Summer of sequels: Upcoming movies aim to please

Tyler Elmore, Online editor

This summer will be one of the craziest for movies there has been in a long time. With multiple blockbusters and a lot of remakes to be released, luckily, there is still some room for the feel good summer flicks everyone is looking for. Many of the movies coming out this summer and going into the fall are sequels or part of some franchise.

 

May

This is going to be a pretty big month for movies. Earlier this month, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and Seth Rogen’s “Neighbors” were released to pretty decent reviews. Still to come is the highly anticipated sequel, “X-Men: Days of Futures Past,” and Disney’s “Maleficent.” The first movie is a sequel to 2011’s “X-Men: First Class” which introduced all of the main characters and how they came to be known. In the new movie, Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, goes back in time to before Professor Xavier, played by both James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart, had created the X-Men. With a cast that includes many A-List celebrities such as Halle Berry, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage and more, this movie is sure to be a summer action flick you won’t want to miss.

“Maleficent” starring Angelina Jolie in the lead and Elle Fanning as Aurora, is a prequel to Disney’s animated classic “Sleeping Beauty.” It is the story of how Maleficent became the evil shape-shifting witch that she is today. It follows the back story of her life leading up to her first encounter with Aurora up until the demise of her character. This movie has been the talk of the town in the past couple of years and is sure to bring a lot of revenue to theaters this summer.

June

June will also be bringing the heat as well. It is likely that the most anticipated movie for young adults will be “The Fault in Our Stars,” a film based on John Green’s bestselling novel. It is a love story about two kids who unfortunately have cancer, but that’s not the point. The film is really just a different take on a teenage love story that will probably make the whole theater sob in both joy and sadness.The movie stars three increasingly popular young adult actors. Shailene Woodley plays Hazel Grace Lancaster, Ansel Elgort plays Augustus “Gus” Waters and Nat Wolff who plays Isaac, Gus’ best friend.

But for those who’d rather scream than sob, the psychological thriller, “The Sacrament” comes out in theaters on June 6. The movie’s plot centers around a journalist who goes to a religious compound in search for his sister, and soon gets terrorized by the people and their leader.

Among the original movies, three highly popular movies are coming out with sequels this month as well. “22 Jump Street” starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and the fourth installment of the Transformers franchise, “Transformers 4: Age of Extinction” starring Mark Wahlberg.

July

July will provide a taste of the summer comedies that will be quoted for the rest of the year. First to come out is Melissa McCarthy in “Tammy.” The movie follows Tammy, a deadbeat who lost her job at a local burger joint and come home to find her husband sleeping with the neighbor. The only place that she has left to go is to her grandmother’s played by Susan Sarandon, where they end up going on a road trip to Niagara Falls. It is sure to be a gut buster also starring Kathy Bates and Mark Duplass.

Another laugh-out-loud-worthy comedy is “Sex Tape,” starring Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz. It is about how a married couple decided to make a sex tape, then the next morning the tape has mysteriously disappeared. They then have to find out who stole it and get it back before anyone can see it. Some other stand out movies coming out this month are “Begin Again,” starring Mark Ruffalo and Kiera Knightly, a sequel “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” and the sequel to the Purge; “Purge: Anarchy.”

August

August is the last almost full month before school starts up again and promises not to leave you hanging. Marvel is releasing “The Guardians of the Galaxy,” a bridge between the first and second “Avengers” movies. It stars many including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, and Dave Bautista. It’s a story about how a pilot ends up in space and discovers a universal conflict where he decides to help the aliens he has now befriended.

Another remake that will excite a lot of people this coming summer is Michael Bay’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” It stars Megan Fox as April O’Neil and Johnny Knoxville as the voice of Leonardo. Along with many other A-list celebrities, I assume this movie will make a lot of money but at this point, it is hard to tell what else it has to offer. Despite all the movie that will be thrown at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remake, I think the biggest movie for August will be the movie based on the Lois Lowry’s novel. “The Giver” is a bestseller that is required read in many schools and is a favorite of many young adults. It will be interesting to see how the movie will play out. The movie stars newcomer Brenton Thwaites, and older favorites Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes, Alexander Skarsgård and Jeff Bridges. With Taylor Swift now being added to the cast, it is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

This summer is jam packed with great blockbuster movies, so whether you’re just trying to escape the impending heat or craving some crappy popcorn, you’ll be sure to find something to your liking at a theater near you.