition to the four actors mentioned above, the film also stars Bill Murray, Alec Baldwin and Danny McBride, and although that might make it sound like a full-blown comedy, there’s plenty of evidence to support that isn’t the case. Nevertheless, the movie is already fighting an uphill battle being released among some pretty heavy hitters, and that’s a shame, because “Aloha” could very well be Crowe’s long-awaited return to form.
Who: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario and Paul Giamatti
What: In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey across the state in order to rescue his estranged daughter.
When: May 29th
Why: Movies like “San Andreas” were made for summer – the kind of big, dumb and loud popcorn flick that puts entertainment above all else. And who better than Dwayne Johnson to be the guy who saves the day from a world-splitting earthquake? That horrible rendition of “California Dreamin’” aside, this film is being marketed exactly the way it should be: as a CG-fueled disaster movie where the actors are basically glorified props to all the destruction taking place around them. Except for Johnson, of course, whose larger-than-life persona makes him one of the few A-listers who you could imagine actually surviving such a catastrophe. And people say these films aren’t believable…
If there’s something that unites film geeks and cocktail enthusiasts, it’s an interest in the aged and the obscure. Yes, a lot of lost old movies and cocktails were lost for a good reason — not everything can last beyond its time. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of buried gems and few things in life are more fun for any kind of enthusiast than unearthing one of them.
